Tony Parker is on the market as an unrestricted free agent, and he’s already receiving significant interest from multiple teams. Parker averaged only 7.7 points and 3.5 assists per game last season behind starting point guard Dejounte Murray, but he still holds value as a veteran backup capable of running an offense. MORE: NBA free agent tracker — See who goes where And that’s exactly what the Hornets and Nuggets could use, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski....

Below are some of the most recent injury reports from big-name players across the league. Kristaps Porzingis, Dallas Mavericks Porzingis has been sidelined for the past eight games due to right knee soreness, though the power forward returned to practice on Monday. However, after practice, Porzingis said he felt ill, which extended his absence to include the Mavericks’ latest game against the Golden State Warriors. On Wednesday, Porzingis told reporters that he wants to return to the Mavericks “as soon as possible, hopefully tomorrow,” which would be the team’s against the Sacramento Kings....

With just over six weeks remaining in the season, time is ticking on injured players to make their return (or debut) before the postseason. Will superstars like Kawhi Leonard or Zion Williamson take the floor at all this season? Will the Nuggets get their star tandem of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back before the playoffs? Below you can find the latest injury timelines on those players and more as we enter the home stretch of the season....

Things went off the rails, though, when McCollum reacted to a fan comment about his beard. The person compared McCollum’s facial hair to Nuggets guard Jamal Murray’s … other hair … after a sexually explicit video of Murray emerged over the weekend. McCollum and Lillard immediately cracked up, and Lillard, aware they were live, questioned his friend’s judgment. “This is why you can’t have CJ on live,” Lillard said. “You can’t address them type of comments, bruh....

He was quickly stretchered off the court, leaving his teammates and Wolves players visibly shaken up. Many NBA players took to Twitter following the horrific incident to express their support for LeVert. 

Los Angeles and Miami were able to cruise through the second round of the playoffs, but Boston and Denver had to go the full seven games in order to advance to the Eastern and Western Conference finals. Now these contenders find themselves just four wins away from the NBA Finals. Below you’ll find everything to know about watching the conference finals, including TV schedules for both series. MORE: Watch select NBA playoff games live with fuboTV (7-day trial)...

WASHINGTON — For all their mysterious slumps and chemistry curiosities, the Indiana Pacers are back where they were last season — in the Eastern Conference finals. David West scored 29 points Thursday night, and the Pacers blew a 16-point second-half lead before pulling away late in a 93-80 win that ousted the Washington Wizards in six games. Next up, a rematch with the Miami Heat. PHOTOS: Must-see action shots...

We knew Boston wasn’t a strong top seed, but what we’ve seen has been shocking. The Bulls barely made the playoffs with a 41-41 record, which included a midseason social media fight among Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler. Fans were coming at the organization from the top down, saying changes needed to be made. Now, their team might win a playoff series. MORE: NBA scores, schedules, latest updates...

The Raptors won one game against Cleveland in the regular season, though it was the last game of the year, and the trio of LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving sat for the Cavs. There is not much to glean from the first three games between the teams, because they all took place in the first quarter of the season, and were decided by 11 total points. MORE: How Norman Powell has made all the difference in Toronto...

The Pelicans’ sweep over the Trail Blazers was certainly something that very few predicted. The Thunder’s trio of Russell Wesbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George managed only two wins against the Jazz before being eliminated in Utah. But the top two seeds from each conference (Warriors, Rockets, Raptors and Celtics) advanced and sent the underdogs home early. So who is the favorite to win the championship from the NBA’s Elite Eight?...

The 24-year-old center missed practice before Game 1 against the Jazz because he was sick and was later diagnosed with a pair of respiratory illnesses. “It’s tough,” Capela told ESPN on Monday. “Especially when I try to breathe, it’s hard. I’m just going to fight it the best that I can.” Capela tallied 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his team’s Game 1 win but his production has dropped since....

A calf injury meant Durant was absent Friday when the Warriors defeated the Rockets 118-113 on the road in Game 6 to advance to a fifth straight Western Conference finals. The Warriors are due to host either the Nuggets or the Trail Blazers at Oracle Arena in the first game of that series on Tuesday, with coach Steve Kerr stating Friday that Durant would be assessed again “in a week....

Point spreads and totals are current as of Friday evening. Check our odds page for updated Las Vegas lines. No. 1 Atlanta Hawks at No. 8 Brooklyn Nets (3 p.m. ET, TNT)Game 3 spread, total: Atlanta -2.5, 201 Series lead: Atlanta 2-0 Atlanta won but failed to cover at home in both Game 1 (99-92 as 11.5-point favorites) and Game 2 (96-91 as 9.5-point favorites). Neither came close to reaching the total, which were at 205 and 203....

You couldn’t have asked for much more to open the NBA playoffs (though you could have asked for much less of the Black Eyed Peas). Saturday started with an overtime thriller between the Wizards and Raptors, and closed with The Beard (James Harden) dropping a double-double in the Rockets’ win over the Mavs. So, will.i.am was right: “This is awesome.” Sunday’s playoff slate, which begins at 3 p.m. ET with LeBron James and the Cavs taking on the Celtics, promises to be even better because we’re adding extra excitement with a one-day FanDuel fantasy NBA league exclusive for Sporting News readers....

His Wizards were playing without their star player, John Wall, and had watched a 21-point lead over the Hawks evaporate in a matter of minutes. MORE: Pierce ‘I Called Game’ t-shirts on sale | Hawks petition to end bank shot winners PHOTOS: Must-see Round 2 pictures Enter Pierce, the grizzled veteran who has had more playoff success as an individual than the Washington franchise has had in the last 35 years....

Getting to the playoffs, though, is one thing. Having a real chance at winning a title — or heck, a chance at winning a series — is quite another. With that in mind, we ranked all 17 potential playoff teams, not based on their status with two days to go, but on what their best-case scenario looks like, and how likely they are to achieve that best-case. There aren’t many teams with real chances at the championship but, in our estimation, there are a surprising number with a shot at getting to the NBA Finals…...

Good stuff, Charlotte. NBA All-STAR 2019: Biggest winners and losers But we’re back into regular action now, with around 25 games to go for most teams. To get reacquainted with where these teams left off, let’s see what had been trending before the break in this week’s NBA Power Rankings. Warriors Trending: Going back to Jan. 5, Klay Thompson is averaging 23.5 points, shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 49....

The Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers kick off proceedings on Thursday in Honolulu, Hawaii. After adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the offseason, the Clippers are firm favorites to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy this season. Two games are scheduled for Friday, with a further five on the slate for Saturday. The pick of the crop of those five is unquestionably the Los Angeles Lakers’ trip to San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors....