NBA Player News

Poeltl (groin) appeared to be moving well during Saturday's practice, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Poeltl was diagnosed with a bilateral groin strain after exiting Monday's game against Chicago early, though it's positive news that he looked strong during practice Saturday. He'll continue to be considered day-to-day until the team has more information to share.

Theis (personal) is available for Saturday's game versus the Knicks.

Theis has been upgraded from questionable to available Saturday after missing New Orleans' previous contest due to personal reasons. The veteran big man is averaging 3.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 13.5 minutes across his last 10 appearances.

Adebayo totaled 17 points (7-11 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-6 FT), 10 rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in 36 minutes during Friday's 104-97 loss to the Thunder.

Adebayo had to leave the game in the second half after he was elbowed in the face early in the third quarter, which caused a cut above his left eye, but he returned after getting stitches. The star big man didn't look affected by the injury, though, and he finished with an efficient double-double despite the fact the Heat came up short of getting the victory. Adebayo has been on a roll of late with five double-doubles over his last six contests.

Hartenstein ended with 13 points (4-6 FG, 5-8 FT), 18 rebounds, two assists and one steal in 34 minutes during Friday's 104-97 victory over the Heat.

Hartenstein continues to thrive as a rim protector and secondary offensive option for the Thunder, and he's been a solid addition option in most fantasy formats due to his two-way contributions. Hartenstein has nine double-doubles in his 12 contests with the Thunder, averaging 12.5 points and 12.8 boards per contest in that span.

Lopez recorded 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-3 3Pt), six rebounds, one assist and two blocks across 24 minutes during Friday's 124-101 loss to the Cavaliers.

The Bucks looked overmatched Friday, and while Giannis Antetokounmpo carried the offense almost on his own, Lopez posted decent numbers -- at least from an efficiency perspective. That said, it's hard to rely Lopez as a scoring weapon. He has reached double-digit points in just two of his seven games in December, averaging 7.3 points per game in that span.

Drummond closed Friday's 108-98 win over the Hornets with zero points (0-2 FG, 0-1 3Pt), two rebounds and one steal over 10 minutes.

Drummond moved back to the bench, making way for the returning Joel Embiid. As we have seen all season, Drummond failed to have an impact, continuing to struggle whenever Embiid is fit and ready to go. However, Embiid has already been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Cavaliers, meaning Drummond could very well find himself back in the starting lineup, albeit for a one-game stint.

Embiid (face) ended Friday's 108-98 victory over Charlotte with 34 points (12-24 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 8-9 FT), nine assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 31 minutes. Head coach Nick Nurse said after the game that Embiid won't play Saturday against the Cavaliers for rest purposes, according to Austin Krell of USA Today.

After suffering a sinus fracture in the 76ers' Dec. 13 loss to the Pacers, Embiid wasn't expected to be re-evaluated for a week, but he missed just one game before practicing Thursday and being cleared to play Friday. He donned a protective mask in his return to the lineup but didn't display any signs of being limited, as he rolled to an efficient scoring night while establishing new season highs in assist and steals. The 76ers are likely to continue holding Embiid out of one half of back-to-back sets to manage his left knee throughout the season, so the star center's expected absence for Saturday comes as little surprise. Andre Drummond and Guerschon Yabusele are likely to cover most of the minutes at center Saturday, though the 76ers could also make room in the rotation for Adem Bona as the backup center if Yabusele is needed to play some power forward. Look for Embiid to return to action Monday against the Spurs.

Adebayo (laceration) has returned to Friday's game against the Thunder, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Adebayo was elbowed in the face early in the third quarter, which caused a cut above his left eye. He went back to the locker room to get stitches and has returned to Friday's game.

Adebayo (face) went back to the locker room early in the third quarter of Friday's game against the Thunder, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Adebayo took an elbow to the head early in the second half and went back to the locker room to get stitches for a cut above his left eye and is expected to return. Jaime Jaquez, Kevin Love and Kel'el Ware should see an increase in playing time for as long as Adebayo is sidelined.

Bol is listed as questionable for Saturday's game against the Pistons with a left knee contusion, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports.

Bol has been a healthy scratch for each of the Suns' last three games, so if he were to be sidelined Saturday, it wouldn't impact Phoenix's rotation that much. He's appeared in seven regular-season games and averaged 3.3 points and 1.6 rebounds over 5.3 minutes per contest.