NBA Player News
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Isaiah Hartenstein C | OKC
Thunder's Isaiah Hartenstein: Out again Friday
Hartenstein (soleus) will remain on the sidelines for Friday's game in Memphis, Clemente Almanza of USA Today reports.
The Thunder rarely offer timetables on injured players, but Friday will mark Hartenstein's seventh straight game on the inactive list, and it's not a great sign that he continues to get ruled out 24 hours in advance of tipoff. With Chet Holmgren (shin) also set to skip Friday's game, Jalen Williams could be asked to spend more time at center, which could open up some more minutes for Aaron Wiggins and Kenrich Williams.
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Joel Embiid C | PHI
76ers' Joel Embiid: Added to injury report
Embiid is questionable for Friday's game against the Magic due to left knee injury management, Austin Krell of OnPattison.com reports.
Embiid has looked like his old self over his club's last five games, but he finds himself on the injury report yet again leading up to Friday's clash, likely as a precaution. The team will presumably monitor the big man closely during shootaround and pregame warmups before determining his availability in Orlando.
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Jakob Poeltl C | TOR
Raptors' Jakob Poeltl: Won't play Friday
Poeltl (back) will not play Friday against the Celtics.
Poeltl was scheduled to practice Thursday, but the center is not quite ready to return. His next chance to play comes Sunday against the 76ers. Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili are likely to see increased roles in the meantime.
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Jusuf Nurkic C | UTA
Jazz's Jusuf Nurkic: Iffy for Thursday
Nurkic (toe) is questionable for Thursday's game against Dallas.
Thursday's game is the second leg of a back-to-back set, and if recent back-to-backs have been any indication, Nurkic could be due for a maintenance day. During Wednesday's loss to the Thunder, Nurkic had 15 points (6-16 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 15 rebounds, four assists, one block and three steals over 33 minutes. Kyle Filipowski could see increased minutes Thursday if Nurkic is held out.
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Moe Wagner C | ORL
Magic's Moritz Wagner: Won't play Friday
Wagner (knee) is out for Friday's game against the 76ers.
The Magic had hoped Wagner would be able to make his season debut at some point this week, and his next chance to do so now arrives Sunday against the Pelicans. With the big man still recovering from ACL surgery, Goga Bitadze's minutes should remain solidified in the Orlando frontcourt.
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Jusuf Nurkic C | UTA
Jazz's Jusuf Nurkic: Big stat line in close loss
Nurkic racked up 15 points (6-16 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 15 rebounds, four assists, one block and three steals over 33 minutes before fouling out of Wednesday's 129-125 overtime loss to the Thunder.
Nurkic recorded his 10th double-double of the year, loading up the whole box score Wednesday. The veteran center has averaged a productive 15.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.0 steals in 30.0 minutes per contest across his last nine games, shooting an efficient 60.9 percent from the field as well.
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Al Horford C | GS
Warriors' Al Horford: Team-high 10 rebounds off bench
Horford ended Wednesday's 120-113 victory over the Bucks with eight points (3-6 FG, 2-4 3Pt), 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks over 19 minutes.
Despite coming off the bench, the 39-year-old big man collected a team-high 10 boards Wednesday. Horford has shown some per-minute upside recently, averaging 9.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks in 15.3 minutes over his last six outings, but he figures to continue splitting the center minutes with Quinten Post.
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Alex Sarr C | WAS
Wizards' Alex Sarr: Another strong line
Sarr posted 15 points (6-8 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals in 27 minutes during Wednesday's 131-110 loss to Philadelphia.
The Wizards traded for Trae Young (quadriceps) on Wednesday, and that could benefit Sarr over the long run as the point guard is known for generating easy looks for his pick-and-roll partners. Sarr has been trending up over his last three outings with 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 three-pointers.
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Steven Adams C | HOU
Rockets' Steven Adams: Busy in narrow defeat
Adams accumulated seven points (3-6 FG, 1-2 FT), 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals across 30 minutes during Wednesday's 103-102 loss to the Trail Blazers.
Adams stuffed the stat sheet Wednesday, and he should continue to start at center for the injured Alperen Sengun (ankle) for the next few weeks. Over nine outings as a starter, Adams has averaged 9.4 rebounds, 6.9 points, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.6 minutes per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the field.
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Paul Reed C | DET
Pistons' Paul Reed: Solid line in win
Reed closed with nine points (4-10 FG, 1-3 3Pt), six rebounds, six assists and one steal over 26 minutes during Wednesday's 108-93 victory over the Bulls.
Jalen Duren (ankle) remains out for Detroit, though he's due to be re-evaluated prior to their next game Saturday. Reed has fared well in his last three starts with 8.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 0.7 steals in 27.3 minutes per contest.