NBA Player News

The injuries have piled up for the Pelicans early on this season, and Hawkins just makes the list longer. Brandon Boston Jr. finished with 14/5/4 in 30 minutes off the bench in their last game and could slide into the starting unit in place of Hawkins.

In the past, Scotty Pippen Jr. was the choice to step into the starting lineup when Ja Morant was injured. That isn’t the case on Friday, as Kennard receives the starting nod. The promotion boosts his fantasy value, while Pippen misses out. That’s the lone change to the Grizzlies’ starting lineup.

Wagner has been sidelined since December 6. His injury listing was recently changed from “torn right oblique” to “return to competition conditioning.” He’s been doing individual on-court work, most recently going through an extended workout following Orlando’s pregame shootaround on Friday. Tristan da Silva will remain a starter until Wagner is cleared to return.

Saturday’s game will be the third straight missed by Landale. He hasn’t been a consistent rotation member when available, so the Rockets center’s continued absence will not impact fantasy basketball.

Morant will not play on Friday, which opens up a spot in the Grizzlies’ starting lineup. Scotty Pippen Jr. will fill the void and is worth slotting into fantasy lineups.

VanVleet was not with the Rockets for Thursday’s loss to the Kings, but his absence from the injury report means he’ll be available on Saturday. Jeff Green will return to the bench after starting and playing 23 minutes on Thursday.

Johnson is set to miss another game after he missed Wednesday’s game against the Clippers with an ankle injury. Theoretically, Noah Clowney, Ziaire Williams and Jalen Wilson could all benefit from Johnson’s absence, but the Nets are having a difficult time even keeping games relatively close with Johnson out of the lineup.

Listed as questionable on the initial injury report, Morant appears more likely not to play against the Spurs. If he doesn’t play, Scotty Pippen Jr. will be the replacement in the starting lineup, and he’s worth streaming whenever Morant is inactive.

The Thunder won’t have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Friday’s game, as the MVP candidate is out with a sore right wrist. Wiggins replaces him in the starting lineup, with Wallace shifting into the point guard role. Wiggins is worth streaming in this spot, as are Wallace and Isaiah Joe.

A late addition to the Thunder injury report, Gilgeous-Alexander will not play against the Mavericks. His absence means Cason Wallace shifts to the lead guard position, with Aaron Wiggins moving into the starting lineup. Both players are worth streaming in this spot, as is Isaiah Joe.

Grant has missed Portland’s last nine games with the facial contusion, but he may return on Saturday. If Grant can play, Scoot Henderson will likely head to the bench. However, this should not do too much damage to Henderson’s value, as he will play quality minutes off the bench.