NBA Player News

Williams (knee) is expected to undergo season-ending surgery in the coming days, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Williams sustained a right knee injury Sunday against the Grizzlies, and after evaluating a few different options, the big man will ultimately season-ending surgery to address the matter. He's expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. The 26-year-old averaged 6.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game over six appearances with his new team before suffering his injury. Toumani Camara, Moses Brown and Jabari Walker could all see upticks in playing time as the Trail Blazers look to replace their top frontcourt reserve.

Bitadze notched 12 points (5-7 FG, 2-4 FT), five rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes during Thursday's 120-119 loss to Atlanta.

Bitadze has been starting with Wendell Carter (finger) sidelined for the foreseeable future and has played well in this new temporary role. The big man has scored in double digits in two of his three outings as a starter while grabbing at least five rebounds each time. He's averaging 23.0 minutes per game in a starting role and figures to remain as such while Carter is out.

Capela notched six points (2-4 FG, 2-4 FT), 11 rebounds, four assists and one block over 26 minutes during Thursday's 120-119 victory over the Magic.

Capela's offensive woes continue, and he has now scored 10 or fewer points in four of his last five appearances. He still provides value as a rim protector and glass cleaner, having averaged 10.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest so far, but he needs to be better offensively to deliver better fantasy results. He's scoring just 10.1 points per game while shooting 55.9 percent from the field.

Horford has been ruled out for Friday's game against Brooklyn due to right knee injury management, Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald reports.

Horford didn't play in both legs of back-to-back sets last season, and he'll be unavailable for the first half of the Celtics' back-to-back Friday. It seems likely that he'll be back in action for Saturday's game against Toronto.

Sengun is questionable for Friday's game against the Pelicans due to a left ankle sprain.

Sengun rolled his ankle during Wednesday's 128-94 win over the Lakers, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes. If Sengun is unable to suit up against the Pelicans, the Rockets could lean more heavily on Jock Landale at center. The Rockets could also utilize some smaller lineups featuring more Jeff Green and Tari Eason in the frontcourt.

Queta (foot) won't play in Friday's game versus the Nets, Taylor Snow of the Celtics' official site reports.

Queta's absence streak will extend to six games while dealing with a right foot injury. His next chance to suit up is Saturday's matchup with Toronto.

Lively (illness) is questionable for Friday's matchup against the Clippers.

An illness prevented the rookie from suiting up Wednesday against the Raptors, prompting Dwight Powell to start at center. The Mavericks could certainly use Lively's size against opposing big man Ivica Zubac. Lively's workload and production have fluctuated this season, but he's worth rostering in 14-team formats and probably 12-team formats, especially if two starting centers are required.

Plumlee (knee) is expected to be sidelined for up to two months while he recovers from the left MCL sprain he sustained in Monday's 111-97 loss to the Knicks, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

Plumlee was injured in the third quarter of Monday's game, when the Knicks' Julius Randle stumbled into his left leg. With Plumlee now likely out of commission until the 2024 portion of the Clippers' schedule, Ivica Zubac could be the beneficiary of a larger share of the minutes at center, as he and Plumlee had previously been working in a near-even timeshare. While Plumlee was sidelined for the Clippers' 100-93 loss to the Nets on Wednesday, the newly acquired P.J. Tucker (21 minutes) operated as a small-ball center when Zubac (29 minutes) was off the court.

Len closed Wednesday's 121-118 overtime win over Portland with 10 points (4-4 FG, 2-5 FT), six rebounds, one assist, two blocks and one steal over 13 minutes.

Len hasn't been a consistent part of the Kings' rotation early in the season, but he played double-digit minutes for the first time this year during Wednesday's overtime win. While Len showed some promise against the Trail Blazers, it seems unlikely that he'll be able to maintain his production unless Sacramento deals with absences at some point.

Duren totaled 11 points (5-10 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 1-1 FT), 12 rebounds and five assists over 28 minutes during Wednesday's 120-118 loss to Milwaukee.

Duren returned Wednesday after dealing with ankle injury, finishing second on the team in rebounds and as one of five Pistons with a double-digit point total in a double-double effort. Duren has been a key contributor in the paint for Detroit, posting a double-double in five of his seven outings this season.