NBA Player News

After recording a complete but modest stat line in his return to the lineup on Wednesday, Ayton played 41 minutes without issue on Friday. He was efficient as a scorer and held his own on the glass against one of the NBA’s best rebounders, Domantas Sabonis. With Robert Williams (concussion) and Donovan Clingan (knee) sidelined, Ayton will get all the minutes he can handle. As long as he remains healthy, that’s excellent news for those who have him rostered.

Miller is back after a three-game absence, which is excellent news for the Hornets and fantasy managers. His return means fewer minutes for Cody Martin, who replaced Miller in the starting lineup. Even if Miller’s minutes are limited in his first game back, fantasy managers in most leagues won’t get much value from holding onto Martin.

Giddey continues to miss games after he suffered an ankle sprain last week. This will be his fourth missed game in a row since he rolled his ankle against the Raptors last week. Patrick Williams is likely to continue starting in Giddey’s absence, but he hasn’t provided much fantasy value this season.

When healthy, Garza and Nix aren’t in the Timberwolves’ rotation. Their absences will not impact fantasy basketball.

Ingles has a chance of appearing in a game for the first time since November 17. However, he was not guaranteed rotation minutes before the soleus strain, so fantasy managers should not expect too much from the veteran wing if he’s available on Friday.

Briefly considered questionable for Thursday’s game after initially being cleared to play, Larsson is officially set to play. He’ll be one of the wing options available to Erik Spoelstra, but the rookie should not be considered a “must-stream” player with Jimmy Butler sidelined.

Rozier will play after missing Monday’s game and initially being listed as questionable with a knee injury. It’s a positive development for the Heat as well as fantasy managers as they’ll be without superstar Jimmy Butler (conditioning) Thursday.

Williams’ availability does not impact fantasy basketball, as he is not in the rotation when healthy.

While Lively took a hard fall during Wednesday’s loss to the Timberwolves, that did not prevent him from playing 30 minutes as the starter. Daniel Gafford (13 minutes vs. Minnesota) will be in for more minutes if Lively cannot play, while Maxi Kleber’s playing time (23 MIN on Wednesday) will hold steady.

Initially listed as available for Thursday’s game, Larsson is now questionable. That doesn’t bode well for his availability, and the Heat are already without Jimmy Butler. Larsson’s absence alone doesn’t impact fantasy basketball, as Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are available.