Darius Garland, Dejounte Murray, Julius Randle headline NBA injury report for Tuesday, Jan. 4

There’s a 5-game slate in the NBA for Tuesday, January 4, and we’re taking a look at the full injury report. LeBron James is back on there as probable for the 4,000th time this season. We did get some good news on Klay Thompson’s potential return, which could be this weekend for the Golden State Warriors. The Toronto Raptors also have a team again! Let’s get into the NBA injury report for Tuesday night.

NBA Injury Report, January 4

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Dillon Brooks (protocols) OUT
De’Anthony Melton (protocols) OUT
Kyle Anderson (protocols) OUT

Darius Garland (protocols) Will Play
Isaac Okoro (elbow) OUT
Dylan Windler (knee) Will Play

Update - As expected, Garland is playing Tuesday. He has officially cleared the protocols and will be good to go.

Update — Garland is returning to the lineup for the Cavaliers tonight against the Grizzlies, which is a huge boost for Cleveland. At $9,400, Garland is a bit of a risky play but as long as he sees big minutes will have a chance to return value. He’s also a great GPP pivot off of Ja Morant ($9,700), who is in the same price range and should be higher owned.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Toronto Raptors

Dejounte Murray (conditioning) OUT
Lonnie Walker (protocols) OUT
Doug McDermott (protocols) OUT

Update — Murray will remain out tonight vs. the Raptors, but coach Gregg Popovich said the PG is on track to return Wednesday.

Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks

Kemba Walker (knee) OUT
Mitchell Robinson (conditioning) Available
Julius Randle (protocols) AVAILABLE

Update - Randle has cleared the conditioning hurdle and is in for Tuesday’s game. That means he’s still a strong play in fantasy and DFS, although Robinson being in puts a cap on his value.

Update — Robinson will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Pacers. Randle is now a game-time decision, which makes it tougher to pivot to him at $10,700. If Randle is out, you could pivot down to Russell Westbrook ($10,200) but could leave salary on the table. Domantas Sabonis ($9,900) is another option but you’d likely need to make a few moves.

Update — Randle has cleared H&S protocols on Tuesday and is questionable to play vs. the Pacers tonight. It seems Randle may not need any conditioning before getting back in the lineup. We could see Randle return tonight or Thursday vs. the Celtics. A big way we approach this slate will hinge on Robinson and Randle.

Caris Levert (protocols) OUT
Malcolm Brogdon (conditioning) OUT
Chris Duarte (protocols) OUT
Jeremy Lamb (conditioning) OUT

Update - Brogdon is in the same boat as Lamb. He’s also cleared protocols but is set to miss both games of Indiana’s back-to-back set over Tuesday and Wednesday.

Update - Lamb has cleared health protocols but remains out due to conditioning. He’s unlikely to play Wednesday as well.

Phoenix Suns vs. New Orleans Pelicans

Jae Crowder (protocols) OUT
Deandre Ayton (protocols) OUT
JaVale McGee (protocols) OUT

Jonas Valanciunas (protocols) Available
Brandon Ingram (Achilles) Available

Both Ingram and Valanciunas were able to play on Monday night. We could see Ingram sit on the second of a back-to-back coming back from an actual injury, not protocols. Valanciunas should be fine conditioning-wise and play again. We’ll see what the injury report says in the afternoon.

Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Richaun Holmes (protocols) OUT

LeBron James (abdominal) AVAILABLE