NBA Player News

Edwards is in a slump at the worst possible time, shooting 18-of-57 from the field in his last three games. While the first of this downturn in production was Minnesota’s Game 7 victory over Denver, his inefficiency has been problematic against Dallas. His saving grace in Game 2 was the foul line, with Ant-Man making nine of his 10 attempts. While Edwards has undoubtedly looked ready for the bright lights numerous times, there’s still room for growth. The first two games of the Western Conference Finals have been a painful reminder for him and the Timberwolves. Game 2 is on Sunday in Dallas.

Murray is good to go for Friday’s game, which was the expectation after he was listed as probable on the initial injury report. He’ll retain his spot in the starting lineup, with Russell Westbrook coming off the bench.

Eason was not in uniform during pregame warmups, but the Rockets waited until during the announcement of the starting lineup to rule him out. Cam Whitmore will remain in the bench rotation for another game and can explode offensively.

Banton has missed three of their last four games, but his role when healthy is much smaller than it was earlier in the year. Scoot Henderson should play a few extra minutes off the bench if Banton is sidelined again.

Williams missed Portland’s last two games, and his absence cleared up the center rotation. Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan have played all the minutes, with the former getting his usual allotment as the starter. If Williams plays, all three should be in the rotation.

Eason hasn’t officially been ruled out, but he is operating like a player that isn’t going to be cleared to play in this game. Cam Whitmore should once again play a significant role off the bench after scoring 27 points in their last game.

Camara sprained his right foot in early December but did not miss any game time. Hopefully, that will be the case this time around as well. If not, Kris Murray may take on a more prominent role after playing seven minutes in Thursday’s win over Utah.

Hood-Schifino remains without a timeline for return. He isn’t in the rotation when healthy, so this does not impact fantasy basketball.

Wade will be back after missing their last game, which should result in Sam Merrill being pushed back to the bench. Merrill started and knocked down six 3-pointers as a starter, but he won’t be worth streaming as a reserve. However, if Merrill remains in the starting unit despite Wade’s return, then he will have some streaming upside.

James and Hachimura logged heavy minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Warriors, especially after Anthony Davis exited with a sprained ankle. Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish would pick up more minutes if either James or Hachimura cannot play on Saturday.

Hayes has been sidelined for about a month, and he has only played once since November 10th. If he is able to make his return in this game, he should replace Christian Koloko as the backup center. However, as long as Anthony Davis is healthy, Hayes won’t play enough to impact fantasy basketball.