NBA Player News

Williams is available to play after being listed as questionable on the initial injury report. He’ll take on the starting center responsibilities, with Nick Richards and Moussa Diabate playing rotation minutes off the bench.

Anunoby will shake off a questionable tag and take the court following his 29-point performance in Tuesday’s loss to Golden State. Robinson will come off the bench after making his first start of the season in place of Karl-Anthony Towns on Wednesday. Robinson has averaged just 13.3 minutes across three games for New York this season, and he’ll likely be on a strict minutes limit for at little while longer.

Achiuwa won’t suit up for the first night of New York’s back-to-back in Los Angeles. However, with both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson available, Achiuwa may not have had a large role regardless. If Robinson sits out the second night of this back-to-back, Achiuwa could be part of the rotation on Friday, though in a limited capacity.

Podz was initially deemed questionable to return to this game due to lower back soreness. He was only able to play the first minute of the game before exiting. Gui Santos started the second half in his place, though Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II should also see a bump in minutes with Podz out.

Both of the Lakers’ superstars were listed as probable once again, so their availability doesn’t come as a surprise. They will look to guide the Lakers to an eighth-straight on Thursday after combining for 64 points and 21 assists on Tuesday.

Reaves missed the Lakers’ two previous games, but he will be back to take on New York. His return should push Gabe Vincent back to the bench after averaging 30 minutes across two unproductive starts.

Leonard sat out the second leg of Los Angeles’ back-to-back set on Wednesday, but he’ll be back in action to face New York on Friday. Expect Leonard to handle his normal workload.

Jones Jr. will be back after a three-game absence. Kris Dunn and Bogdan Bogdanovic have both been starting recently, but there is a chance that DJJ replaces one of them as part of the opening group. If Jones Jr. comes off the bench, he will likely take away minutes from both Dunn and Bogdanovic.

This will be a fourth-straight absence for Simmons, which is disappointing, since his tenure with the Clippers seemed promising after his first game with them. Hopefully Simmons won’t be out much longer, but Amir Coffey will continue to fill out extra minutes until he returns.

Monk will miss a second-straight game with this toe injury, which should result in another start for Keon Ellis. As a starter on Wednesday, Ellis finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks and one three-pointer in 39 minutes. He should be considered a high-priority streaming option until Monk is back.

This will be a sixth-straight absence for Bassey, and there is no end in sight. Bismack Biyombo will continue to start at center for San Antonio. With Victor Wembanyama sidelined for the rest of the season, Bassey figures to play a significant role when he gets healthy. However, it’s unclear when he’ll be back, so he isn’t worth stashing.