2 days agoIndiana Pacers point guard
Tyrese Haliburton (back) is considered questionable for Wednesday's Game 2 against the Knicks. He's carried the designation for quite some time due to back spasms but hasn't yet missed any postseason action. Haliburton had a rough one in the series opener on Monday, recording only six points in 36 minutes. Backup point guard
T.J. McConnell has produced a pair of strong efforts and figures to maintain a prominent role in the rotation, with Haliburton not at 100 percent and off his game.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NBA Injury Report
2 days agoNew York Knicks center
Mitchell Robinson (ankle) will skip Wednesday's Game 2 against Indiana. The team has ruled Robinson out for left ankle injury management purposes. The seven-footer had surgery on his left ankle during the regular season and appeared to re-injure the ankle at the start of the playoffs. Robinson was limited to only two points and two rebounds in 12 minutes in the series opener against the Pacers on Monday. He will be out for a second time this postseason.
Precious Achiuwa will get an opportunity to stake a claim in the rotation without Robinson, but he likely won't see a lot of action, with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau putting a lot of trust in his starters.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NBA Injury Report
2 days agoMinnesota Timberwolves center
Rudy Gobert has been voted the 2023-24 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The French giant receives the award for a record-tying fourth time. He joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only four-time winners. Gobert finished sixth in blocks this season with 2.1 swats per game and limited the opposition to 45.2 percent effective field goal percentage, helping the Timberwolves register the league's best defensive rating during the regular season. He was fourth in the league with 9.2 defensive rebounds per game and second in rebounding overall with 12.9 boards.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoCleveland Cavaliers center
Jarrett Allen (rib) will not play against Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday. He's forced to sit out a fourth consecutive game with a rib contusion.
Isaac Okoro makes another start, with
Evan Mobley in the center position. With Allen sidelined, Mobley has bagged a couple of nice double-doubles in recent games. Okoro has received a boost in playing time but doesn't stand out in any areas and hasn't got a lot to offer to DFS managers.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Chris Fedor
2 days agoCleveland Cavaliers forward
Dean Wade (knee) has been ruled out for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals versus the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Wade hasn't been available since March 8th due to a right knee strain. However, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Wade is getting closer to returning to the Cavs lineup. This past regular season, the 27-year-old suited up for 54 games averaging 5.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.5 blocks in 20.5 minutes per contest.
--Andrew Lennox - RotoBallerSource: Chris Fedor
2 days agoDenver Nuggets point guard
Jamal Murray threw a heat pack on the court in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. According to league insider Marc Stein, the NBA's official league office will review the incident for possible disciplinary action before Game 3 in Minneapolis on Friday. Murray struggled in Game 2, registering eight points, 13 rebounds, two assists, one block, and two steals during 30 minutes on the court.
--Andrew Lennox - RotoBallerSource: Marc Stein
2 days agoLos Angeles Lakers forward
Christian Wood has exercised his $3 million player option for the 2024-2025 season, per Michael Scotto of USA Today. Wood played in 50 games and averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 17.4 minutes per contest. The 28-year-old's role with the Lakers for next season is difficult to predict since he was sparingly used in the team's rotation this past year.
--Andrew Lennox - RotoBallerSource: Michael Scotto
2 days agoDenver Nuggets power forward
Aaron Gordon was the team's top scorer in Monday's horror show against Minnesota, finishing a 106-80 loss with 20 points. After posting only nine points in Game 1, Gordon got off to a red-hot start and hit multiple three-pointers en route to 13 first-quarter points. He finished 3-for-5 from behind the arc and shot 8-for-14 overall. Gordon's line included four rebounds, two assists, and one steal. The Nuggets will hope for similar production in Game 3, having seen Gordon blow hot and cold this postseason. The high-flying forward has produced multiple 20-point outings but averages only 14.0 points with 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoDenver Nuggets center
Nikola Jokic produced a 16-16-8 line in Monday's heavy defeat to Minnesota. The Nuggets were awful throughout the contest, but Jokic still found a way to fill the box score. He finished with 5-for-13 shooting, hitting all six attempts from the charity stripe. In 39 minutes of action, Jokic also produced one block. With Denver now in a 2-0 hole against the Timberwolves, we should see Jokic try to go the extra mile to make the series competitive. He's averaging 24.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in the matchup but has the potential to do a lot more, having so far hit only 42 percent of his efforts from the floor.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoMinnesota Timberwolves forward/center
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his third double-double in four games with a 27-point, 12-rebound effort in Monday's Game 2 victory against the Nuggets. The Timberwolves completely steamrolled the defending champions, with Towns on a roll and recording 20 points in the first half alone. Towns, who shot 10-for-15 from the field with a 3-for-5 effort from outside, also did his part defensively by registering one steal and two blocks. Through the first two games of the series, the Nuggets have done very little to stifle Towns offensively, as the four-time All-Star has shot 64.3 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from downtown to average 23.5 points.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoMinnesota Timberwolves guard/forward
Anthony Edwards turned a slow start into a 27-point performance in Monday's blowout win against Denver. Edwards boasted only four points after the first quarter, but he did a great job getting to the free-throw line in the second and soon hit top gear. The Timberwolves star was only 1-for-4 with his attempts from deep but shot a nice 11-for-17 from the field overall and wrapped up another fantastic outing with two rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Through six games in the 2024 postseason, Minnesota is still undefeated, with Edwards leading the way. He's averaging 32.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.8 steals.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoIndiana Pacers center
Myles Turner led the team with 23 points in Monday's Game 1 loss to the Knicks. This was a good bounce-back performance from Indiana's big man after he finished the series finale against Milwaukee with only five points. Turner shot 8-for-16 from the field with two makes from downtown and notched three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block. The 2024 postseason had gone well for Turner, who's averaging 19.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 33.6 minutes. He played a very efficient game against the Knicks during the regular season, and it looks like Turner will also have plenty of success in the playoff series against them.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoNew York Knicks guard/forward
Josh Hart was all over the court as the team opened the second-round series of the NBA playoffs with a 121-117 win over Indiana. He had his most prolific outing of this postseason with 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting and added 13 rebounds, eight assists, one block, and three steals to his tally. Hart worked tirelessly throughout the contest and played the entire 48 minutes. The 29-year-old averages a whopping 46.6 minutes for the postseason, and he's kept himself busy in many areas. Hart sits among the league leaders with 12.4 boards, has scored 17.9 points with close to 45 percent shooting from deep, and boasts 5.0 assists per game with 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoNew York Knicks point guard
Jalen Brunson had another outstanding game in the 2024 NBA playoffs on Monday, putting up 43 points on 14-for-26 shooting in a 121-117 win over Indiana. He's the first player since Michael Jordan with four consecutive 40-point efforts in the postseason. Brunson, who nailed all 14 free-throw attempts, completed his night at the office with six rebounds, six assists, and one block. The Knicks star is in phenomenal form this spring, and it looks like the Pacers don't have any tricks to slow him down, either. Brunson is averaging 36.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 8.6 assists for the playoffs.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
3 days agoSan Antonio Spurs center
Victor Wembanyama was named the 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday night. This was a no-brainer, with the 20-year-old taking the league by storm in his first year. He was efficient on both ends of the floor, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks. More importantly, he played 71 games, much more than most had anticipated. It's scary to think how much Wembanyama will improve during the offseason, and he'll likely be a top-10 fantasy option in any format for the 2024-25 campaign.
--Dennis Clausen - RotoBallerSource: Shams Charania
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