NBA Player News

Thybulle sprained his left thumb during the first half of Wednesday’s win over the Jazz, exiting after five minutes and not returning. His absence won’t significantly impact fantasy basketball, but the Trail Blazers may call on Rayan Rupert for rotation minutes off the bench if Kris Murray (illness) remains out. Murray is questionable for Friday after not playing against Utah.

Larsson was listed as questionable to return after exiting the game in the first half. He ended up missing the remainder of the game, and the initial x-rays were negative. He’s set to undergo an MRI on Wednesday that should provide more information. Miami won’t play again until next week, so Larsson should have time to recover, though if he does miss time, Dru Smith will likely see a bump in minutes off the bench.

Mitchell (groin) missed Saturday’s game against the Kings, but he was back in the lineup to take on Orlando. He has been a strong source of assists this season, especially lately; he has at least nine dimes in five of his last six outings. The scoring hasn’t been consistent, but the former top-10 pick is averaging career highs in both assists and steals. That should continue for this fast-paced Miami offense.

Adebayo has taken major strides as a shooter this season, but that hasn’t been the case over Miami’s last two games. After being held to nine points in Saturday’s loss to the Kings, Adebayo failed to hit a three-pointer for the second straight game. The only other time he didn’t hit a triple this season was against Denver; he exited that game after playing just eight minutes. Adebayo is having an excellent year, but he’ll need to get back on track to help Miami snap this four-game losing streak.

Powell was the leading scorer for Miami, but the Heat offense, which has been one of the best in the league this year, faltered once again, leading to a fourth straight loss. Still, even if this was a slightly subpar shooting performance for Powell, he has been a consistent source of offense for them this season. Even with Tyler Herro (toe) back in the lineup, Powell was still able to get his typical shot attempts. Powell should remain a fantastic option for fantasy managers for the remainder of the season.

Following a two-game absence, Herro was back in the lineup for Tuesday’s NBA Cup matchup with Orlando. He was able to score at least 20 points for a 16th straight game, which dates back to the end of last season. However, for the second time in six appearances this year, Herro failed to knock down a three-pointer, which has been one of his strongest categories over the last few seasons. That won’t happen often, but he wasn’t alone in struggling from deep. As a team, the Heat shot 8-of-33 from beyond the arc, while the Magic shot 15-of-32, which was one of the deciding factors in this game. With the loss, Miami will play on Monday against the loser of the Raptors-Knicks quarterfinal matchup, meaning this was the Heat’s final game of this week. Herro will look to bounce back then, but this ends up being just a one-game week for Miami.

Kleber’s role has been minimal when the rest of the roster is healthy, which is the case for Wednesday’s game. His absence won’t have much of an impact on the rest of the rotation.

Following a six-game absence, Smart will return to the lineup for Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal game. Smart had previously said he planned to play in this game, so this lines up. He’ll play a large reserve role, though that won’t be enough time for him to make much of an impact in fantasy basketball. However, with only two games being played that day, he is at least worth consideration.

McLaughlin has a chance to return after missing over a month. However, with De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper all healthy, his role will be minimal, if he sees the floor at all.

Wemby had a chance to play against Los Angeles after practicing this past weekend, but the Spurs will wait at least one more game. Luke Kornet will start at least one more game, where he hasn’t met expectations as a streamer.

Shead will start for the first time this season in place of Immanuel Quickley, who is sidelined with an illness. Agbaji, who scored a season-high 11 points off the bench on Sunday, will replace Ja’Kobe Walter in the starting lineup. Walter had been starting in place of RJ Barrett, so Agbaji could maintain that role moving forward.