FTN NBA injury report for August 8

Welcome to the FTN injury report, where we give the info on the injuries that are going to impact the NBA on a daily basis. Let’s take a look at the Saturday slate.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Even without the worst eight teams in the NBA participating in the bubble, their absence has not prevented us from getting some April-like injury reports, and the deluge of news continues Saturday. Our first matchup is far from our biggest concern on this slate from an injury perspective. Nonetheless we already have some notable news for this first game.

Patrick Beverley remains out with a calf injury, and Montrezl Harrell has not yet arrived in the bubble. Landry Shamet got the start in Beverley’s stead Thursday for the Clippers and played 27 minutes. That combined with the return of Lou Williams (even on a minutes limit) cut into the opportunity for Reggie Jackson.

Portland needs a win, and will likely be without Hassan Whiteside, who is doubtful with a hip strain. This should get Zach Collins’ back in the 30-minute range, assuming he can keep his hands to himself. Jusuf Nurkic will likely hit 35-plus minutes, and we could even see Terry Stotts throw a few minutes to Nassir Little.

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Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets

The Jazz rested the majority of their rotation on the front end of this back-to-back against San Antonio Friday. They should be back to full strength outside of Nigel Williams-Goss, who is questionable after missing yesterday with an ankle injury. He hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since Jan. 8, so even if he was active, he won’t affect the Utah rotation.

Denver will remain without the services of Gary Harris and Will Barton Saturday afternoon, while Paul Millsap will return from his rest day against Portland on the second end of their back to back. Jamal Murray (hamstring) and Troy Daniels (hip soreness) are both listed questionable. If Murray remains out for the Nuggets, we can look to the same plays from this team that we have targeted during the restart, like Monte Morris, P.J. Dozier and Michael Porter Jr. who should all continue to see increased time and usage. Tune in to the Fast Eddie Fear livestream leading up to lock Saturday to hear his take on how Mike Malone with handle Nikola Jokic’s minutes.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers

The Lakers have nothing to play for, and LeBron James not only rested last game, but he is listed questionable again for Saturday. Joining LeBron on the injury report is Alex Caruso, who missed last game and is questionable with a neck injury. If both were to sit again, look for Quinn Cook, Kyle Kuzma and Dion Waiters to pick up the slack. Anthony Davis, Markieff Morris and Dwight Howard are all listed as probable and should be expected to play.

The injury news we are waiting for from Indiana is some of the most important news of the day. Domantas Sabonis remains out indefinitely, but now the Pacers are listing Myles Turner (ankle), T.J. Warren (sore foot) and Doug McDermott (knee) as questionable. Turner’s absence would put Goga Bitadze firmly into play, and Warren sitting would spread out usage to Malcolm Brogdon, Victor Oladipo, Justin Holiday and Aaron Holiday. Turner and McDermott sitting could give T.J. Leaf significant minutes. I love Bitadze in DFS if Turner is out or limited and would also note that I am a card-carrying member of the never T.J. Leaf club.

Phoenix Suns vs. Miami Heat

In maybe the biggest surprise of the restart, the Suns have posted four straight bubble wins. Phoenix has listed Aron Baynes and Elie Okobo as out for Saturday evening’s game against Miami, and Kelly Oubre as doubtful. None of them have played yet in the bubble, so nothing should change for our approach to the Suns.

Jimmy Butler will miss his third straight game, and Kendrick Nunn left the bubble for a personal issue. With Goran Dragic questionable with an ankle injury, we could be in for a lot of Miami value that looks similar to our targets in their loss to Milwaukee Thursday. Tyler Herro and Andre Iguodala would share the majority of the point guard duties if Dragic sits again, along with Bam Adebayo. Late season NBA at its finest.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Dallas Mavericks

This is the game of the day from a basketball standpoint. If we continue to see Milwaukee run their main guys normal minutes, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are two of the better spend ups on the slate outside of the young phenom on the opposing bench. As of this writing, the Bucks have no injuries to report.

Dallas has been without Seth Curry for the last two games in the bubble and he remains questionable with leg soreness for this one. Dorian Finney-Smith popped up questionable as well with a hip injury. If both sit, we could see boosts for Maxi Kleber, Trey Burke, Justin Jackson and Delon Wright. The priority here should be Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, who remain the two main usage hogs in this offense.

Tune in before lock for Live with Fast Eddie Fear breaking down the slate leading up to the main slate at 1 p.m. ET.