Philadelphia 76ers DVOA, Stats, & NBA Rankings

Brooklyn Nets guard Lonnie Walker IV (illness) will play on Thursday versus the Pistons. He hasn't felt well and carried a questionable tag since Wednesday night. However, the 25-year-old is at least feeling well enough to suit up for the meeting with the worst team in the National Basketball Association. Walker logged 30 minutes in Tuesday's win over the Philadelphia 76ers, finishing with 19 points. With Cam Thomas (foot, ankle) and Cameron Johnson (ankle) out, Walker should continue to receive extra work, making him a worthwhile fantasy option in any format.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (concussion) won't play in Friday's tilt versus the New Orleans Pelicans, but guard Kyle Lowry (rest) will be available. After taking a hit to the head in Sunday's win over the Dallas Mavericks, Maxey remains in concussion protocol and will miss a third consecutive game. The All-Star guard's next chance to suit up arrives in Sunday's contest against the New York Knicks. Lowry is off the injury report after resting Wednesday, however, and his fantasy value is closely associated to Maxey's availability. Cameron Payne gave Philly some decent run in Wednesday's spot start in the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 16 points with four assists, two threes, and one steal in 28 minutes, but he'll presumably head back to the second unit with Lowry back against the Pels. Lowry is averaging 12.7 points, 7.3 dimes, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.7 treys over his past three starts for the Sixers.

The Brooklyn Nets have downgraded guard Lonnie Walker IV (illness) to questionable for Thursday's game against the Detroit Pistons. With four regular rotation members already ruled out, the Nets could be drastically undermanned on Thursday. Walker is a candidate to join Brooklyn's starting lineup with Cameron Johnson (ankle) sidelined, but if he can't fight through an illness, Dennis Smith Jr. would be in play as a budget DFS option against a last-place Pistons team giving up more FanDuel points per game to opposing point guards than any other this season.

Detroit Pistons guard Quentin Grimes (knee) has been ruled out ahead of Thursday's game against the Brooklyn Nets. Grimes is set to miss his third game in a row due to right knee soreness. The Pistons have been using a committee approach to fill the void left by Grimes. That means Simone Fontecchio, Evan Fournier, and Marcus Sasser should all see more minutes with Grimes out at least one more game. Out of the trio, Fontecchio is the only one worth looking at as a possible streaming option.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry (rest) will be unavailable for Wednesday's tilt against the Memphis Grizzlies. After falling to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, the Sixers are resting Lowry on the second part of their back-to-back. The veteran floor general should be good to go for Friday's action against the New Orleans Pelicans. In the meantime, Philly is down to Cameron Payne at point guard with All-Star Tyrese Maxey (concussion) also sidelined on Wednesday, with Tobias Harris likely being tasked to handle additional ball-handling duties against an injury-ravaged Memphis club.