Fantasy Basketball News & Notes: Embiid Nearing Return, Luka and LeBron Go Off, Brunson's 61, Malik Monk Injured + More

The fantasy season is quickly winding down and most of us will know if we've won any championships or not by the weekend. But there's also still plenty of big news out there to deal with, like the eventual return of Joel Embiid and the unfortunate knee injury suffered by Malik Monk over the weekend 

Joel Embiid expected to play this week

Joel Embiid (knee) could possibly make his return to action this week, though it will not come Tuesday night against OKC. Embiid has been out since late January but has recently played some five-on-five without any further complications. We have no idea what kind of minutes he'll see but barring a setback, fantasy managers should tentatively be making plans to pull him off the IR and be ready to put him in your lineup against the Thunder.

We should get more concrete information on a target date at some point this week. Obviously, the inconsistent duo of Mo Bamba and Paul Reed will take a hit once Embiid is back in action, making them potential drops if you need to make moves in order to win your league. 

Malik Monk out 4-6 weeks after spill with Luka Doncic

Malik Monk, who was making a valiant attempt at winning Sixth Man of the Year this season, was injured in a nasty fall with Luka Doncic on Friday and is out for the foreseeable future with a sprained right MCL. He can be dropped in fantasy leagues and the only hope of him playing for the Kings again this season is if they make a deep run into the playoffs.

Keon Ellis and Davion Mitchell are likely going to be the beneficiaries of Monk's absence and Clark is a player potentially worth targeting this week for fantasy purposes. The good news is that Monk played in 72 games making him eligible to still win the Sixth Man Award. The bad news is that he left the Kings and his fantasy managers just when we needed him most. The Kings are also without Kevin Huerter for the remainder of the season.

Victor Wembanyama balls out, ditches Jalen Brunson's ball

Victor Wembanyama had another week to remember as he put the finishing touches on his Rookie of the Year campaign, as well as he continues to make a plausible argument to be the Defensive Player of the Year, as well. Wemby played three games last week, got the Spurs wins against the Jazz and Knicks, and averaged 30.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 3.0 blocks and 2.7 3-pointers for the week and could be named Western Conference Player of the Week. The highlight came against the Knicks on Friday when he went off for 40 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, a block and four 3-pointers before savagely throwing the game ball into the crowd, much to the chagrin of Jalen Brunson. 

Brunson was celebrating his 61-point effort that saw him hit 25-of-47 shots and five 3-pointers along with four rebounds, six assists and a steal in the loss to the Spurs. It was the second-highest-scoring game in Knicks history, topped only by Carmelo Anthony's 62-point effort back in 2014, and Brunson reportedly wanted to keep the game ball as a memento.

Wemby had different plans and savagely threw the ball into the crowd, although a ball boy was reportedly able to retrieve it from the fan. Wemby's game was big enough for him to have had an argument to keep it, but Brunson's game made history for the Knicks and he was lucky to be the one to end up with it in the end. 

Tyrese Maxey (hip) sits out on Sunday

Tyrese Maxey missed Sunday's game with a hip injury and missed his first game since March 10. Hopefully, the injury isn't serious and he'll be back in action on Tuesday, possibly alongside teammate Embiid, who appears to be close to a return to action. Kyle Lowry got the start in his place and had a serviceable double-double with 11 points, 10 assists, a steal, two blocks and three 3-pointers in a 135-120 win over the Raptors. Kelly Oubre also came through with 32 points and a fun stat line in the win. 

Luka Doncic puts on a show, Mavs stop Rockets winning streak at 11

Luka Doncic had 22 points, five 3-pointers, eight rebounds and four assists - in the first quarter against the Rockets on Sunday! He finished with 47 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and nine 3-pointers on 18-of-30 shooting and the Mavs won their seventh straight game. He also threw in an underhanded scoop shot from just inside the 3-point line while hitting a crazy over the head moon-beam shot in pregame. 

Meanwhile, the Rockets loss stopped their 11-game winning streak and temporarily derailed their assault on tracking down the Warriors in hopes of knocking them out of the playoffs. But the Rockets are still just 2.0 games back of the Dubs and the two teams meet on Thursday night in what should be an epic pre-playoff battle.

Thanks to the seven-game winning streak, the Mavs have caught the Pelicans to take the No. 5 seed in the West and also sit atop the Southwest Division standings. And both of those things could come into play when voters are looking at Luka for MVP. The Mavericks are also just 2.0 games behind the Clippers for the No. 4 spot in the West and the higher Dallas can climb, the better the chances become for Doncic to get enough MVP votes to win the award. 

LeBron James has Sunday to remember

LeBron James had 40 points on 13-of-17 shooting and also hit nine 3-pointers to tie his career high in Sunday's win over the Nets. He hit 9-of-10 tries from 3-point land and some of them were just ridiculous shots. He's 39 years old but it sure doesn't look like it when he's out there. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dealing with a quad injury, plays Sunday

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned from a two-game absence on Sunday and had 19 points in a win over the Knicks. A suddenly hot Josh Giddey had a triple-double featuring 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, and Jalen Williams added 33 points and eight times on 14-of-18 shootin in the win. Giddey has been on a tear with averages of 23.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.0 blocks and 2.0 3-pointers over his last four games. Act accordingly. 

Donovan Mitchell back in action

Donovan Mitchell was back from a six-game absence due to a broken nose for the weekend but it wasn't all that we'd hoped for. He hit 4-of-13 shots on Friday for 12 points and hit just 3-of-12 shots for 13 points on Sunday against the Nuggets. He's had a rough March, hitting just 16-of-54 shots in four games for an average of 13 points on 29.6% shooting. Hopefully, he'll bounce back against the Jazz on Tuesday, which will also have a revenge factor playing against his former team. 

Damian Lillard sits for personal reasons on Saturday

Damian Lillard sat out for personal reasons on Saturday and I'm guessing he'll be questionable for Tuesday's game against the Wizards. Fantasy managers are going to need him more now than ever so you'll want to keep a close eye on the RotoWire News Feed going forward in regards to Dame Time. 

Other weekend highlights

Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists in an easy win over the Cavaliers on Sunday. 

Cam Thomas scored 30 points with six assists for the Nets in a loss to the Lakers. 

Paul George scored a season-high 41 points in a win over the Hornets, while Miles Bridges (33 points) and Vasilije Micic (10 points, 13 assists) were back in form for Charlotte. Grant Williams is worth a look after going for 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and two triples in that game, as well. 

Kelly Olynyk is still relevant for the Raptors and had 18 points, five boards, 11 assists and three steals in a loss to the Sixers on Sunday. Bruce Brown is also worth a look with Toronto so banged up and had 18 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals in that one. 

Isaiah Hartenstein had 17 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and a steal on Sunday, while Donte DiVincenzo hit just 4-of-16 shots for 15 points in the tough loss to the Thunder. 

On Saturday, Giannis Antetokounmpo destroyed the Hawks with 36 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, while Bogdan Bogdanovic added 38 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks in a losing effort. 

Good luck in your bid to win a title or two this week!