Brandon Ingram drives the Pelicans early, Derek White answers with a scorching triple, and Payton Pritchard threads a backdoor sequence, highlighting Boston's guard depth and clockwork timing. The burst sets the tone for a fast, spacing-forward game that tests New Orleans' ability to respond to shoot-and-drive pressure.

Fantasy takeaway: White's shooting volume lifts his ceiling in 3-pointers and efficiency; Ingram remains the primary Pelicans scorer, while Pritchard's bursts offer streaming upside in deeper leagues when matchups favor guard-heavy lineups.

Season 4 of Gills Arena dives into a summer of seismic NBA shifts. Giannis keeps the Bucks’ title hopes alive with a commitment that keeps the core intact even as Milwaukee adds Miles Turner and brings in brothers to stabilize the locker room, while the East remains wide open. In the West, Luka Doncic headlines a Lakers retool, sharing ball-handling duties with LeBron as Houston adds Kevin Durant to a young, hungry roster. Deandre Ayton anchors the Lakers’ frontcourt, and Russell Westbrook lands with the Kings, reshaping late-game dynamics. The chatter blends star power, fit, and the buried question—can any of these configurations translate to fantasy dominance?

Denver edged Chicago 124-117 in a fast-paced preseason clash where the Bulls showed defensive leakage and continuity gaps as they work to establish an identity. Chicago’s foul trouble and the Nuggets’ interior finishing kept the margin wide, underscoring questions about rim protection and discipline even as young talent flashed promise.

Matas Buzelis anchored the Bulls’ future, dropping 20 points and swatting five shots, signaling two-way upside and a potential defensive backbone as he grows into the NBA pace. Josh Giddy delivered a stat-stuffing performance for Oklahoma City, while veteran frontcourt pieces and bench players kept Chicago competitive late, highlighting growth areas and the pace of development ahead of the regular season.

On the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic’s limitations were highlighted against Denver’s bigs, even as Patrick Williams and Zack Collins offered bright spots from the bench. Ayo Dosunmu and Dalen Terry showed flashes of the role players Chicago hopes to lean on, with Terry in particular emblematic of the guard depth the team will rely on as it tightens rotations for the opening grind. Upcoming finale vs Minnesota looms as the last live tune-up before the real grind begins.

Kada drops to the helper position, reading the play and denying easy cuts while White orchestrates the reset and threads a clean ball to Nimi sprinting the floor. The sequence crystallizes how disciplined defense fuels quick chances, feeding the break and setting up simple scoring looks.

From a fantasy lens, this trio offers a blueprint: defensive glue that creates peripherals, a playmaker who unlocks transition, and a floor-runner who capitalizes on the extra possession. In upcoming matchups with cutters-heavy offenses, their roles could translate into steady fantasy impact beyond traditional scoring.