NBA Observations: Morant Still Climbing, MPJ Nearing Return + Understanding the Kyrie Situation

As the NBA season moves into March, all 30 teams have officially crossed the 60-game mark. That means at least 73 percent of the schedule is complete, while a handful of teams have already played more than 76 percent of their 82-game allotment.

What does that mean for fantasy managers? Well, for one: it's time to buckle down. Counting this current week, there are only six more full weeks remaining in the season. There's still time to jockey for position, but an injury here or a multi-game slump there can severely impact your upward mobility.

In Yahoo leagues, the trade deadline also arrives this week (Thursday, March 3). While waiver wire pickups continue, the deadline is the final chance for managers to make a splashy addition or truly shore up a category or two. If you're stuck in the middle of the pack with seemingly no way out, now is the time to float that high-risk, high-reward deal you've been pondering since January.

In this week's look around the league, we'll (attempt to) make sense of the Kyrie Irving conundrum in Brooklyn before taking a quick-hit look at a wide range of storylines from around the world of fantasy hoops.

When can Kyrie Irving play in Brooklyn?

First of all: Really good question. Second of all: I'm not sure anyone truly knows the answer.

After New York City mayor Eric Adams announced last week that he plans to lift the city's vaccine mandate for indoor spaces next Monday (March 7), the initial reaction was Great! Kyrie will be eligible right away. 

Not so fast.

What Adams did not explicitly mention – but has since clarified – is that New York City still has a vaccine requirement for private businesses operating in the city. For instance, the Brooklyn Nets basketball franchise. So while the unvaccinated Irving could, as of March 7, do things like go to a movie, eat out at a restaurant or even attend a Nets home game as a fan, he's still barred from actually participating in the game. 

Given the fact that unvaccinated players on other NBA teams are allowed to play in New York, Adams acknowledged that a double-standard exists. NBA commissioner Adam Silver also noted the discrepancy during a highly publicized interview around the All-Star break. Even so, Adams reiterated that he will not make an exception to the rule – however unfair it might be – simply to allow Irving to play.

"I don't know who thought of putting such a ridiculous rule in place so away teams can come and play when our teams from New York (must be vaccinated)," Adams said. "But these are the rules and I have to follow the rules. If I don't, I'm … sending the wrong message to everyday employees."

Taking all of that into consideration, we still have very little clarity as to when – or if – Irving will eventually be eligible for home games. The general attitude toward the virus seems to be moving in Irving's favor, but the decision ultimately lies in the hands of New York City – not the NBA or the Nets.

For now, fantasy managers should still consider Irving eligible for (most) road games only. Assuming the status quo, that means Irving will only be eligible for seven more games the rest of the way – three of which come in a five-day span from March 6 through March 10 during which the Nets play at Boston, at Charlotte and at Philadelphia.

Surely, there's a chance the city repeals all vaccine mandates and Irving is eligible to play in every game, home or away, before the end of the regular season. But given the condensed timetable, even if that were to happen around the end of March, it would likely be too little too late for most fantasy managers still holding Irving.

Rapid Fire

• The Kyrie saga might be soaking up most of the headlines in Brooklyn, but the borough is eagerly awaiting updates on its other two stars.
  • On Monday night, Steve Nash confirmed that Kevin Durant would miss both halves of the team's Monday/Tuesday home-and-home against Toronto. That news did not come as a surprise, as it was reported earlier Monday that Durant may be targeting Thursday's home game against the Heat for his return. Durant has not played since sustaining a sprained left MCL back on Jan. 15 against the Pelicans. 
    • Durant ranks 4th in per-game value (8-cat) and despite all of the missed time still ranks 34th in overall value. Among players who've played in fewer than 40 games, Durant is far and away the highest-ranked (Anthony Davis is second at 55th overall).
  • On the Ben Simmons front, it's still very much unclear when he'll make his Nets and 2021-22 season debut. Over the weekend, it was reported that Simmons is dealing with back soreness, which could extend his reconditioning process later into March.
    • Here's what it comes down to: Simmons has no interest in playing in Philly against the Sixers on March 10, so he's going to provide any reasons necessary to avoid returning before that date. Of course, Simmons' camp won't admit that, and the Nets can't either, but it's very clear what's happening here.
    • On one hand, it's tough to blame Simmons. If he were to play in Philly, it would be an all-time hostile environment. But on the other hand, Simmons is going to have to face the music at some point. What happens if the very plausible scenario of the Nets facing the Sixers in a playoff series comes to fruition? 
• After setting new career highs in scoring in three of the last four games, headlined by Monday night's franchise-record 52 points, Ja Morant is up to 24th in per-game fantasy value (8-cat). Over his last 16 games, Morant is averaging 34.1 points, 6.5 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.7 threes on 51.4 percent shooting. He's reached 30 points 12 times in that span and 40 points four times.
  • Morant's rise from "fun young player" to "legit MVP candidate" has been remarkable. Just as remarkable is the fact that he finished last season ranked 114th in per-game fantasy value – behind names like Enes Freedom, Kendrick Nunn and Danny Green.
• The Nuggets are aiming to get both Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back from injury before the end of the regular season. Murray looks to be on track to be cleared sometime around the end of March, while Porter's timetable is rapidly improving.
  • Per Sam Amick of The Athletic, Porter is on pace to return to game action sometime in mid-to-late March. This is a massive development for the Nuggets, who just a month ago applied for a disabled player exception, implying that they believed Porter would not return in 2021-22. The sharpshooter has made significant progress in recent weeks and is on track to join the Nuggets' G League affiliate in Grand Rapids to participate in scrimmages later this week.
• A lower-back issue has sidelined All-Star Darius Garland for eight of the Cavs' last 11 games – including their first three games coming out of the break. While JB Bickerstaff said Tuesday that Garland is ramping up and considered day-to-day, this has not been the most encouraging development with the postseason just a month-and-a-half away.
  • Teammate Caris LeVert is dealing with a sprained right foot that's cost him the last three games, as well. The deadline addition was initially given a 1-to-2-week timetable, so it's possible he could be back in the mix within the next few games. Cleveland plays Wednesday (vs. CHA), Friday (at PHI) and Sunday (vs. TOR) to close out the week.
• Russell Westbrook's real-life basketball stock has never been lower, and his fantasy stock is following suit. For the first half of the season, Westbrook was able to tread water and buoy fantasy managers – especially those in points leagues – with a bevy of counting stats to offset his terrible free throw percentage (66.8% FT ) and lack of three-point production (1.0 3PM/G). But as of late, even the counting stats have begun to evaporate.
  • Over the Lakers' first two games after the break, Westbrook has just two total assists in 61 minutes. Prior to that, he'd only had one game all season with fewer than three assists.
  • Since the start of January, Westbrook ranks roughly 175th in per-game value. As always, he remains significantly more viable in points leagues, but the days of Westbrook's overwhelming counting stats healing all wounds are seemingly over.
• While the Lakers find ways to sink to new lows on a near-nightly basis, LeBron James continues to chug along as the NBA's second-best fantasy player (per game) behind only Nikola Jokic. James finished LA's latest blowout loss (Sunday vs. NOR) with 32 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, but he committed a season-high seven turnovers. After coughing the ball up six times against the Clippers on Friday, James' 13 combined turnovers are his most in any two-game span this season.
• Markelle Fultz made his 2021-22 debut Monday night, seeing his first action in nearly 14 months. The 2017 No. 1 overall pick tore his ACL on January 6 of 2021 – eight games into the 2020-21 campaign.
  • Fultz played 16 minutes off the bench and finished with 10 points (5-7 FG), six assists, two rebounds and one turnover.
  • The ex-Sixer made significant progress in 2019-20 before the injury setback, but he's probably best left on the waiver wire for the remainder of this season. With only 20 games remaining, and two promising guards in Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony on the roster, there's a decent chance Fultz won't return to a full workload until next fall.
• Coming out of the break, the Phoenix Suns are 1-2 without Chris Paul, beating the Thunder and taking losses to the Pelicans and Jazz. With Cam Payne still sidelined, the Suns have turned to Devin Booker as the de facto playmaker. The All-Star has responded with 24 assists in the three CP3-less games. 
  • Before Paul's arrival, Booker averaged 6.8 (2018-19) and 6.5 assists (2019-20) in consecutive seasons.
• After an up-and-down start to the year, Bam Adebayo's season was derailed by a thumb injury that kept him out from Dec. 1 through mid-January. Since returning, he's begun to look more like the player fantasy managers were hoping to get when they grabbed him with a late-second or early-third-round pick.
  • Over his last 19 games since coming back, Adebayo is averaging 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks. Shrink that sample to just the month of February, and Adebayo's numbers jump to 22.0 points, 10.9 boards, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.5 blocks. Adebayo finished the month as the 17th-best fantasy asset in 8-cat leagues. At this point, the only thing holding him back is a so-so free throw percentage (71.2% FT in February). 
• Still no timetable for Kristaps Porzingis, who will not play Tuesday night against Detroit, marking his 13th consecutive absence. The Wizards have no desire to make the playoffs, but coach Wes Unseld said Monday that the team is not planning to shut down Porzingis. If the big man's absence extends into next week, fantasy managers may have no choice but to consider dropping him in favor of a lesser-but-healthier option.
• D'Angelo Russell currently ranks 61st in 8-cat total value – up from 149th a season ago. While his three-point and overall field goal percentages have dipped, he's up to a career-high 81.3 percent at the line while adding 19.4 points, 6.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds. Most importantly, he's missed only 14 contests after sitting out 30 games in 2020-21.
• With Jusuf Nurkic sidelined with what we're told is plantar fasciitis, Drew Eubanks has made a pair of starts at center for the depth-starved Blazers. After flopping against Golden State on Thursday (2 points, five rebounds in 21 minutes), Eubanks bounced back with 13 points, 10 boards and two assists in 29 minutes Sunday against Denver.
  • Ultimately, Eubanks is a low-upside player, but how the minutes break down between him, Trendon Watford and Greg Brown will be worth keeping at least a cursory eye on.
• Fantasy managers were justified in worrying that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be shut down after the All-Star break for a second straight year, but the 23-year-old was back in the lineup Thursday and has looked fantastic since missing 10 games with a sprained ankle.
  • Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 32, 36 and 37 points, respectively, en route to averages of 35.0 points, 6.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 threes since the break. A late-season curtailing of minutes could still be coming, but for now fantasy managers should continue to ride the wave.