NBA Player News

Thompson isn’t having a great season, to say the least. He doesn’t provide much outside of scoring and threes and he’s only averaging 11.4 points per game this year. Occasionally, he’ll get hot from downtown, like his old self from the Golden State days. The 35-year-old had 18 points on six threes Monday. The only other category where he totaled more than one of anything was rebounds with two. He’s not worth rostering in most leagues.

Kornet has been battling left adductor tightness but has continued to play around 20 minutes a game. This will be his first missed game since December 5th. Bismack Biyombo could move into the rotation, but the Spurs may be able to get by with going small and playing Harrison Barnes or Keldon Johnson more minutes.

Bagley and Tristan Vukcevic are both out on Thursday, which means the Wizards don’t have a true backup center. Then again, it might not matter on Thursday since the Nuggets are also without their only two centers. Jamir Watkins could see minutes as the backup big man, and Khris Middleton could also spend extra time at power forward or as the big man in smaller lineups.

Randle, Naz Reid, and Donte DiVincenzo are the only players to play in all 44 games this season, so the expectation is that Randle will do what he can to get onto the court. Randle was also present at shootaround earlier on Thursday, so the injury is likely not severe. If he doesn’t play, Reid would likely slide into the starting lineup with Joan Beringer entering the rotation.

Williams missed the beginning of the season while recovering from ACL surgery and made his season debut on January 10th. As of now, it appears that the Hornets are just resting him in the second game of a back-to-back in order to help him in his continued recovery. Charlotte plays again on Saturday, so we’ll know the extent of Williams’ discomfort by then. Tidjane Salaün (Achilles) was available to play on Wednesday but didn’t see the court, so he may step back into Williams’ minutes on Thursday.

Holiday will now have missed three straight games with a back injury and four of the last five. The one game he did play, he was only able to play for four minutes. He only averages 14 minutes per game on the season, so this is not a major loss for the Rockets’ rotation.

Mann was questionable with the same illness before Wednesday’s game and was available but didn’t play. The Hornets have since ruled him out for Thursday’s game to give him more time to rest. It doesn’t change much for the Hornets’ rotation with Brandon Miller listed as probable.

Bitadze figures to attract the most interest. As Siegel notes, he “is an intriguing center who could fetch multiple second-round picks in a trade and free up salary for [the Magic for] the 2026-27 season in the process.” A package of Bitadze and Jones could be of interest to a team like the Knicks, who are in the market for a true center and a backup point guard, both of whom would need to be strong defenders.

Ball came off the bench on Wednesday, which seemed to be an indication that the Hornets were hoping to monitor his minutes on the first leg of a back-to-back, but now it’s possible that he may not play on Thursday. Of course, Ball shot just 1-of-12 from the field, so his thumb likely played a major role in that. Sion James may start in his place again.

Cissé had been listed as questionable, so this is a step in the right direction for him. Meanwhile, Daniel Gafford (ankle) has been downgraded to doubtful, so Cissé should get a nice run of minutes. However, the Warriors don’t often play a traditional center, so the Mavericks could get by with lots of minutes for Naji Marshall and not need Cissé as much on Thursday.

This is mildly concerning, considering how much time Wagner missed with an ankle injury over the holidays. The team “is going to monitor how he responds to treatment moving forward,” which will determine how long Wagner will be sidelined. Tristan Da Silva should move back into the starting lineup in the meantime.