NBA Player News

Lively (ankle) has been cleared to play in Wednesday's game against the Hawks.

Lively will return to action after missing the Mavericks' previous 36 games due to a right ankle stress fracture. Dallas is finally starting to get healthy in the frontcourt, with Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford and now Lively all returning to action recently following extended absences. Lively will likely be operating with a minute restriction in his return.

Davis (groin) has been cleared to play Wednesday against the Hawks.

Davis will be available to play Wednesday against Atlanta, marking the fifth game he'll play since returning from his groin injury. The superstar big man is averaging 14.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 37.7 percent from the floor across the last four games he's played for Dallas.

Horford (toe) has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Heat, Zack Cox of the Boston Herald reports.

After an impressive 26-point performance in Monday's win against the Grizzlies, Horford will not see the floor Wednesday against Miami due to a persistent toe injury. The Celtics will likely turn to Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman to shoulder the load in the frontcourt, which takes on more importance without Kristaps Porzingis (illness), who was also ruled out for this game.

Porzingis has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Heat due to return-from-illness reconditioning, Zack Cox of the Boston Herald reports.

Porzingis played in seven of the Celtics' last eight games after returning from an extended absence due to a viral infection, and he averaged 21.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 blocks in 29.3 minutes per contest over that span. He'll take a seat Wednesday as he continues to work on his conditioning, but he should be available to play against the Suns on Friday. With Porzingis and Al Horford (toe) both out, Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta should see the bulk of the big man minutes against Miami. However, Xavier Tillman could see some time in the rotation after starting Monday against the Grizzlies.

Gibson (illness) has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Pacers.

After playing only five minutes in Monday's loss to the Jazz, Gibson won't be available to play Wednesday in Indiana due to an illness. The veteran big man hasn't made much of an impact this season from a fantasy perspective, averaging just 11.0 minutes per game for the Hornets.

Drummond (toe) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Bucks, Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com reports.

The 76ers announced Saturday that Drummond would be out for at least five more games due to a left toe sprain, so his absence will extend through Saturday's contest versus Minnesota. The 76ers will then re-evaluate Drummond before determining whether he has any chance at playing again over the final week of the season. Adem Bona should continue to handle the bulk of the minutes at center in the meantime.

Turner (illness) is available for Wednesday's game against the Hornets, Tony East of WTHR Channel 13 Indianapolis reports.

Turner has been dealing with an illness, but the big man will give it a go and should handle his regular workload in the frontcourt. He's expected to return to the starting lineup following a one-game absence. Turner has been averaging 15.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.9 blocks per game in 15 contests since the beginning of March.

Embiid is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee next week, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

After being ruled out for the rest of the season in late February, Embiid met with team doctors to decide on a treatment plan for his lingering left knee injury. Following several weeks of consultations and tests, surgery was determined to be the best course of action. According to Charania, Embiid will be re-evaluated six weeks after the procedure, his second surgery on the knee over the past 14 months. While he's expected to make a full recovery, Embiid won't have any assurances of being ready to go for the start of the 2025-26 season. Embiid appeared in just 19 games this season and averaged 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 0.9 blocks over 30.2 minutes per game, and his 44.4 percent mark from the field was the lowest of his nine-year NBA career.

Ayton (calf) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Raptors.

Ayton will miss a 22nd straight game for the Trail Blazers as he deals with a strained left calf. The next opportunity for the veteran big man to return to the floor will be Friday against the Bulls.

Poeltl will be rested Thursday against Portland.

The trend of Poeltl appearing in every other game for Toronto will continue. Presumably, Poeltl will be back for Friday's game against Detroit. In his absence Thursday, Orlando Robinson and Jonathan Mogbo could see increased roles.