NBA Player News

Porzingis (illness) said that he'll play in Saturday's game against the Lakers, Noa Dalzell of sbnation.com reports.

Porzingis is set to return from a four-game absence due to an illness. The big man has appeared in three of the club's eight outings since the All-Star break, during which he has averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks across 28.3 minutes per contest.

Boucher (wisdom tooth extraction) is doubtful for Friday's game versus the Jazz, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Boucher has been downgraded from probable to doubtful Friday due to a wisdom tooth extraction. With Jakob Poeltl (rest) and Jonathan Mogbo (nose) already ruled out against Utah, Orlando Robinson and Colin Castleton should receive the majority of the minutes in Toronto's frontcourt.

Turner supplied 17 points (6-8 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 4-4 FT), nine rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal in 34 minutes during Thursday's 124-118 loss to the Hawks.

The big man came one rebound shy of his 11th double-double on the season, finishing as the club's third-leading scorer behind Pascal Siakam (35 points) and Aaron Nesmith (21 points). Additionally, Turner recorded multiple blocks for the 29th time across 54 regular-season appearances. The 28-year-old center has recorded 16 or more points in each of his last eight appearances since the All-Star break, during which he has averaged 18.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals across 32.1 minutes per contest.

Drummond had nine points (4-10 FG, 1-2 3Pt), 10 rebounds, two assists and one steal in 25 minutes during Thursday's 123-105 loss to the Celtics.

The 76ers continue to roll with Drummond as their preferred starting center in the absence of Joel Embiid (knee). Over his last five games, Drummond has been productive with 11.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 24.6 minutes per game.

Kornet had nine points (4-4 FG, 1-2 FT), seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks in 32 minutes during Thursday's 123-105 win over the 76ers.

Al Horford (toe) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) were both held out Thursday, allowing Kornet to make another start for Boston. For the most part, he's been a serviceable streamer when the Celtics have been shorthanded this season. In 10 total starts this campaign, Kornet holds averages of 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.3 blocks and 0.9 steals.

Carter produced 17 points (5-9 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 5-6 FT), five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal across 26 minutes during Thursday's 125-123 loss to Chicago.

Carter delivered an efficient performance from the field Thursday, recording 17-plus points for just the third time on the season. The big man also sank two three-pointers, marking his fourth game with multiple triples through 51 regular-season appearances. Carter has started in each of the club's last eight outings since the All-Star break, during which he has averaged 10.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists across 26.9 minutes per contest.

Missi supplied 10 points (3-5 FG, 4-6 FT), four rebounds and one assist over 28 minutes during Thursday's 109-97 loss to Houston.

Although he's averaging 24.8 minutes per game over his last 10 outings, Missi's production has left a lot to be desired. In that stretch, Missi has been well outside the top-200 in nine-category formats, averaging 8.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks on 51.3 percent shooting from the field.

Jemison recorded seven points (3-4 FG, 1-2 FT) and four rebounds over 13 minutes during Thursday's 113-109 overtime win over the Knicks.

Jemison made the most of his limited action Thursday, but his low workload makes him difficult to trust in fantasy. As long as Jaxson Hayes is the preferred option at center, minutes will be hard to come by for Jemison. In his last four appearances, Jemison has averaged just 17.7 minutes per contest with 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

The Raptors recalled Castleton from the G League's Raptors 905 on Friday. Castleton registered 27 points (12-18 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 1-2 FT), six rebounds, one assist, two blocks and one steal over 43 minutes Thursday during the G League Raptors 905's 120-117 loss to the College Park Skyhawks.

After signing a 10-day deal with Toronto, Castleton will be available to make his team debut in Friday's game against the Jazz, and he could be featured in the rotation with starting center Jakob Poeltl (rest) and reserve big man Jonathan Mogbo (nose) both sitting out. Castleton suited up for Toronto's G League affiliate, Raptors 905, on Thursday, finishing with 27 points (12-18 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 1-2 FT), six rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal in 34 minutes. The second-year center has previously made 26 appearances at the NBA level, with 16 coming with the Lakers in 2023-24 and 10 coming earlier this season with the Grizzlies.

The Mavericks announced Friday that Davis (adductor) is improving daily and has been cleared for more on-court movements, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports.

While Davis is progressing from the left adductor strain he sustained in his Mavericks debut Feb. 8, the team's latest update doesn't shed much light on how close he actually is to playing again. Notably, Friday's update doesn't indicate that Davis is ready to practice, so he looks to be in the week-to-week stage of his recovery rather than day-to-day. In the wake of Kyrie Irving (knee) recently suffering a season-ending ACL tear, the Mavericks could opt to shut Davis down if the injury-ravaged club isn't confident in its ability to make a deep playoff run.