NBA Player News

Holiday chipped in 23 points (8-18 FG, 2-8 3Pt, 5-6 FT), seven rebounds, three assists and one block in 33 minutes during Sunday's 122-110 victory over the Kings.

Holiday posted a strong stat line in the regular-season finale, and he's been one of the most consistent players for Portland all season long. The veteran floor general, who figures to play a big role for the Blazers in their postseason run as they'll attempt to get past the Play-In Tournament, averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game in 53 appearances (51 starts) in the regular season. Those numbers are an upgrade compared to what he had done in his previous two seasons with the Celtics.

Avdija recorded 25 points (9-19 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 2-3 FT), six rebounds and 10 assists over 33 minutes during Sunday's 122-110 win over the Kings.

Avdija ended just four rebounds shy of ending the best regular season of his career with a triple-double, and the forward should play a massive role on offense for the Trail Blazers in the Play-In Tournament. Avdija will carry a hot hand into Tuesday's matchup against the Suns, scoring at least 20 points in his last eight games while averaging 26.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game in that span. Over the entire season, Avdija averaged a career-best 24.2 points, adding 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game in 66 starts.

Watkins chipped in 24 points (7-13 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 5-6 FT), four rebounds, three assists and one block in 34 minutes during Sunday's 130-117 loss to Cleveland.

Watkins ended his rookie season with a bang, posting a career-high 24 points. With most of the roster shut down by injuries, Watkins played a key role down the stretch. Over his last seven games, he stood out with 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.9 three-pointers in 28.1 minutes per contest.

Clifford totaled 24 points (10-13 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 4-4 FT), seven rebounds, five assists and one block in 39 minutes during Sunday's 122-110 loss to the Trail Blazers.

Clifford was one of the young players who benefited from steady playing time in a struggling Kings team, and his numbers evolved as the season went on. The former Colorado State standout started in 28 of his 75 appearances and posted decent numbers, averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest while shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. However, his growth after the All-Star break was noticeable, as he averaged 13.2 points, 5.2 boards, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 23 games since the break while shooting 35.9 percent from three.

Raynaud provided 21 points (7-10 FG, 3-4 3Pt, 4-4 FT), nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal in 37 minutes during Sunday's 122-110 loss to the Trail Blazers.

Raynaud was one of the most productive rookies in the 2025-26 NBA season despite being a second-round pick, as the Stanford star grabbed a starting role once Domantas Sabonis (knee) was ruled out for the rest of the season and produced impressive numbers. Raynaud finished his first year in The Association with averages of 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game while starting in 56 of his 74 regular-season appearances and logging 26.6 minutes per game. Raynaud also recorded 18 double-doubles and shot 57.1 percent from the floor.

Achiuwa amassed 27 points (10-21 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 7-11 FT), 11 rebounds, four assists and one block across 35 minutes during Sunday's 122-110 loss to the Trail Blazers.

Even though he's no longer a young player, it's clear that Achiuwa took advantage of his opportunity to play regular rotation minutes with the Kings, and he showed he can still be a productive player when given a big enough role. Achiuwa made a career-high 57 starts and posted personal-best numbers in points (10.1), rebounds (6.7), assists (1.4) and steals (0.9) per game while playing 23.9 minutes per game, another career-high mark.

Doncic (hamstring) is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Tuesday, Shams Charania reported on the Pat McAfee Show.

Doncic spent the past week in Spain undergoing multiple injection treatments on his Grade 2 hamstring strain. Charania notes that the expectation is that Doncic will be sidelined to start the series, which comes as no surprise, but there should be a better understanding of his timeline once the Lakers re-evaluate him.

James supplied 11 points (4-7 FG, 3-4 3Pt), one rebound, four assists and one steal in 19 minutes during Sunday's 131-107 win over the Jazz.

James took advantage of the minutes he logged off the bench and posted a decent stat line all around. His improvement compared to the rookie year has been noticeable, but he's not likely to play a big role in the Lakers' rotation throughout the playoffs, even with Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) sidelined.

Ayton provided 22 points (10-14 FG, 2-2 FT), 10 rebounds, one assist and three blocks in 26 minutes during Sunday's 131-107 victory over Utah.

Ayton co-led the Lakers in scoring alongside Rui Hachimura, and the big man will need to provide this kind of output on offense in a difficult first-round series against the Rockets due to the likely absences of Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) for much of the series. Ayton averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game across 72 starts in the regular season.

Hachimura produced 22 points (8-12 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 10 rebounds and one steal across 29 minutes during Sunday's 131-107 victory over the Jazz.

With no Luka Doncic (hamstring) or Austin Reaves (oblique) in the lineup, and with LeBron James logging only 17 minutes, Hachimura co-led the Lakers in scoring alongside Deandre Ayton. With Doncic and Reaves not expected to be a factor in the early stages of the playoff series against the Rockets, Hachimura will be tasked with playing a big role on offense as a scorer behind James. Hachimura averaged 11.5 points per game across 68 appearances (41 starts) in 2025-26, but that number increased marginally to 13.4 points per contest when he was part of the first unit.