Live Tracker: Zion Williamson just misses double-double vs. Cavaliers

Here, we’ll provide live updates on Zion Williamson’s stats in fantasy basketball and DFS in Pelicans vs. Cavaliers on Tuesday night. First, let’s preview the game for Zion and what to expect from the rookie.

Final fantasy basketball stat updates for Zion Williamson vs. Cavaliers

Update, 9:40 p.m. — It was another solid night for Zion for all intensive purposes. He played a career-high 30 minutes, scoring 14 points with nine boards, one assist and a steal for 28.75 FPTs. The Pelicans ran away with an easy win, so it was surprising that Williamson played this much. He had a poor fantasy outing, but everything else about his game looked fine.

New Orleans doesn’t play many back-to-back sets the rest of the season, so we’ll see if Gentry gets Zion some rest on heavier scheduling weeks. For now, I’d say Zion is a must-play on most nights in season-long fantasy basketball. In DFS, it’ll be more matchup based than anything and the script needs to be right.

Update, 9:11 p.m. — It appears Zion is done in the third quarter and is up to 10 points and six rebounds, shooting 5-10 from the floor. The Pelicans are cruising to an easy win over the Cavs, so I can’t imagine Williamson will play more than four minutes in the fourth quarter. Still, it’s encouraging to see Zion get this much playing time for a second straight game. It’s only a matter of time before this is consistent. At only 19 FPTs, Zion isn’t returning value on tonight’s slate on DraftKings, most likely.

Update: 8:32 p.m. — Zion checked back in to end the second quarter and is getting more run similar to Sunday. His stat line is now up to six points, six boards and an assist. At 16.25 fantasy points it’ll be difficult for Zion to return value at $7,200 on DraftKings, but we’ll see.

Update: 8:23 p.m. — We’re into the second quarter and Zion’s up to 13 minutes, so a little under the pace he had on Sunday against the Celtics. As far as production goes, it hasn’t been as fruitful. Zion has four points, four rebounds and one assist for 10.5 fantasy points.

Update, 7:57 p.m. — Zion is off to a very slow start against the Cavaliers. He’s scoreless through the first seven minutes, with just two rebounds. He only took one field goal, way less aggressive in the first than in the previous two games. The Pelicans are out to an early lead as well, so if this continues, we may not see 27 minutes out of Zion tonight.

We’re almost underway in Cleveland with Zion Williamson’s fourth NBA game and we’ll be tracking his performance throughout the night. Stick here for updates.

Zion Williamson Preview: Pelicans vs. Cavaliers

We’re off on the fourth official stop on the Zion Williamson World Tour! Tonight, we’re in Cleveland with the Pelicans taking on the Cavaliers. As you all may know by now, Williamson is back from knee surgery and coming off his best game in the NBA so far. Zion had 21 points and 11 boards in 27 minutes in an impressive win over the Celtics on Sunday. It was a season high minutes total, as Alvin Gentry finally let Zion loose against another team. We’ve seen what NOLA looks like at full strength, which doesn’t bode well for the Cavs heading into tonight.

Fantasy basketball analysis: New Orleans Pelicans PF Zion Williamson

In season-long fantasy basketball, there’s no reason to leave Zion on your bench any longer. He’s almost a must-play from here on out given the amount of minutes he saw Sunday. If that’s his ceiling, great, it’s all he’ll need to put in strong performances. If it’s just the tip of the iceberg, even better, we’ll start to see some ceiling games.

As for DFS on DraftKings, Zion is priced up to $7,200 for tonight’s slate. Last game, Zion’s price was down to $6,200 and he returned big value with 39.25 FPTs on 33.7% usage. When Zion is on the court, he generally is involved — his usage in his NBA debut was 41.6%. So at his highest price point so far, how do we proceed? I’m a bit skittish on playing Williamson tonight.

I think if the Pels go up big, Gentry will hold Zion back and only play him around 18-20 minutes. Granted, we’ve seen that’s all Zion needs to explode. Still, I’d consider him a risky play at this price. His ceiling is likely capped at around 35-40 FPTs, so there will be better spots for players priced cheaper. For comparison, Brandon Ingram is only $7,600 and will almost certainly play more minutes than Zion. Ingram also has an amazing matchup given his size at the 3. I would reserve Williamson strictly for GPPs — mostly low-ball contests incase he does pop a bit. His ownership percentage tonight should come in at its highest of his first four games.