And it’s just at the right time…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that trying to stash injured players in fantasy leagues over the course of a season is very rarely worth it. It’s a great strategy on paper – use one of your IL slots on a great player who you can get at a discount because they’re slated to miss a giant chunk of the year – and voi’la, your team will have a big leg up on everyone when that great player returns. But things rarely go that smoothly. For one thing, the odds you’ll never have to max out your IL slots over the course of the season is extremely low, which means that whenever you stash a player, you’re going to have less mobility to keep other injured players than everyone else in your league, which can potentially lead to you having to drop someone who you maybe shouldn’t. For another, even when great players do return, they’re routinely not themselves anyway because of how long they’d been forced to sit out, not to mention that they’re often highly susceptible to getting injured again, as they’d already demonstrated by getting hurt in the first place.
And then, sometimes, you get what Jayson Tatum is doing.
The Celtics superstar, after months and months of encouraging but nonetheless un-definitive progress reports, shockingly not only returned to the Celtics’ starting lineup this month but came back without even a minutes restriction and has only missed one game since being activated. And Tatum, in spite of his understandable rust, has looked strong through his first eight games of the season. He put up 16 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday and is averaging 19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists on the average.
After missing as much time as he did, it’d be unreasonable to expect Tatum to play as well as he had been prior to getting hurt, and sure enough his numbers are the weakest they’ve been in six year. But so what? Jayson Tatum is not only back but is a consistent fantasy asset! It’s pretty incredible. And it’s especially amazing because he was widely available in fantasy leagues barely even a month ago, as it wasn’t a sure thing that he was actually going to return this season. And if you’d had the presence of mind to stash him, you now have an extra All-Star on your fantasy roster who you might not have even needed to stash for more than a couple month, and you’ve gotten him back right at the most important time of the year, when you can deploy him during the fantasy playoffs. It’s one of the greatest examples I’ve ever seen of how stashing a player can actually work out beautifully, and if you happen to have Tatum on your team right now… bravo.
Other notes from the fantasy weekend:
Peyton Watson made his return to the Nuggets lineup on Sunday, producing 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 20 minutes. With the Nuggets at last being healthy, there isn’t room for Watson to get starter’s minutes anymore, which is a big cap on his fantasy potential. But he should still get around 25 minutes a night, which isn’t terrible. He’s likely a fringe player to roster the rest of the way.
Cam Johnson put in 19 points and 5 threes in 28 minutes against the Blazers. Between injuries and inconsistent play, it’s been a pretty disappointing year for Johnson. But he’s coming on strong at the right time, with at least 15 points in six of his last seven games while being a nice source of threes.
Bilal Coulibaly stuffed the stat sheet on Sunday, with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 2 assists in 29 minutes. Coulibaly can be a frustrating player to roster because he not only gets hurt all the time but can be a very inconsistent shooter, but he’s been playing by far his best basketball of the season this month. There are only a handful of players in the NBA capable of putting up as wide an array of stats as Coulibaly when he’s rolling like this, which makes him an excellent player to add on the scant chance he’s still available in your league right now.
Mitchell Robinson had 10 points and 10 rebounds versus the Wizards. He continues to be a worthwhile stream for anyone needing rebounding help, as he has double-digit rebounds in five of his last six games.
Ace Bailey continued his great play of late, with 25 points, 7 assists, 5 blocks, 4 assists and 4 threes in 33 minutes. He’s averaging 19.4 points per game this month, and while that’s been aided by a slew of injuries, he’s showing that he’s fully capable of being a fantasy monster in the coming years.
VJ Edgecombe was terrific on Saturday, with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists in 39 minutes. With the holy trinity of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George all out, Edgecombe’s usage has skyrocketed lately, and in his previous game he had a mammoth stat line of 38 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds. With the Sixers struggling to even field a healthy lineup, Edgecome should continue to be a gargantuan difference-maker for fantasy rosters from here on out.
Sam Merrill had one of his best games of the year on Saturday, notching 15 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes at New Orleans. Merill’s minutes are up, which is nice, but his scoring is down in March. He’s best served as a streamer more than anything, as he hasn’t scored 20 points in a game in almost a month and offers minimal production elsewhere.
Saddiq Bey had 19 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 36 minutes on Saturday. Despite being on a team with Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Derik Queen, Bey has been one of the biggest fantasy surprises of the 2026 season, with a career-high scoring average of 17.4 points per game.
Darius Garland is living his best life in Los Angeles right now. The point guard poured in 41 points and 11 assists in an OT win against the Mavs, and he’s now averaging 22.6 points and 7.6 assists per game since joining the Clippers this month. So long as he’s able to stay healthy (which isn’t a given if you know anything about Garland), he should continue to be a fantasy standout the rest of the way.
Bam Adebayo had another monster night this weekend, with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 4 assists against the Rockets. He’s having a truly stellar month of March, with averages of 30.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.1 steals, 2.1 threes and 0.9 blocks. He’s absolutely winning a lot of people their fantasy leagues right now.
