NBA Player News

The Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis, who suffered a strained right soleus muscle during Game 4. As was the case throughout the regular season, Horford moved into the starting lineup. The veteran big man didn’t have to do much, as Boston got off to a hot start and never looked back in their decisive win over the Heat. Ending this series in five games gets the Celtics additional rest, especially if the Cleveland/Orlando series goes the distance. With Porzingis unlikely to return before the conference finals (should Boston advance that far), Horford will serve as the starting center in the second round.

As has been the case throughout this series, Doncic is on the Mavericks’ preliminary injury report. He’s yet to miss a game this postseason, and the probable tag suggests that will continue to be the case on Saturday night. DFS players should plan for Doncic to be on the court and approach (if not exceed) 40 minutes as the Mavericks look to close out Oklahoma City.

McDaniels has been fairly quiet offensively since the first round but topped 20 points for the second time this postseason on Thursday while trailing only Aaron Gordon in blocks. The Timberwolves wing affected his team’s offense and defense and offense significantly in a must-win contest.

Edwards bounced back from his lackluster Game 5 performance and eclipsed 25 points for the third time in the series. The Timberwolves star also led all players in free throw attempts and steals in a well-rounded performance.

Gordon surprisingly only trailed Nikola Jokic in points among Nuggets players and did a little bit of everything. He was efficient on offense and disruptive on defense in the Nuggets’ big loss while many of his teammates struggled.

Jokic flirted with a double-double but didn’t do nearly enough to keep Denver in Game 5. He shot under 50% from the field for the second time in the series and will get a chance to bounce back for Game 7 back home.

Murray hasn’t missed a playoff game yet this year. While his playoff performance has dipped lately, he should take on his usual workload.

Conley is good to go after missing his last game and is likely start and bump Nickeil Alexader-Walker back to the bench.

Anonoby is set to miss his forth consecutive game. The Knicks will likely start Precious Achiuwa or Miles McBride in his place.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker filled in for Conley in Game 5, but it appears like Minnesota’s floor general is trending toward playing again after a one-game layoff. NAW will likely return to the bench with Conley back in the rotation.

After scoring at least 19 points in all four games of Oklahoma City’s first-round sweep of New Orleans, JDub has been held in check by Dallas. Game 3 was the only game in which he scored 20 points or more, and he shot 11-of-32 from the field in Games 4 and 5. The steals production has provided DFS players with some production, but Williams has to be more productive as a scorer if Oklahoma City is to force a decisive Game 7. Game 6 is on Saturday night in Dallas.