NBA Player News

Unsurprisingly, Kessler will miss the second leg of Utah’s back-to-back set after landing on the injury report late on Friday afternoon. In his absence, Oscar Tshiebwe, KJ Martin and Kyle Filipowski should pick up the slack by committee.

Pickett made his second career start on Wednesday, as the Nuggets’ entire starting five was out for the second game of the team’s back-to-back. The second-year guard recorded the best stat line of his NBA career, dropping a triple-double in 35 minutes on the court. There’s no need to add Pickett in the aftermath of this performance, as most of the players who sat out on Wednesday should be back for Friday’s game against the Warriors. But it was nice to see him take advantage of his opportunity.

With Denver’s entire starting five sidelined for Wednesday’s game, Westbrook was allowed to redeem himself as a starter after a brutal finish to Tuesday’s double-overtime loss to the Thunder. The final stat line was solid as the Nuggets guard notched his first 30-point game of the season. Finishing one blocked shot shy of a complete stat line, Westbrook’s lone issue on Wednesday was the four turnovers he committed. His fantasy value will decrease as soon as Denver’s starters return, which should be on Friday against the Warriors.

Barnes has now scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games after not having scored at least 20 points in a game since March 10. The 32-year-old small forward has had more opportunities recently as he’s moved into the starting lineup, but still isn’t consistent enough to be rostered in standard leagues.

Champagnie moved into the starting lineup Wednesday with Devin Vassell out. Despite playing 32 minutes for the second night in a row, his production fell off a bit as he only had 14 points. Champagnie struggled from three-point land as he went 2-of-9 on three-point attempts compared to 5-of-9 against Orlando on Tuesday. Champagnie is merely a streaming option when the Spurs are missing a starter.

Harris was ruled out in the second half with right Achilles tendinopathy. The 32-year-old power forward missed the last two games with an Achilles issue and now wasn’t able to finish the game against the Thunder Wednesday. It’s difficult not to be concerned about Harris’ availability going forward. With the Pistons looking ahead to the playoffs, he could take games off even if he’s close to 100 percent healthy. Malik Beasley figures to move into the starting lineup if Harris is unable to start the Pistons next game, which comes Friday against the Raptors.

Castle was just one assist shy of a triple-double Wednesday against the Nuggets. The 20-year-old shooting guard continues to finish the season out strong as he pushes for the Rookie of the Year award. Castle improved greatly in the turnover category as he committed just one turnover after turning it over seven times against the Magic on Tuesday. Those turnovers have sabotaged his fantasy value this year, but the future is bright for Castle if he can continue to improve in that area.

Okongwu continues to have a massive role for the Hawks with Clint Capela and Jalen Johnson out. The 24-year-old center played 40 minutes and had a 20-point double-double against the Mavericks Wednesday. Okongwu has seen his production tick up since the All-Star break and he should be able to maintain this level of play through the rest of the regular season.

Young continues to show up on injury reports with an Achilles issue, but it hasn’t impacted his play much at all. The 26-year-old point guard was hardly efficient scoring as he had 25 points on 20 shots, though he set a franchise record with at least 12 assists for the sixth game in a row. He’s also scored at least 25 points in seven of his last nine games. Expect Young to continue playing through his Achilles injury as if it’s not bothering him.