National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

Alex Sarr is out with a right hamstring injury and I'm not sure that we'll see him again this season, while Vukcevic is the only guy to fill the void he'll leave. Vukcevic can help fantasy managers with points, rebounds, steals, blocks and 3-pointers, and came back from a two-game absence due to an illness for a masterful 12 points, five rebounds, five steals, a block and two 3-pointers in just 17 minutes against the Pacers on Thursday.

The only good reason to be mad at him is that he has leveraged the unlimited resources and power of Klutch Sports, CAA, Spotify, and The Ringer to make daytime SportsCenter simulacrum without the catchphrases. Paul and Kellerman's FanDuel-sponsored podcast is bad. It's bad in the sort of banal way that most podcasts are bad-the hosts don't say much of substance, they are stricken with red light syndrome, and their riffs are obtuse and unimaginative.

"It's a concern," Self told reporters after the game. "I thought we were past it, but obviously we're not. It's certainly a concern. "You get into the NCAA tournament, you're playing a team just as good as you and you need to have all your best players available, so to speak. All it takes is for one day like that to derail not only a game, but a season. It's concerning, but I do think we're making progress with it."

"Day'Ron is special," Dëmin said. "His superpower is rebounding. A lot of his points are putbacks and those aren't easy. I joke with him that the last couple of weeks he's been looking for me a lot coming off handoffs and ball screens, and I tell him when he sets screens, I'm going to find him. The more you play together, the more confidence you build, and he makes the game easier for everybody."

For the last few days, smack dab in the middle of his long-awaited breakthrough at USC, Arenas had gotten sick. He'd spent the last few days worn down, leaving his status for Wednesday night's marquee matchup with No. 10 Illinois uncertain. But the Trojans star freshman had refused to sit out, resolving instead to tough it out against a true Big Ten contender, even if he wasn't at 100%.

Currently, the Raptors belong to a very specific and defined middle class in the league. One that likely neither expects to win in the playoffs nor in the lottery. Losing to the Detroit Pistons in their final game before the break was part of a season-long pattern: And the Raptors, finally close to full health for the first time in months, once again saw how much further up the mountain they'll have to climb to accomplish their goals.