NBA Player News

Vukcevic (hamstring) will not play Friday against the Lakers.

Vukcevic will be sidelined for the eighth straight game, and there's been no indication that he's close to a return. He can be considered week-to-week.

Bagley (back) will not play Friday against the Lakers.

Bagley will be sidelined for a fifth straight contest and remains without a timetable to return. His next chance to play comes Sunday against the Kings.

Johnson (ankle) will not play Friday against the Lakers.

Johnson suffered a left ankle sprain Thursday against the Bucks and was unable to return, so it's not a surprise to see him sitting out for this contest. In his absence, the Wizards will likely rely heavily on second-year point guard Bub Carrington.

Middleton (knee) won't play Friday against the Lakers.

Middleton will sit out for maintenance-related reasons for the second leg of this back-to-back set. During Thursday's game against the Bucks, Middleton logged 26 minutes with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Love (illness) will not play Friday against the Nets.

Love will join Jusuf Nurkic (illness) on the sidelines for this one. Love is sitting out for the second straight game, but he remains day-to-day with a chance to return Sunday against Toronto.

Nurkic (illness) will not play Friday against the Nets.

Nurkic was unable to shake his questionable tag for this contest. The same goes for Kevin Love (illness), leaving the Jazz shorthanded in the frontcourt. With this news, Kyle Filipowski and Taylor Hendricks could see expanded roles Friday.

McBride (ankle) is doubtful for Friday's game versus Portland.

McBride was previously labeled as questionable, suggesting that he's day-to-day. However, he appears likely to miss his second straight contest for New York. That could result in more minutes for Tyler Kolek and Landry Shamet.

Hart (ankle) is probable for Friday's game versus Portland.

Hart is trending towards playing after previously carrying a probable tag. If he can get through warmups without any setbacks, Hart is likely to get the green light to suit up. Over his last eight appearances, Hart has averaged 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 32.0 minutes per game.

Knueppel totaled 34 points (10-16 FG, 8-12 3Pt, 6-6 FT), four rebounds, three assists and one steal in 36 minutes during Thursday's 123-121 win over the Mavericks.

Cooper Flagg remains the best rookie in this year's class, but Knueppel has been better than advertised and has emerged as a key player for the Hornets already. This 34-point output was Knueppel's highest-scoring output of his career, and the eight three-pointers were also a career-best mark. Knueppel is averaging 18.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.8 three-pointers made per game since the beginning of January while making 42.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc over that stretch.

Ball ended with 22 points (8-17 FG, 6-10 3Pt), three rebounds, nine assists and one block over 31 minutes during Thursday's 123-121 win over Dallas.

Ball was locked in from three-point range and drained at least six threes for the seventh time this season, and he ended just one assist away from recording what would've been his third double-double of the month. Ball has been productive all season long, and his January numbers have been quite solid, but there's been some regression compared to the numbers he'd been posting in recent months. Over 16 games in January, he's averaging 17.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.5 three-pointers made. To put things into context, he was averaging 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game between October and December.