Dr. A's Weekend Recap: Injuries, Big Performances Dominate Headlines

Here are some key storylines that you might have missed over the weekend, as well as a look at what some of the impacts may be as we enter Week 15 of the NBA season. Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Jonathan Kuminga, P.J. Washington, Nick Richards, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Cam Whitmore and Julius Randle all made headlines last week. 

Pacers schedule

There aren't any two-game weeks in Week 15, but if you're looking to maximize your schedule, the Pacers are the only four-game team that doesn't play on Monday (Tues-Thur-Fri-Sun). If you can pick up Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Jalen Smith or T.J. McConnell, it might work in your schedule's favor for the week. 

Tyrese Haliburton injury update

Speaking of the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton is expected to practice on Monday. Haliburton initially hurt his hamstring Jan. 8 and returned earlier than we thought he would Jan. 19. He aggravated the injury in that game and has missed five straight games and 10 of his last 11. He's now considered day-to-day and it's possible he could play as soon as Tuesday. But you have to think the Pacers are going to tread cautiously with him going forward, at least for the first week. Aaron Nembhard and T.J. McConnell will take a hit when it happens, but Nembhard is worth hanging onto. And based on the Pacers' schedule this week, McConnell probably is too, despite missing Sunday's game for personal reasons.

Julius Randle separates shoulder

It's old news, but in case you missed it, Julius Randle suffered a separated right shoulder on Saturday night. Josh Hart figures to move into the starting lineup, and I was able to grab him in one of my main leagues. He looks like a solid four-game add with Randle out indefinitely, while Quentin Grimes and Precious Achiuwa could also see a boost in his absence.

Project Free Kuminga a resounding success

Jonathan Kuminga has been on a tear and had a huge week for the Warriors. He's finally getting some love from Steve Kerr and has rattled off six straight 20-point games. Over his past four, he's averaging 24.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.3 three-pointers. The Warriors only play three times this week, but Kuminga is worth grabbing in all formats until further notice. 

Cam Whitmore heating up for Rockets

Whitmore has scored in double digits in three straight games and had 19 points, nine rebounds, a block and three three-pointers on Saturday. He's scored in double figures in 11 of his January games. While his minutes still fluctuate wildly, Whitmore looks like a solid deep-league add right now. The Rockets play four games this week. 

Nick Richards, P.J. Washington go nuts Saturday

Nick Richards hit 10-of-11 shots and 6-of-8 free throws for a career-high 26 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks against the Jazz on Saturday. P.J. Washington also went off for a career-high 43 points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals and seven triples on 17-of-22 shooting off the bench in that game. Charlotte was without LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and Mark Williams in that one. We still don't know when Williams will return from his back injury. The Hornets play four times this week, and both big men should be rostered everywhere until further notice. On a side note, Ish Smith started for Ball on Saturday. While he missed all five of his shots and failed to score, he did have 12 assists and a steal. If Melo misses more time, Smith will be worth keeping an eye on. 

Harry Barnes resurfaces last week

Harrison Barnes woke up from a winter slumber last week and went off for 32 points Monday against the Hawks, then scored 39 points against the Warriors on Thursday. He cooled off on Saturday but still had 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, a steal, a block and four triples against the Mavericks. That gives him averages of 30.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 0.8 blocks and 5.0 three-pointers over his last three games. The Kings won all three of those. While Barnes may disappear at any time, the Kings have four games this week, and Barnes is one of the hottest players in the league. Pick him up if you can and see what happens. Just beware that prior to his three-game explosion, he averaged just 8.0 points and 1.7 rebounds over his previous three games.

Big numbers week for Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Victor Wembanyama and others

If you like offense, we just witnessed one of the biggest scoring weeks in NBA history. Joel Embiid kicked the week off with 70 points against the Spurs on Monday, while Victor Wembanyama added 33 points and seven rebounds in the same game. Embiid has been on a tear but sat out Saturday with a sore knee and is iffy for Monday. As for Wemby, he not only saw his minutes limit increased to 30 but played in back-to-back games for the first time since November. His arrow is pointing straight up. 

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 62 on Monday against the Hornets but fizzled down the stretch and saw his team lose in somewhat embarrassing fashion. Kevin Durant also had a big Monday with 43 points in the Suns' win over the Bulls. 

Wednesday saw Devin Booker drop 46 points on the Mavericks, while Luka Doncic came through with 34 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the loss to Phoenix. 

It was Luka's turn on Friday, when he lit up the team that drafted him (Hawks) for 73 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in Atlanta during a 148-143 win. Trae Young scored 30 in that one and Bogdan Bogdanovic caught fire, but Luka Magic was the big story on Friday night, even though he wasn't alone. Jalen Green scored 36 with 10 rebounds on Friday, Booker had another monster game with 62 points against the Pacers, Pascal Siakam scored 31 in that loss, Anfernee Simons scored 40 for the Blazers, and Jeremy Sochan somehow got loose to score 31 points for the Spurs. 

Saturday featured the aforementioned big-man explosions for Charlotte (PJW and Richards), while Cam Thomas torched the Rockets for 37 points in a tough win. LeBron James and Stephen Curry faced off later that night, and the Lakers got a thrilling 145-144 win over the Warriors. LeBron had 36 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 12 assists, and Curry racked up 46 points and seven dimes in the loss. 

Booker was at it again on Sunday with 44 points. At this rate, you have to think someone's going to break free for an 80-point game this season. 

Evan Mobley could play Monday

Evan Mobley, who hasn't played since mid-December and underwent knee surgery, is ahead of schedule and is expected to play on Monday against the Clippers. He'll likely be on a 20-minute limit. If he was dropped in your league, pick him up and stash him until we see what he does this week. He's averaging 16 points, 10.5 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.7 blocks on the season. 

Dejounte Murray injury

Murray missed Sunday's game with a hamstring injury and remains embattled in trade rumors as the Feb. 8 deadline quickly approaches. Bogdanovic and Saddiq Bey will both benefit if Murray misses more time, and it's possible that he could be shut down by the Hawks as they try to keep him healthy in anticipation of a trade. He's all but gone in Atlanta but is still playing hard for the Hawks, scoring at least 22 points in six straight games and hitting a couple huge game-winning shots over the last 10 days.

Jordan Nwora sighting Sunday

Jordan Nwora hit 7-of-16 shots and three three-pointers on his way to 24 points, nine rebounds, six assists and a steal in Sunday's loss to the Hawks. The Hawks are famous for giving up big lines to the opposition this season, and Nwora was the latest winner against Atlanta. Nwora still has a long way to go to earn any trust from fantasy managers though, as he had scored between zero and nine points in each of his previous 16 games.