NBA Player News

Jokic registered 27 points (12-16 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-5 FT), 11 assists, 10 rebounds and two blocks over 35 minutes during Monday's 110-102 victory over Utah.

The two-time NBA MVP was magnificent once again Monday and faced little resistance from seven-footer Walker Kessler, a notable achievement given that Kessler averaged 2.3 blocks per game a season ago. Notably, Jokic posted the triple-double Monday with only one turnover after combining for 13 turnovers in his past two games. The triple-double was the 107th of his career, tying him with LeBron James for fourth in NBA history.

Kessler contributed 22 points (10-11 FG, 2-3 FT), 13 rebounds and one block across 29 minutes during Monday's 110-102 loss to the Nuggets.

Kessler broke out in a big way Monday, posting his first double-double of the season with uber-efficiency. The 22-year-old averaged just 5.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in Utah's first three games, with his limited production out of the gate perhaps sending fantasy managers into an early panic. Now that Kessler has at least one excellent stat line on his ledger, his managers can breathe a little easier heading into the Jazz's next game Wednesday against the winless Grizzlies.

Bryant provided 10 points (4-7 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), two rebounds and two steals across 22 minutes during Monday's 122-114 loss to the Bucks.

Bryant struggled as a starter and was outplayed by Orlando Robinson, the team's third-string center who ended with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists across 26 minutes. This was Bryant's best game of the season thus far, but it's still not enough to make him valuable in fantasy, especially since Bam Adebayo (hip) is being listed as a game-time decision for Wednesday's matchup against the Nets.

Robinson recorded 11 points (4-7 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 26 minutes during Monday's 122-114 loss to the Bucks.

Robinson made the most of Bam Adebayo's absence due to a hip problem, and while he didn't start, he outplayed Thomas Bryant by a wide margin. The chances of Robinson playing heavy minutes going forward are slim and will be even more complicated once Adebayo returns to the court. But at the very least, Robinson showed enough to potentially steal some reserve minutes from Bryant going forward.

Poeltl accumulated 14 points (6-8 FG, 2-3 FT), 10 rebounds, one assist and one block across 28 minutes during Monday's 99-91 loss to Portland.

It's the first double-double of the season in four games for Poeltl, as he hadn't scored more than eight points in any of the Raptors' first three games. The 28-year-old center is cashing in his scoring opportunities, shooting 71.4 percent from the floor, but otherwise his numbers are a little below his usual pace as the team around him has a sluggish start to the season.

Ayton ended Monday's 99-91 victory over the Raptors with 10 points (5-9 FG), 23 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal in 32 minutes.

The 23 boards were a career high for the former Sun, who never topped 21 during his time with Phoenix. Ayton's offense has been erratic to begin the season as he tries to find his role on a new team, but he's delivered 12 or more rebounds in three of four games and appears headed for career-best numbers in that category -- his prior high was 11.5 boards a game, set back in 2019-20 over only 38 contests.

Capela recorded two points (0-3 FG, 2-2 FT), five rebounds, one assist and five blocks across 23 minutes during Monday's 127-113 victory over Minnesota.

Matched up against Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, Capela still made his presence felt on the defensive end even though he offered little offense. The veteran center came into Monday with only one block through the first three games of the season, so the rejections were probably overdue. Capela has averaged at least 1.2 blocks a game for eight straight seasons coming into 2023-24.

Gobert totaled 14 points (3-7 FG, 8-11 FT), 13 rebounds, one assist, two blocks and one steal over 31 minutes during Monday's 127-113 loss to the Hawks.

The former Utah center has posted a strong start to his second season with Minnesota, delivering three straight double-doubles with a total of four steals and six blocks. Gobert's 57.1 shooting percentage is actually below his career mark of 65.3 percent, so there's even room for growth in his scoring. However, his production is only half of the equation for the Timberwolves, and Karl-Anthony Towns has stumbled out of the gate.

Towns closed with 16 points (7-17 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 1-1 FT), 10 rebounds, three assists and one steal in 36 minutes during Monday's 127-113 loss to Atlanta.

The veteran big man has delivered three straight double-doubles to begin the season, but his 15.7 points per game and 37.0 percent shooting from the floor are well below Towns' usual standards. Minnesota is running it back with a Twin Towers lineup of Towns and Rudy Gobert in the frontcourt, and while the latter is looking more comfortable in his second campaign with the Timberwolves, Towns is still struggling to make the pairing work.

Turner closed with 20 points (6-14 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 5-8 FT), 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks across 32 minutes during Monday's 112-105 loss to the Bulls.

Turner was impressive on both ends of the court, racking up his second straight double-double while notching multiple blocks for the third game in a row. The big man, who also drained multiple threes for the first time in 2023-24 on Monday, is averaging 17.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game after three contests, showing he can have solid two-way numbers as a reliable offensive threat in an offense led by Tyrese Haliburton.