FRIDAY’S 6-GAME SLATE
Updated 5:15 pm ET
UPDATE 6:20 ET: J.J. Redick will start for Zion Williamson. Josh Hart and Nicolo Melli will come off the bench to help out.
UPDATE 5:00 ET: Not an injury update, but Gary Clark is moving into the starting lineup next to James Ennis. Clark was getting a lot of love from Steve Clifford, so he’s in play as a punt.
MULTIPLE UPDATES 4:45 PM: The Nets are starting Caris LeVert, Garrett Temple, Joe Harris, Rodions Kurucs and Jarrett Allen as their 15th different lineup this season. LeVert is going to dominate the ball in this one, and this hurts Tyler Johnson and Chris Chiozza.
Richaun Holmes is starting next to De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Harrison Barnes and Nemanja Bjelica. Kent Bazemore is out, so it’s DaQuan Jeffries biggest chance of the season. He’s only a tourney punt, but fire up Holmes as a great play.
UPDATE 3:05: Jarrett Allen and Joe Harris are available. They should be good to go for normal minutes.
UPDATE 2:40: Steven Adams is out. Nerlens Noel will likely get the start, and he’s been excellent with the other starters with a +40.7 net rating in 74 minutes. He’s one of the best values on the slate with Kevin Hervey as his backup. Terrance Ferguson is available.
UPDATE 2:00: Steven Adams (knee) is now questionable after he hurt his knee and going to the locker room. With Mike Muscala out, Nerlens Noel could find himself in a big spot against a team that will try to attack the rim. Terrance Ferguson is also questionable now, but Lu Dort has it locked up.
Mike Scott is also available for the 76ers, so he could see minutes to slightly cut into Al Horford, Furkan Korkmaz and Alec Burks.
UPDATE 1:00: The Kings have put out their injury report with Richaun Holmes (hip) and Kent Bazmore (calf) listed as questionable. Holmes would’ve been a great play today, but he’s risky now. If he’s out, it’ll be Alex Len and Harry Giles handling the center minutes against a soft Nets frontcourt.
Top Injuries to Watch
1. The Jazz are going to sit this one out here with Mike Conley (knee), Donovan Mitchell (leg), Rudy Gobert (rest) and Royce O’Neale (calf) all sitting out in the B2B. Joe Ingles is going to be available, and the Jazz won’t have PG3 Nigel Williams-Goss (ankle). That should lock in Emmanuel Mudiay, Joe Ingles, Tony Bradley and Georges Niang as four of the starters. At shooting guard, Quin Snyder could elevate Jordan Clarkson into the first unit, but it might also be Rayjon Tucker or even Miye Oni. Justin Wright-Foreman, two of the aforementioned wings, Juwan Morgan and Ed Davis would fill out the second unit. This could be a fun little showdown slate to start your day.
2. We got some Nets news again. Jarrett Allen (ankle) is questionable for a new injury, and Joe Harris (groin) is questionable with another new injury. Jamal Crawford is also out for his hammy strain. If Allen can’t go, that would certainly put Rodions Kurucs in the first unit as a very attractive play. It would be Donta Hall behind him there, and no Joe Harris would open up Garrett Temple again with some Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.
3. The Magic are not expected to have Aaron Gordon (hamstring) in this one with his doubtful tag. With Jonathan Isaac (knee) already out, the Magic will have to turn to James Ennis, Wes Iwundu and Gary Clark. For what it’s worth, coach Steve Clifford had mentioned that he liked Clark and Iwundu before Gordon went down, and Clark was one of the key pieces in the fourth against the Raptors. Markelle Fultz, Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross and Evan Fournier also benefit.
4. The 76ers are in deep trouble here with Ben Simmons (knee) likely missing multiple games. Embiid is an easy winner here with his 31/15/5 per 36 line without Ben on the year, and it’s been unbelievable lately (46/15/5 per 36 in 47 Disney minutes). Shake Milton has some very high touch time per minute in Disney, and he also has great splits without Ben in Orlando (season and scrimmages). He was also tearing it up back when Ben was hurt before the shutdown. Josh Richardson and Tobias Harris also get a little boost without Ben.
Utah Jazz (B2B) vs. San Antonio Spurs, 1:00 pm ET
From up top: The Jazz are going to sit this one out here with Mike Conley (knee), Donovan Mitchell (leg), Rudy Gobert (rest) and Royce O’Neale (calf) all sitting out in the B2B. Joe Ingles is going to be available, and the Jazz won’t have PG3 Nigel Williams-Goss (ankle). That should lock in Emmanuel Mudiay, Joe Ingles, Tony Bradley and Georges Niang as the starters. At shooting guard, Quin Snyder could elevate Jordan Clarkson into the first unit, but it might also be Rayjon Tucker or even Miye Oni. Justin Wright-Foreman, two of the aforementioned wings, Juwan Morgan and Ed Davis would fill out the second unit. This could be a fun little showdown slate to start your day.
Bryn Forbes (quad) remains out. Patty Mills has been in the rotation, but that might change now that the Spurs have dropped two. Keldon Johnson should get even more time, and maybe some of the vets get dialed back a bit, too.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 4:00 pm ET
The Thunder will be missing Terrance Ferguson (leg), Mike Muscala (concussion) and Dennis Schroder (personal) again. Luguentz Dort has really seen more usage with increased playing time and Hamidou Diallo has seen spot minutes at PG to go with his wing minutes. Abdel Nader is also in the mix.
Tyus Jones (knee) remains out, and Grayson Allen has really stepped up since he went down. De’Anthony Melton has been a letdown, and Dillon Brooks still shoots too much.
Sacramento Kings (B2B) vs. Brooklyn Nets, 5:00 pm ET
From up top: We got some Nets news again. Jarrett Allen (ankle) is questionable for a new injury, and Joe Harris (groin) is questionable with another new injury. Jamal Crawford is also out for his hammy strain. If Allen can’t go, that would certainly put Rodions Kurucs in the first unit as a very attractive play. It would be Donta Hall behind him there, and no Joe Harris would open up Garrett Temple again with some Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.
The Kings played on Thursday, but their injury report should be clean except for Marvin Bagley (foot).
Orlando Magic vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 6:30 pm ET
From up top: The Magic are not expected to have Aaron Gordon (hamstring) in this one with his doubtful tag. With Jonathan Isaac (knee) already out, the Magic will have to turn to James Ennis, Wes Iwundu and Gary Clark. For what it’s worth, coach Steve Clifford had mentioned that he liked Clark and Iwundu before Gordon went down, and Clark was one of the key pieces in the fourth against the Raptors. Markelle Fultz, Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross and Evan Fournier also benefit.
Michael Carter-Williams (foot) is also questionable, which helps D.J. Augustin, Fultz and Iwundu.
From up top: The 76ers are in deep trouble here with Ben Simmons (knee) likely missing multiple games. Embiid is an easy winner here with his 31/15/5 per 36 line without Ben on the year, and it’s been unbelievable lately (46/15/5 per 36 in 47 Disney minutes). Shake Milton has some very high touch time per minute in Disney, and he also has great splits without Ben in Orlando (season and scrimmages). He was also tearing it up back when Ben was hurt before the shutdown. Josh Richardson and Tobias Harris also get a little boost without Ben.
The 76ers also listed Mike Scott (knee) as questionable and Glenn Robinson III (hip) as doubtful. They both could enter the rotation with Ben down.
Washington Wizards vs. New Orleans Pelicans (B2B), 8:00 pm ET
The Wizards only have Garrison Mathews (NWT) on their injury report.
The Pelicans played on Thursday, so we won’t get their injury report until later today. It was clean on Thursday.
Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors, 9:00 pm ET
Kemba Walker is off the injury report and should be in the upper 20s for playing time.
The Raptors have their usual report with no Oshae Brissett (knee) and Patrick McCaw (knee).
