Injury Notes: Wemby, Castle, Nuggets, Bulls, Tyson, Barrett
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been upgraded from questionable to available for Friday’s game vs. Dallas, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.
Orsborn’s colleague Jeff McDonald wrote on Thursday that San Antonio was privately optimistic that Wembanyama would be active Friday. The third-year center needs to play at least 20 minutes against the Mavs to qualify for major postseason awards. He left Monday’s game early due to a left rib contusion, an injury which sidelined him for Wednesday’s win over Portland.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, who also missed Wednesday’s game, will be out again Friday, Orsborn adds. Head coach Mitch Johnson said Castle is dealing with multiple nagging injuries; he was listed as having right knee soreness two days ago, while Friday’s designation is left foot soreness.
“Eighty games and the way he plays. It’s real. We’re not just sitting him just to sit him,” Johnson said.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Nuggets will be playing without all five of their normal starters on Friday against Oklahoma City, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post tweets. All five players (Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson) had previously been listed as questionable. Jokic sitting out means he’ll need to play at least 15 minutes in Sunday’s finale at San Antonio to be eligible for year-end awards.
- After missing three games with an illness, Bulls forward Matas Buzelis will return to action for Friday’s penultimate game vs. Orlando, according to Will Gottlieb of CHGO Bulls (Twitter link). Isaac Okoro (left quad contusion) will be out Friday but there’s a chance he could return for Sunday’s finale vs. Dallas, while Josh Giddey (left hamstring strain injury management), Guerschon Yabusele (left shoulder and left elbow sprains), Nick Richards (right elbow sprain) and Anfernee Simons (left wrist fracture) will miss the final two games of Chicago’s season.
- Jaylon Tyson is in the Cavaliers‘ starting lineup on Friday, tweets Danny Cunningham of Locked on Cavs. The second-year wing has missed Cleveland’s past 10 games due to a left great toe bone bruise. Tyson is starting in place of Donovan Mitchell, who is out with what the team calls right ankle injury management.
- Raptors wing RJ Barrett was a late scratch ahead of Friday’s contest vs. New York, as Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca relays (via Twitter). Barrett is dealing with right knee soreness. It’s the second night of a back-to-back for Toronto, which will also be without Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles. The Raptors can clinch a playoff spot if they beat the Knicks.
Central Notes: Cavs, Wade, Siakam, Donovan, Bulls
With the playoffs around the corner, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson is still considering what his starting and closing lineups will look like, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). As Fedor points out, the fact that Dean Wade immediately reentered the starting five in his Wednesday return from a seven-game absence due to an ankle sprain bodes well for the forward’s chances of keeping that role during the postseason.
“We have the data, how good he’s been with that group,” Atkinson said of starting Wade. “We’ve been struggling a little bit defensively. He obviously adds that element and when he makes a three(-pointer) or two like he did, that helps us tremendously.”
Wade, Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, and Max Strus have all dealt with health issues this season and have been active at the same time in just two games this season, so Atkinson acknowledged that availability will be the first factor that determines his playoff rotation. With Wade on a minutes restriction and Tyson still sidelined with a toe injury on Wednesday, it was Merrill who closed the game for Cleveland.
“I feel confident with Sam’s ability,” Atkinson said of that decision. “That’s the hard one. You’re going to have probably three, four people to choose from, I would think. You guys are going to say, ‘Why didn’t you play this guy?’ So, we’ve got to make those decisions, we’ve got to make the right decisions under pressure.”
We have more from around the Central:
- As a result of missing Thursday’s game in Brooklyn due to a left ankle sprain, Pacers forward Pascal Siakam will fall short of the 65-game threshold to be eligible for end-of-season awards, notes Tony East of Circle City Spin (Twitter link). Based on Indiana’s record (19-61), Siakam was a long shot for All-NBA recognition anyway, but he has had an excellent individual season, averaging 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the floor, including 35.8% on three-pointers.
- Responding on Thursday to Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf‘s assertion that the team doesn’t want to hire a head of basketball operations who isn’t a fan of Billy Donovan, the veteran head coach suggested to reporters, including Ian Nicholas Quillen of The Associated Press, not to read too much into it. “I think Michael was making the point of how he felt about me,” Donovan said. “But I also understand that, like I said, everybody’s got to look out for what is best for the Bulls at that point in time.”
- Addressing several Bulls-related topics in a mailbag for The Chicago Tribune (subscription required), Julia Poe says that investing in player development and scouting should be a priority under the next front office, writing that Arturas Karnisovas was “lacking notably in his willingness to fill out staffing in key departments and allowed personal issues to dictate his personnel management.”
- In his preview of their offseason, Bobby Marks of ESPN (YouTube link) looks at potential next steps for the Bulls and explains why the team needs to be careful about how it uses its significant cap room this summer.
Injury Notes: Wolves, Wizards, Spurs, Cavs, Quickley
After clinching a playoff spot on Tuesday in Indiana, the Timberwolves will hold some regulars out on the second night of a back-to-back set on Wednesday in Orlando. According to the team (Twitter link), Julius Randle (right hand soreness), Ayo Dosunmu (right calf injury maintenance), and Mike Conley (rest) are all out, while Rudy Gobert (rest) is considered questionable to play.
Star guard Anthony Edwards, who has missed nine of Minnesota’s past 11 games due to patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner’s knee) and an illness, will also sit out again as the team prioritizes getting him as healthy as possible for the playoffs. Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic suggested earlier this week that the Wolves may want Edwards to play a game or two at the end of the regular season before he gets another week off ahead of Game 1 of the first round.
The most notable Timberwolves injury update affects forward Jaden McDaniels, who has been on the shelf since March 25 due to left knee patella tendinopathy. According to a press release, McDaniels has been cleared for full-contact, 5-on-5 work and has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. Orlando. Even if the 25-year-old isn’t upgraded to available tonight, it sounds like he’ll make his return before the regular season ends.
Here are more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Unsurprisingly, Wizards big man Anthony Davis and point guard Trae Young aren’t expected to play again this season, head coach Brian Keefe said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network). Davis, who has yet to make his Wizards debut, has been ramping up his work in recent weeks as he recovers from a hand injury, but will run out of time to return this spring. As for Young (low back pain; right quad contusion), he’s not as far along is his recovery process as Davis.
- The Spurs have ruled out Victor Wembanyama (left rib contusion) and Stephon Castle (right knee soreness) for Wednesday’s matchup with Portland, but they’re optimistic about both players’ chances of playing on Friday vs. Dallas, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Wembanyama will need to play at least 20 minutes in one of San Antonio’s final two games of the season in order to qualify for end-of-season awards, including MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
- Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson, out since March 19 with a left great toe bone bruise, went through Wednesday’s shootaround and then conducted an individual workout with coaches and trainers, but his toe was still bothering him and he has been downgraded to doubtful for Wednesday’s contest against Atlanta, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cavs forward Dean Wade, who has been sidelined since March 24 due to a right ankle sprain, has a better chance of making his return tonight — he’s listed as questionable.
- Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley played nearly 18 minutes in Tuesday’s win over Miami after missing the previous eight games due to plantar fasciitis. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link), Quickley said he has been battling an issue “a little bit deeper than just plantar fasciitis” that flared up in February, and while the time off helped, he recognizes that he’s still not 100%.
Cavaliers’ Tyson, Wade Out At Least Three More Games
Forwards Jaylon Tyson (left great toe sprain) and Dean Wade (right ankle sprain) won’t travel with the Cavaliers on their three-game road trip, the team announced (via Twitter).
Cleveland plays at Utah on Monday, at the Lakers on Tuesday, and at Golden State on Thursday before returning home ahead of next Sunday’s contest vs. Indiana. That game against the Pacers is the first of a back-to-back — the Cavs play at Memphis next Monday, April 6.
Both players will stay in Cleveland for treatment and rehabilitation, per the team.
Tyson, a 2024 first-round pick who is having a strong second season for the Cavs, suffered the toe injury in a March 19 victory in Chicago. He has missed the last four games with the injury and will be out for at least three more.
Wade, who is extension-eligible ahead of unrestricted free agency this summer, has been sidelined the past two games due to the ankle injury, which he sustained last Tuesday vs. Orlando. He’ll be at five consecutive absences once Cleveland’s road trip concludes.
The Cavs are currently 46-28, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jarrett Allen (Knee) Upgraded To Questionable For Friday
The Cavaliers could have their starting center back for Friday’s rematch against the Heat, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who tweets that Jarrett Allen has been upgraded to questionable.
A one-time All-Star, Allen has been sidelined March 3, when he injured his knee vs. Detroit. His official injury designation is right knee tendonitis, an issue which has prevented him from playing Cleveland’s last 10 games.
Allen, whose name popped up in several trade rumors prior to last month’s deadline, had been playing his best basketball of the season in the weeks leading up to his right knee injury, averaging 21.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals in just 28.9 minutes per game across 14 appearances. He shot 72.4% from the field over that span.
The Cavs have gone 12-10 this season without Allen, including 6-4 over the past 10 games, compared to a 33-18 record when the 27-year-old is in the lineup. He missed time early in the season due to a fractured left ring finger and then a right finger sprain.
Allen is earning $20MM this season before his three-year, $90MM extension begins in 2026/27.
While it’s possible Allen could return to action on Friday, the Cavaliers will still be without Craig Porter Jr. (left groin strain), Jaylon Tyson (bone bruise in left great toe) and Dean Wade (right ankle sprain), Chiang notes.
And-Ones: Expansion, Sweet 16, Coaches, All-Surprise Team
Although all 30 NBA governors voted this week to formally explore the possibility of expanding to Seattle and Las Vegas, there are at least two or three owners who have concerns about the financial aspect and aren’t thrilled by the idea of adding two new expansion teams, writes Howard Beck of The Ringer. According to Beck, there are also several front office executives who view expansion as being solely financially motivated and are skeptical about whether it’s a good idea from a basketball perspective.
“Is (expansion) good? I would say no,” one executive from a playoff team told Beck. “I look at some of these rosters and can say some teams have at least one, if not two, players that shouldn’t be in the NBA. There should be a concern about dilution of talent. The two new teams are going to be really bad for a while. Add to it that good players are staying in college for the paydays they are getting (via NIL), and there is even less talent available.”
As Beck notes within his story, the NBA’s decision to approve an “exploration” of expansion is something of a hedge, giving the league an out if the process doesn’t go as planned. For instance, while team owners would surely feel comfortable moving forward with expansion if it can extract fees in the $8-10 billion range for two new franchises, many of those same owners would be less enthusiastic if the bids topped out at, say, $5 billion.
Beck also wonders if the NBA might be willing to turn away from either Seattle or Las Vegas if a prospective ownership group from another city came through with a massive bid, given that the process appears to be driven by money. However, one executive he spoke to predicted that Seattle and Vegas would be “better markets than some we already have.”
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- With the Sweet 16 games set to tip off in a matter of hours, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shares his thoughts on how the NCAA tournament has impacted his perception of several of this year’s top draft prospects, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report updates his 2026 mock draft, and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints each identify four players – one from each region – whom they’ll be watching on Thursday and Friday.
- Arguing that a single Coach of the Year award isn’t sufficient to recognize the exceptional performances in the NBA’s head coaching ranks, Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports introduces his “All-Coaching team,” headlined by J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons, Mitch Johnson of the Spurs, and Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.
- Elsewhere on the made-up-award front, Fred Katz of The Athletic unveils the 10 players who made his All-Surprise first and second teams this season. The first team consists of Pistons center Jalen Duren, Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson, Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, and Celtics center Neemias Queta.
Central Notes: Mitchell, Tyson, Harden, Toppin
On Saturday, Donovan Mitchell returned to action following a one-game absence from the Cavaliers’ lineup due to an eye injury, scoring 27 points on 23 shots in a five-point win. Jamal Collier of ESPN reports that Mitchell sustained the injury after colliding with teammate Evan Mobley during practice prior in the week to the game.
“He was having issues last game, like blurry [vision],” said coach Kenny Atkinson. “It’s not like a scratched cornea, nothing dangerous, but we got to let it clear up.”
Mitchell was dealing with the injury during the Cavs’ win over the Bucks on Tuesday, sporting a bloodshot eye. He went 4-of-14 from the field in that game, scoring 19 points in nearly 34 minutes.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Jaylon Tyson has been a breakout player for the Cavaliers this season, but a toe injury has thrown his place in the postseason rotation into limbo, Chris Fedor writes for Cleveland.com. Tyson exited Thursday’s game against the Bulls early with the injury and decided to leave the game rather than hurt his team by gutting it out. “It’s always difficult,” Tyson said, per Fedor. “I’m a competitor. I had a good opportunity today, so I wanted to be out there.” Tyson’s role has changed as the team added players like James Harden, Keon Ellis, and Dennis Schröder, but he has tried to stay ready and be productive in his minutes.
- Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson is relishing having a second superstar in James Harden to pair with Mitchell, Fedor writes in a separate story on Cleveland’s Saturday night win over New Orleans. “It’s nice to have two superstars,” Atkinson said. “As poorly as we were playing, that’s a game maybe with a younger team or less experienced team, you would lose by 25 or 30 on the last game of the road trip.”
- After missing four months while recovering from foot surgery, Pacers forward Obi Toppin is back on the floor and trying to find his way to his normal game, writes Tony East for Forbes. Toppin said he was itching to get back on the court, at times getting shots up while riding around in a scooter. “We didn’t want to rush anything, but we still wanted to get out a couple of games just so I’m not going into the summer wondering how it’s going to feel when I’m out there playing real basketball,” the athletic 6’8″ forward said. “So that’s what we’re doing now and everything’s been good.” East notes that it’s unusual for a player to miss 50-plus games and then come back before the end of the year with no playoff berth on the horizon. But Toppin, who is averaging 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game this season, is doing his best to hit the offseason running in preparation for a bounce-back 2026/27.
Central Notes: Strus, Siakam, Pacers, Ivey
Max Strus has only been back for two games, but it’s clear that Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson has big plans for him heading into the playoffs, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes in a subscriber-only piece. Strus was part of the closing lineup in Tuesday’s win over Milwaukee, and Atkinson intends to keep him in a featured role moving forward.
“I have such a comfort level with him,” Atkinson said. “I could see it going any way with him. Maybe starting lineup. Maybe sixth man. We will see how that plays out. But it’s hard not to finish with the guy because he is such a clutch player. We’ll see where it ends up. He has a way of imposing his will and makes you put him in the lineup.”
Strus, who had been sidelined since undergoing foot surgery in late August, contributed six points, six rebounds and four assists Tuesday in 23 minutes off the bench and hit a late three-pointer that helped Cleveland put the game away. Fedor states that Atkinson plans to steadily increase Strus’ minutes over the 13 remaining games in hopes of having him consistently in the high 20s by the start of the postseason.
Strus’ return will lead to difficult decisions for Atkinson as he sets his nine-man rotation for the playoffs. The Cavs acquired Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder from Sacramento at the trade deadline to upgrade their perimeter defense, and Fedor states that Sam Merrill seems to be another one of Atkinson’s favorite players because of his reliability from three-point range. Fedor speculates that second-year swingman Jaylon Tyson, whom general manager Koby Altman called a franchise cornerstone earlier in the season, may be left out.
“I’m still evaluating who fits and who is going to kind of take the lead in terms of getting in that rotation,” Atkinson said. “We haven’t made a clear decision on who those nine are. Still think we have to evaluate, especially our wings. Have a lot of wings right now.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- While Pascal Siakam is making progress in his recovery from a right knee sprain, it’s still uncertain when he’ll return to action, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). The Pacers forward missed his sixth consecutive game on Wednesday, but coach Rick Carlisle told reporters he expects Siakam back before the end of the season.
- Tony East of Circle City Spin examines the circumstances surrounding the Pacers‘ long losing streak, which reached 15 games on Wednesday. It’s the most consecutive losses in franchise history, and Indiana is on pace for its worst record since entering the NBA.
- Coach Billy Donovan plans to have Jaden Ivey accompany the team on its upcoming road trip in hopes that he can return to action, relays Bulls reporter Will Gottlieb (Twitter link). Ivey hasn’t played since February 11, but Donovan said the pain in his left knee is gone.
And-Ones: Fournier, Mamukelashvili, Queta, NCAA Tourney
Veteran wing NBA Evan Fournier, who currently plays for Olympiacos in Greece after spending 12 seasons in the NBA from 2012-24, said in an interview with L’Equipe that he expects to retire as a player at the end of his current contract, which expires in 2028 (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops).
Fournier, 33, also indicated that he’d be interested in representing France again at the 2027 World Cup and/or 2028 Olympics if the national team wants him on its roster.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Raptors forward/center Sandro Mamukelashvili remains focused on competing in the NBA for the foreseeable future, but he told Ric Bucher of Full Court Passport (YouTube link) that he likes the idea of eventually finishing his career and spending his retirement years in Europe. Specifically, Mamukelashvili is intrigued by the possibility of competing in the NBA’s European league. “The talent will be there, and I think it’s going to compete with college and even the NBA,” the Georgian big man said of NBA Europe, per Eurohoops. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops, and hopefully, down the line, I will have my chance to play over there.”
- Celtics center Neemias Queta, Heat forward Pelle Larsson, and Cavaliers swingman Jaylon Tyson are among the role players highlighted by John Hollinger of The Athletic within a story on the unheralded contributors enjoying breakout seasons.
- Mamukelashvili and Queta are two of several minimum-salary players who should be in line for significant raises on their next contracts, according to Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link). Gozlan, who also examines players like Suns guards Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, suggests Mamukelashvili could earn a starting salary of $8-10MM on his next deal and speculates that Queta’s floor will be the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($15MM+).
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic identifies nine players he’s excited to watch in the NCAA Tournament, including top-five prospects like Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, as well as a few projected to be drafted later in the first round, such as UConn’s Braylon Mullins, Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr. and Alabama’s Amari Allen.
VJ Edgecombe Named 2026 Rising Stars MVP
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe was named the 2026 Rising Stars MVP after closing out two straight wins for Team Vince en route to the Rising Stars championship.
In Game One between Team Melo and Team Austin’s G League rising stars, Dylan Harper (Spurs) hit the game-winning shot to get Team Melo to the target score of 40 points. Team Austin had the top two scorers in the game in Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Clippers) and Yang Hansen (Trail Blazers), but Team Melo’s balanced scoring attack, led by Reed Sheppard (Rockets) and Donovan Clingan (Blazers) with nine points each, was too much for the G League stars to contain.
In Game Two between Team Vince and Team T-Mac, Edgecombe exploded for 17 points, including the last 10 and the step-back game-winner over Cam Spencer (Grizzlies). Jaylon Tyson (Cavaliers) led Team T-Mac with 10 points and Tre Johnson (Wizards) added eight while facing off against teammate Kyshawn George. Team Vince came away with the 41-36 victory.
The Rising Stars championship game, with a target score of 25, kicked off with back-to-back Clingan three-pointers while Matas Buzelis (Bulls) carried Team Vince early with a one-handed dunk and a smooth post move. An Edgecombe rebound and putback brought the game to 23-22 for Team Vince, prompting a Team Melo timeout.
After a Stephon Castle (Spurs) putback dunk, Edgecombe was fouled by Clingan on a drive, heading to the free throw line, where he knocked down the game-winning free throws. Carter Bryant (Spurs) contributed five points while playing against his teammate Harper, who led Team Melo with eight points.
Kevin Durant, John Wall, Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Jamal Murray, Cade Cunningham are among the future All-Stars who have won the Rising Stars MVP award over the past couple decades.