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The playoff competition continues to intensify, with elite teams focusing on small details to reinforce their standings, while clubs out of the postseason picture experiment with various players from their rosters.
For those engaged in NBA Fantasy Salary Games, there are essential insights to glean as just two weeks remain in the regular season.
Here’s what you need to know as Week 23 unfolds:
The Boston Celtics (54-19) are racking up victories as they gear up to defend their title. They have now secured seven straight wins—matching the Oklahoma City Thunder (60-12) for the longest active streak in the league—and this is their best run of the season, initially achieved between November 13 and 29.
Since January 29, the Celtics have posted an impressive 23-4 record, particularly noteworthy given their earlier struggle with an 11-10 stretch. Holding the second position in the Eastern Conference since October 30, they are now just 4.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (58-14) and will aim for the top seed with nine games remaining.
To make this leap, they may need to do so without their star player, Jayson Tatum, who leads the team with 3191.1 total fantasy points (TFP) and averages 48.4 fantasy points per game (FPPG). He suffered a sprained left ankle on Monday and might miss consecutive games for the first time this season.
However, the Celtics demonstrated their depth on Wednesday, defeating the Phoenix Suns (35-38) 132-102 without Tatum. Kristaps Porziņģis contributed 46.6 fantasy points (37.1 FPPG), and Al Horford added 44.5 (22.8 FPPG). They’ll rely on Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, each with over 2000 TFP, to support the offense.
Nikola Jokić made a swift comeback on Wednesday after missing five games, delivering 63.0 fantasy points in the Denver Nuggets’ (46-28) 127-117 win over the Milwaukee Bucks (40-32). He recorded his 30th triple-double of the 2024-25 season with 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, becoming the first player to reach the 4000-TFP milestone this season. The 10-year veteran has surpassed 60 fantasy points in five of his last seven games.
In an impressive showing for Phoenix, Kevin Durant led Monday’s top scorers with 38 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, earning 59.1 fantasy points in a narrow 108-106 victory over the Bucks. The 15-time All-Star previously scored 60 points in a game just two days earlier, boasting a team-high average of 43.6 FPPG—15th-best in the league. Only Devin Booker has outperformed his 2617.2 TFP with 2804.1.
Also making waves in Week 23 is Karl-Anthony Towns, who posted a league-high 56.9 fantasy points on Tuesday, followed by an even more impressive 58.8 on Wednesday, despite the New York Knicks’ (45-27) 126-113 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (41-31). The 10th-year center/forward achieved his 51st double-double of the season with 34 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists, ranking just behind Jokić (53) and Domantas Sabonis (52).
Take advantage of high-scoring players from teams heavily affected by injuries. Currently, the Philadelphia 76ers (23-50) and Dallas Mavericks (35-38) are leading the way with 10 and nine entries, respectively, on their injury reports as of Wednesday.
Keep an eye on Quentin Grimes ($5.5M), Justin Edwards ($4.2M), and Jared Butler ($4.4M) from Philadelphia. Grimes has excelled, averaging an impressive 47.5 FPPG over his last eight games. Edwards has contributed 34.7 over his last six, while Butler has put up a respectable 24.8 during the same timeframe.
In Dallas, Naji Marshall ($6.3M), Brandon Williams ($4.4M), and Max Christie ($4.9M) have all made strong cases as the season winds down. Marshall boasts an average of 41.5 FPPG over his past 10 games, exceeding 40 on five occasions. Williams averages 31.8 in his last eight, while Christie has managed 23 points per game over his last five appearances.
