NBA Player News

Embiid (knee) will not play Wednesday against the Rockets, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Embiid did not participate in Tuesday's practice and will miss his third game in a row Wednesday. Philadelphia's franchise center has appeared in just four games this season, and the 76ers continue to tread carefully with him while he manages a left knee injury. Embiid's next chance to play will be Saturday against Detroit, and in the meantime, Andre Drummond and Guerschon Yabusele will likely hold down the fort at center.

Hayes (ankle) is available for Tuesday's game against the Suns.

After missing the past six games for Los Angeles, Hayes is no longer appearing on the injury report. The reserve center holds season averages of 6.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks through 10 appearances thus far.

Charlotte recalled Richards (ribs) from the G League's Greensboro Swarm on Monday.

Richards has missed the past 12 games for Charlotte, but after getting in a practice with the Swarm, it's likely that he's getting closer to a full return to action. Similar to Mark Williams (foot), it remains unclear if Richards will be able to play Wednesday against the Heat.

Charlotte recalled Williams from the G League's Greensboro Swarm on Monday.

Williams was sent to the Swarm to get some practice reps in, and he was recalled shortly after. The same is true for Nick Richards (ribs). Williams is presumably getting closer to making his first appearance of the season, but it remains to be seen if he'll take the floor Wednesday against the Heat.

Hartenstein chipped in 17 points (8-14 FG, 1-1 FT), 10 rebounds and four assists over 32 minutes during Monday's 130-109 win over Sacramento.

Hartenstein came off the bench in his season debut and needed only one appearance before moving into the starting unit, posting another double-double just like he did in his campaign opener. Hartenstein is expected to anchor things down low for the Thunder and should have an excellent two-way upside as long as he remains in a starting role.

Sabonis racked up 21 points (7-12 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 6-8 FT), 10 rebounds, three assists, one block and three steals in 35 minutes during Monday's 130-109 loss to the Thunder.

Sabonis has remained consistent despite the Kings' ongoing four-game losing streak, posting a double-double in the three games he's been available for during that negative run. Sabonis has posted a double-double in every one of his appearances except the season opener. The star big man is averaging 18.6 points, 13.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game since the start of November.

Zubac finished Monday's 126-94 loss to the Celtics with 23 points (11-14 FG, 1-4 FT), 10 rebounds, one assist and one block across 29 minutes.

Zubac's breakout season continued Monday as he recorded his 12th double-double of the campaign. He's on pace for an eighth-round finish in nine-category formats, but if you're punting free throws, he jumps to a fourth-round valuation. For the season, he's averaging an impressive 15.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 blocks in 33.0 minutes.

Jokic closed Monday's 145-118 loss to the Knicks with 22 points (9-20 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 32 minutes.

Jokic didn't record a double-double or a triple-double just for the second time this season, and this tells you all you need to know about how dominant the three-time MVP winner has been in 2024-25. Despite the subpar outing, Jokic still finished just three boards and three assists away from another triple-double. His ability to impact the game in multiple ways is what has him as the best player in fantasy across all formats this season -- and by a considerable margin.

Queta posted 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-2 FT), nine rebounds, three assists, four blocks and two steals over 25 minutes during Monday's 126-94 victory over the Clippers.

The Celtics were missing Al Horford (illness) and Luke Kornet (hamstring) for the second leg of this back-to-back set, while Kristaps Porzingis returned to action with 23 minutes. Queta absorbed the available center minutes and made the most of them, recording a season-high four blocks in the process. He's been excellent in limited minutes for the Celtics this season, but it's hard to see a path to consistent value now that the team is getting healthier up front.

Porzingis (foot) finished with 16 points (6-12 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 3-4 FT), six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal across 23 minutes in Monday's 126-94 win over the Clippers.

As anticipated, Porzingis started but was operating on a minute restriction in his 2024-25 debut, after he had missed the first 17 games of the season while completing his recovery from the surgery he underwent in June to fix a tear in the tissue that holds the ankle tendons in place. Though Porzingis had been expected to require 5-to-6 months of recovery time, he made it back on the court in a little under five months. Aside from some poor shooting from the perimeter, Porzingis more or less looked like himself Monday, and he should see his playing time gradually increase during the Celtics' upcoming games. Porzingis will be a candidate to sit out one half of back-to-back sets for the rest of the season, however.