NBA Player News

Ayton (knee) has been listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Magic, Sean Highkin of Rip City Radio 620 Portland reports.

Ayton is coming off one of his best performances of the season for the Trail Blazers, posting a double-double in Tuesday's win against the Heat. However, he got hurt on his way to 22 points and 15 rebounds, which puts his status in doubt against Orlando. If Ayton can't play Thursday, Robert Williams could see more time on the floor.

Sarr finished Tuesday's 111-88 loss to the Lakers with 10 points (5-14 FG, 0-3 3Pt), six rebounds, two assists, five blocks and one steal over 27 minutes.

Sarr recorded a career-high five blocks in the losing effort, which was a big step in the right direction -- he had nine blocks in his previous 10 games. However, he remains a huge project on the offensive end, as he's hitting 38.4 percent from the field in 11 January appearances.

Porzingis (illness) is questionable for Wednesday's game against the Clippers, Justin Turpin of WEEI.com reports.

Porzingis was a late addition to the injury report, which doesn't bode well for his status. Tuesday's game is the front end of a back-to-back set, and Porzingis will likely play in just one of these games at best. Al Horford (toe) is also questionable, so Luke Kornet could be on the streaming radar for this back-to-back.

Lively was diagnosed Wednesday with a small fracture in his right foot and is expected to miss 2-to-3 months, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

After a slow start to the season, Lively appeared to have established himself as the Mavericks' clear No. 1 center ahead of Daniel Gafford while averaging 26.8 minutes per game over Dallas' first six games of the new year before exiting early in a Jan. 14 loss to the Nuggets with what was labeled as a right ankle sprain. Lively proceeded to miss the next three games, and after further examination, he was determined to have suffered structural damage to his foot. With Lively now in store for an absence that looks set to stretch into at least late March, Gafford should be in for an extended run as the team's starting center, making him a must-roster option in every format. Gafford has averaged 22.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 2.3 assists in 28.0 minutes over the last three contests while Lively has been sidelined.

Poeltl produced eight points (4-6 FG), three rebounds and one block in 19 minutes before fouling out of Tuesday's 109-93 win over the Magic.

Poeltl has picked up 11 fouls over his last two outings, limiting him to 20.5 minutes per contest. Fantasy managers can view this as a bump in the road in a solid season for Toronto's center. In 10 January outings, Poeltl has averaged 13.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.1 steals.

Adebayo produced 12 points (5-10 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 2-3 FT) and 10 rebounds across 22 minutes during Tuesday's 116-107 loss to Portland.

This workload is very concerning for fantasy managers, especially with Adebayo playing just 25 minutes the game prior. Meanwhile, Kel'el Ware has averaged 36.5 minutes in his last two outings. Although coach Erik Spoelstra is starting those two alongside each other, the early returns have been less than ideal for Adebayo from a fantasy perspective.

Collins (hip) has been cleared to play for Wednesday's game against the Thunder.

Collins has missed Utah's last eight games, but he has the green light to return along with Lauri Markkanen (back). Collins has had a tremendous season when he's been healthy, averaging 17.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field.

Carlson re-signed Wednesday with the Thunder on a second 10-day contract, Clemente Almanza of USA Today reports.

Carlson was previously waived off the 15-man roster Jan. 7 in anticipation of two-way player Ajay Mitchell being upgraded to a standard contract. Still, that plan was put on hold after Mitchell suffered a turf toe sprain that will keep him sidelined for multiple months. Once Carlson cleared waivers, the Thunder quickly brought him back on a 10-day deal to fill the open roster spot. After re-signing to another 10-day pact, Carlson will be in the fold through Jan. 31 before Oklahoma City would have to either sign him to a rest-of-season deal or let him walk. Carlson has appeared in 13 games for the Thunder thus far, averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per contest.

Claxton had eight points (4-11 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 0-2 FT), 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals over 34 minutes during Tuesday's 99-95 loss to the Knicks.

This was Claxton's 11th game of the campaign with double-digit boards. His production has been pretty sporadic for most of the season, and he's currently on pace to finish outside the top-150 in nine-category formats. If you take free throws out of the equation, however, he's been a ninth-round value.

Ayton recorded 22 points (11-14 FG, 0-1 3Pt), 15 rebounds, two assists and one steal across 34 minutes in Tuesday's 116-107 win over the Heat before checking out of the game with 1:38 remaining in the fourth quarter to receive treatment on the bench for an apparent lower-body injury, Brandon Goldner Mullen of BlazersEdge.com reports.

The veteran center came through with a strong showing against a tough Miami defense, and he was especially active on the glass, with his six offensive boards leading to 11 second-chance points for Portland. Ayton's status will warrant monitoring heading into the Trail Blazers' next game Thursday in Orlando, however, as he checked out of the game in crunch time after seemingly tweaking his leg at some point in the fourth quarter. Robert Williams finished out the contest as the Trail Blazers' center and would likely start Thursday if Ayton can't play in the front end of a back-to-back set.