NBA Player News

Bitadze is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

The big man will retreat to the bench in favor of Wendell Carter on Thursday. Bitadze started in each of the club's last eight outings, during which he had averaged 4.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 assists across 19.4 minutes per contest.

Gobert (back) is questionable for Friday's game against the Rockets.

After missing Minnesota's final game before the All-Star break, Gobert continues to deal with back spasms. With Naz Reid already filling in for Julius Randle (groin) in the starting lineup, Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon could be in for expanded roles once again versus Houston.

Poeltl (hip) has been ruled out for Friday's game against the Heat, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Poeltl will now miss a sixth straight game for Toronto as he deals with a right hip contusion. Jonathan Mogbo will likely continue to get a boost in minutes with the veteran big man on the mend.

Poeltl (hip) has been listed as questionable for Friday's game against the Heat, Aaron Rose of SI.comreports.

Poeltl has missed the last five games for the Raptors while dealing with a hip issue. The veteran big man could be trending toward missing a sixth straight game, and if that turns out to be the case, Toronto will likely continue to lean on Jonathan Mogbo in the paint.

Adebayo (knee) is off the injury report for Friday's game at the Raptors.

A bruised left knee forced Adebayo to sit out the final game before the All-Star break -- a 118-113 loss to the Mavericks. After an up-and-down start to the campaign, the center has found his rhythm lately. Across the past 11 games, he's averaged 20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Williams (conditioning) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Nuggets.

Williams will be sidelined for the second game of a back-to-back on the road Thursday against the Nuggets. The 22-year-old big man missed six games before playing in Wednesday's win against the Lakers in Los Angeles, where he came one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points, nine boards and two assists. The Hornets will likely turn to Jusuf Nurkic and Moussa Diabate to help shoulder the load in the frontcourt.

The Mavericks will list Powell (hip) as out for Friday's game against the Pelicans, Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com reports.

Powell has missed the Mavericks' last 14 games with a right hip strain, but head coach Jason Kidd said Thursday that the veteran big man is "trending in the right direction" after participating in practice, Christian Clark of The Athletic reports. The big man's return to practice came after he reportedly took part in full workout in Miami over the All-Star break, per Afseth. Though Powell has largely been outside of the rotation this season, long-term injuries to Daniel Gafford (knee), Dereck Lively (ankle) and Anthony Davis (adductor) could clear the way for Powell to have a regular role once he's cleared to play.

The Mavericks announced Thursday that Davis will have his left adductor strain re-evaluated in two weeks.

During his debut with the Mavericks on Feb. 8 in the win against the Rockets, Davis went down with a left adductor strain, keeping him out the last three games for Dallas. The superstar big man will remain sidelined for at least the next two weeks before having the injury re-evaluated to determine a timetable for his return to the floor. The one-time NBA champion finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in his first game with the team, showing his vast array of skills on both ends of the floor. In his absence, the Mavericks have had to turn to Kessler Edwards and Olivier-Maxence Prosper in the frontcourt, with Daniel Gafford (knee) and Dereck Lively (ankle) also injured.

Wembanyama will not play for the remainder of the 2024-25 season due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

According to Charania, the Spurs believe the blood clot is isolated. Still, it's a serious medical diagnosis, and the team will have Wembanyama sit out the remainder of the season for his safety and to get more information. Wembanyama's season ends with averages of 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.8 blocks and 1.1 steals -- numbers worthy of earning the league's Defensive Player of the Year award, though Wembanyama won't be eligible for the honor due to the amount of games he'll miss. The Spurs will presumably fill in the center spot with a combination of Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jeremy Sochan and Charles Bassey (knee). The organization may also make a move to pick up a free-agent center.

Williams registered 10 points (3-7 FG, 4-4 FT), nine rebounds and two assists across 29 minutes in Wednesday's 100-97 win over the Lakers.

Though he missed the Hornets' final six games before the All-Star break in the aftermath of his trade to the Lakers being nixed due to a failed physical, Williams rejoined Charlotte following the All-Star break and took back his spot in the starting five. Since he wasn't returning from an injury, Williams didn't operate with any sort of playing-time restriction in his return, as he handily outpaced backup Jusuf Nurkic (18) in minutes. Whatever physical concerns prompted the Lakers to rescind the trade don't look to be concerning enough for the Hornets to hold Williams out of action, though the third-year big man could still be a candidate to rest in one half of back-to-back sets. As such, Williams may end up sitting out Thursday's game in Denver.