NBA News & Fantasy Basketball Notes 2/23

Feb 23rd 2024

Cooper Boni

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

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) — Available

  • LeBron James (ankle) — Available

  • Anthony Davis (Achilles, hip) — Available

  • Donovan Mitchell (illness) — Out

  • Zion Williamson (foot) — Available

  • Jamal Murray (leg) — Out

  • LaMelo Ball (ankle) — Out

  • Brandon Ingram (illness) — Out

  • Jaren Jackson Jr. (quad) — Available

  • Tyler Herro (foot) — Available

  • Bradley Beal (hamstring) — Out

  • Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) — Out

  • RJ Barrett (injury management) — Out

  • Deni Avdija (heel) — Out

  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (finger) — Available

  • Nicolas Batum (injury recovery) — In

Follow us on Twitter at @Underdog__NBA for notifications.

Toronto Raptors News

Confirmed Lineup: Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr., Jordan Nwora, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl

  • RJ Barrett (injury management) — Out

Atlanta Hawks News

Confirmed Lineup: Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela

  • Clint Capela (adductor) — In

  • Wesley Matthews (illness) — Not on injury report

  • Onyeka Okongwu (toe) — Injured

  • Mouhamed Gueye (back) — Injured

Cleveland Cavaliers News

Confirmed Lineup: Darius Garland, Max Strus, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

  • Donovan Mitchell (illness) — Out

  • Tristan Thompson — Suspended

  • Ty Jerome (ankle) — Injured

Without Mitchell in the previous outing, the Cavs lost to the Magic. Cleveland will hope to get him back against the 76ers, who are coming off a loss themselves. The Cavs must take advantage of a Philadelphia team that has struggled since losing Joel Embiid at the beginning of the month. Since February 1, the 76ers have had the league's fourth-worst Defensive Rating (121.6). Over that same time, the Cavs have posted the seventh-best Offensive Rating (120.0) league-wide.

Philadelphia 76ers News

Confirmed Lineup: Tyrese Maxey, Buddy Hield, Kelly Oubre, Tobias Harris, Paul Reed

  • De'Anthony Melton (back) — In

  • Nicolas Batum (injury recovery) — In

  • Kyle Lowry (reconditioning) — Out

  • Joel Embiid (knee) — Injured

  • Robert Covington (knee) — Injured

Phoenix Suns News

Confirmed Lineup: Devin Booker, Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen, Kevin Durant, Drew Eubanks

  • Bradley Beal (hamstring) — Out

  • Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) — Out

  • Damion Lee (knee) — Injured

Beal will likely end up missing both games of the Suns' first back-to-back set coming out of the All-Star break. Due to Beal's ailment, Durant and Booker will continue to be expected to handle most of the offensive workload. In the previous outing, the Suns lost to the Mavs, despite a combined 58 points from the duo. Phoenix will now face the Rockets, who are 2-6 in February and have had a bottom-10 Net Rating (-4.5) in those eight games.

Houston Rockets News

Confirmed Lineup: Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun

  • Tari Eason (leg) — Injured

  • Steven Adams (knee) — Out for season

Los Angeles Clippers News

Confirmed Lineup: James Harden, Terance Mann, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac

  • Norman Powell (ankle) — Out

Memphis Grizzlies News

Confirmed Lineup: Luke Kennard, Vince Williams, Ziaire Williams, Santi Aldama, Jaren Jackson Jr.

  • Derrick Rose (ankle) — Not on injury report

  • Luke Kennard (knee) — Not on injury report

  • John Konchar (quad) — Not on injury report

  • Jaren Jackson Jr. (quad) — Available

  • Jake LaRavia (ankle) — Available

  • Desmond Bane (ankle) — Injured

  • Marcus Smart (finger) — Injured

  • Scotty Pippen Jr. (back) — Injured

  • Brandon Clarke (Achilles) — Injured

  • Ja Morant (shoulder) — Out for season

Washington Wizards News

Confirmed Lineup: Tyus Jones, Landry Shamet, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyle Kuzma, Marvin Bagley

  • Deni Avdija (heel) — Out

  • Isaiah Livers (hip) — Out

Oklahoma City Thunder News

Confirmed Lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren

Miami Heat News

Confirmed Lineup: Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, Bam Adebayo

  • Jimmy Butler (personal) — Not on injury report

  • Tyler Herro (foot) — Available

  • Delon Wright (signed) — TBD

  • Orlando Robinson (back) — Out

  • Terry Rozier (knee) — Injured

  • Josh Richardson (shoulder) — Injured

  • Dru Smith (knee) — Out for season

New Orleans Pelicans News

Confirmed Lineup: CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas

  • Zion Williamson (foot) — Available

  • Brandon Ingram (illness) — Out

  • Dyson Daniels (knee) — Injured

The Pelicans won another game sans Ingram in the previous contest, continuing their success this season when he's been unavailable. Despite New Orleans being 4-1 without Ingram, they're better when he's on the floor. The Pelicans could use him against the Heat, who will have Jimmy Butler back in the lineup. Jonas Valanciunas has an extremely tough matchup as Miami has allowed the fewest points per game (19.7) to opposing centers this season. This will be the first meeting between these teams in the 2023-2024 campaign.

Milwaukee Bucks News

Confirmed Lineup: Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley, Jae Crowder, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) — Available

  • Pat Connaughton (knee) — Available

  • Danilo Gallinari (signed) — TBD

  • Khris Middleton (ankle) — Injured

Minnesota Timberwolves News

Confirmed Lineup: Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert

  • Jaylen Clark (Achilles) — Injured

Charlotte Hornets News

Confirmed Lineup: Tre Mann, Brandon Miller, Cody Martin, Miles Bridges, Nick Richards

  • LaMelo Ball (ankle) — Out

  • Davis Bertans (knee) — Out

  • Mark Williams (back) — Injured

Golden State Warriors News

Confirmed Lineup: Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green

  • Gary Payton II (illness) — Available

  • Chris Paul (hand) — Injured

Denver Nuggets News

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

  • Jamal Murray (leg) — Out

  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (finger) — Available

  • Hunter Tyson (finger) — Out

  • Braxton Key (illness) — Available

  • Vlatko Cancar (knee) — Injured

Portland Trail Blazers News

Confirmed Lineup: Anfernee Simons, Kris Murray, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton

  • Jabari Walker (ankle) — Available

  • Scoot Henderson (adductor) — Out

  • Malcolm Brogdon (elbow) — Injured

  • Shaedon Sharpe (core) — Injured

  • Moses Brown (wrist) — Injured

  • Robert Williams (knee) — Out for season

San Antonio Spurs News

Confirmed Lineup: Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama

  • Charles Bassey (knee) — Out for season

Los Angeles Lakers News

Confirmed Lineup: D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Anthony Davis

  • LeBron James (ankle) — Available

  • Anthony Davis (Achilles, hip) — Available

  • Cam Reddish (ankle) — Out

  • Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) — Injured

  • Gabe Vincent (knee) — Injured

  • Christian Wood (knee) — Injured

James missed the first leg of a back-to-back set on Thursday and the Lakers lost by 18 points at Golden State. With James expected to return in the second leg of the set against the Spurs, all eyes will be on him and Victor Wembanyama leading their respective teams. In the previous matchup between these two teams, James posted 23 points and 14 assists in a loss, while Wembanyama had 13 points and 15 rebounds. The Lakers are 4-4 sans James this season compared to 26-23 when he's been available.