Damian Lillard

PG, Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard (rest), C.J. McCollum (rest) and Hassan Whiteside (rest) are all sitting out Thursday's preseason game against Maccabi Haifa for rest purposes, while Pau Gasol (foot) is out as well.

Nothing to see here as the Blazers just elected to rest their critical players against an International team in an exhibition game. Draft each as you normally would.

Source: Casey Holdahl on Twitter

John Henson

PF, Cleveland Cavaliers

John Henson (right groin strain) returned to practice today, but remained limited per Cavs head coach John Beilein.

Tomorrow will be decided if he is ready to go for the Cavs' season opener on Wednesday in Orlando against the Magic. His opponent for the back up center minutes, Ante Zizic, remains absent with left foot soreness. If neither can play, Jarell Martin might get some minutes as he did during the preseason.

Source: Spencer Davies on Twitter

Blake Griffin

PF, Detroit Pistons

Blake Griffin was a limited participant in Monday's practice and is listed as day-to-day with his hamstring injury.

Blake was present for part of Monday's practice session, but head coach Dwayne Casey did state 'they will be conservative with him'. Blake struggled with some minor injuries during the preseason and his injury history reads like a book trilogy. Given that the Pistons begin their regular season with a back-to-back set (Wednesday-Thursday), chances are he misses one of those games.

Source: Rod Beard on Twitter

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

SF, Toronto Raptors

Hollis-Jefferson (groin) and Patrick McCaw (knee) are listed out prior to Tuesday's regular-season opener vs. the Pelicans.

RHJ has been dealing with a sore left groin since last Friday. He wasn't able to make an impression on Raptors' head coach Nick Nurse in the preseason, who criticized him for 'not playing hard enough and not playing with the level of defense that is expected.' He can be left on the waiver wire in most league formats.

Source: NBA injury report

Frank Ntilikina

PG, New York Knicks

Per Shams Charania, the New York Knicks are picking up former No. 8 overall pick Frank Ntilikina’s 2020-21 option worth $6.3 million.

Ntilikina's name has been part of trade rumors since joining the league. He should his upside during the FIBA tournament earlier this summer. However, to start the season, he is in competition for the starting point guard role with Dennis Smith Jr. and Elfrid Payton, and more of a deep-league stash.

Source: Shams Charania on Twitter

Malcolm Miller

SF, Toronto Raptors

Nick Nurse said that Malcolm Miller is close to being in the rotation.

Miller was treated as an afterthought for much of camp and preseason but fought his way onto the roster. He's a capable 3-point shooter and can switch across a couple positions defensively, so don't forget his name if you're in a 30-teamer.

Source: Eric Koreen on Twitter

Troy Brown Jr.

SF, Washington Wizards

Injured Wizards Troy Brown (left calf strain) and C.J. Miles (left foot stress fracture) were able to practice "a little bit" on Monday.

Brown was expected to be out for four weeks as of September 24, so he's trending in the right direction and could be back on the court soon. He's a nice deep-league target and could even get on the standard-league radar if he takes hold of a starting job. The Wizards haven't provided many updates on Miles, so his timeline is far murkier. Even when healthy, he'll only be a 3-point specialist.

Source: Candace Buckner on Twitter

Dwight Powell

PF, Dallas Mavericks

Dwight Powell (left hamstring strain) went through the non-contact portions of Monday's practice, per Rick Carlisle.

Fantasy managers should prepare to be without Powell for the season opener, though it's possible that he plays before going through a full practice. Assuming he isn't out for much longer, Powell makes for a quality late-middle round selection in any remaining fantasy drafts. Maxi Kleber and Boban Marjanovic will fill his minutes in the meantime, with Kleber already worth a late-round selection on his own merit.

Source: Brad Townsend on Twitter

Tacko Fall

C, Boston Celtics

Tacko Fall has been placed in the league's concussion protocol.

Fall got hit in the head on Saturday. His absence won't change Boston's rotation at all but we'll keep you posted on his recovery.

Source: Chris Forsberg on Twitter

PJ Washington

PF, Charlotte Hornets

Mitch Kupchak called PJ Washington the player who stuck out most positively in preseason.

That's big praise from the team brass, especially considering Washington was initially expected to spend a little time in the G League this season. Now a candidate to start on opening night, the rookie is worth a flier in most drafts. He's not our favorite late-round dart but you could certainly do worse.

Source: Rick Bonnell on Twitter

Cody Martin

PF, Charlotte Hornets

Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak said that Cody Martin, Jalen McDaniels, Robert Franks and Kobi Simmons will play primarily in the G League this season.

No surprise here, as Charlotte has been diligent about making its rookies log time with the Greensboro Swarm in recent seasons. This group is not worth monitoring in fantasy leagues.

Source: Rick Bonnell on Twitter