NBA Player News

Beauchamp’s availability will not impact fantasy basketball, as he is not in the rotation on most nights. Despite Milwaukee not having Giannis Antetokounmpo, Beauchamp only played six minutes in Tuesday’s win over Miami.

Once again, Young is expected to play through this Achilles ailment. It has only forced him to miss one game this season, and it likely won’t be his second in the NBA Cup semifinals on Saturday.

After sitting out Sunday’s loss to the Nuggets, Bogdanovic played 24 minutes off the bench in Wednesday’s win over the Knicks. Hunter played 29 minutes in New York and has not missed a game since November 17. Look for both players to be part of the Hawks’ bench rotation in Las Vegas.

Johnson tweaked his ankle in the fourth quarter against the Knicks on Wednesday, and there is a chance that he keeps him out of their semifinal matchup in the NBA Cup. Larry Nance Jr. got the start when Johnson was sidelined on Sunday, though De’Andre Hunter will also see extra minutes.

Gordon and Braun were initially probable for Friday’s game, so the status upgrades were expected. They’ll take their usual places in the starting lineup, with Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson coming off the bench.

Murray will be back after a two-game absence, and his return will force Russell Westbrook to return to his typical role off the bench. He was a strong streaming option when he was starting, but he’ll lose that value with Murray back.

Clarkson is back after a seven-game absence, giving the Jazz additional scoring production off the bench. At best, he should be rostered in deep leagues. Fantasy managers should expect Clarkson’s minutes to be restricted due to the time off.

Markkanen was upgraded to probable earlier in the day, so his official availability doesn’t come as a surprise. He finished with just eight points in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Kings and will look to bounce back in this game.

The Bulls are without Nikola Vucevic, who will miss Friday’s game due to an illness. Smith moves into the starting lineup and is worth streaming, as Adama Sanogo is the other available center for the home team. Patrick Williams is available after missing ten games with a foot injury but will come off the bench, leaving Dosunmu in the starting lineup.

It certainly comes as a surprise that Williams will move into the starting unit for the first time this season. He has been playing around 10 minutes per game off the bench during his three appearances this season, but he’ll replace Nick Richards in the opening lineup. That doesn’t mean Williams will see his workload increase to 30 minutes, but he should play a larger role, with Richards still seeing plenty of minutes off the bench.

Morant and Bane are the changes to the Grizzlies lineup, as they sat out Sunday’s win over the Wizards. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Marcus Smart return to the bench, taking hits to their respective fantasy values. Wells, Clarke, and Jackson round out the starting quintet.