Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (oblique) has been ruled out on Friday and will miss his fifth game in a row while dealing with a right oblique strain. The defensive specialist has been one of those players whose impact is felt beyond the box score this season. His scoring output and assist numbers may have both decreased, but his efficiency has gotten better and he's helped the Rockets get to a 17-15 record while he takes on the hardest defensive assignment on the other team. While he remains on the sidelines, Jae'Sean Tate should stay in the starting lineup while he receives around 30 minutes a night. Jeff Green and Cam Whitmore have seen some extra minutes as well, but Tate would be the most consistent streaming option to choose.

New York Knicks guard Malachi Flynn (ankle) has been dealing with an ankle sprain since his last game in Toronto on December 29. After being part of the trade that sent OG Anunoby to the Knicks, Flynn has yet to play, so his role on his new team is unclear at the moment. Flynn was only getting 15.3 minutes per contest on a rebuilding Raptors team, so it doesn't seem likely that he would get a bigger role. He also hasn't been on the fantasy radar as he's posted 5.1 points, 2.4 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.1 turnovers per game while shooting 40.9% from the floor. If he's upgraded to active, fantasy managers should hold off on adding him to any lineups until we find out his role and how many minutes he's going to get.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (knee) has received another questionable tag for Friday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers while he deals with tendonitis in his left knee. Murphy didn't make his season debut until December 1 due to injury, but up until he was dealing with this bout of tendonitis, he posted some fantasy-friendly stat lines while coming off the bench. He's averaged 14.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.8 threes per game while only starting in one of his 12 games played. If he's unable to return from his three-game absence, Dyson Daniels and Jose Alvarado will see some extra minutes and willhttps://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2024-01-05_02PM.pdf only become streaming options in deeper leagues.

Boston Celtics center Al Horford (rest) has been listed as questionable on Friday against the Utah Jazz. He's not dealing with any ailments at the moment as he was listed due to rest, so the team could be waiting to see how the rest of the starters and key reserves feel before game time. Horford usually gets a rest day on one half of back-to-backs and this game on Friday would be the first of two games in the next two days. If they decide to rest him against Utah to make sure he's ready to face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, then either Luke Kornet or Neemias Queta would see the backup minutes instead. It's unclear which one will receive more opportunities so they're not the best streaming options at the moment.

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (back) has been listed as questionable on the early morning injury report as he deals with a mid-back sprain. This year, Nembhard has seen stretches of injury issues in between spurts of getting starts and minutes off of the bench. His role has been all over the place, so the inconsistency from a fantasy standpoint can get quite frustrating. If he ends up staying on the sidelines for a second consecutive game with his back issues, Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell would get some extra minutes off of the bench. One of those two may even move into the starting lineup if Bruce Brown (knee) isn't upgraded from questionable.