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
Alex Caruso (ankle) — Available
Ayo Dosunmu (quad) — Available
Follow us on Twitter at @Underdog__NBA for notifications.
Confirmed Lineup: Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic
Ayo Dosunmu (quad) — Available
Alex Caruso (ankle) — Available
Andre Drummond (ankle) — Available
Julian Phillips (foot) — Injured
Zach LaVine (foot) — Out for season
Patrick Williams (foot) — Out for season
Lonzo Ball (knee) — Out for season
Onuralp Bitim (eye) — Out for season
Confirmed Lineup: Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Bam Adebayo
Duncan Robinson (back) — Available
Terry Rozier (neck) — Out
Jimmy Butler (knee) — Injured
Josh Richardson (shoulder) — Out for season
Butler suffered a sprained MCL and will be sidelined for several weeks. Rozier is unavailable for the sixth straight contest. That leaves Herro as the primary playmaker and scorer. He’s led the Heat with 31.3% usage and 29.6% assist rates when Butler and Rozier have been off the court since the trade deadline. He also attempted a season-high 27 shots in Wednesday’s loss.
Confirmed Lineup: De'Aaron Fox, Keon Ellis, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis
Malik Monk (knee) — Injured
Kevin Huerter (shoulder) — Out for season
Confirmed Lineup: CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III, Jonas Valanciunas
Zion Williamson (hamstring) — Injured
The Pelicans defeated the Kings five times this season, and Williamson played in all but one of those. In the game Williamson missed, the Pelicans won 133-100. According to the matchup date, De’Aaron Fox was limited to 28 points on 40.7% shooting when guarded by Herb Jones in the five games.
The Kings were one of nine teams that Jonas Valanciunas averaged at least 26.0 minutes per game against, and his 23.2% rebound rate in those games was his third-best against any opponent. He outrebounded Domantas Sabonis 57-52 in 32 fewer minutes.
The projected starting lineup has recorded a +20.6 Net Rating. Replacing Valanciunas with Larry Nance Jr. has resulted in a +32.1 Net Rating -- their best among their five-man lineups.