John

Butler

Butler hasn’t played in the NBA since his stint with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022-23 and spent last season with the Capital City Go-Go. Funk, on the other hand, played for the Maine Celtics. Neither player is likely to be a significant fantasy player in 2024-25.

Reddish has missed their last five games, while Eubanks hasn’t missed a game since December. If he’s back in the lineup, Reddish should play a large enough role to be worth streaming. If Eubanks were to miss this game, John Butler Jr. would likely start at center. We’ll see who Portland clears to play, since they haven’t been shy about leaving guys out.

Despite being cleared to play in Thursday’s game, Knox was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie John Butler Jr. While he didn’t score as much as the former Knicks’ first-round pick, Butler did record a full line, finishing with 12 points, two rebounds, four assists, two steals, three blocks, and two 3-pointers in 37 minutes. Thursday’s performance was a good one for Knox, who’s still looking to establish himself as a pro, but there are no guarantees for Portland’s last two games, given how the injury report has been handled. Fantasy managers should expect to see the aforementioned Butler play plenty over the weekend, and the same can be said for Jeenathan Williams (16/5/4 in 32 minutes).

While Kevin Knox has been cleared to play in Thursday’s game, he’ll come off the bench with Butler making his first career start. Knox will still have value coming off the bench due to how shorthanded Portland is, but he does lose some luster. Mays, Watford, Williams, and Eubanks all started Tuesday’s loss to Memphis.

While he was cleared for Sunday’s game against the Timberwolves, Watford was held out of Tuesday’s loss against Memphis. His absence led to Kevin Knox moving into the starting lineup, but he’s also questionable for Thursday’s game. Should both sit, John Butler would likely be the next man up, with Justin Minaya’s minutes increasing as well.

Knox should slide into the starting unit with Matisse Thybulle and Trendon Watford ruled out for this game. He should play a large role, which should allow him to provide rebounds and 3-pointers. Butler should play a large role and could be in line for a starting nod.

Butler has played a decent role for Portland lately, but it hasn’t led to much fantasy production. However, he has still played enough for those minutes to need to be allocated elsewhere, which means that Jabari Walker and Trendon Watford could see center minutes in a small lineup when Drew Eubanks is off the floor if Butler can’t play in this game.

Butler played 18 minutes off the bench before suffering the ankle injury, accounting for five points, one rebound, and one 3-pointer. Under normal circumstances, an absence beyond Sunday would not impact the Blazers or fantasy basketball. But Portland has pulled the plug on this season, so the injury would mean that Butler misses out on valuable opportunities to prove himself if he’s sidelined beyond Sunday.

Butler isn’t in the rotation most nights when healthy, so his absence will not impact fantasy basketball.

Butler, a rookie on a two-way contract, is not in the rotation most nights. His absence will not impact fantasy basketball.