NBA Player News

One day after returning from a hip injury, Morant is back on the shelf. This time, the reason is a left knee contusion. Scotty Pippen Jr. should return to the starting lineup, and Morant’s injury history is why managers who have Pippen rostered should hold onto him.

As expected, both stars will be back for this game. Mike Budenholzer didn’t give a number, but he said that they will manage their minutes, considering they’re both coming off of extended absences. Ryan Dunn and Royce O’Neale should return to playing roles off the bench for this game.

As expected, Johnson will be back for this game following a one-game absence. With Devin Vassell sidelined, Johnson should see plenty of shots off the bench, though he hasn’t been able to supply much value in other categories this season.

This will be a third straight absence for Conley, with Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each seeing starts over the last two games. DiVincenzo got the start in their last game, but both players should play extra minutes with Conley sidelined.

Ingles isn’t part of the team’s rotation when healthy, so his absence won’t impact fantasy basketball.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch, and Doc Rivers will roll out a smaller starting unit to match up better with Miami. Bobby Portis should still play a significant role off the bench, but Green may be able to provide a handful of 3-pointers as part of the starting unit.

Simmons was sidelined on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday, but he isn’t on the injury report for this game. The team was without Nic Claxton, Dorian Finney-Smith and Noah Clowney as well on Monday, though Claxton and DFS are questionable against Phoenix. Simmons’ return will at least give them a center option, though the availability of Claxton and DFS would also help bring some normalcy to the lineup.

Claxton and DFS missed Monday’s game, while Johnson exited early with an ankle injury. All three players’ status is up in the air, which will have a big impact on the team’s rotation. Ben Simmons will be back after sitting out the second night of a back-to-back, and both Jalen Wilson and Ziaire Williams are coming off big nights as starters. Keep an eye on the injury report, because the status of these three players will have a huge riiple effect on the team’s rotation.

Clowney will miss a second straight game, which should open up some extra minutes off the bench for Trendon Watford. However, he isn’t a player to consider streaming in any format.

Thomas logged 23 minutes on Monday despite an early exit on Sunday because of the back injury. He exited during the third quarter on Monday after appearing to aggravate the injury, and now it will hold him out of this game. Keon Johnson and Tyrese Martin should see some extra minutes in Thomas’ absence, but they won’t be worth streaming on a day with 14 games.

Green still hasn’t missed a game this season and will have a chance to bounce back in this one after only scoring 10 points in their previous game on Saturday.