Aday Mara starts, blocks three shots vs. Clippers

This will be a seventh straight absence for Williams, with no end in sight. Aday Mara should continue to start alongside Isaiah Hartenstein down low.

Williams will remain sidelined for a sixth straight game. Aday Mara has been starting recently and has taken on extra minutes with Williams unavailable, which is a trend that should continue against LA.

For the first time in his young NBA career, Mara played over 30 minutes in a game. He logged 32 minutes against the Trail Blazers, but the final stat line wasn’t strong enough to make the rookie a must-start in all leagues. Mara replaced Kenrich Williams (11/2/2 with one block and two three-pointers) in the starting lineup, and who starts moving forward may be dictated by the opposition’s rotation.

Williams will miss a fifth straight game while dealing with lower-back spasms. Aday Mara’s playing time has increased recently, and that should be the case on Wednesday as well.

The Thunder made one change to their starting lineup, with McCain replacing Aday Mara. Portland has only one true big in its lineup, Donovan Clingan, so starting two 7-footers wouldn’t have been the best course of action.

Mara made the most of his opportunity to start on the second night of a back-to-back and was able to exploit Washington’s injury-depleted interior defense on the offensive end of the floor while also pulling down eight boards. The 21-year-old rookie figures to see plenty of action this upcoming week with the Thunder set to play four times, including back-to-back tilts against the Trail Blazers before facing the Clippers and Kings. He’s worthy of a roster spot in most fantasy leagues based on his ability to impact the defensive end of the floor. He’s averaging 8.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.9 blocks through 10 games this season. That’ll work.

The Thunder will start Saturday’s game with a bigger lineup, with Mara starting and Jared McCain coming off the bench. While the production hasn’t been consistent, Mara is worth the risk due to injuries to Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

The Thunder are going smaller in this game than they did against the Cavs with Aday Mara heads to the bench and Jared McCain returns to the starting lineup. Mara will go back to being a backup center while McCain might get more minutes in this game. If McCain is available, he might be worth grabbing if you need some points and 3’s.

Williams will miss a second straight game, which may result in another start for Aday Mara. However, Mara got the nod against the Cavaliers, who start both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Mark Daigneault may opt for a smaller starting unit against Memphis.

The lone change to the lineup that started Monday’s win over the Cavaliers is Mara, who replaces Jaylin Williams. The 7-foot-3 rookie is making his first career start.