NBA Player News

The story of Game 1 for the Bucks was the supporting cast letting down Giannis Antetokounmpo with Damian Lillard sidelined. No one was a bigger letdown than Kuzma, the Bucks’ trade deadline acquisition, who failed to record any stats in his 22 minutes. Kuzma was a living embodiment of the Tony Snell meme in Game 1 as the Bucks lost by nine. He’ll look to turn things around over the rest of the series, though overall he certainly hasn’t been as impactful as the Bucks imagined when he was acquired.

Despite being limited to non-contact work during Tuesday’s practice, there’s a chance that Isaac is available for the first time in a month. While having another option to call on in the frontcourt would help the Magic, Isaac’s unlikely to have a major impact, given the time missed.

While Howard did not go through any contact work during Tuesday’s practice, his status has been upgraded to questionable. He’s been out since April 3, and a return to action would have minimal impact on Orlando’s wing rotation, so don’t expect too much from Howard if he’s available.

Jackson has been out since spraining his ankle during a March 27 win over the Pacers, leaving the Clippers without a legitimate backup center. John Collins has filled the void in Jackson’s absence and would continue to do so if he can’t return for Wednesday’s Play-In Tournament game against the Warriors.

Howard and Isaac have made progress in their respective recoveries, but neither has reached the point where they’ll be available for games. Given the lack of contact during Tuesday’s practice, the Magic may not have either player at their disposal until the playoffs if Orlando qualifies. Both are out for Wednesday’s Play-In Tournament game against the 76ers.

Larsson is good to go after being listed as questionable on the injury report initially released by the Heat on Monday evening. He’ll figure prominently in the Heat wing rotation, whether he starts or comes off the bench. In four games against the Hornets during the regular season, Larsson averaged 15.3 points on 55.6 percent shooting from the field.

Kerr made the comments following Sunday’s regular-season finale, a loss to the Clippers in the first of two meetings between the teams over four days. None will surpass 40 minutes, but the question is how far beyond 30 minutes the veterans will go. Curry’s 29 minutes on Sunday were the most for him since returning from a case of runner’s knee, and Porziņǵis has logged 29 minutes just twice since joining the Warriors. As for Horford, he has exceeded 30 minutes just twice this season, most recently March 10 against the Bulls.

Allen suffered a left hamstring injury during Friday’s loss to the Lakers and hasn’t played since. The 30-year-old small forward was replaced in the lineup by Royce O’Neale, which could be the case again if Allen is ruled out on Tuesday.

Grant hasn’t played since March 27 as he’s dealt with a calf strain. The 32-year-old power forward is questionable, which at least gives him a chance of suiting up for Tuesday’s game against the Suns. If Grant is out again, Scoot Henderson should start again for the Trail Blazers.

Larsson is listed as questionable with a right lower leg contusion. Nikola Jovic (ankle) and Dru Smith (foot) are out, but otherwise the Heat have a healthy roster heading into the Play-In Tournament.

Borrego was 24-46 as interim head coach after taking over for Willie Green, who was fired last November. Prior to that, Borrego was the associate head coach under Green and he previously spent four years as the Hornets head coach, going 138-163 with no playoff appearances. While Borrego will be included in the search for a new Pelicans head coach, he seems like a long shot to land the job. He had plenty of time to make an impression this season and the Pelicans were more than 20 games below .500 on his watch.