As he continues to rehab and make his way back from an elbow injury suffered at the start of January, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner will miss Friday's matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Turner, who injured his elbow in Indiana's 109-96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 8, is making steady progress in his side work and rehabilitation of the elbow. The good news for Indiana is its young center fully participated in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. With no signs of a setback and the team set to play a game on Saturday as well, this move to hold Turner out tonight could be a decision to just keep him out of a back-to-back set immediately upon his return.
Tonight, Indiana will turn to Domantas Sabonis again for major minutes. Sabonis, a second-year player, is posting some of his best numbers this season in the month of January. In nearly 29 minutes per game, Sabonis averages 14.9 points and 10.9 shot attempts per game in 11 January contests. Given Cleveland's defensive woes this season, Sabonis is a DFS target play for Friday's 10-game slate.
For season-long fantasy owners with Turner, it seems the 21-year-old big man will return to the court and fantasy lineups soon. He should provide an excellent source of blocks, averages 2.2 per game this season, though he can't be relied upon heavily for rebounds, field goal percentage or double doubles.