NBA Player News

George was a full participant in Friday’s practice, while Caleb Martin was a partial participant. Both are trending in the right direction ahead of Saturday’s tilt with Detroit, but if they are unable to go, expect Philly to keep rolling with its starting five of Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre, Jared McCain, Guerschon Yabusele and Andre Drummond. Yabusele has been productive in three straight starts and should be rostered in leagues of most sizes. Embiid still has no timeline for recovery, and Saturday will mark his 14th absence in 18 games to kick off the 2024-25 campaign. The Sixers are 3-14 and own the second-worst record in the Association, only one game ahead of the lowly Washington Wizards.

Finney-Smith will miss his third game in the last four games. Keon Johnson and Jalen Wilson are the two potential benefactors in Friday’s game against the Magic with Finney-Smith out.

Johnson was forced to exit early two games ago due to this ankle injury, but he will play through it for a second straight game. Johnson should continue to start and play a significant role as the Nets look to win their fourth straight game.

Terry will play rotation minutes on Friday, but it’s not likely to be enough to make him fantasy-relevant. Leave him on the waiver wire.

White is coming off a down game against the Magic Wednesday when he had just nine points and went 3-of-10 from the field. His availability is crucial if the Bulls have any chance of keeping up with the Celtics. White is providing sixth round value in fantasy so far this season.

Smith missed Wednesday’s game against Orlando, but he’ll be back to filling out the backup center minutes behind Nikola Vucevic. E.J. Liddell logged 17 minutes against the Magic, but he will likely be pushed out of the rotation with Smith back.

Robinson is available after the Heat listed his probable on the initial injury report. While capable of providing points and 3-pointers, he hasn’t done enough to merit being rostered in most fantasy leagues.

As expected, Butler has been cleared to play in this game despite an early exit from their last one. Prior to Wednesday’s game, Butler had been on a tear over their three previous games. He should get back to that in this one.

Rozier struggled in Wednesday’s game against the Hornets, but will continue to play through his foot issue. He scored 17 points off the bench against the Bucks in his return Tuesday. Duncan Robinson is also available to play Friday, though he could find himself on the bench soon enough with Rozier back.

Kornet missed Boston’s last two games, but he’ll be back on the floor for Friday’s game against the Bulls. His return will cut into Neemias Queta’s minutes, which increased in his absence. With Al Horford available, Kornet doesn’t have much fantasy value.

Powell will miss a sixth straight game, which should allow Amir Coffey to get another start. Coffey hasn’t been productive over his last three starts, but he should continue to play a significant role in place of Powell.