NBA Player News

Castle is not in the Spurs' starting lineup against the Mavericks on Thursday.

Castle has started in each of his 40 games prior to Thursday's contest, but he has seen his production dip as of late. The Spurs will change things up by shifting Castle to a bench role while moving veteran Harrison Barnes back into the starting lineup.

Pippen (toe) is questionable for Friday's game in Portland.

This is the first time that Pippen has received the questionable tag this season, so it's possible he could be making his regular-season debut Friday night. He'll likely have some minutes restrictions in his first game back, but if Pippen is cleared, he'd be worth a look in deep leagues. Through 15 games in March last season, Pippen registered averages of 12.1 points, 5.3 assists, 1.5 triples and 2.1 steals per contest on 51/46/86 shooting splits.

Jerome (calf) has been ruled out for Friday's game against the Trail Blazers.

Jerome has played in each of the Grizzlies' last three games after missing the first 46 games of the regular season due to a right calf strain that he suffered during the preseason. Memphis plays a back-to-back set against Portland on Friday and Saturday, so Jerome will be sidelined for the first leg and should be available for the second. Cam Spencer figures to enter the Grizzlies' starting lineup in Jerome's absence.

Watson has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain, and he's expected to miss an extended amount of time, Tony Jones of The Athletic reports.

While Watson doesn't have an official timetable to return, it's worth noting that Aaron Gordon missed over a month when he suffered his initial hamstring injury, so Watson's timetable will likely be measured in weeks, not days. Julian Strawther, Spencer Jones, Tim Hardaway and Zeke Nnaji will attempt to help fill the void at the forward spots in Denver while Watson and Gordon are sidelined.

Eason (lower leg) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Hornets.

Eason popped up on Thursday's injury report as questionable due to a lower leg injury, and it wasn't until minutes before the 8:00 p.m. ET tipoff when the fourth-year pro was officially ruled out. Josh Okogie will enter the Rockets' starting lineup in Eason's absence.

Olynyk (foot) is available for Thursday's game against the Mavericks, Paul Garcia of ProjectSpurs.com reports.

Olynyk was ruled out for Wednesday's clash due to a foot injury, but he'll be available if needed against Dallas. He could see some minutes behind Victor Wembanyama as the backup center with Luke Kornet (ankle) ruled out.

Okogie is in the Rockets' starting lineup against the Hornets on Thursday, Lachard Binkley of SI.com reports.

Okogie has come off the bench in the Rockets' last three games, but he'll make his 29th start of the season Thursday due to the uncertainty over whether Tari Eason (lower leg) will play. Okogie has averaged 3.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists over 18.6 minutes per game since Jan. 1.

Koloko is not in the Hawks' starting lineup against the Jazz on Thursday.

Koloko has started in two of the Hawks' last three games in the absence of Onyeka Okongwu (mouth). Even with Okongwu ruled out Thursday, Koloko will revert to a bench role while newcomer Jock Landale makes his Hawks debut as a member of the team's starting five.

Simons is in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the Raptors.

This certainly doesn't cement Simons in as a starter moving forward, as the Bulls are without several key backcourt contributors Thursday, including Josh Giddey (hamstring), Collin Sexton (recently traded) and Tre Jones (hamstring). However, this should be a great opportunity for Simons to show what he can do in his first action with the Bulls.

Landale is in the Hawks' starting lineup against the Jazz on Thursday.

Landale went from being the Grizzlies' roster to the Jazz's on Tuesday as part of the Jaren Jackson trade, only for the former to be moved to the Hawks one day later. Landale has been given the green light to make his Hawks debut Thursday, and he'll be a member of the team's starting lineup while Christian Koloko comes off the bench. Landale averaged 11.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals over 28.6 minutes per game over his last five starts with Memphis.