NBA Player News

This is a tricky situation with Tony Wroten (knee) and Kendall Marshall (knee) both recovering from January ACL tears. If both of those two are even close to a go, that would likely mean Pierre Jackson, Isaiah Canaan, Scottie Wilbekin and T.J. McConnell are fighting for one spot. While Pierre was wonderful in the D-League back in 2014, he wasn’t quite the same player at Summer League. Canaan is probably the favorite right now.

James made more history in Saturday’s series opener, passing John Stockton to become the oldest player in league history to dish out at least 10 assists in a playoff game. LeBron made a concerted effort to get his teammates going, and the result was a more confident group with all five starters scoring at least 14 points. With it unknown when Luka Dončić (hamstring) or Austin Reaves (oblique) will be healthy enough to play, LeBron will continue to shoulder most of the playmaking responsibilities.

With no Luka Dončić (hamstring) or Austin Reaves (oblique), the Lakers were going to need more production from Kennard in Saturday’s playoff opener. The veteran sharpshooter answered the call, making all five of his three-point attempts and scoring a playoff career-high 27 points. Kennard also shot 50 percent from inside the arc in one of his best performances of the season. The Lakers will need a similar performance from Kennard in Game 2 on Tuesday.

Among the most improved players in the NBA this season, Alexander-Walker struggled in his Hawks postseason debut on Saturday. He shot 3-of-9 from two and wasn’t much better from beyond the arc while offering limited value in the other categories of importance. Given how well Alexander-Walker played throughout the season, nights like Saturday have not been the norm. He’ll look to improve his shooting efficiency in Game 2 on Monday.

After scoring 29 points in his final appearance of the regular season, McCollum got his 2026 postseason off to a good start with another efficient effort on Saturday. The veteran guard shot 55 percent from the field overall and 4-of-9 from three-point range. However, McCollum will need to clean up the turnovers, as he was responsible for five. The Hawks will look to even the series at one game apiece when they visit the Knicks again on Monday.