NBA Player News

Powell (illness) will play in Wednesday's game against the Spurs.

After being upgraded to probable earlier Wednesday, Powell will suit up for Wednesday's tilt. He's expected to operate behind Dereck Lively at center.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Collins (illness) will play in Wednesday's season opener against the Mavericks, Bruno Passos of PoundingTheRock.com reports.

Collins has been upgraded from questionable to available Wednesday despite dealing with an illness. Collins is expected to start in the frontcourt alongside Victor Wembanyama.

Powell (illness) has been upgraded to probable for Wednesday's regular-season opener against the Spurs, Grant Afseth of SI.com reports.

Powell was initially deemed questionable for Wednesday's matchup, and he's trending in the right direction in the hours leading up to tipoff. If he's available, he should be one of the primary backups at center behind Dereck Lively.

Nurkic finished with 14 points (5-8 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 3-3 FT), 14 rebounds, three assists and one block in 28 minutes Wednesday in the Suns' 108-104 win over the Warriors.

One of the pieces returned to Phoenix in the blockbuster three-team trade in September that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee, Nurkic settled in as the Suns' starting center in his team debut. While handling the role that used to belong to Deandre Ayton -- who was moved to Portland in that same three-team trade -- Nurkic led both teams in rebounds and turned in an efficient shooting performance from all three levels of the court. So long as he's healthy, Nurkic looks as though he'll continue to hold the playing-time edge over backup Drew Eubanks (19 minutes) at center, though injuries are an annual concern for the burly seven-foot, 290-pound Bosnian big man. Nurkic hasn't played more than 56 games in any of the past four seasons.

Collins (illness) participated in the Spurs' shootaround ahead of Wednesday's game against Dallas, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports.

Collins is questionable for Wednesday's matchup due to a non-COVID illness, but it's encouraging that he didn't appear to have any limitations during shootaround. He seems to be trending in the right direction ahead of the regular-season opener.

Horford said he will come off the bench Wednesday against the Knicks, Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com reports.

Horford was rested in the preseason finale this past Thursday, but he's fully healthy entering the regular season. Though Horford has started in every game that he's played each of the past three seasons, he'll move to the bench to begin the 2023-24 campaign with the Celtics bringing in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and sending out Marcus Smart in the offseason. The Celtics don't have much frontcourt depth beyond Porzingis, so bringing Horford off the bench makes sense. He's still expected to play a key role for Boston this season, though expect a drop in the 30.5 minutes per game in 2022-23.

Jokic notched 29 points (12-22 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 2-4 FT), 13 rebounds, 11 assists, one block and one steal across 36 minutes during Tuesday's 119-107 win over the Lakers.

Jokic was dominant on both ends of the court, and he opened the campaign by posting the 106th triple-double of his career. The two-time MVP winner nearly averaged a triple-double last season, and based on how dominant he looked Tuesday, it wouldn't be shocking if he pulls off that feat in 2023-24.

Williams (knee) isn't on the injury report for Wednesday's regular-season opener against the Clippers.

Williams is set to play Wednesday after missing the team's last three preseason contests due to a knee injury. After being traded from Boston this offseason, Williams is expected to serve as Deandre Ayton's backup at center.

Ayton (rest) isn't on the injury report for Wednesday's season opener against the Clippers.

Ayton will suit up for Wednesday's preseason opener after sitting out the team's preseason finale for rest purposes. Ayton is slated to start at center for Portland after being traded from Phoenix this offseason.

Zeller (back) isn't on the injury report for Wednesday's season opener against the Grizzlies.

Zeller is available for Wednesday's season opener despite not playing in the preseason with a back injury. He is expected to be New Orleans' third-string center behind Jonas Valanciunas and Larry Nance.