NBA Player News

Marks’ extension reportedly came after Kevin Durant requested a trade. For now, Marks will be the GM of the Nets, even though he’s made the moves behind the rise and fall of one of the most star-heavy teams of all time. Marks will now be faced with another tall task: navigating Durant’s trade request, which could go down as one of the biggest deals ever if it happens. He’ll also deal with the constant cloud of uncertainty that surrounds Kyrie Irving, as well as the return of Ben Simmons. Brooklyn has a lot of questions that need answering, and they trust Marks to make them.

Brown is dealing with multiple lower-body injuries and will not play on Friday. Baylor Scheierman was the replacement the last time that Brown missed a game, playing 20 minutes in a January 12 loss to the Pacers. Scheierman is not a must-stream player in most fantasy leagues.

Friday’s game is the second in as many nights for the Wizards, who beat the Bucks on Thursday. So, it’s unsurprising that Middleton won’t be available. Will Riley was the replacement for the most recent game that the veteran forward missed, and that may also be the case on Friday. Riley isn’t a must-stream, but he is worth watching ahead of the post-trade deadline portion of the schedule.

Johnson sprained his left ankle during the second quarter of Thursday’s win over the Bucks. Bub Carrington replaced him in the lineup to begin the third quarter, potentially a sign that he’ll be the replacement on Friday. If so, Carrington is worth streaming in deep leagues.

Friday’s game will be the fifth that Bagley has missed with a thoracic strain. Alex Sarr is absent from the injury report, so he’ll log heavy minutes as the starter.

Love will miss a second consecutive game, this one due to illness after resting on Wednesday. The Jazz won’t have Jusuf Nurkić (illness) either, so expect a heavy dose of Kyle Filipowski.

Nurkić was initially questionable for Friday’s game. With Kevin Love (illness) also out, the Jazz will likely turn to Kyle Filipowski to serve as the starting center. Given the lack of depth, he would be worth rostering.

McBride is on track to miss a second consecutive game due to left ankle injury management. He sprained the ankle in early December, which cost the Knicks’ guard three weeks. Landry Shamet and Tyler Kolek can absorb some of the minutes that would have gone to McBride, with both playing at least 20 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Raptors.

Initially questionable for Friday’s game, Hart is on track to be available. He logged 35 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Raptors and will likely take on a similar workload against Portland.

Allen has started the last three games for the Suns, and he was able to supply some scoring. Typically, most of his production has come from beyond the arc, but he has been able to get it done at the free throw line recently. His 10 free throws in this game were the second most of his career, and four days prior to this, he hit nine shots at the charity stripe, which was the third-highest total in a game in his career. Allen should continue to start for the shorthanded Suns and should remain productive against the Cavaliers on Friday.

Anybody who said Brooks would make his first All-Star Game this year would’ve been accused of writing fan fiction, but here we are. After two straight 26-point games, Brooks set a new career high for scoring while leading the Suns to a blowout win over the top team in the East without Devin Booker. Will he get the All-Star nod? That remains to be seen, but he’s certainly making a case for himself and has been impactful for fantasy managers this year. He’ll look to stay hot against the Cavaliers on Friday.