NBA Player News

There weren’t a ton of positive takeaways for the Pelicans in this one as they got absolutely steamrolled by the Cavaliers. However, Queen continues to look extremely impressive in his rookie debut, topping the 20-point threshold for the third time in 10 contests since the start of December. The remarkable part is that 19 of his 21 points came after halftime, as he went 7-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. It may have come in garbage time, but it counts the same for fantasy managers.

Williams did not play in Wednesday’s loss to the Warriors, which resulted in Svi Mykhailiuk moving into the starting lineup. Svi may remain in the starting five if Williams can’t play, but he isn’t worth the risk in fantasy leagues, especially after logging 16 minutes on Wednesday.

Nurkić missed Tuesday’s game with an illness but played through on Wednesday. He’s questionable once again, and so is Kevin Love, who started in place of Nurkić on Tuesday. Depending on the status of both players, Kyle Filipowski could be in line for a significant boost in minutes.

Held out of Wednesday’s loss to the Warriors for rest reasons, Love is on the injury report ahead of Friday’s game due to an illness. With Jusuf Nurkić also questionable, only one of the two veteran centers may be available. If so, that should leave more room for Kyle Filipowski in the frontcourt.

Friday’s game isn’t part of a back-to-back, but that hasn’t stopped the Jazz from resting Markkanen or other key players this season. From a scoring standpoint, Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh will shoulder a heavier workload than usual. While the former is already rostered in most leagues, the latter should be a player that managers target for the silly season.

Leonard continues to be listed as questionable ahead of games, but he has played in the Clippers’ last three. Kobe Sanders started in his place previously and could return to the starting unit if something changes with Leonard’s availability.

Thompson is back after sitting out Wednesday’s loss to the Timberwolves. His absence factored into fellow reserve Jaden Hardy playing 24 minutes off the bench. With Brandon Williams (ankle) considered a game-time decision, it’s possible that Hardy’s playing time won’t decrease much, if at all.

The Kings won’t have Russell Westbrook for Thursday’s game, so Schröder will start. Also of note is Clifford remaining in the starting lineup despite LaVine being available after a two-game absence. As a result, Clifford still has some fantasy value in the short term, and his ceiling should be raised after the All-Star break.

Monk will miss a second straight game following an early exit on Sunday. Keon Ellis saw a bump in minutes with Monk sidelined, though he wasn’t productive in those minutes. Ellis has been a strong source of steals in the past, but based on the last two games, he is a risky streaming option.

Embiid was initially probable for Thursday’s game, so the status upgrade was expected. He’ll take on his usual starting center duties, with Adem Bona serving as the primary backup. Given how the rotation has been handled recently when all three bigs are available, Andre Drummond may be the odd man out.

Okongwu exited Wednesday’s game against the Celtics after being hit in the mouth by Jaylen Brown, resulting in a dental fracture that required surgery. As a result, he’ll miss at least two games, starting with Thursday’s matchup with the Rockets. Okongwu is considered day-to-day, and the Hawks will rely on Mouhamed Gueye and Christian Koloko to fill the resulting void.