NBA Player News

Anthony, who was traded to the Grizzlies as part of the deal that sent Desmond Bane to Orlando, clearly was not going to be in Memphis’ plans next season. He’s reportedly agreed to a contract buyout and has already found his next home once he clears waivers. Anthony is reportedly headed to Milwaukee, which needs additional depth on the perimeter. Even if Damian Lillard were not waived, the Bucks would be in a difficult spot since he’s recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon. For Anthony, moving to Milwaukee allows him to earn rotation minutes, but his game is not exactly fantasy-friendly.

Hart has been out since spraining his right ankle on Christmas Day against the Cavaliers. Based on the most recent timeline provided by the team, with the wing set to be re-evaluated on Friday, there may be a chance he plays during New York’s four-game road trip. Miles McBride played well as the fifth starter in Wednesday’s win over the Clippers and should retain that role.

Absent from the Magic injury report ahead of Wednesday’s win over the Nets, Richardson was announced as questionable to play during the first half and never checked in. His absence did not significantly affect the playing time of Orlando’s other reserves, as the starters played more after being benched for the entire fourth quarter of Tuesday’s loss to the Wizards.

Love was rested on Wednesday’s game against the Thunder, so it makes sense that he would be good to go for the second leg of the back-to-back. With Jusuf Nurkic listed as questionable, it’s possible that Love could return to play around 20 minutes in this one.

Bailey missed five games with a hip injury but returned last night to play 10 minutes against the Thunder. The Jazz are clearly going to be cautious with their rookie, so they may sit Bailey for the second game of a back-to-back. That would likely mean more minutes for Brice Sensabaugh on Thursday.

Nurkić has played at least 30 minutes in each of the last two games, and scored 15 points with 15 rebounds against the Thunder last night. However, the Jazz have been selected in how they rest players, considering they are not in contention this season, but also are playing good basketball of late. If Nurkić were to sit on Thursday, that would likely mean more minutes for Kyle Filipowski since the Jazz don’t really have another traditional center.

Williams had been listed as questionable earlier in the day but was upgraded after going through a shootaround. The 26-year-old posted 18 points, two rebounds, and two assists in 27 minutes on Tuesday. He may see a slight reduction in minutes on Thursday, which would potentially mean a slightly larger role for Ryan Nembhard in this one.

Jaquez Jr. has missed the last two games with an injury but seems on track to return tonight. With Tyler Herro (toe) now also back, it’s likely that Nikola Jović, who has been playing well, will see his minutes and usage reduced.

Salaün has been battling an ankle injury, but he missed just one game over the weekend. He seems likely to play in both legs of a back-to-back, but with Brandon Miller (knee) also back, there likely won’t be a lot of usage for Salaün.

Ball has not missed a game since December 14th, and it seems likely he will play in both games of a back-to-back. He’s averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals over his last two weeks, which has made him a top-50 player in fantasy basketball.

Miller missed Thursday’s game against the Raptors, but seems likely to return for the second game in a back-to-back on Thursday. His return would push Sion James back to the bench.