NBA Player News

Oliver looked pretty good in his limited run and the Rockets lost Danuel House tonight. As long as Christian Wood is out, Oliver is going to have a role down the stretch for the short-handed Rockets. Give him a look.

The Rockets will already be without Steven Adams, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Tari Eason, so losing Sengun would make them desperately short on big men. Of course, the Hawks will also be without their starting center, Onyeka Okongwu, so both teams could go with smaller lineups. Clint Capela would be in line to start if Sengun misses this game.

Risacher hasn’t played since January 7th, but he does appear close to returning. In his absence, Corey Kispert and Luke Kennard should continue to play 20+ minutes.

Johnson played 33 minutes in Wednesday night’s game against the Celtics and didn’t seem to suffer an injury, so this could be generic wear and tear. That being said, missing Johnson, who has emerged as a legit star this season, would be a big loss for the Hawks. Corey Kispert and Luke Kennard would likely see more minutes, with Nickiel Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels getting an uptick in usage.

Okongwu took an elbow to the face in Wednesday’s game against the Celtics and was left with a bloody mouth and fractured teeth. He had a procedure done on Thursday and will be held out for at least this game. Christian Koloko and Mouhamed Gueye figure to see an increase in minutes, but the usage should still run through the Hawks’ main playmakers.

Eason played 25 minutes in Wednesday’s game against the Spurs, but the plan was always to sit him for the second leg of the back-to-back. With Dorian Finney-Smith also sitting out, there should be extra minutes for Clint Capela and maybe even Jae’Sean Tate.

Westbrook tweaked his foot in the final minutes of Tuesday’s loss to the Knicks. He was able to finish the game but was limping around on the court. With Westbrook out of the lineup, Dennis Schröder will likely start in his place with Keon Ellis playing more minutes as well, but DeMar DeRozan should see the biggest uptick in usage.

Anthony had 10 points in 14 minutes on Tuesday. With Gary Harris (hamstring) already ruled out for Thursday’s game, Gary Trent Jr. could be in for a decent workload off the bench.

Harris is only averaging 17 minutes per game over the team’s last five games, even though he has filled in as a starter at times. His absence could mean more minutes for Gary Trent Jr.

Finney-Smith played 19 scoreless minutes in yesterday’s game against the Spurs, but it was always the plan for him to then sit on Thursday with the Rockets being cautious about his ankle injury. DFS should get more minutes with Steven Adams out for the season, but he doesn’t have much fantasy value.

Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon during Game 4 of the Celtics’ second-round series against the Knicks last May. Given the reports out of Boston and some of the videos, it appeared that there was a good chance that Tatum would try to come back before the end of the regular season. However, that may not be the path he takes, with the star forward now re-evaluating his options. Given how well the Celtics have played this season, that may be one of the factors that Tatum is considering. Fantasy managers who have been stashing Tatum in an IL spot can hold onto him for now, but be ready to pivot.