NBA Player News

Bitadze provided 11 points (4-4 FG, 3-4 FT), 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals over 25 minutes during Wednesday's 133-119 victory over the Bulls.

Bitadze was perfect from the floor and missed only one of his four attempts from the charity stripe in what was a strong showing for the six-year veteran. Bitadze has five double-doubles this season, and he's averaging 9.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per game since being promoted to a starting role at the beginning of November. Even with Wendell Carter (foot) back in action, Bitadze has stuck in the starting lineup, and the Magic actually started both centers in Wednesday's win.

Vucevic contributed 19 points (8-20 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 1-2 FT), 11 rebounds and four assists over 30 minutes during Wednesday's 133-119 loss to the Magic.

Vucevic continues to be one of the most consistent big men in The Association following the first month of the regular season, and he's a threat to record a double-double every time he steps on the hardwood. He's racked up four double-doubles across his last six appearances, a span in which he's averaging 20.8 points and 10.3 boards per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the floor.

Carter (foot) recorded four points (2-5 FG, 0-3 3Pt), four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block across 18 minutes in Wednesday's 133-119 win over the Bulls.

Back in action after missing the previous 12 games due to left foot plantar fasciitis, Carter reclaimed a spot in the starting five, but he was operating under a minutes limit. Unlike his previous six starts of the season, Carter was deployed at power forward while Goga Bitadze retained a spot on the top unit at center. It's unclear if the Magic plan to move forward with the two-center starting five for the duration of Paolo Banchero's (oblique) absence, as Carter didn't provide Orlando with much floor spacing by going 0-for-3 from downtown. Regardless of how head coach Jamahl Mosley elects to structure his lineups in future games, Carter will likely see at least a slight uptick in playing time as he becomes further removed from the foot issue.

Ware finished with four points (1-2 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds, one block and one steal over 12 minutes during Wednesday's 98-94 victory over Charlotte.

Ware continues to be used sparingly off the bench, logging double-digit minutes for just the second time all season. Despite putting together a strong preseason, Ware has struggled to carve out a consistent role. It does appear as though he has edged ahead of Thomas Bryant in the rotation, something that is certainly a step in the right direction. However, barring an injury to Bam Adebayo, Ware is likely to be limited moving forward.

Sabonis finished Wednesday's 115-104 victory over Minnesota with 27 points (10-17 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 6-7 FT), 12 rebounds, five assists and one steal over 34 minutes.

Sabonis had little issue contending with Rudy Gobert's defense in Wednesday's win over Minnesota, netting his 16th double-double of the season. The 28-year-old three-time All-Star has been one of the top big men in fantasy so far this year, averaging 20.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.0 three-pointers per game while shooting a career-high 62.0 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from deep and 84.6 percent from the free-throw line in 17 contests. Sabonis may be hurting fantasy managers a bit with his 3.6 turnovers per game, but he should continue to handle added usage for the Kings in the absence of star swingman DeMar DeRozan (back).

Zubac posted 18 points (9-11 FG), 16 rebounds, one assist and one block in 24 minutes during Wednesday's 121-96 win over Washington.

It was a highly efficient night for Zubac, who registered his 13th double-double of the season in three quarters after head coach Tyronn Lue opted to keep his starters out of the fourth period in Wednesday's blowout win. Zubac has been a revelation for the Clippers in what has been a breakout 2024-25 campaign so far this year for the 27-year-old veteran big man, and over his last seven games, he's averaging 16.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 blocks in 29.8 minutes per contest. Zubac should continue to be a very strong source of rebounds for fantasy managers going forward.

Ayton (finger) totaled 16 points (7-10 FG, 2-2 FT), 12 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal across 34 minutes in Wednesday's 121-114 loss to the Pacers.

Ayton stepped back into the starting five Wednesday after he had missed the Trail Blazers' previous seven games with a deep contusion in his right index finger. The Trail Blazers evidently weren't too concerned about Ayton's conditioning coming off the two-plus-week absence, as he handled a relatively standard minutes count and was efficient as a scorer while pacing the team in rebounds. Now that he's healthy again, Ayton should regularly clear 30 minutes in competitive games, especially while the Trail Blazers are shorthanded on frontcourt depth with Robert Williams in concussion protocol and with Donovan Clingan (knee) set to miss multiple weeks with a Grade 2 MCL sprain.

Eubanks won't return to Wednesday's game against the Nuggets due to a left knee contusion, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune reports. He recorded no statistics during his 1:30 of court time.

Utah was already without four key frontcourt contributors Wednesday in Lauri Markkanen (personal), John Collins (knee), Kyle Filipowski (lower leg) and Taylor Hendricks (fibula), so Eubanks' early exit will further test the Jazz's depth on the interior. The Jazz will get by with two-way player Oscar Tshiebwe as the primary backup option at center behind Walker Kessler for the rest of the contest.

Jackson-Davis is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Thunder.

Head coach Steve Kerr is tweaking the lineup for this game, meaning Jackson-Davis will come off the bench for the first time in 2024-25. He's averaging 8.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this season. With Jackson-Davis on the bench, Draymond Green will get the nod at center while Andrew Wiggins will slot in at power forward.

Davis (foot) is available for Wednesday's game against the Spurs, Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet reports.

As has been the trend all season long, Davis will suit up and should handle his regular workload despite being mentioned on the injury report. The star big man has been outstanding for the Lakers this season and has recorded six double-doubles over his last seven appearances, averaging 28.0 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals per game in that span.