NBA Player News

Carter (knee) will not play in Friday's game versus Denver.

Carter will be held out Friday after making three straight appearances off the bench. Goga Bitadze is a late scratch Friday due to an illness, so the Magic are likely going to rely heavily on Moritz Wagner.

Powell will join the starting lineup for Friday's game versus Portland, Grant Afseth of SI.com reports.

Powell could potentially see one of his largest workloads of the season Friday. The Mavericks are missing Dereck Lively (ankle), Grant Williams (ankle) and Richaun Holmes (personal), so they have very little frontcourt depth to work with.

Reath is in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Mavericks, Casey Holdahl of the Trail Blazers' official sitereports.

Ibou Badji will move to the bench with Reath joining the first unit. Reath has fared well in limited minutes this season, but he was ejected after just six minutes in Wednesday's game versus Dallas after being assessed a Flagrant 2 foul.

Bitadze is a late addition to Friday's injury report and is considered a game-time decision versus the Nuggets due to an illness, Wendell Epps of Bally Sports Florida reports.

Bitadze's late addition to the injury report is not a positive sign given how close the game is to tipoff. Wendell Carter (knee) is also questionable, so frontcourt depth has the potential to be thin. That would mean extra minutes for the likes of Moritz Wagner and Chuma Okeke.

Lively (ankle) has been ruled out for Friday's game against the Trail Blazers, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports.

Lively sprained his ankle during Wednesday's blowout win over Portland and will miss the rematch. His next chance to suit up will come Sunday versus Minnesota. In Lively's absence, Dwight Powell should pick up extra playing time.

Horford (rest) has been ruled out for Friday's game against the Jazz.

Horford will once again sit out at least one leg of a back-to-back set for rest. He should return to action Saturday in Indiana. In Horford's absence, Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser should see increased roles, but Neemias Queta, Oshae Brissett and Lamar Stevens are also candidates to crack the rotation.

Holmes (personal) is out for Friday's game versus Portland.

Holmes will miss his second straight game after being downgraded from doubtful to out due to personal reasons. His next chance to suit up is Sunday's matchup with Minnesota.

Vucevic (groin) is available for Friday's game against the Hornets, but he'll be on a minutes restriction and operate off the bench, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

Vucevic has missed five straight games, and Andre Drummond has flourished during that time, so the former's minutes restriction isn't surprising. Coach Billy Donovan said earlier this week that Vucevic didn't have a timetable to return and wouldn't practice this week, but the big man has a history of playing through pain, appearing in at least 70 games in four straight seasons, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign. He'll be limited to 23-25 minutes Friday.

Plumlee, who was removed from the injury report at the beginning of January, said Friday that he is still working to get his conditioning back but feels like he's "really close" to full strength, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reports.

With the Clippers rolling, Plumlee has been fine with letting Daniel Theis operate as the primary backup to Ivica Zubac. Plumlee missed 25 straight games due to a left MCL sprain and was cleared to start January, but he hasn't seen the floor over the last two games. Even when he is reintegrated into the rotation, Plumlee likely won't garner a large enough role to crack relevancy in standard fantasy leagues.

Lopez closed with nine points (4-10 FG, 1-5 3Pt), four rebounds, one assist and three blocks across 33 minutes during Thursday's 125-121 victory over the Spurs.

Lopez continues to be one of the NBA's best rim protectors, averaging a career-high 3.0 blocks per game across his first 35 appearances in 2023-24. However, Lopez had his hands full against San Antonio, matching up with rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama.