Jazz's Lauri Markkanen: Questionable to face Chicago

Kenny Smith details just how miserable the culture of the Sacramento Kings was, having spent 3 years with them

Nurkic (calf) is questionable for Saturday's matchup against the Raptors. Nurkic left Wednesday's matchup against Utah in the third quarter due to left calf soreness and is considered a question mark for Portland's next game. If Nurkic is ultimately ruled out Saturday, Drew Eubanks would be a candidate for increased playing time.

Murray is considered questionable for Saturday's game against the 76ers due to a left hip sprain. Murray was listed as managing a knee injury for Wednesday's game in Milwaukee, making it appear that he was likely resting more than anything. However, the addition of a left hip sprain suggests there is more uncertainty surrounding his status leading up to Saturday. The team should supply more information on his status come game day. Bruce Brown (knee), who was also added to the injury report ahead of Saturday's contest as questionable, could draw another start if Brown can play and Murray is unavailable.

Love (back) won't play Thursday against the Rockets, Chris Fedor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. After getting added to the injury report late Thursday, Love will ultimately sit out against the Rockets, putting Dean Wade and Cedi Osman in line for more minutes. The veteran's next chance to return to the court will be Friday against the Thunder.

Longtime college basketball analyst Billy Packer has died, his family announced Thursday night. Packer, 82, spent 34 years on Final Four broadcast teams, 27 of them with CBS as its Emmy award-winning college basketball analyst before his last Final Four in 2008. Packer's son, Mark, told The Associated Press that...

LeBron James is being attacked for the way he responded to the video beatdown of Memphis motorist Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7, 2023,. The 29-year-old Black male was beaten to a pulp on the streets of Memphis, Tennessee, following a traffic stop for allegedly driving recklessly, though that was never established by the responding officers.

Doncic (ankle) will not return to Thursday's contest against the Suns, NBA writer Marc Stein reports. Doncic picked up a left ankle sprain three minutes into Thursday's matchup with Phoenix and he won't return, finishing with only one rebound. Expect Josh Green, Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway to all see an uptick in minutes for the remainder of Thursday's contest. The severity of Doncic's ankle injury is uncertain at this point.

Vlasic missed Friday's game against Carolina due to an illness, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports. The illness held Vlasic out of the lineup for the first time this season. The Sharks play in Pittsburgh on Saturday before entering their All-Star break.

Gobert is considered questionable for Saturday's game versus the Kings due to right groin soreness. Gobert has been labeled questionable ahead of recent contests as well and has played, so it seems likely he may do so again Saturday. However, there may be a bit more risk to him suiting up Saturday in the second game of a back-to-back set. If he were to rest, Naz Reid would presumably draw the start and see a sizable minutes increase.

Wilson (lower body) won't play until after the All-Star break, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports. Wilson, who sat out Thursday's contest against Pittsburgh after getting injured Tuesday versus Colorado following a shot block, will miss at least the next two games. The Capitals return from the break Feb. 11 in Boston. Wilson has supplied two goals, one assist, 13 shots on net and 33 hits in eight appearances this season. Anthony Mantha stands a good chance to stay in the top-six forward group of the Capitals until Wilson is able to return.

Lillard posted 30 points (10-20 FG, 2-9 3Pt, 8-9 FT), four rebounds and three assists across 37 minutes during Saturday's 123-105 loss to Toronto. The 30-point effort on 50 percent shooting from the field and 88.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line actually amounts to an off night for Lillard, who has been as hot as any player thus far in January. Lillard was coming off a 60-point performance heading into Saturday and saw his scoring average for the month drop to 33.9 points per game after the 30-point outing. In addition to scoring at a prolific rate in January, Lilllard is supplementing his points production with averages of 7.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 triples and 1.1 steals.

LeBron James and the Lakers have not gotten an accurate whistle down the stretch in a handful of games this season. That trend burned them again Saturday night in a brutal 125-121 overtime loss against the Celtics in Boston. With the score tied 105-105, the Lakers had a frontcourt sideline out of bounds with 4.1 seconds to play in regulation. LeBron curled around the top for the inbound pass and continued directly downhill, getting all the way to the rim for a game-winning layup attempt.

We have seen NBA players pick up technical fouls for taunting. We've seen them get technicals for cursing, for obscene gestures and for making unnecessary contact with an official. On one hilarious occasion, we even saw Tim Duncan get T'd up for laughing. But never in the history of the NBA have we seen a technical foul quite like the one Eric Lewis hit Patrick Beverley with at the end of regulation of Saturday's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

Fleury will defend the blue paint during Saturday's home game versus Buffalo, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Fleury played well in his last start Thursday against Philadelphia, turning aside 28 of 30 shots en route to a 3-2 win. He'll try to secure a second straight victory in a matchup with a red-hot Sabres squad that's won five straight games.

Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden decided to try a new form of defense late in the third quarter of the contest between the Sixers and Denver Nuggets on Saturday afternoon. With just under two minutes remaining in the quarter, Harden was seated on Philly's bench and jumped directly onto...

Rubio chipped in five points (2-7 FG, 1-2 3Pt), three rebounds, seven assists and one steal over 17 minutes during Thursday's 113-95 victory over the Rockets. Rubio continues to play a limited role off the bench and has not scored more than nine points in any of his games. However, he was able to dish out a season-high seven assists in the win. The fact he remains limited even with Donovan Mitchell (hamstring) sidelined tells you everything you need to know about his role moving forward. The Cavaliers want to have him up and running come the playoffs, meaning he could be locked in at no more than 20 minutes per night, at least for the foreseeable future.

Collins chipped in 16 points (7-13 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 1-2 FT), five rebounds and one steal across 34 minutes during Saturday's 120-113 loss to the Clippers. Collins scored 16 points in the loss, bringing his streak of double-digit scoring to eight consecutive games. While that seems nice on the surface, during that span he has scored no more than 19 points in any one game, adding very little in terms of defensive numbers. He is the 65th-ranked player this season but has fallen outside the top 90 over the past month. It would appear that any hopes of him being a top-50 player have gone by the wayside, with managers better off tempering expectations somewhat.

Another day, another set of trade rumors as the NBA's deadline approaches. We are now less than two weeks away from the final buzzer, and we're still waiting on the sort of moves that tend to define a deadline. That hasn't been for lack of trying. There has been plenty of news surrounding what teams are trying to accomplish over the past several days, and on Friday, we have a whole new batch to sift through.

Wilson (lower body) was absent from practice Saturday, per Samantha Pell of The Washington Post. Wilson didn't play Thursday after suffering a lower-body Tuesday against Colorado. It appears that his status is in question for Sunday's contest in Toronto. Wilson has played in just eight games this season, logging two goals and an assist.

The NBA trade deadline is now less than two weeks away, yet thus far, the moves have been minimal. In fact, we've only seen two total trades to this point: Boston dumping Noah Vonleh on San Antonio and Washington sending Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers. Eventually, this is...