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Basketball Pickups: The Lunch Lady is ready to cook

Johnson's fantasy value growing in Young's absence
Vaughn Dalzell, Raphielle Johnson and Dan Titus discuss the players who are helping to fill the shoes of injured Trae Young in Atlanta, including Jalen Johnson.

Friday night in the NBA featured nine games with quite a few blowouts. The Kings got an overtime win in Minnesota without De’Aaron Fox after Anthony Edwards exited the game early due to personal reasons. Malik Monk went nuclear late and scored 35 of his 39 points over the final 20 minutes of the game.

Oddly enough, two players fractured their hand on Friday. Scottie Barnes exited just before halftime, and reports of his injury came out shortly after the game ended. Kelly Olynyk (30% rostered in Yahoo leagues) started the second half in his palace and finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Barnes will remain sidelined indefinitely, and with Toronto now 4.5 games out of the Play-In Tournament, they may not rush him back. Olynyk could start for them for the rest of the season and should be added everywhere.

Russell Westbrook also fractured his hand, which allowed Bones Hyland (1%) to make a return to the rotation. Hyland isn’t worth adding at this point, but it may be a good idea to keep an eye on him. Terance Mann (18%) had been playing well even before Russ got hurt, and he has been a top-75 producer in 9-cat leagues since the All-Star break. They will likely have to rely on him even more until Westbrook returns.

There are only five games on Saturday, with the first game tipping off at 3pm ET. Make sure to set your lineups early.

Here are a few other players to consider picking up to help close out the week:

Moses Moody- 4%

Moody has started Golden State’s last three games with Andrew Wiggins (personal) out, and he is reportedly without a timetable for his return. Moody put up 17 points, five rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks and three triples while playing a team-high 32 minutes against Toronto.

Grant Williams- 25%

Williams had a few poor performances after a strong start to his tenure with Charlotte. However, he has been better over their last two games. He had 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and one triple while making all six of his shot attempts on Friday.

Duop Reath- 6%

With Deandre Ayton sidelined for this game with a hand sprain, Reath got the starting nod. He only played 23 minutes due to the lopsided score, but he still contributed 18 points, five rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks and two 3-pointers. They have a rematch with Memphis on Saturday, and if Ayton remains out, Reath should be an excellent streaming option.