Trail Blazers vs Hornets Final Injury Report

Two 2025 NBA Draft lottery hopefuls face off on Saturday night in a clash of tanking teams.

The 23-33 Portland Trail Blazers, losers of four straight matchups, will square off against the 14-40 Charlotte Hornets, losers of eight of their last 10 games.

So who will be available for tonight's tilt, essentially, a competition each team would prefer to lose in service of improving its lottery odds?

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According to the league's latest injury report, both squads will be missing multiple key rotation pieces.

Portland will be without perhaps its best player this season, starting center Deandre Ayton.

Ayton incurred a left calf strain and has been on the shelf since February 10. He is expected to miss at least the next few weeks.

It's a big blow to the Trail Blazers, who at one point had won 10 of 11 contests and were looking like a fringe threat to make the play-in tournament before this recent four-game skid.

With Ayton shelved, 7-foot-2 rookie center Donovan Clingan has been serving as head coach Chauncey Billups' preferred starting five.

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Through his last two games as the club's starter, former University of Connecticut Huskies champ is averaging 11.5 points on 62.5 percent field goal shooting and 60 percent foul line shooting, 13.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, one assist and 0.5 steals a night.

Two-time All-Defensive Matisse Thybulle has been sidelined all year with various ailments. Currently, he is rehabilitating from a sprained right ankle.

Two-way Portland players Sidy Cissoko, Bryce McGowens, and Justin Minaya are all with Portland's NBAGL affiliate squad, the Rip City Remix.

The Hornets will be missing reserve power forward Grant Williams, who's out for the year following a right ACL surgery. Starting forward Brandon Miller, selected just ahead of Blazers reserve point guard Scoot Henderson in the 2023 NBA Draft, has been out for a while due to a right wrist ligament tear.

Hornets shooting guard DaQuan Jeffries will miss the contest with a sore left knee, while point guard Tre Mann is out with a herniated disc. Shooting guard Josh Okogie is unavailable due to a strained left hamstring.

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