New Orleans Pelicans guard/forward Trey Murphy III (ankle) won't be in the lineup on Friday against the Boston Celtics. He is dealing with a right ankle sprain and is skipping a third consecutive contest. Zion Williamson (knee) and Dejounte Murray (hand) are also out, so the trio of Jeremiah Fears, Jordan Poole, and Micah Peavy should lead the offense on Friday. All three performed well when they started together in Tuesday's win over Utah, combining for 94 of the team's 156 points.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (knee) is listed as out for Friday's meeting with the Boston Celtics. The Pelicans are giving their fringe players a chance to impress late in the season, and they didn't play Williamson on Tuesday against Utah, even though he was in the lineup. Now, he will be inactive altogether, along with Yves Missi (hand). That should secure a significant role for Kevon Looney, who tallied seven points, 12 boards, six assists, and two steals in Tuesday's 156-137 win. Derik Queen will also have a clearer path to playing time in the frontcourt. He racked up 17 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and two blocks against Utah.

New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (hand) will miss a fourth consecutive game on Friday against the Boston Celtics. It's also looking unlikely that he will play in the season finale on Sunday after picking up a hand injury. Jeremiah Fears has been on a tear since Murray departed the lineup and should be one of the stars of the show again on Friday night. The 19-year-old posted a franchise rookie record with 40 points in Tuesday's win over Utah and has averaged 29.0 points over the last three games, along with 5.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.7 steals.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (hamstring) will sit out Friday's contest against the Denver Nuggets. He has joined a long list of absentees as the Thunder face two dead-rubber games to end the regular season. Luguentz Dort is set to be the only regular starter in the lineup. Jared McCain, Nikola Topic, and Aaron Wiggins are all expected to step into larger roles. On paper, this is a tough matchup. But the Nuggets could also send out a weakened squad, with Nikola Jokic (wrist), Jamal Murray (shoulder), and Aaron Gordon (hamstring) carrying questionable tags.