NBA Player News

Already without Immanuel Quickley, the Raptors will also be without Brandon Ingram for Wednesday’s game. His absence opens up a spot in the lineup for Shead, who can be useful to deep-league managers needing assists and steals.

Harper suffered a left thumb injury during the second half of Sunday’s game. The rookie guard played 18 minutes, finishing with nine points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. Jordan McLaughlin may play a few more minutes in the fourth quarter, but the bigger concern is Harper’s availability for the playoffs, which begin next weekend.

Ingram’s first regular season with the Raptors ended on a high note. Over the final four games, he averaged 25.5 points while shooting 57.8 percent from the floor. That was enough to lead Toronto to the fifth seed in the East, which sets them with a first-round matchup against the Cavaliers. Ingram played in 77 games this season, which was the most he played in since his rookie year. They’ll need him at his best to defeat Cleveland.

Johnson is currently on a two-way deal, which he signed back in December. He has only been part of the rotation over the past month, and he had his best outing in the season finale. This was the first double-double of his career, which included a career high in rebounds. After going undrafted last summer, Johnson may have done enough to be kept around the organization beyond this season.

After scoring a career-high 23 points in Friday’s loss, Etienne was able to stay hot in this game with the second 20-point game of his career. He’s still on a two-way contract, but he closed this season out on a high note and could end up signing a new contract with the Nets this offseason.

Before fouling out, Saraf tallied a solid stat line in 26 minutes. This was his fourth straight start, and he has averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game during this stretch. Saraf was the 26th pick in the draft last summer and showed some flashes during his first year in the league. He likely won’t be ready to make significant contributions during his second season, but he’s worth stashing in dynasty formats.

Scheierman returned to the starting lineup and ended up seeing a lot more usage than he typically does. Boston was resting most of the usual rotation players, which allowed Scheierman to star. He provided excellent value across the board, which led the Celtics backups to an upset win over the Magic starters. Scheierman has been fantastic in his second season and should be a solid reserve option for Boston during the playoffs.

Harper signed a two-year standard deal last week after playing on a two-way contract for most of the season. He hasn’t seen the floor much this season, but he played a significant role in Game 82 with Boston having already clinched the No. 2 seed in the East. Harper likely won’t see the floor outside of garbage time during the playoffs, but he was able to take advantage of his extended opportunity in this game.

Garza got the starting nod in Game 82 with the Celtics already locked in as the No. 2 seed in the East. He set new season highs for points and rebounds while recording his second double-double of the year. Garza has been a solid rotation piece, which has led to this being the most productive season of his career. However, with the Celtics healthy entering the playoffs, his role will be limited during the postseason.

Bane got the start and played the first six minutes to officially play in all 82 games. After that, he sat the rest of the game, which allowed Tristan da Silva to play a larger role and start the second half. Well, that was the plan at least. Orlando likely expected to beat the Celtics’ backups easily, but that didn’t end up happening. Bane played the entire fourth quarter to try to bring the Magic back, but it didn’t end up being enough, even if it was close. Bane has had a fantastic first season in Orlando, and he’ll be back to playing his usual role against the 76ers in the play-in tournament on Wednesday.

Wagner had his second straight 20-point game, which was also his second time reaching that mark in over four months. He’s still getting used to being back out on the floor, but having him healthy and producing ahead of the postseason will give them a chance to survive the play-in tournament. Wagner was excellent early on this season, but a left ankle sprain derailed his season. Still, they’ll have a chance to beat anybody with their roster finally healthy.