Daily NBA Injury Report and Analysis for January 12, 2026
Sportsgrid Staff
Host · Writer
The biggest injury variable on Monday’s six-game NBA slate is Kawhi Leonard. The Los Angeles Clippers list Leonard as day-to-day, and his on-off impact this season is extreme: Los Angeles is 13-14 with Leonard and 2-8 without him. That is the kind of availability swing that can flip both the side and the total, especially against a Charlotte Hornets team that can score in bunches when its wings are intact.
Across the board, there are several other high-leverage situations: Anthony Davis remains out indefinitely for the Dallas Mavericks, Michael Porter Jr. is day-to-day for the Brooklyn Nets with a massive team split, and Brandon Ingram is day-to-day for the Toronto Raptors in a game where both teams are on the second night of a back-to-back.
Utah Jazz @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland is without Max Strus (out until February), which matters because the Cavaliers’ recent form has dipped in the sample provided: they are 1-4 in the last five with Strus out, versus 3-2 over the previous five with him. With Strus sidelined, Cleveland’s spacing and wing minutes lean more heavily on the current starting group, and the market tends to price that as a small but real offensive tax.
Utah’s frontcourt is the bigger question. Walker Kessler remains out, and Jusuf Nurkic is day-to-day. The Jazz are 13-25 overall with a -8.3 net rating, but the Kessler split is notable: Utah is 2-3 with Kessler and 11-22 without him this season. If Nurkic also sits, the Jazz are likely forced into smaller or less stable rim protection, which is a dangerous profile against Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
Boston Celtics @ Indiana Pacers
Indiana’s injury situation continues to cap its ceiling. Tyrese Haliburton remains out, and the Pacers are just 8-31 overall. The more immediate swing piece is Andrew Nembhard (day-to-day). Indiana is 5-25 with Nembhard and 3-6 without him this season, which is not a “better without” signal so much as a reminder that the Pacers’ baseline is poor and the rotation is fragile. With Bennedict Mathurin also out, the Pacers’ creation burden concentrates even more on Pascal Siakam.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser are both day-to-day. Brown’s split is massive: the Celtics are 22-14 with him, and 2-0 without him, but the net rating swing is the real flag, from +5.4 with Brown to +30.5 without in that tiny sample. Hauser’s split is even more extreme in the data: Boston is 24-12 with him and 0-2 without, with net rating +7.4 with Hauser and -6.0 without. If both Brown and Hauser sit, Boston’s wing depth and shooting take a direct hit, and bettors should expect more volatility in Boston’s half-court efficiency.
Philadelphia 76ers @ Toronto Raptors
Toronto is on the second night of a back-to-back and lists Brandon Ingram (day-to-day) and RJ Barrett (day-to-day). Ingram’s team split is meaningful: the Raptors are 23-15 with him and 1-1 without him this season, with a net rating of +2.2 with Ingram and -3.5 without. Barrett’s split is even more apparent: Toronto is 16-7 with Barrett and 8-9 without, with net rating +6.7 with him and -4.6 without. If either sits, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley have to absorb more creation, and the Raptors’ margin for error shrinks.
Philadelphia is also on a back-to-back and lists Joel Embiid and Paul George as day-to-day. Embiid’s split is relatively modest in the data provided, 11-8 with him and 10-7 without, but his presence changes matchup geometry and foul pressure. George’s split is similarly narrow, 12-8 with him and 9-7 without. The betting angle here is less about win-loss splits and more about how late news can move the total, since Tyrese Maxey (31.2 points per game) is already carrying a massive offensive load.
Brooklyn Nets @ Dallas Mavericks
Dallas is the most shorthanded team on the slate in terms of top-end talent. Anthony Davis is out indefinitely, Kyrie Irving is out, and Dereck Lively II remains out. Davis is the key impact piece: the Mavericks are 10-10 with him and 4-15 without him this season, a win rate drop from 50.0% to 21.1%, with net rating sliding from -2.9 to -5.5. Without Davis and Irving, Dallas leans heavily on Cooper Flagg as a primary engine, and the frontcourt minutes become more fragile even with Daniel Gafford starting.
Brooklyn’s swing piece is Michael Porter Jr. (day-to-day). The Nets are 11-18 with Porter and 0-7 without him, with a net rating of -2.6 with him and -15.3 without. That is one of the cleanest “team falls apart without this scorer” signals on the slate. If Porter sits, Brooklyn’s offense risks becoming too thin to punish Dallas’ injuries, and the market may shade toward a lower-scoring game given both teams’ shot creation concerns.
Los Angeles Lakers @ Sacramento Kings
Sacramento is without Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray, and the Kings are already 9-30 with a -11.6 net rating. Sabonis’ split is ugly: Sacramento is 2-9 with him and 7-21 without, with net rating essentially unchanged at a poor level (-11.8 with, -11.6 without). Murray’s split is similar, 4-15 with and 5-15 without. The takeaway is not that the Kings are better without either player; it is that the roster has not been competitive in either configuration, and missing both removes two stabilizers from the frontcourt.
The Los Angeles Lakers are without Austin Reaves. The Lakers are 14-8 with Reaves and 8-5 without him, with net rating basically flat (-0.8 with, -0.9 without). That suggests Los Angeles can survive the absence structurally, but it does shift more ball-handling and shot creation to Luka Doncic and LeBron James, which can show up in prop markets even if the side does not move much.
Charlotte Hornets @ Los Angeles Clippers
This game revolves around Kawhi Leonard (day-to-day). The Clippers are 13-14 with Leonard and 2-8 without him, with a net rating of +1.0 with and -7.2 without. If Leonard sits, Los Angeles becomes far more dependent on James Harden to create efficient offense, and the defensive ceiling drops without Leonard’s two-way impact.
Charlotte lists Miles Bridges as day-to-day, and he carries a high-impact tag. The Hornets are 14-24 with Bridges and 0-1 without him, with a net rating of -0.2 with and -7.0 without. If Bridges sits, the Hornets’ scoring burden shifts toward LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel, and the matchup becomes less forgiving against a Clippers defense that ranks eighth in defensive rating.
Statistical Impact Analysis
The three most significant team-performance splits in the data are Michael Porter Jr. (Brooklyn 11-18 with, 0-7 without), Anthony Davis (Dallas 10-10 with, 4-15 without), and Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers 13-14 with, 2-8 without). Those are the situations most likely to drive meaningful pregame and in-game market movement once statuses lock.
Betting and Fantasy Implications
Bettors should be prepared for late movement in Hornets-Clippers and Nets-Mavericks, since Leonard and Porter are the two most leverage-heavy day-to-day tags on the slate. For fantasy managers, the clearest volume consolidations come from Dallas’ depleted star core and any Toronto absences, where usage and playmaking concentrate around the remaining starters.
Players to Monitor
- Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
- Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets
- Michael Porter Jr., Brooklyn Nets
- Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
- Sam Hauser, Boston Celtics
- Brandon Ingram, Toronto Raptors
- RJ Barrett, Toronto Raptors
- Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
- Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers
- Jusuf Nurkic, Utah Jazz
- Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
Closing
Monday’s slate is defined by a few high-impact availability calls rather than a long list of minor injuries. The cleanest edges should come from reacting faster than the market to Leonard, Porter, and the Toronto wing statuses. The key is to track confirmations close to tip-off, because several of these teams have splits that are large enough to justify real line movement.
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