NBA Player News

Garland got the rest night against Sacramento on Wednesday, but he will be back to complete a fully healthy lineup for Cleveland against Phoenix. Dean Wade scored 12 points as a starter on Wednesday but will return to playing a role off the bench.

Durant and Edwards inadvertently collided going for the ball, and Durant caught Edwards in the nose. After spending a couple of minutes on the ground, Edwards walked to the locker room. It’s unclear if he’ll return to the game. Nickeil Alexander-Walker should fill in for him while he’s out.

The Nuggets are without Jamal Murray for Friday’s game, but they are not going with the usual replacement in Friday’s starting lineup. Instead of Russell Westbrook, Watson will receive the starting nod. Being allowed to start raises Watson’s fantasy ceiling, but the lineup change may also result in a monster assist night for Jokic as the “point center.”

Horford has dealt with a sprained left big toe for a few weeks, but most of his absences have been due to the Celtics playing a back-to-back. That is not the case for Saturday, which is concerning, even if Boston is virtually locked into the two-seed in the East. If Horford cannot play, look for Luke Kornet to pick up additional minutes off the bench.

Murray’s absence likely means that Russell Westbrook will replace him in the starting lineup. Westy has averaged 16.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists across his last five starts.

The Nuggets listed Porter and Braun as probable on the initial injury report, so the status upgrades were expected. They will take on their usual roles as starters, joining Peyton Watson, Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon.

Jokic and Gordon were initially probable for Friday’s game, so the status upgrades were expected. They’ll occupy their usual places within the Nuggets’ starting lineup.

The big news for the Bucks is that Gainnis is back and will be in the starting lineup. However, there are two changes to the starting five, as Rollins will also start. As a result, Kevin Porter Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. will return to the bench. However, both still have streaming value as Damian Lillard (calf) remains out.

Unsurprisingly, Kessler will miss the second leg of Utah’s back-to-back set after landing on the injury report late on Friday afternoon. In his absence, Oscar Tshiebwe, KJ Martin and Kyle Filipowski should pick up the slack by committee.

Shannon has been downgraded from questionable to out, but his absence does not significantly impact fantasy basketball. The rookie’s minutes will likely be divided among Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaylen Clark.

The Knicks are already without Jalen Brunson, and Miles McBride and Cameron Payne are not available for Friday’s game, either. After not being in the rotation, Wright moves into the starting lineup, while Tyler Kolek will come off the bench. If the minutes are distributed evenly, Kolek offers a higher ceiling, especially for managers needing assists.