Celtics' Malcolm Brogdon: Dealing with illness

The Los Angeles Lakers, against all odds, have found a way to maximize Russell Westbrook in the regular season. He may be a bit overrated, but he's at least actively contributing to a Lakers team that spent an entire offseason trying to trade him. Without his playmaking, they may not have been able to stay afloat when they were without stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As a regular-season player, he has been solid.

Dillon Brooks has developed a bit of a reputation as an instigator over the past few seasons. The Memphis Grizzlies wing was infamously ejected from a playoff game last postseason for a cheap shot on Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II, and on Thursday, he got into it with another opposing player. This time, it was Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell.

The 2023 NBA trade deadline is now just over a week away on Thursday, Feb. 9, and as such the rumor mill is heating up. So far there hasn't been much in the way of news about potential blockbusters, but there are plenty of role players available that could help contenders bolster their squads for the stretch run.

There is now just more than a week until the 2023 NBA trade deadline on Thursday, Feb. 9, which means teams across the league are working harder than ever to either bolster their squad for the stretch run or move their best players to get into a better draft position.

As a team near the top of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, largely happy with its current rotation and short on moveable assets, the Philadelphia 76ers aren't expected to be major players at the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline this season. However, that doesn't mean they won't look to upgrade the roster around the edges. Specifically, the Sixers would probably benefit from some added depth at the center spot and on the perimeter.

Murray ended Tuesday's 122-113 win over New Orleans with 32 points (10-21 FG, 7-12 3Pt, 5-5 FT), five rebounds and six assists over 36 minutes. Murray looked better than ever against New Orleans, and he drilled seven three-pointers on the way to one of his best totals of the season. Although Murray has recently struggled with a knee injury, he showed no ill effects against the struggling Pelicans. His 32 points marked his second-best scoring total of the season, and he's currently on pace to crush his previous seasonal per-game averages in both assists (5.7) and rebounds (4.1).

Antetokounmpo recorded 34 points (14-24 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 5-6 FT), 18 rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes in Tuesday's 124-115 win over the Hornets. The Hornets have been dominated by opposing frontcourt players all season, and Antetokounmpo ensured that trend continued Tuesday, as he came through with another efficient, high-scoring effort. Antetokounmpo even delivered a rare quality showing from the free-throw line, though fantasy managers have surely committed to punting that category while the two-time MVP has converted only 64.6 percent of his 13.2 attempts per game this season. Fortunately, Antetokounmpo has at least resumed knocking down shots in the paint since he returned to action after he had endured a string of inefficient outings before sitting out five straight games with a knee injury. In his first five games since his return, Antetokounmpo is averaging 37.4 points on 61.5 percent shooting from the field.

Head coach Taylor Jenkins said he's expecting Green (knee) to get some minutes during Wednesday's matchup against the Trail Blazers, Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Green's recovery process following offseason left knee surgery has been slow, but he's nearing the end of his rehab. He's officially listed...

Nurkic exited Wednesday's game against the Grizzlies with an unspecified injury, Casey Holdahl of the Trail Blazers' official site reports. Nurkic came into Wednesday's tilt as probable with left calf soreness. It's unclear whether he re-aggravated the injury or if his exit is unrelated. Regardless, Nurkic should be considered questionable to return.

Green has been ruled out for Thursday's game versus the Cavaliers due to left knee surgery injury management. Green will rest for the second half of the back-to-back set after he made his season debut in Wednesday's 122-112 loss to the Trail Blazers to complete a quicker-than-expected recovery from the surgery he underwent last May to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. The 35-year-old performed well during his 10 minutes of court time, recording three points (1-4 FG, 1-4 3Pt), four rebounds, one assist and a steal. So long as the Grizzlies' other key wings are healthy, Green doesn't project to see a major uptick in his playing time moving forward, but his perimeter shooting and wing defense should make him valuable from a real-life perspective as a member of Memphis' second unit.

Conley posted 19 points (5-8 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 9-9 FT), eight assists, three rebounds and two blocks over 31 minutes during Wednesday's 131-128 win over the Raptors. Conley's perfect shooting from the free-throw line helped him score a season-high 19 points. The veteran point guard's two blocks were tied for his highest total of 2022-23. Conley also managed to dish out eight assists while turning the ball over just three times.

If the Atlanta Hawks haven't been the league's most disappointing team this season, they're not far off. After a beatdown of the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, the Hawks are 26-26 and clinging to a play-in spot, just a single game up on the 11th-place Chicago Bulls in the loss column.

Tari Eason is a good offensive rebounder. He might even be a great one. Among rookies this season, he ranks third with 2.2 of them per game. Alperen Sengun is the only Rocket to pull in more of them thus far this year. But Eason only plays 19.4 minutes per game. He's started only three times in his career. If I were to tell you Eason had one of the greatest offensive rebounding games in the history of professional basketball, you'd probably scoff. But that's exactly what happened against the Thunder on Wednesday.

The 2023 NBA trade deadline is Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. ET. This means that trade season is upon us. Already, there has been one notable swap -- the Los Angeles Lakers acquired forward Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards last week in exchange for three second-round picks and Kendrick Nunn.

The Denver Nuggets are currently the top team in the Western Conference, but they could still make some roster tweaks before the upcoming NBA trade deadline on Feb. 9. Nuggets second-year guard Bones Hyland is one of the players "likely" to get moved, according to Marc Stein. On the season, Hyland is averaging 12.1 points, three assists and two rebounds in 19.5 minutes off of the bench for Denver. He was recently named as a participant in the Rising Stars Game for the second consecutive season.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been on the wrong end of some high-profile officiating miscues of late. The most recent was LeBron James clearly getting fouled by Jayson Tatum on a game-winning layup attempt against the Boston Celtics on Saturday (which the Last Two Minute Report confirmed the following day), only to have the refs swallow their whistle and allow the game to go into overtime, where the Lakers lost.

The Reds signed Vosler to a minor-league contract Wednesday. The deal includes an invite to major-league spring training. Vosler posted a respectable .265/.342/.469 slash line in 111 big-league plate appearances for the Giants last season, which suggests he could find a role on the Reds' talent-depleted roster.

Hurst had four catches on five targets for 37 yards in Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs. Signed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal this offseason, Hurst enjoyed a nice bounce-back campaign in Cincinnati despite missing three games due to a calf injury. After generating a 52-414-2 receiving line on 68 targets over his 13 appearances during the regular season, Hurst likely won't be keen on settling for a one-year deal as he heads back into free agency this spring. Even if the 29-year-old tight end does end up signing another one-year contract, he should at least be in store for a slight bump in pay whether he returns to Cincinnati or heads elsewhere.