NBA Player News

Ayton (knee) was active at practice Tuesday, with head coach Chauncey Billups expressing optimism afterward that the center will play Wednesday against Brooklyn, Sean Highkin of RoseGardenReport.com reports.

Ayton continues to battle right knee tendinitis, but he appears to be on the mend and on track to put an end to his 11-game absence Wednesday. The 25-year-old's impending return would likely result in a sizable drop in minutes for Duop Reath, who will head back to the bench once Ayton is cleared to play.

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said Monday that Koloko (illness) has been doing more training work of late, but the second-year center remains out indefinitely, Aaron Rose of SI.com reports.

Koloko continues to deal with respiratory issues that have thus far kept him from playing at any point during the 2023-24 campaign. Though the fact that Koloko hasn't been shut down from activity entirely is at least somewhat encouraging, he doesn't appear particularly close to being ready for game action. A timeline for Koloko's season debut is unlikely to be available until he's regularly taking part in full-contact, full-court practices.

Bamba (knee) will not play Tuesday versus Denver.

Bamba will miss his second consecutive game due to a knee impingement. His next opportunity to take the court comes Friday in a potential revenge game against Orlando.

Embiid is available for Tuesday's game against the Nuggets.

Just as head coach Nick Nurse intimated would be the case after Monday's 124-115 win over the Rockets, Embiid has been cleared to play in the second leg of the back-to-back set. Embiid made his return Monday from a three-game absence due to left knee inflammation and picked up right where he left off, finishing the game with 41 points (12-21 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 16-17 FT), 10 boards, three assists, one block and one steal in 31 minutes. The superstar center won't be on a minutes restriction against Denver.

Turner amassed 12 points (4-8 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 3-4 FT) and four rebounds in 17 minutes during Monday's 132-105 loss to the Jazz.

Turner continues to score in double digits every time he steps on the court for the Pacers, but his recent performances have not been his best ones. He has failed to reach the 15-point mark or grab more than seven boards in each of his last three outings. The big man has only been averaging 15.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game since the start of January -- figures that represent a decrease compared to his November and December numbers.

Porzingis recorded 15 points (2-6 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 10-12 FT), six rebounds, two assists and two blocks over 32 minutes during Monday's 105-96 win over the Raptors.

Hadn't it been for the fact that he nailed 10 of his 12 attempts from the charity stripe, this would've been a poor offensive game for Porzingis, who attempted only six shots from the field despite logging 32 minutes. Porzingis has failed to score more than 15 points in three of his last five outings, and he seems to be having problems adjusting to a secondary role on offense with Boston, which didn't appear to be the case in the first weeks of the campaign.

Allen accumulated 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 FT), 14 rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals across 34 minutes during Monday's 109-91 victory over Chicago.

Allen didn't have many touches on offense, but he made the most of his scoring opportunities en route to posting his ninth consecutive double-double. The big man was active defensively as well, notching multiple blocks and/or steals for the sixth time in that span. Allen might hold a secondary role on offense for the Cavaliers, but he's still appealing in fantasy due to his two-way play and his durability, as well as his stat-filling ability that makes him extremely valuable in category-based formats. Allen is averaging 16.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game since the start of January.

Vucevic provided 17 points (8-19 FG, 1-7 3Pt), 10 rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes during Monday's 109-91 loss to the Cavaliers.

Vucevic didn't have his best shooting performance in a game where the entire Chicago offense struggled, but the big man at least recorded another double-double -- his third since returning to the starting lineup and fourth in six appearances since coming back from a groin injury. In his six games back, Vucevic is averaging 17.5 points with 10.8 rebounds per game, and he has recovered the starting center position that was held by Andre Drummond while he was out.

Jokic (hip) has been upgraded to probable for Tuesday's game against Philadelphia.

Jokic is trending in the right direction to play Tuesday while dealing with a left hip strain. He has started Denver's last 20 contests and is averaging 26.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.7 assists in 31.7 minutes over his last three games.

Duren notched 20 points (8-8 FG, 4-5 FT), 19 rebounds, four assists and one block in 26 minutes during Monday's 129-117 victory over the Wizards.

The second-year center tied his career high in boards as he continued an impressive run in the Detroit frontcourt. Over 11 games since returning from an ankle injury, Duren has racked up nine double-doubles while averaging 16.3 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 68.5 percent from the floor and an eye-popping 81.8 percent from the free-throw line -- a mark more than 20 points higher than his 61.1 percent shooting from the charity stripe as a rookie. Duren's rapid skill growth could end up making the 20-year-old one of the steals of the 2022 NBA Draft.