Bones

Hyland

Both players missed the Clippers’ season finale, and Harden missed three of the last four to close out the 2023-24 campaign. Hyland’s role has been muted for most of the season, but he cooked in his final two appearances thanks to multiple injuries and increased playing time. With Russell Westbrook out and Kawhi Leonard questionable, Hyland could see additional minutes.

Hyland wasn’t initially on the injury report, but he also wasn’t in the starting unit, so him not playing makes sense. Xavier Moon will get the start at point guard and should play a ton of minutes. Hyland has played well lately, but he hasn’t been part of the team’s rotation for most of the year. Perhaps they have plans to play him in the postseason, especially if James Harden continues to deal with this foot injury. Otherwise, it is puzzling why he isn’t playing in this one.

Harden was able to play in their last game after missing their two previous games. However, he only played 10 minutes, as Ty Lue benched his starters early in this game. Russell Westbrook may start in his place if Harden is sidelined, but Bones Hyland will see the bulk of the minutes at point guard either way.

Hyland didn’t get the start in this game, but Tyronn Lue benched the starters really early in this game, so he was still able to play a ton of minutes. After scoring a career-high 37 points in their last game, Bizzy Bones had another big performance in this one. With the Clippers locked into the fourth-seed in the West, Bones should play a ton of minutes in the regular season finale once again on Sunday. He still has plenty of talent, but he hasn’t been able to showcase it while buried on the depth chart. This has been a fun reminder of how good he is, and he should get the chance to provide consistent production in the future.

Multiple Clippers were sidelined due to injury or injury management reasons, leading to Hyland moving into the starting lineup. He made the most of his opportunity, tallying a career-high 37 points while also tallying nine assists, three steals, and six 3-pointers. The Clippers are locked into their first-round matchup, as they’ll face the Mavericks. If Tyronn Lue prioritizes ensuring the Clippers have home-court advantage, Hyland’s minutes could be limited. If the priority is to keep the main contributors healthy, we could get another episode of the “Bones Hyland Show” before the regular season ends.

Westbrook joins James Harden, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard on the sideline for Wednesday’s game. His absence means Bones Hyland will start at the point, and while erratic, he’s worth streaming in active leagues due to the Clippers’ lack of healthy options. Xavier Moon could also enter the rotation, but Hyland is the player who fantasy managers should target in this spot.

Westbrook is on the injury report after recording a triple-double against the Suns on Tuesday. The Clippers point guard will have to carry a heavy workload should be play in the second night of a back-to-back, as James Harden (foot), Paul George (knee), and Kawhi Leonard (knee) are out. Fantasy managers should consider streaming Bones Hyland (4% rostered in Yahoo leagues) if Westbrook is ruled out.

This will be a second straight absence for Harden after he sat out against the Suns on Tuesday night. Russell Westbrook started in his place during that game, but Russ is initially listed as questionable for this game. Westbrook will start if he plays, but if he sits out as well, Bones Hyland should slide into the starting point guard role.

The Clippers did not include Harden on their initial injury report for Tuesday’s game against the Suns, but he was limited to 26 minutes on Sunday for injury management reasons. According to Law Murray of The Athletic, the star point guard never put on his shoes for Tuesday’s shootaround. With Tuesday’s matchup being the first of two in as many days between the Clippers and Suns, managers in active leagues should prepare for the possibility of Harden sitting out one of those games.

A late addition to the injury report, Harden has now been cleared to play. He will occupy his usual place in the rotation, with Bones Hyland unlikely to play unless the game gets out of hand. Russell Westbrook will continue to handle the backup point guard responsibilities.