NBA News & Fantasy Basketball Notes 4/1

Apr 1st 2024Cooper 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

  • Jaylen Brown (hand) — Out

  • Kristaps Porzingis (injury management) — In

  • Cade Cunningham (injury management) — Available

  • Jalen Johnson (ankle) — In

  • Jerami Grant (hamstring) — Out

  • Vasilije Micic (shoulder) — Available

  • Nick Richards (foot) — Out

  • Santi Aldama (illness) — Available

  • Cam Johnson (injury maintenance) — Out

  • Alex Caruso (ankle) — Available

  • Ayo Dosunmu (illness) — Available

Follow us on Twitter at @Underdog__NBA for notifications.

Boston Celtics News

Confirmed Lineup: Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis

  • Jaylen Brown (hand) — Out

  • Kristaps Porzingis (injury management) — In

  • Jaden Springer (knee) — Out

  • JD Davison (ankle) — Out

After the Celtics' previous outing, Brown mentioned that he is bothered by a hand ailment, and his comments made it seem like the injury has been lingering. "I'm gonna get that looked at when we get back to Boston," Brown said. "But it's been bothering me for a little bit now." It's unclear if he has already gotten it checked out, but if he has, the fact that he wasn't initially listed out for Boston's contest versus the Hornets is promising. If Brown can't go, expect Tatum to absorb usage, as he's seen a +4.7% usage rate differential in eight games sans Brown this season.

Charlotte Hornets News

Confirmed Lineup: Vasilije Micic, Tre Mann, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Grant Williams

  • Vasilije Micic (shoulder) — Available

  • Nick Richards (foot) — Out

  • Aleksej Pokusevski (illness) — Available

  • Mark Williams (back) — Injured

  • LaMelo Ball (ankle) — Out for season

  • Cody Martin (ankle) — Out for season

  • Seth Curry (ankle) — Out for season

Memphis Grizzlies News

Confirmed Lineup: Scotty Pippen Jr., Luke Kennard, GG Jackson, Santi Aldama, Jaren Jackson Jr.

  • Santi Aldama (illness) — Available

  • John Konchar (foot) — Out

  • Desmond Bane (back) — Out

  • Yuta Watanabe (personal) — Out

  • Marcus Smart (finger) — Injured

  • Vince Williams (knee) — Injured

  • Derrick Rose (back, groin) — Injured

  • Ziaire Williams (hip, back) — Injured

  • Ja Morant (shoulder) — Out for season

Detroit Pistons News

Confirmed Lineup: Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Troy Brown Jr., Tosan Evbuomwan, Jalen Duren

  • Cade Cunningham (injury management) — Available

  • Marcus Sasser (illness) — Out

  • Taj Gibson (hamstring) — Out

  • Simone Fontecchio (toe) — Out

  • Ausar Thompson (blood clot) — Out for season

  • Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) — Out for season

  • Quentin Grimes (knee) — Out for season

  • Stanley Umude (ankle) — Out for season

The Pistons continue to deal with significant injuries and absences as they have all season long. After playing the first 36 games of the 2023-2024 campaign, Cunningham has missed 13 games since January 9. If he is sidelined against the Grizzlies, Ivey should garner increased usage. In three games sans Cunningham in March, Ivey posted a 31.3% usage rate, 6.5% higher than his rate when Cunningham played. Detroit won their most recent game to cap off a 4-12 record last month.

Brooklyn Nets News

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

  • Cam Johnson (injury maintenance) — Out

  • Dennis Smith Jr. (hip) — Out

  • Ben Simmons (back) — Out for season

  • Keita Bates-Diop (leg) — Out for season

  • Dariq Whitehead (shin) — Out for season

Indiana Pacers News

Confirmed Lineup: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner

  • Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder) — Out for season

Portland Trail Blazers News

Confirmed Lineup: Scoot Henderson, Rayan Rupert, Kris Murray, Jabari Walker, Deandre Ayton

  • Jerami Grant (hamstring) — Out

  • Justin Minaya (hip) — Out

  • Anfernee Simons (knee) — Out

  • Matisse Thybulle (ankle) — Out

  • Malcolm Brogdon (elbow) — Injured

  • Shaedon Sharpe (core) — Injured

  • Robert Williams (knee) — Out for season

  • Toumani Camara (rib, kidney) — Out for season

Orlando Magic News

Confirmed Lineup: Jalen Suggs, Gary Harris, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr.

  • Caleb Houstan (ankle) — Out

  • Gary Harris (injury maintenance) — Available

  • Jonathan Isaac (injury maintenance) — Available

Atlanta Hawks News

Confirmed Lineup: Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Vit Krejci, De'Andre Hunter, Clint Capela

  • Jalen Johnson (ankle) — In

  • Kobe Bufkin (toe) — Available

  • Onyeka Okongwu (toe) — Injured

  • Trae Young (finger) — Injured

  • AJ Griffin (ankle) — Injured

  • Mouhamed Gueye (knee) — Injured

  • Saddiq Bey (knee) — Out for season

Johnson has missed nine of the last 12 games, including the previous six. During the six-game span, Atlanta has gone 4-2 while posting the league's second-best Offensive Rating (123.8). Still, they'll hope to get Johnson back against the Bulls, whose 118.6 Defensive Rating in March was the fourth-worst league-wide. Chicago is 2-0 against the Hawks this season, and this meeting will be the final one of the season between the two teams.

Chicago Bulls News

Confirmed Lineup: Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic

  • Alex Caruso (ankle) — Available

  • Ayo Dosunmu (illness) — Available

  • Javonte Green (personal) — Out

  • Julian Phillips (foot) — Injured

  • Zach LaVine (foot) — Out for season

  • Patrick Williams (foot) — Out for season

  • Lonzo Ball (knee) — Out for season

Phoenix Suns News

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

  • Damion Lee (knee) — Injured

Phoenix will face New Orleans in one of the more intriguing matchups of the night, and coach Vogel understands that some contests are more meaningful than others. “There are some head-to-heads that have a little more value like this one," Vogel said. "We have a group that doesn’t ever feel like there’s an opponent we can’t beat." The Suns have gone 6-4 in their last 10 contests and beat the Pelicans in their previous meeting. New Orleans remains without Brandon Ingram (knee), but the Pels have remained competitive whether Ingram has been available or not.

New Orleans Pelicans News

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

  • Jose Alvarado (oblique) — Out

  • Brandon Ingram (knee) — Injured