NBA Player News

Griffin sat out Friday’s Game 3 victory, but his absence did not significantly impact the Celtics’ rotation. Al Horford is healthy, and Robert Williams (right elbow) was not on the injury report, so there won’t be many minutes available to Griffin if he’s cleared for Game 4.

“Good thing I only had to play like 23 minutes,” Haliburton said. “I’ve been able to get even more treatment and do more things. Just trying to take care of it the best I can.” This will be the first Game 7 in the Finals since 2016, so there’s no way Haliburton sits out. They’ll continue to manage his injury, and if it’s bothering him to the point that he isn’t helping the team by being out there, they may choose to sit him. However, that wasn’t the case in Game 6, and if it means winning a championship, they will likely have no issues pushing him way past 23 minutes.

With Toronto being one of the teams mentioned as a potential destination for Suns forward Kevin Durant, Poeltl’s name came up as part of a possible trade package. However, SportsNet Canada’s Michael Grange reported Friday evening that the Raptors are not interested in including Poeltl in a trade for KD. NBA insider Marc Stein confirmed Grange’s report and added that the Raptors and Poeltl have “mutual interest” in working out a contract extension. While there is a feeling around the league that Toronto is open to trading down ahead of Wednesday’s draft, as they hold the ninth overall pick, there’s no desire to move on from their starting center.

Powell had until Tuesday to decide whether or not he would activate his player option for the 2025-26 season. Per Stein’s report, the veteran center had made his decision a few days early, deciding to pick up the option worth $4 million. Powell appeared in 55 games this season but only averaged 10.0 minutes, his lowest mark since the 2014-15 season. He did not impact fantasy basketball this season, and that’s highly unlikely to change in 2025-26.

Green is expected to make a full recovery, though he’s out indefinitely and without a timetable to return. A first round pick in 2020 by the Mavericks, Green moved into the Hornets starting lineup late in the year as Charlotte dealt with multiple injured starters. While Green had some good performances, he needs to become more of a consistent scorer to be a fantasy asset in the future.

This certainly wasn’t the performance OKC was hoping to get out of the MVP with a chance to close out the series. Sure, he led the team in scoring, but the eight turnovers were abysmal. Turnovers haven’t been an issue for the Thunder this year; they averaged the fewest turnovers per game in the league during the regular season and have won the turnover matchup for most of this series. They’ll certainly need to clean things up to defend their homecourt and win a championship in Game 7 on Sunday.

After a 40-point masterclass in Game 5, Williams cooled off in Game 6. It was a disappointing night after two consecutive strong performances. He also posted a team-worst minus-40 plus/minus, which isn’t solely on his shoulders, but it was indicative of how the game went during his 27 minutes. The 24-year-old will have to be better in Game 7 on Sunday.

Caruso has had some big games in this series, but Thursday was not one of them. He was held scoreless and didn’t contribute much else in the box score. Of course, his defense is always valuable, but it wasn’t enough to slow down Indiana. What was noteworthy was that Caruso started the second half in place of Isaiah Hartenstein. The Thunder were down 22 points at halftime, so this could’ve been Mark Daigneault trying to create a spark. Caruso will likely return to a reserve role on Sunday for Game 7, but the situation is worth monitoring.

McConnell has been fantastic in this series, and this was arguably his best performance. He has averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.3 steals through the first six games of the Finals, and he has scored in double figures four times. He stepped up with Tyrese Haliburton (calf) not fully healthy, which allowed them to manage Haliburton’s minutes. McConnell has been invaluable for the Pacers in this series, and they’ll need him to continue to contribute on Sunday, especially if Haliburton’s calf is still bothering him.

Toppin continues to shine for Indiana. He has scored in double figures in six of their last eight games and in three straight, and his timing couldn’t be any better. This was his second 20-point game of this postseason, with the other coming in Game 4 against the Cavs. Toppin has been at his best at home, but he has had some solid performances on the road, including in Games 1 and 5 of this series. If he can keep it up, the Pacers will have a strong chance of winning Game 7 on Sunday.

After scoring at least 20 points in three straight games, Siakam didn’t do as much scoring in Game 6, but he still made enough of an impact for Indiana to force a Game 7 on Sunday. This was his second double-double of the series and only his third of this postseason run, and the 13 rebounds were the most he’s had in a game during these playoffs. Siakam will likely need to do more scoring on Sunday for the Pacers to win a ring on the road.