NBA Player News

Middleton (shoulder) will play Thursday against Sacramento, Ron Harrod Jr. of DLLS Sports reports.

Middleton was upgraded to probable leading up to tipoff, and he's now been given the green light to play Thursday night. He's averaging 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists over his last five games.

Jones will come off the bench for Thursday's game versus the Hornets, Scott Agness of FieldhouseFiles.com reports.

Obi Toppin (foot) is back and starting, which will result in Jones shifting back to a reserve role for the Pacers. As a member of the second unit this season, Jones has scored 2.1 points per game on 43.6 percent shooting.

Toppin (foot) will start at power forward Thursday's game against Charlotte, Scott Agness of FieldhouseFiles.com reports.

Toppin will enter the starting five in his first action since Oct. 26 following a lengthy recovery from right foot surgery. It's not quite clear how much he'll play while on a minutes limit, so there should still be plenty of opportunities off the bench for the likes of Kobe Brown and Micah Potter.

Embiid (shin, knee) will play in Thursday's game against the Heat, per Austin Krell of OnPattison.com.

As expected, the star big man is set to play after garnering a probable tag due to shin and knee issues Thursday. Embiid has reached peak form as of late, averaging 32.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 blocks in 33.4 minutes per game in his last seven contests.

Castle (hip) will play Thursday against Brooklyn, Paul Garcia of ProjectSpurs.com reports.

The team stated that Castle was expected to play despite being tagged as questionable, and he's since been cleared. The UConn product has scored in double figures in four straight games and is averaging 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 steals over that stretch.

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said that Williams will likely be out "at least a week" due to his strained right quad, Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic reports.

It sounds like Williams will miss at least the next three games for Chicago, with his earliest possible return coming next Thursday in Phoenix. Guerschon Yabusele, Nick Richards and Leonard Miller will likely divvy up Williams' minutes while he's sidelined.

Clarke (calf) is out for Friday's game against Dallas.

Memphis hasn't provided another update on Clarke's status since initially stating that he would miss the next 4-to-6 weeks while rehabbing from a Grade 2 right calf strain. He can be considered week-to-week until the Grizzlies release more information on his availability moving forward.

Smith, who is out for Thursday's game against the Trail Blazers, is expected to miss about one week with a right calf strain, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic.

The timeline for a return would put Smith out for at least Chicago's next three contests. Fantasy managers can look for the Bulls to lean on Nick Richards and Guerschon Yabusele to fill the void at center for now.

Aldama (knee) is out for Friday's game against the Mavericks.

Aldama remains sidelined due to a right knee injury. His next chance to take the court will arrive Sunday against the Pacers.

Anderson has been ruled out for Friday's game in Dallas due to personal reasons.

The Grizzlies are no longer listing Anderson's right knee tendinitis on the injury report, so it seems like his absence from Friday's game will be strictly due to personal reasons. It's unclear exactly what Anderson is dealing with, but for now, he should be considered questionable for Sunday's game in Indiana. Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Taylor Hendricks and GG Jackson will continue to pick up the slack in Anderson's absence.