Wednesday's 11-game slate was loaded with impressive fantasy performances. Julius Randle led the way with a dominant performance in the New York Knicks' rout of the Atlanta Hawks, and a slew of other All-Star caliber players didn't finish too far behind him. Looking to catch up on what you missed? Here's who's hot, who's not, and a DFS play for Thursday's three-game slate.
Who's hot
Randle's 34 points and 17 rebounds against the hobbled Atlanta Hawks was enough for him to top Wednesday's fantasy leaderboard. He powered the Knicks to a win in an extremely productive 33 minutes and eclipsed 30 points with six made three-pointers for the second time in five games. Randle is just edging out Jalen Brunson in total points and has been the Knicks' most active rebounder this season. He's only raised his chances of finishing as a top-five fantasy power forward from late November to now.
Morant recorded his second triple-double of the season on Wednesday with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Memphis Grizzlies guard has notched at least a double-double in six of his previous 10 games. He hasn't let up at all during Desmond Bane's recovery from a toe injury, and he'll continue to stuff the stat sheet while his backcourt partner works toward a return to court.
Edwards has been on another level since Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a calf strain. The Minnesota Timberwolves wing has averaged 27.0 points and 5.7 assists without the big man over his previous three games. However, his defensive effort might be even more impressive. Edwards has amassed 17 steals without KAT in the fold. While that is far from sustainable, it's clear that he'll need to keep up his assertiveness on both sides of the ball to keep his team afloat.
Who's not
Booker's last two outings have been stinkers. He thrived during Chris Paul's lengthy absence, but top-tier defenses have given him plenty of trouble as of late. The Phoenix Suns guard averaged 14.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game on 33.3 percent shooting in a pair of back-to-back blowout losses to kick off Week 8. He's averaging more than twice as many points as that without Paul in 2022-23. Upcoming matchups against the New Orleans Pelicans' top-10 scoring defense could prove to be a challenge for Booker.
Thursday DFS play
The Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat unexpectedly fell to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and could be without him and Kyle Lowry (rest) on Thursday. Herro could be in for a heavy workload, as Dru Smith might end up being Miami's only other active point guard against the Los Angeles Clippers. He's averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.6 assists over his last seven games and will almost certainly lead the way for the Heat in shot attempts and assists on Thursday.
Still deciding who to lock in for your DFS roster? We've identified a player worth locking in and one to avoid ahead of tip-off below, but you can get my full selection of stud and value plays at each position by heading over to SportsLine.
