Fantasy NBA Daily Notes: The return of Markelle Fultz - ESPN

11:14 AM ET

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  Andre SnellingsESPN

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  Danny Ainge's shrewd instincts as Boston's general manager have allowed the Celtics to assemble a talented roster differently than the way other teams, such as the 76ers and Clippers, have done.

Markelle Fultz made his long-awaited return to the court on Monday, after having missed the previous 68 games of his rookie season due to a lingering shoulder issue. Fultz has been following in the dubious, but seemingly beneficial "rookie redshirt plan" that the Philadelphia 76ers have used on Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in recent years, but Fultz was able to get back in time to get a few games under his belt in his actual rookie season.

In his return, Fultz came off the bench to generate 10 points (5-13 FG), 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 TO in 14 minutes. This was extremely encouraging for the 76ers, who clinched a playoff spot this weekend and already featured the likely Rookie of the Year in Simmons and an All-NBA center in Embiid's first full season.

With Fultz as the reigning top overall pick in the NBA draft, he has the talent to significantly impact the 76ers' future in both real life and fantasy. His shot was still a work in progress on Monday, but his ability to do as well as he did is an encouraging sign. Not only that, but Fultz still has the last two weeks of the season to play himself into enough shape to potentially man a full slot in the rotation by the time the playoffs roll along.

With his ability to create offense for both himself and his teammates, he might make an ideal sixth man heading into the postseason. If he is able to get up into the mid-20s of minutes per game by the end of the regular season, he should easily be able to produce double-digit scoring with plus-assist, rebound (for a guard) and steal potential for fantasy purposes, including DFS.

And, one can't understate the positive impact it would have on the entire organization to see their top pick start to pan out this season. As summed up by Embiid:

Monday recap

Box scores

Highlights:

Trey Burke, New York Knicks: 42 points (19-31 FG, 1-1 FT), 12 assists, 3 3-pointers, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 TO

Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets: 31 points (11-21 FG, 5-5 FT), 7 assists, 4 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 3 TO

Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers: 15 points (7-8 FG), 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 3-pointer, 2 TO

Lowlights:

Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics: 7 points (3-11 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 3-pointer, 4 TO

Elfrid Payton, Phoenix Suns: 0 points (0-1 FG), 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 TO

Nemanja Bjelica, Minnesota Timberwolves: 0 points (0-5 FG), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 TO

Monday takeaways

• One of the messages I keep trying to hammer home in this space is that "motivation" is the key to finding fantasy producers down the stretch. Being on a team that is fighting for playoff positioning is one obvious motivation, but there are others. The Knicks are currently being led by a couple of NBA journeymen who are fighting to prove that they deserve a starting job in the NBA next season. Burke (76.6 percent available) began this season in the G-League, but on Monday popped for a career-best game as he makes his bid for the starting PG slot moving forward.

• Similarly, Michael Beasley (52.4 percent available) has played everywhere, including outside of the NBA, throughout his career and is making a bid for a more permanent home in New York. He had another strong offensive game on Monday, scoring 27 points (12-22 FG, 2-2 FT) with 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 3-pointer and 3 TO on the night.

• The Timberwolves are clinging to the No. 8 spot in the West, but laid an absolute egg on Monday against the lowly Memphis Grizzlies. In spite of their real-life struggles, they still manage to produce -- outside of Bjelica -- reasonable fantasy numbers as a unit. Jeff Teague led the way with 25 points and 7 assists, while Taj Gibson and Andrew Wiggins contributed 18 points and 7-plus boards each. Karl-Anthony Towns struggled with his shot (5-13 FG), but he did manage 15 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 2 3-pointers, even in a down game.

• Nicolas Batum returned to the court for the Hornets on Monday, but was on a 22-26 minute restriction, ultimately playing 24 minutes. He scored 9 points with 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 3-pointer and 1 block. As always, health is the primary factor for whether or not Batum will be able to produce down the stretch.

• Reggie Jackson appears close to his pre-injury level, scoring 20 points (9-22 FG) with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 3-pointers in 28 minutes on Monday night. The Pistons may not want him to take the most shots on the team by such a significant margin on most nights, but it's a good sign that he feels healthy enough now to get those shots up.

Injuries of note

• Houston's James Harden and Clint Capela will both sit out Tuesday's game against the Chicago Bulls for rest purposes. This opens things up for wings like Eric Gordon or Gerald Green to produce on the perimeter, and for big men like Nene Hilario or Tarik Black to take advantage of the Bulls' weak interior defense.

• Marcus Morris of the Celtics re-aggravated his sprained right ankle in the fourth quarter of Monday's win over the Suns. He had missed a game over the weekend with the injury, and was questionable to play before suiting up and scoring 20 points (6-8 FG, 5-5 FT) with 3 3-pointers, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 23 minutes off the bench. Consider him day-to-day moving forward.

• Emmanuel Mudiay was unable to play on Monday with an illness. This was terrible timing for him, as he had been battling (and losing) the starting job to Trey Burke before the illness. Burke's performance on Monday night may have been the final nail in the coffin for Mudiay's chances of recovering the starting job in New York this season.

Analytics advantage for Tuesday

Six of the eight games on Tuesday feature two teams that are in the playoff hunt, which means motivation should abound -- and there are likely to be some big numbers put on the board tonight. The LA Clippers have a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Denver Nuggets have a tough road game at the Toronto Raptors. Both the Clippers and Nuggets are currently outside of the playoffs in the West, and thus should have the most motivation to produce.

The Clippers-Bucks game is the one that is most catching my eye for Tuesday, as the Clippers play at the sixth-fastest pace in the league (98.9 possessions/game) while also allowing the ninth-most points per game. The Bucks, meanwhile, have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing centers and the third-most to small forwards over the past 10 games, which bodes well for DeAndre Jordan and Tobias Harris to put together good games.

Top players to watch tonight

• To reiterate what I said earlier, Eric Gordon has a great chance to shine on Tuesday, with James Harden (and Clint Capela) sitting for rest purposes and Chris Paul making his return from a hamstring injury. The Rockets have essentially locked up the top seed, which means they'll likely be cautious with their main veterans, allowing Gordon the chance to lead the team against a weak Bulls defense.

• LeBron James is returning to Miami to face his former team. Dwyane Wade is also back and will thus get to face his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. This could be an interesting battle.

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