Brooklyn Nets

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse says guard De'Anthony Melton (back) missed Thursday's practice. Teammates Furkan Korkmaz (illness) and Robert Covington (knee) were also unavailable, but Melton, who is nursing lumbar spine soreness, is certainly the most important name for fantasy purposes. It puts Melton on the wrong side of questionable for Friday versus the visiting New York Knicks, with a short turnaround looming on Saturday when the Sixers host the Utah Jazz. The 23-year-old three-and-D player is far more useful in category leagues, logging 12.1 points, 3.2 assists, 2.1 three-pointers, and 1.7 steals per game, and he is integral to Philly's perimeter defense. If Melton can't play on Friday, Kelly Oubre Jr. would figure to share the starting backcourt alongside Tyrese Maxey as he did on Tuesday.

Brooklyn Nets forward/center Dorian Finney-Smith has been upgraded from probable to available for Tuesday's road matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. Finney-Smith continues to experience soreness in his left knee, which would seem to threaten his availability for the second leg of Brooklyn's back-to-back on Wednesday versus the Houston Rockets. The 30-year-old three-and-D specialist tends to be a low-end fantasy option, providing 10.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.4 treys per game on a career-high 43.0% clip from three-point land in his first full year with the Nets during 2023-24. With Ben Simmons (hip) on the shelf for the majority of the campaign, Finney-Smith has spent more time as a small-ball five than he ever has in his career behind starter Nicolas Claxton.

Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith (knee) is currently listed as probable heading into Tuesday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Finney-Smith has been dealing with knee issues for weeks, but has been able to play through it on most nights. It's worth noting that Tuesday's game is the front end of a back-to-back set. That means, Finney-Smith might not be available on Wednesday. Fantasy managers will have to check back on Tuesday to see if he's cleared to go for the first game.

Philadelphia 76ers guard De'Anthony Melton (back) has been ruled out ahead of Tuesday's game against the Chicago Bulls. The Sixers are going to take the cautious approach here with Melton dealing with back soreness. They don't want to push him and make the issue worse, so hopefully a day of rest will be enough for him. In the meantime, Patrick Beverley is expected to move into the starting five. Beverley has put together some big games with the Sixers, but is normally not consistent enough to trust.