UPDATED 8:04 pm ET
UPDATE 8:30 pm ET: Rajon Rondo is dealing with back spasms, and he will not play on Saturday. That’ll open up a few extra minutes for Alex Caruso, Dion Waiters, Markieff Morris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
UPDATE 8:06 pm ET: Hassan Whiteside will get the start next to Jusuf Nurkic against the Lakers, moving Wenyen Gabriel to the bench. This is great news for Whiteside with likely minutes in the upper 20s, assuming he avoids foul trouble. This could help get Mario Hezonja or Gary Trent Jr. get a couple extra minutes, but Gabriel may not see double-digit minutes.
UPDATE 7:04 pm ET: Rajon Rondo (thumb) is available Saturday, and coach Frank Vogel said “we’ll see” on if he plays. LeBron James (groin) and Anthony Davis (knee) are also good to go in the starting lineup. If Rondo plays, that could cut into Dion Waiters, Alex Caruso and maybe Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Markieff Morris.
UPDATE 2:04 pm ET: Jae Crowder (ankle) and Derrick Jones Jr. (ankle) will play against the Pacers on Saturday. Crowder should be in the starting lineup, but he continues to lose minutes to Tyler Herro and Andre Iguodala. DJJ being active makes it tough to play Kelly Olynyk.
UPDATE 11:41 am ET: Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) is good to go. He was probable, but was always expected play. He has been a monster per minute as the top rebounder and at a 39.1 usage rate. If this is close, he should smash.
UPDATE 9:40 am ET: Aaron Gordon (hamstring) will not play on Saturday. It sounded like he was going to go after more practice on Friday, but apparently he’s not feeling well. With him out, Gary Clark will get another start while the guards, Khem Birch and James Ennis benefit.
We have a really light injury report for this one with the big news coming right away with Aaron Gordon (hamstring) questionable, and he will likely be a game-time call (more details below). The Heat have Jae Crowder (ankle) as questionable, but he had the same issue in the last game and was fine. Derrick Jones Jr. is questionable with a new injury. Rajon Rondo (thumb) is questionable and has a chance, so that’ll make looking at Dion Waiters, Alex Caruso and maybe Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a bit of a tougher sell.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Orlando Magic, 1:00 pm ET
Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) is probable, but he should be a full go as he dominates this matchup.
Aaron Gordon (hamstring) is questionable for this one, and we’re thinking he’s going to be out there. Coach Steve Clifford really talked about how Gordon can guard Giannis in his presser on Friday. Clifford said Gordon is “doing better” and was doing contact on Friday. Gordon basically will be a game-time decision after Clifford said he wants to see how he feels today. That’s usually an indicator that a player went pretty hard in practice. His return will cut into the upside of the PGs and the PFs, but James Ennis and Nikola Vucevic should be fine.
Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat, 3:30 pm ET
Nothing new with the Pacers here.
The Heat listed Jae Crowder (ankle) as questionable for the second game in a row, but he was fine on Thursday. Derrick Jones Jr. (ankle) is also questionable, but he should be a go as well. If not, that could help Andre Iguodala slightly along with Kelly Olynyk.
Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 6:00 pm ET
Russell Westbrook (quad) remains out along with Luc Mbah a Moute (knee). The Rockets’ rotation is air tight with Austin Rivers getting double-digit minutes of overlap with James Harden on top of the backup PG role while Ben McLemore is the bench wing and Jeff Green is the bench PF/C.
OKC has nobody on their injury report.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 8:30 pm ET
The Lakers listed Anthony Davis (knee) and LeBron James (groin) as probable yet again, but they’re fine. Rajon Rondo (thumb) is questionable again after missing the last one. His return will make it really tough to attack the bench guards, and take a little away from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Zach Collins (ankle) remains out, and the Blazers listed Damian Lillard (finger) and C.J. McCollum (back) as available. The star guards should be a full go with an upside of minutes in the 40s in a tough matchup for them.
