NBA Player News

Mobley got off to a blazing hot start to this game, but he wasn’t able to build off of it in the second half. He entered halftime with 28 points and five 3-pointers, which was the highest-scoring half of his career. He also set a new career-high for triples before halftime, since his previous career-high was three. Of course, he also topped his previous career-high of 38 points. This was the best offensive performance of Mobley’s career, and he was still able to get double digit rebounds and multiple blocks. His emergence has been instrumental in helping Cleveland get off to a 20-3 start.

Butler was initially listed as doubtful for Thursday after missing the last two Heat games with a stomach illness. Haywood Highsmith started the last game in Butler’s place. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Duncan Robinson could also start and garner streaming consideration in Butler’s absence.

Porzingis injured his ankle during the first half of Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers and did not return after halftime. If he cannot play on Friday, who starts will also depend on the availability of Jrue Holiday (shoulder). Al Horford is the first man up to fill the void left by any of Boston’s usual starters. If both Porzingis and Holiday sit on Friday, Luke Kornet (who started the third quarter on Wednesday) would also be in the mix for a start.

Holiday missed Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers with the same injury. It was his first missed game since early December when he dealt with a knee injury. The 34-year-old point guard’s potential absence would lead to additional minutes for sixth man Payton Pritchard.

Carter, the 13th overall pick in last summer’s draft, has yet to appear in a game this season due to a torn labrum in his shoulder. He’s now officially cleared to play, but it is unknown when Carter will make his Kings debut. The first step will be to send him to the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton, California, for additional reps. Fantasy managers don’t need to add him immediately, but Carter is worth tracking due to Sacramento’s lack of consistent bench production.

No surprise here as despite a questionable designation on the initial injury report, this will be Harris’ 13th missed game in a row. His status doesn’t impact fantasy basketball much at all, but Orlando could certainly use another body while Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are out.

Butler has been the focus of trade rumors recently, with the veteran forward holding a player option for next season worth a little over $52 million. The Heat have not moved to extend his deal, and multiple Western Conference teams are rumored to be interested in acquiring Butler. On Thursday, Riley took a step to quell the rumors, making it clear that Miami has no intention of trading Butler. “We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear -- we are not trading Jimmy Butler,” Riley said in a statement released by the Heat.

Murphy has been a consistent contributor since working his way back from a hamstring injury. He’s scored at least 21 points in four of his previous five outings and will continue to be a focal point on offense if given a full workload against Houston.

Collins will miss his second straight contest on Thursday while George will miss his third. Clarkson is new to the injury report after appearing in five straight games. Micah Potter and Svi Mykhailiuk are among the players who could get spot starts. Isaiah Collier has a chance to take on a larger reserve role.

Sarr and Coulibaly will return from one-game absences on Thursday. Carrington, on the other hand, hasn’t missed a game in his first NBA campaign. The Wizards’ rotation should return to how it’s run without Kyle Kuzma so far this season.

Sabonis has been dealing with an illness and is in danger of missing Thursday’s game. Trey Lyles started in the two games Sabonis has missed this season and will be in for a larger workload if he misses a third.