NBA Player News

Williamson feasted in Tuesday’s loss to the Lakers, going off for a game-high 40 points to go with 11 rebounds. He got to the basket with ease all night and led New Orleans’ furious late-game rally. He limped off the court following a made bucket with three minutes left to play, and the Lakers came away with the victory. New Orleans is now faced with a do-or-die matchup against Sacramento on Friday. The winner will advance to the playoffs as the No. 8 seed to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the loser will be eliminated from playoff contention. Williamson’s absence should open up extra minutes for Trey Murphy III and Naji Marshall.

Doncic is likely to play despite the minor knee injury he’s dealing with. He recorded a triple-double and played 45 minutes in his last outing, so there’s no reason to worry about his production.

Hardaway has missed two straight games but could return to the fray on Wednesday. The Mavericks wing has only scored six points in the series, though.

Allen is on the injury report after scoring a series-high 21 points in Game 4. The Cavs big man’s production has dropped off since he recorded back-to-back double-doubles in Games 1 and 2. Tristan Thompson could be asked to step up and play a larger role if Allen is ruled out.

It’s not surprising that Embiid’s nagging knee injury is on the injury report, but his migraine is a new designation. He did not report to shootaround on Tuesday morning and Paul Reed will be first in line for a heavier workload if Embiid is ruled out.

Oubre didn’t go through shootaround on Tuesday morning because of an illness but is expected to play in Game 5.

Reaves came alive in the fourth quarter and had nine points over the final six minutes of the game as the Lakers traded leads with the Nuggets. It didn’t end up being enough to keep their season alive, but Reaves was still able to turn in a solid stat line. This was year one of a four year deal that has been a bargain for the Lakers. That flexibility should allow the Lakers to reload this summer, with Reaves being one of the only players outside of LeBron James and Anthony Davis that should be a safe bet to be wearing purple and gold again next season.

While it certainly won’t mean much, LeBron played well in this series and closed it out with another excellent performance. He averaged 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 2.4 steals, 1.0 block and 2.0 triples while shooting 56.6% from the floor through the five-game series, which was much closer than the gentlemen’s sweep makes it look. The Lakers were outscored by a total of 11 points in five games and were at the mercy of two game-winning shots by Jamal Murray. Year 21 is over for LeBron, and there will be plenty of rumors about his future that start flying as early as Tuesday morning.

After a strong first half, AD exited the game briefly due to a left shoulder injury. While he was able to play through it, he really wasn’t the same player after that. 16 of his 17 points came before halftime, and if he stayed healthy, the result of this game may have been different. AD has been banged up all season, but he was still able to play a career-high 77 games. Davis has been knocked in fantasy hoops over the last few years by his lack of games played, but he may have flipped the script this season. He should go earlier in drafts next season, with managers hoping that he will be healthy once again.

MPJ had a spectacular series, which included him scoring at least 20 points in the final four games after scoring 19 in Game 1. However, what shouldn’t go unnoticed is that he logged 46 minutes in this game to help close out the series. He’s just two years removed from only playing nine games, and he has now played 86 games this season with only one absence. Porter Jr. has been fantastic, and they’ll need him to stay hot in their second round matchup with the Timberwolves if they hope to repeat as champions.

For the second time this series, Jokic fell one assist shy of recording a triple-double. This time, he was one assist away from his second 20/20/10 triple-double of the series. He was unreal throughout their five games against the Lakers, averaging 28.2 points, 16.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 triples while shooting 59.1% from the floor and 92.6% from the line. They’ll move on to face the Timberwolves in the second round, which will be another tough matchup down low. However, that won’t prevent Jokic from putting up big numbers.