NBA Player News

Cunningham’s triple-double was the fourth of his career and first time in his career with consecutive games with a triple-double. The 23-year-old has taken on a huge role with Pistons as his usage remains off the charts. Cunningham wasn’t particularly efficient scoring against the Hornets as he had 20 points on 23 shots and went 0-for-4 from behind the 3-point line. The Pistons have two more games this week as they face the Hawks on Friday and the Rockets on Sunday.

Kleber started the second half of their last game after PJ Washington (knee) exited early. Both Kleber and Washington are questionable for this game, so if both are sidelined, there would be a starting spot open, which would likely be filled by Quentin Grimes, who had 17 points in 30 minutes off the bench in their last game.

Injured during Tuesday’s win over the Lakers, Merrill exited and did not return. He appears likely to sit out Friday’s game in Dallas, with Sam Merrill likely to absorb most of the minutes that would have gone to Merrill. Strus isn’t a must-roster right now, but that will change once he’s no longer under any restrictions.

Harden will miss a game for just the second time this season, and in his first absence, Kevin Porter Jr. got the start in his place. KPJ should fill that void again, with Kris Dunn and Bones Hyland also seeing extra minutes as the primary playmakers.

Clowney’s status downgrade is unsurprising, as he fell hard during Wednesday’s loss to the Raptors. With Ben Simmons also out, Jalen Wilson should play more minutes, likely as a starter. Wilson is worth streaming in deep leagues due to the absences.

McBride was a late scratch for Wednesday’s win over the Jazz, resulting in Cameron Payne filling in for the injured Jalen Brunson. If Deuce can play but Burnson cannot, he should be given the opportunity to start.

During the first half of Wednesday’s matchup with Houston, Washington injured his knee and wasn’t able to return. He may be back for their matchup with Cleveland on Friday, but if he isn’t able to suit up, Maxi Kleber should start in his place after filling his role to start the second half against the Rockets.

Brunson missed Wednesday’s win over the Jazz. With Miles McBride (hamstring) also out, Cameron Payne started at point guard, and Tyler Kolek logged rotation minutes off the bench. If Brunson cannot play against the Thunder, expect a similar setup.

Eason has been questionable ahead of their last few games, so the downgrade to doubtful ahead of this one is discouraging. It’s unclear how much longer he’ll be sidelined, but Cam Whitmore should continue to thrive off the bench until that happens.

While Green has earned consistent rotation minutes, he’s been more important to the Bucks than to fantasy managers. His absence frees up additional minutes for Andre Jackson Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. The latter offers a higher fantasy ceiling due to his superior offensive production.

As expected, Giannis will suit up in this game. He logged 35 minutes in their last game after missing their previous four games due to an illness and should put up a massive stat line once again in this game.