Bilal

Coulibaly

Coulibaly has missed Washington’s last three games with a lower back strain, opening up a spot in the starting lineup for Bub Carrington. The second-year guard should remain in the starting five if Coulibaly has to miss a fourth consecutive game.

Coulibaly injured his back during Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers and will not be available for Monday’s rematch, making it three consecutive games on the sidelines. Bub Carrington has started the last two games and should remain in that role, raising his fantasy ceiling.

Coulibaly played the first ten minutes of Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers before leaving with lower back tightness. Already ruled out for Friday’s game against the Kings, he has traveled back to Washington to begin treatment. With Coulibaly out for the final game of the road trip, rookie Will Riley should see extended minutes in both games of the back-to-back. While not a must-stream player, Riley is worth watching with an eye toward the “silly season.”

Coulibaly had to exit Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers after playing 10 minutes due to lower back tightness. Rookie Will Riley’s playing time increased, as he logged 27 minutes off the bench. While he isn’t worth the streaming risk yet, managers looking ahead to the “silly season” should keep an eye on Riley.

Coulibaly played only 10 minutes before leaving Wednesday’s game with lower back tightness. His absence will free up additional minutes for rookie Will Riley and AJ Johnson. Neither offers much fantasy value right now, but that could change during the silly season, especially for Riley.

Between injuries and subpar performances, it was a rough start to the season for Coulibaly. However, this recent stretch has been a productive one. He wasn’t able to contribute any defensive stats, which has inflated his recent value, but he was able to have a solid night on offense. He’s known for his defense, but any consistency on offense will help him be even more valuable for fantasy managers, which makes his recent games encouraging.

Coulibaly was one of six Wizards in double figures on Tuesday, but the steals category is where he set himself apart. The five steals were a career-high for the third-year wing, who recorded four in a January 2 win over the Nets. Rostered in 26 percent of Yahoo! leagues, Coulibaly has been close to a top-50 player in eight- and nine-cat formats over the past two weeks. While those who have him rostered may consider selling high, managers in leagues where Coulibaly is available should think about picking him up.

While his season-long fantasy value has not met expectations, Coulibaly has been a better asset to category-league managers recently. Over the past week, he has provided top-75 value in eight- and nine-cat formats, sitting just outside the top-50 in the latter. Coulibaly is rostered in 23 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and those who have held onto him for this long might as well remain patient. The third-year wing missed both games of Washington’s most recent back-to-back, so he should be considered questionable for Monday’s game against the Suns.

Between injuries and production, this has been an underwhelming season for Coulibaly so far. That makes Friday’s performance that much more satisfying for the Wizards wing and those who continued to roster him. The 21 points were a season-high for Coulibaly, who also provided excellent value in rebounds and “stocks.” Rostered in 11 percent of Yahoo! leagues, his eight-cat fantasy value remains outside the top-150. However, he’s someone to watch ahead of the “silly season,” as there should not be any reason to shut down Coulibaly later in the year.

Champagnie is a late addition to the injury report, and with Corey Kispert (hamstring) already ruled out, there will be extra minutes on the wing available. Tre Johnson should take on a larger reserve role, though Bilal Coulibaly and Khris Middleton should see a slight bump in minutes as well.