NBA News & Fantasy Basketball Notes 3/2

Mar 2nd 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

  • LeBron James (ankle) — In

  • Anthony Davis (Achilles) — In

  • Tyler Herro (foot) — Out

  • Jamal Murray (ankle) — In

  • Jaren Jackson Jr. (quad) — Out

  • Bradley Beal (injury management) — In

  • Deandre Ayton (hand) — Out

  • Ben Simmons (leg) — Out

  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (personal) — Out

  • Jordan Clarkson (illness) — Out

  • Luke Kennard (illness) — Available

Follow us on Twitter at @Underdog__NBA for notifications.

Atlanta Hawks News

Confirmed Lineup: Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela

  • Trae Young (finger) — Injured

  • Onyeka Okongwu (toe) — Injured

  • Mouhamed Gueye (back) — Injured

Brooklyn Nets News

Confirmed Lineup: Dennis Schroder, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton

  • Ben Simmons (leg) — Out

  • Cam Thomas (ankle, foot) — Out

  • Dariq Whitehead (shin) — Out for season

Utah Jazz News

Confirmed Lineup: Keyonte George, Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Taylor Hendricks, John Collins

  • Jordan Clarkson (illness) — Out

  • Walker Kessler (foot) — Out

  • Otto Porter Jr. (not with team) — Out

Miami Heat News

Confirmed Lineup: Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, Bam Adebayo

  • Tyler Herro (foot) — Out

  • Caleb Martin (thumb) — Available

  • Kevin Love (heel) — Out

  • Haywood Highsmith (knee) — Available

  • Josh Richardson (shoulder) — Injured

  • Dru Smith (knee) — Out for season

Miami's five-game winning streak was snapped in the previous outing, and they'll try to bounce back against the Jazz, who have lost seven of their last eight games. These two teams met at the end of December and Utah won by 8, despite 53 combined points from Herro and Adebayo. If Herro is sidelined for the contest, Butler and Adebayo will likely lead the charge on both ends of the floor. Butler averaged a team-high 21.6 points per game in February.

Portland Trail Blazers News

Confirmed Lineup: Anfernee Simons, Kris Murray, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant, Duop Reath

  • Deandre Ayton (hand) — Out

  • Scoot Henderson (adductor) — Injured

  • Malcolm Brogdon (elbow) — Injured

  • Shaedon Sharpe (core) — Injured

  • Robert Williams (knee) — Out for season

Memphis Grizzlies News

Confirmed Lineup: Jordan Goodwin, Vince Willams, Ziaire Williams, Santi Aldama, Lamar Stevens

  • Jaren Jackson Jr. (quad) — Out

  • Luke Kennard (illness) — Available

  • John Konchar (thumb) — Available

  • Derrick Rose (back) — Out

  • Desmond Bane (ankle) — Injured

  • Marcus Smart (finger) — Injured

  • Brandon Clarke (Achilles) — Injured

  • Scotty Pippen Jr. (back) — Injured

  • Ja Morant (shoulder) — Out for season

The Grizzlies were missing multiple players in the first leg of their back-to-back set, including Jackson Jr., and they lost by 30 points. Memphis is set to face Portland for the second consecutive game, and they'll hope to get some pieces back after totaling just 92 points on Friday. The Grizzles have averaged the fewest rebounds per game (28.4) league-wide over the last 10 games, and in the previous outing, they had just 30 rebounds compared to the Blazers' 46.

Denver Nuggets News

Confirmed Lineup: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic

  • Jamal Murray (ankle) — In

  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (personal) — Out

  • Braxton Key (personal) — Out

  • Vlatko Cancar (knee) — Injured

If Murray is sidelined, Reggie Jackson will likely have another opportunity to start at point guard. Jackson has started 16 of the Nuggets' 60 games this season, averaging 16.1 points and 5.4 assists per game. He's shooting 44.1% from beyond the arc in starts, and with the Lakers allowing the fourth-most made threes per game (3.4) to point guards, the matchup sets up nicely if he does ultimately end up in the starting unit.

Los Angeles Lakers News

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

  • LeBron James (ankle) — In

  • Anthony Davis (Achilles) — In

  • Cam Reddish (ankle) — Available

  • Christian Wood (knee) — Injured

  • Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) — Injured

  • Gabe Vincent (knee) — Injured

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

Phoenix Suns News

Confirmed Lineup: Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkic

  • Bradley Beal (injury management) — In

  • Eric Gordon (groin) — Out

  • Nassir Little (knee) — Out

  • Damion Lee (knee) — Injured

The Suns went 7-4 in February and one of the things they'll need to ensure consistent play moving forward is Beal to get fully healthy. He's missed stretches of five, seven, and 12 games this season, and he's now missed the last five outings. Phoenix will face Houston, who has lost eight of their last 10, posting the league's fifth-worst Net Rating (-7.7) during that time. The Suns faced the Rockets in their most recent contest and secured a win, led by Booker's game-high 35 points.