NBA News & Fantasy Basketball Notes 3/25

Mar 25th 2023Connor Learn

Each day, this column will provide live updates for all NBA news. Enjoy up-to-the-minute alerts for injuries and lineup confirmations. The Key News to Watch section will highlight notable injuries to monitor for the current NBA slate.

Key NBA News to Watch

  • Joel Embiid (calf) — Available

  • James Harden (Achilles) — Out

  • Trae Young (calf) — Available

  • De'Aaron Fox (hamstring) — Out

  • Tyrese Haliburton (injury management) — Available

  • Lauri Markkanen (hand) — Out

  • Jordan Clarkson (finger) — Out

  • Myles Turner (back) — Out

  • Bennedict Mathurin (injury management) — Available

  • De'Andre Hunter (knee) — Out

  • Trey Murphy (toe) — Available

Recent NBA News

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Indiana Pacers News

Confirmed Lineup: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Isaiah Jackson

  • Tyrese Haliburton (injury management) — Available

  • Myles Turner (back) — Out

  • Bennedict Mathurin (injury management) — Available

  • Chris Duarte (ankle) — Available

Mathurin started instead of Buddy Hield, but both played at least 14.5 first-half minutes during Friday's blowout loss. Hield was asked to assume additional facilitating responsibilities in his new role and dished out four assists. Mathurin scored two points on one-for-four shooting after previously registering a -6.8% usage differential when sharing the court with Haliburton and Turner.

Atlanta Hawks News

Confirmed Lineup: Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, John Collins, Clint Capela

  • Trae Young (calf) — Available

  • Dejounte Murray (illness) — Not on injury report

  • De'Andre Hunter (knee) — Out

  • Jalen Johnson (hamstring, groin) — Injured

Bogdan Bogdanovic could continue to start while Aaron Holiday and Garrison Mathews remain in the rotation if Young or Hunter are sidelined. Murray (29.2%), Hunter (23.0%), and Bogdanovic (21.9%) led the Hawks in usage, while Murray (31.6%) and Bogdanovic (20.0%) posted the highest assist rates on the team during the last four games Young missed.

Brooklyn Nets News

Confirmed Lineup: Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton

  • Seth Curry (personal) — Out

  • Ben Simmons (back) — Injured

Johnson (41.5%), Cam Thomas (29.2%), and Finney-Smith (23.8%) recorded dramatically reduced effective field goal percentages during the last four games. Dinwiddie, Bridges, and Royce O'Neale could shoulder more of the offense if that trend continues during Curry's absence.

Miami Heat News

Confirmed Lineup: Gabe Vincent, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love, Bam Adebayo

  • Kyle Lowry (knee) — Available

  • Caleb Martin (knee) — Available

  • Nikola Jovic (back) — Out

  • Cody Zeller (nose) — Injured

Butler has been playing potentially his best basketball in the season lately, leading the Heat with 26.6% usage and 28.3% assist rates as he's recorded a 61.0 eFG% during the last 10 contests. However, he hasn't exceeded 20 points in his last five matches against teams that employ Mikal Bridges, including a 13-point performance on four-for-11 shooting last month.

Milwaukee Bucks News

Confirmed Lineup: Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez

  • Joe Ingles (injury management) — Not on injury report

  • Jae Crowder (calf) — Out

  • Meyers Leonard (calf) — Out

  • Goran Dragic (knee) — Out

Before Middleton was ruled out Friday, Lopez (18.8%) and Holiday (18.2%) had submitted diminished usage rates while sharing the floor more with Middleton and Antetokounmpo during the last five matches. That trend will likely persist: Lopez (-6.3%) and Holiday (-6.2%) have posted sharply negative usage differentials when sharing the court with Middleton and Antetokounmpo this season.

Denver Nuggets News

Confirmed Lineup: Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic

After being a surprising strength for most of the season, Milwaukee's perimeter defense has regressed as they've allowed the sixth-most made threes per game (13.9) during their last 10 matches. Murray and Porter Jr. have shot 42.7% or better from downtown while leading the Nuggets with 3.2 made threes per game this month.

Philadelphia 76ers News

Confirmed Lineup: Tyrese Maxey, De'Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker, Joel Embiid

  • Joel Embiid (calf) — Available

  • James Harden (Achilles) — Out

  • Jalen McDaniels (hip) — Available

  • Danuel House (shoulder) — Out

Coach Rivers said Friday they're expressing caution with Harden at this point in the season and also remarked that Harden is likelier to return for Monday's game than Saturday's. Though Melton and Harris will likely be tasked with generating additional offense if Harden remains out, Embiid and Maxey's roles should remain the most expanded.

Phoenix Suns News

Confirmed Lineup: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Josh Okogie, Torrey Craig, Bismack Biyombo

  • Deandre Ayton (hip) — Out

  • Kevin Durant (ankle) — Injured

The Suns have gone 5-5, and the 76ers have gone 8-3 when playing on zero days of rest this season. Additionally, Phoenix has an 11-15 record against teams with top-ten point differentials, scoring the eighth-fewest points per 100 possessions (111.8) during those contests. Philadelphia has recorded the fourth-best point differential (+5.2) league-wide.

Utah Jazz News

Confirmed Lineup: Talen Horton-Tucker, Ochai Agbaji, Simone Fontecchio, Kelly Olynyk, Walker Kessler

  • Lauri Markkanen (hand) — Out

  • Jordan Clarkson (finger) — Out

  • Rudy Gay (back) — Out

  • Collin Sexton (hamstring) — Injured

Simone Fontecchio will continue to start while additional shots are available across the lineup if Markkanen and Clarkson remain out. Horton-Tucker, Olynyk, and Kris Dunn will also be asked to facilitate more of the offense as they retain increasingly featured roles in that event.

Sacramento Kings News

Confirmed Lineup: Davion Mitchell, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis

  • De'Aaron Fox (hamstring) — Out

Though Mitchell has averaged 29.0 minutes in games Fox has missed this season, Huerter and Barnes' roles arguably expanded most during those contests. Huerter logged +2.5% usage and +6.6% assist rate differentials, while Barnes posted +3.4% usage and +3.0% assist rate differentials.

New Orleans Pelicans News

Confirmed Lineup: CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy, Jonas Valanciunas

  • Trey Murphy (toe) — Available

  • Jose Alvarado (leg) — Injured

  • Zion Williamson (hamstring) — Injured

Ingram returned from a sprained ankle to record at least six assists in the last five contests, leading the team with an elevated 34.9% assist rate. Conversely, McCollum logged a reduced 20.1% assist rate during those matches and has dished out six or fewer assists during the last four games. Both players could handle slightly less of the facilitating responsibilities if Josh Richardson and Dyson Daniels absorb a majority of Murphy's minutes in the event he's ruled out.

Los Angeles Clippers News

Confirmed Lineup: Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, Ivica Zubac

  • Brandon Boston Jr. (tailbone) — Out

  • Paul George (knee) — Injured

  • Norman Powell (shoulder) — Injured

Westbrook (30.7%), Gordon (22.9%), and Morris (19.5%) recorded heightened usage rates while Bones Hyland was asked to generate offense off the bench in the first game of George's absence Thursday. While Leonard will generally be more involved offensively than the 13-for-15 shooting performance he submitted in 34.5 minutes, Westbrook, Gordon, Morris, and Hyland will similarly play heightened roles until Powell returns.