Jaren Jackson Jr.

Ja Morant (ankle) is available to play against the Mavericks on Friday.

As he has been saying all week, Morant will play in the Grizzlies’ play-in matchup with Dallas. Now, it’s finally official. Morant may be limited by the ankle injury, but he underwent an injection on Thursday, so he hopefully won’t be too limited. Regardless, expect him to play a significant role to try and keep their season alive.

Ja Morant had an injection in his ankle on Thursday but is “determined to play” against the Mavericks on Friday.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Ja Morant had an injection in his ankle on Thursday but is “determined to play” against the Mavericks on Friday.

Charania also noted that if this was a regular season game, Morant likely wouldn’t be playing. It is a “severe” ankle sprain, though he has never wavered from his stance that he will play against Dallas. The injection should help ease the pain, but it also establishes just how severe the injury is. Still, in an elimination game, Morant will play as much as he needs to in order to get Memphis to the playoffs.

Kevin Love (personal reasons) is out for Friday’s matchup with the Hawks.

Love’s streak of absences will extend to 14 as he misses the Heat’s Play-In matchup with the Hawks. If Miami wins and advances to the playoffs, the team will face Cleveland in the first round, and Love will have a chance to return against his former team.

Domantas Sabonis tallied 11 points (5-of-13 FGs, 1-of-2 FTs), 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals in 37 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to the Mavericks.

It’s fitting that Sabonis would finish his season with a double-double, as he recorded 61 during the regular season. However, his impact was limited, with Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford combining to control the paint for most of Wednesday’s play-in tournament matchup. Regarding fantasy value, Sabonis was a top-25 player in eight- and nine-cat formats for the season. However, his value took a significant hit after the trade deadline, with the De’Aaron Fox deal leaving the Kings with two high-scoring wings (Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan) and no legitimate point guard. How Sacramento addresses that decision during the offseason will impact Sabonis’ fantasy value in 2025-26.

Domantas Sabonis logged 24 minutes in Sunday’s win over the Suns, finishing with 20 points (8-of-10 FGs), 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and four three-pointers.

Sabonis may not be entering a three-point contest anytime soon, but he was elite against the Suns. The Kings center made all four attempts from beyond the arc on Sunday, adding bonus value to a solid overall stat line. Sacramento’s victory secured the ninth seed in the West, so they will host Dallas in a play-in tournament game on Wednesday. The Kings need to win two to reach the playoffs, and they’ll need an elite Sabonis to get the job done.