Philadelphia 76ers guard De'Anthony Melton (back) won't be available for Friday's tilt versus the Atlanta Hawks. Melton just can't seem to get over the lumbar spine stress response in his back, which has plagued him since early January. The Sixers have a short turnaround in the form of a matchup with the Washington Wizards on Saturday, but Melton will hope to be ready by then. Tyrese Maxey (illness) is up in the air for Friday, and Philly traded away both Patrick Beverley and Jaden Springer on Thursday. It could be down to Tobias Harris to run the Sixers offense in a cushy situation against the Hawks, who rank 29th in the league in opponent field-goal percentage (50.4%). Harris has been a second-round fantasy player in nine-category leagues since Jan. 10, accumulating 20.8 points, 3.9 assists, 1.1 treys, and 1.0 steals while shooting 95.8% from the free-throw line through his past 12 games.

The Boston Celtics have removed guard Jrue Holiday (elbow) from their injury report ahead of Friday's contest versus the Washington Wizards. A sprained right elbow has nagged Holiday since December, costing him Wednesday's win over the Atlanta Hawks, but he'll be available on Friday. The matchup with Washington is a soft one, as the Wizards are giving up the second-most points per game (123.8) this year. Holiday has been up and down during his debut season in Beantown, but with Jayson Tatum's (illness) status in limbo on Friday, it's worth noting that Holiday is averaging 19.0 points, 6.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 threes, and 1.0 steals across three games without Tatum in 2023-24.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Buddy Hield (recently traded) will not make his team debut in Friday's game versus the Atlanta Hawks. Hield's Sixers debut following Thursday's trade with the Indiana Pacers will have to wait until Saturday at the earliest, when Philly travels to D.C. to face the Washington Wizards. Tyrese Maxey (illness) is a late addition to the injury report, so the backcourt could be extremely undermanned on Friday. Kelly Oubre Jr. is the best bet for fantasy purposes against a Hawks team that's allowing the most points per game (124.0) in the NBA this season. Since Jan. 27, Oubre is averaging 18.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.0 three-pointers, and 0.9 blocks in 32.4 minutes over his last seven games.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (ankle) has been ruled out for an eighth consecutive game and will have played a total of 22 out of a possible 51 games so far this year. The 22-year-old has been battling ankle injuries for a couple of years now and has only played 58 combined games from last year until now. His talent and abilities still warrant keeping him on all fantasy rosters unless there aren't any IR spots. After the Hornets traded away Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington, their going to go deep into the bench for the Friday night game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Brandon Miller, Ish Smith, and Bryce McGowens are the best options with Ball sidelined.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (illness) is listed as questionable for the team's Friday night game against the Washington Wizards. He's currently listed as dealing with a non-COVID illness so the severity of the sickness isn't known at the moment. Seeing as they'll be going up against a weaker opponent, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to allow him to rest and get healthy for their next matchup. If he's unable to play, Jaylen Brown will see an uptick in usage while Jrue Holiday and Derrick White should both be in the starting five. Al Horford and Sam Hauser will also see some extra opportunities coming off of the bench.