Two players set career highs by scoring more than 50 points in Sunday's main slate, and the action is set to continue with a seven-game selection on Monday. There have been quite a few significant injuries, so there's tons of value on the table for DFS contests. We'll go over the weekend's hottest and coldest players before giving away one fantasy stud who's flying under the radar below. Here's what you need to know ahead of Week 5's first tip-off.
Who's hot
Embiid hasn't been especially dominant this season but ended Week 4 on a ridiculous tear. He nearly recorded a 60-point triple-double on Sunday with a career-high 59 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists against the Utah Jazz. Embiid also blocked seven shots in the contest. That performance followed up a 42-point outburst against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. Guards won't be the only Philadelphia 76ers who benefit from James Harden's absence, and it looks like Embiid is finally hitting his stride.
Garland's been criticized for underperforming since returning from the eye injury that sidelined him for a spell after his 2022-23 season opener and silenced his critics with a career-high 51 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. The Cleveland Cavaliers point guard knocked down 16 of his 31 shot attempts and made 10 three-pointers. Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen are dealing with ankle injuries and could leave the team to Garland for another game or two in Week 5 if they can't recover in time.
Sabonis hauled in a season-high 22 boards in a win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday and scored at least 21 points for the fifth time in six games. The Sacramento Kings big man ranks seventh in total rebounds and has bounced back after kicking off the 2022-23 campaign with reduced scoring numbers. He's comfortably a top-five fantasy center and seems likely to finish in that range given the frontcourt talent behind him.
Who's not
Conley was never expected to be a top-notch fantasy point guard this year, but his weekend performances fell well short of expectations. The Utah Jazz lost their last two games while Conley averaged 3.0 points and 9.0 assists on 13.3 percent shooting despite logging 30.3 minutes per contest. Collin Sexton's role has grown as of late, but he's not cutting into Conley's workload that much. The usually efficient floor general will have to fix things up in Week 5 to keep his team afloat.
Monday DFS Play
Fred VanVleet (illness) and Gary Trent Jr. (hip) have been ruled out for the Toronto Raptors' Monday contest against the Detroit Pistons. While Toronto is hesitant to use the third-year point guard, he's been highly effective as a starter when given opportunities. The pick-and-roll maestro will face a bottom-five scoring defense that gives up more than 118 points per game. Flynn averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds as a starter in 2021-22.
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.
