Kyrie Irving Injured His Knee

Kyrie Irving returned to action after an injury scare late in the second quarter on Thursday. He finished with 20 points (7-21 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 5-6 FT), three rebounds, six assists, and two steals. He played a team-high 40 minutes in the loss against Oklahoma City and turned the ball over once.

Irving looked to have suffered a severe knee injury Thursday, as he called frantically for his trainer while holding his knee on the ground for several minutes. He returned, however, in the second half to play a lot of minutes. While Irving looked fine in the second half, he indicated after the game that he believes his knee will swell up but he still expects to play Friday against the Pelicans. Assuming he plays, start him in all fantasy formats.

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Anderson Varejao Practice Harder for Tuesday Game

Anderson Varejao practiced in full Monday and is expected to play Tuesday against Milwaukee, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Spin: Varejao missed Saturday's win over the Pacers due to a bruised rib, but the ailment was short-lived and all signs point to the big man returning to the floor Tuesday. While Varejao's rebounding numbers are down this season, he's averaging 10.9 points per game on 61.1 percent shooting after converting only 49.5 percent of his field goals last season.

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Terrence Jones Could Miss NBA Game for a Month

Terrence Jones could miss another month, House of Houston reports.

Spin: Rockets' TV announcer Bill Worrell said on air Monday night that Jones could miss up to another month, though that report has not been confirmed. Jones hasn't played since Nov. 3 due to a bruised nerve, and the team certainly won't rush him back given the potential long-term effects of nerve injuries. At this point, he'll continue to be evaluated on a game-to-game basis, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he misses extended time.

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Nikola Pekovic Cleared to Practice

Minnesota head coach Flip Saunders hopes Nikola Pekovic will be cleared to practice after he's evaluated next week, but said it will be at least a week of practice before he's game-ready, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Spin: It sounds like Pekovic will be out at least a week even if his evaluation next week goes well. He may not return to mid-December at the earliest even if his wrist improves next week.

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Russell Westbrook Happy To Be Back

Russell Westbrook will start Friday against the Knicks and won't be limited by a minute restriction, The
Oklahoman reports.

Spin: Westbrook has only played two games for the Thunder this season but appears to be healthy enough to take on a full workload Friday. His reinsertion into the starting lineup will push Reggie Jackson to the bench. Despite the long time away from the court, Westbrook should be deployed in all formats moving forward.

Update: Westbrook scored 32 points, 7 Rebounds, 8 Assists and 3 3-points in today's game against NY.

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Steve Nash Will Miss the Entire Season, Durant Might be Wearing the Purple-Gold Jersey on 2016

Steve Nash is expected to miss the entire 2014-15 season due to reoccurring nerve damage in his back, Bleacher Report reports.

Spin: Nash has struggled to overcome nerve issues in his back over recent seasons and those complications plagued the 40-year-old this preseason as well. Despite experimenting with countless techniques to improve his condition, Nash's back problems have persisted enough to rule him out for the upcoming campaign. Furthermore, with Nash currently in the final year of his contract with the Lakers, the two-time MVP may have played his last NBA game. If that proves true, Nash's career closes due to unfortunate circumstances, but amazing production over 18 seasons has Nash destined for the Hall of Fame. As a result of Nash being out, Jeremy Lin should benefit as the Lakers' starting point guard this season, with Ronnie Price representing Los Angeles' top backup option.

On the other hand will it be that Durant will likely to wear that Purple and gold no. 35 Jersey come July 2016? It would be like this:

Kevin Durant appears at his introductory news conference holding up the purple and gold no. 35 jersey and says he would be an absolute honor SOMEDAY to fall into the illustrious line of retired numbers after No. 32 Magic Johnson, No. 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and No. 34 Shaquille O’Neal.

Durant says, yes, he did consult with Kobe Bryant during the Los Angeles Lakers' free-agent recruiting pitch—and Bryant passionately delivered the company line that the Lakers treat their superstars in a special way.

But then Durant pauses and adds that he spoke to someone else who was even more persuasive to that end.

Steve Nash explained to his friend Durant how the Lakers treated him in a completely first-class way despite the crushing and repeated disappointments he brought to the franchise...and you can tell a lot more about how people treat you in tough times than in glorious ones.

Nash is, make no mistake, going to be around. The one positive for him from orchestrating his arrival to the Lakers is he did find his physical paradise: Nash is putting down roots here. He'll be a Manhattan Beach resident for the rest of his life, determined to raise his three children in the sand and sun. Nash will be part of the Lakers' broader community.

Read more about Nash-Durant Story here.

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James Harden Even Harder on the Court

James Harden scored 36 points (11-22 FG, 7-12 3P, 7-7 FT) with six rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block in 40 minutes during Monday's win of Houston Rockets over the Knicks.

Spin: With Dwight Howard (knee) sidelined, Harden stepped up and carried the Rockets to a win. He's now scored 30+ in back to back games, and five times so far on the season.

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Carmelo Anthony Won't be Able to Play for the Rest of the Week.

Carmelo Anthony's will likely miss the remainder of the New York Knicks' road trip this week because of painful back spasms , which includes games against the Mavericks on Wednesday and Thunder on Friday, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.

Spin: Berman's report also says that Anthony's back spasms that he suffered Tuesday night were so bad he couldn't walk or talk in the locker room. There is currently no timetable for his return, either.

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Lebron James Trying to get Cleveland Back on Track

Lebron James scored 29 points (9-17 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 9-11 FT) to go along with four rebounds, 11 assists and three steals in 31 minutes Monday against the Magic.

Spin: James has posted back-to-back double-doubles in points and assists as he's trying to get Cleveland back on track. Despite their struggles, James continues to produce at an elite fantasy level.

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Donald Sloan Has Been Quiet Recently on the Court

Donald Sloan scored 29 points (10-14 FG, 3-5 3P, 6-9 FT) with five assists, two rebounds and a steal in 38 minutes during Monday's win over the Mavericks.

Spin: He's been quiet recently, averaging just 9.0 points a game over his previous six contests, so don't expect Sloan to repeat this kind of performance very often.

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Derrick Rose Dealing with Left Hamstring Tightness

Derrick Rose (hamstring) was held out of the second half of Tuesday's game as a precaution, ESPN Chicago's Nick Friedell reports.

Spin: He did not play in the second half due to a tight hamstring, and it is not believed that he re-injured anything. Coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game that Rose will be re-examined prior to Friday's game in Boston, but he did not think another MRI would be necessary. While a couple days off may be all Rose needs to get back on the court Friday, the fact remains that Rose has not started and finished two consecutive games this season, so expectations regarding his ability to stay on the court should be exceedingly low.

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Eric Gordon's Shoulder Might Undergo Surgery

New Orleans Pelicans' Shooting Guard Eric Gordon (shoulder) will take a week or two to decide whether or not to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Spin: Gordon suffered the injury Saturday against the Jazz, and he said he'll consult with the team's medical staff to decide the next course of action. "If I keep on playing, it's going to be a lingering issue," Gordon said. "This thing doesn't heal all the way correctly, I've heard, unless surgery happens. I don't know, it's (surgery option) still hard to determine right now." If the oft-injured Gordon opts for surgery, he'll likely miss three months or more, whereas choosing to forego surgery would place him out for just a few weeks, with the risk of the labrum not fully healing. Gordon said he'll take time to weigh his options while continuing to attempt to build strength in his shoulder. "I'm going to try and strengthened it back up as much as I can," Gordon said. "You almost got to train like you are trying to get back. That's what I'm going to do and go from there."

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Amir Johnson Low Performance Last Monday Game

Amir Johnson scored just two points with three rebounds in 25 minutes Monday.

Spin: He's been mostly invisible recently, averaging just 5.4 points and 4.2 boards over his last five games, although he has added eight blocks over that stretch to salvage a little fantasy value. Johnson's ankle may still be bothering him, but even if he's healthy keep him on your bench or the waiver wire until he gets back to his usual form.

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Kevin Martin will Undergo Surgery, Cannot play for 6 Weeks

Kevin Martin  will undergo surgery on his wrist, with an initial recovery timetable of six weeks, the Minneapolis Star Tribunereports.

Spin: The procedure chosen for Martin includes insertion of a screw, and the hope is that six weeks will suffice to get him back on the floor. Such a time line all but assures he won't play until after 2015 arrives, but in his place, Corey Brewer is poised to start at shooting guard.

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Top 10: NBA Plays November 23rd

Check this out! Wesley Johnson makes a couple stops in Sunday's Top 10 plays.

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San Antonio Spurs Matt Bonner Missed Games Because of Stomach Illness!

Matt Bonner (illness) is considered questionable for Friday's game against Minnesota, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports. Bonner missed Wednesday's game with a stomach illness, he was hit by the bug at an unfortunate time, coming off a great performance Monday in which he recorded 18 points and three assists in just 20 minutes. Aron Baynes and Boris Diaw will likely see extra minutes in his absence.

Spin: Bonner is still recovering from a stomach illness, which held him out of Wednesday's contest. He went off for 18 points (4-6 3Pt) in his last out against the Sixers on Monday, but that kind of production can't be expected on a consistent basis.

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Beno Udrih Missed Playing for 2 Games in a Row for Memphis Grizzlies!

Beno Udrih (illness) is considered questionable for Friday's game against the Celtics, Rob Fischer of Sports 56 WHBQ in Memphis reports.

Spin: Udrih, along with four teammates, missed Wednesday's game against the Raptors, leaving the Grizzlies with only nine active players. If he can't go again Friday, Kalin Lucas could see a few minutes off the bench.

Beno Udrih is a Slovenian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. He previously played in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, and New York Knicks.

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Rodney Hood Won't be Playing for 2-3 Weeks on NBA

Rodney Hood's foot will miss at least two-to-three weeks, Deseret News reports.

Spin: Hood will be on a regimen of treatment, conditioning and restricted weight training over the time period, at the end of which he will be reevaluated. His bench minutes will continue to go elsewhere in his absence, though Gordon Hayward will continue to start at small forward for the Jazz.

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Al-Farouq Aminu Remains Inconsistent

Al-Farouq Aminu scored three points on 1-of-3 shooting Wednesday. He added four rebounds and a blocked shot in a win over the Wizards.

Spin: This is the type of game that limits Aminu from being a legitimate fantasy option. He shows flashes but remains inconsistent.

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J. J. Barea Led Dallas to Win

Jose Juan Barea "J.J." Barea led a late Dallas Mavericks charge, scoring 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting Wednesday. He added six assists and four rebounds in the win over Washington.

Spin: Barea did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his 14 points and handing out four of his six assists in the final frame.

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Zach LaVine Starting PG has Ended at Minnesota Timberwolves!?

LaVine scored two points with two assists in just 17 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's win over the Knicks.

Spin: It looks like the experiment of having LaVine as the starting point guard has ended, at least in the short term. He had played 25 or more minutes in his four starts but saw a big drop-off in minutes off the bench.

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Marcus Smart Will be A Week Away from Returning to the Game

Celtics' president Danny Ainge believes that Smart (ankle) is "probably at least a week away" from returning to the court, Ben Rohrback of 93.7 WEEI reports.

Spin: Smart hasn't seen the court since November 7, and appears highly unlikely to suit up for this weekend's contests against the Grizzlies and Blazers. HIs original timetable after suffering the ankle sprain/bone brusie was two-to-three weeks, and Ainge's statements are consistent with that notion. After Sunday's showdown with the Blazers, the Celtics have another five day layoff, making a November 28 return against the Bulls a possibility.

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David Lee Out for the NBA Game on Friday

David Lee (hamstring) will not play Friday against Utah, but could return to action at some point during the team's road trip next week, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Spin: Lee has been progressing, running up and down the court without defenders, but needs continue running without issue in order to be cleared for active duty. Golden State has road games Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday next week.

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