NBA Player News

The Bulls are severely shorthanded for Saturday’s game, with the absences creating three starting spots. Dosunmu, Huerter and Williams will start, filling in for Josh Giddey, Coby White and Nikola Vučević, and the Bulls are also without Jalen Smith. Of the three replacements, Dosunmu offers the highest ceiling, while managers can afford to leave Williams on the waiver wire.

Both Chet Holmgren (back) and Isaiah Hartenstein (calf) are questionable as well, so Williams has a chance to start if he plays and the other don’t. However, that is the only path to fantasy relevance for him, and he shouldn’t be streamed in unless that scenario occurs.

Hartenstein joins Chet Holmgren (back) and Jaylin Williams (shoulder) as questionable for this game, which is the first of a back-to-back. It’s unclear if the Thunder will choose to stagger the availability of their bigs or ensure all are healthy against the Spurs on Wednesday. Hartenstein returned to the starting lineup in his last game and will likely occupy that role in whichever game he suits up for since he will likely sit one after missing a month with this calf injury.

Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein (calf) and Jaylin Williams (shoulder) are all questionable for the first game of this back-to-back, and the second game being against the Spurs could certainly be a factor there. The center rotation is certainly up in the air, with the only one guaranteed to be healthy is Branden Carlson, who could play a significant role if more than one of the aforementioned bigs is sidelined.

Huff came off the bench in favor of Jarace Walker against the Thunder on Friday, but they’ll revert back to the typical starting unit for this game. That was likely a matchup-based decision, and head coach Rick Carlisle will ensure that Huff will be in the opening group to help slow down Alperen Sengun.

JJJ missed Saturday’s game against Minnesota, but after being upgraded to probable earlier in the day, he will officially be available for the rematch. Vince Williams Jr. should return to the bench, and GG Jackson will lose out on minutes after a productive outing on Saturday.

Caruso is expected to miss a seventh straight game, but he wasn’t immediately ruled out, so he could be getting closer to returning. For now, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins should continue to occupy the reserve minutes on the wing.

SGA is dealing with a sprain in the index finger on his shooting hand, which isn’t ideal for OKC’s top scorer. He may struggle through it, but if he is forced to sit out, Aaron Wiggins should slide into the starting lineup in his place.

Ball took a hit to the face early in this game after both he and head coach Charles Lee went for a ball that was going out of bounds. Ball went to the locker room, but he was able to return and push Charlotte’s winning streak to seven games. Ball hasn’t been the only reason for Charlotte’s recent success, but he has only missed three games since November, which is a great development for him. They continue to manage his minutes, which has allowed him to stay available. That limits his impact in the box score, but he’s still able to be more productive that most players in limited action.

Williams has played a solid role off the bench since making his season debut on Jan. 10, but he hasn’t contributed much in the box score. However, he was able to have his first double-digit scoring outing of the season in this game. Williams isn’t a player to consider rostering in most leagues at this time, and he has never been a strong option in fantasy basketball throughout his career. However, considering he missed 14 months due to a torn ACL, it was good to see him play this well.

Kalkbrenner was the more impactful center for Charlotte early in the year, but recently, Moussa Diabaté has been starting and far more productive. However, that wasn’t the case in this game. Diabaté played 28 minutes to Kalkbrenner’s 18, but he only finished with two points, nine rebounds and two assists, while Kalkbrenner came close to a double-double and made an impact as a shot blocker. Kalkbrenner is a difficult player to use a roster spot on at this time, but it is good to see that he can still be productive in a limited role from time to time.