Tre

Johnson

Johnson will miss a third straight game with this foot injury, which will leave the Wizards thin on the wing. Jaden Hardy, who scored 25 points off the bench on Sunday, should continue to play extended minutes with Johnson out.

Sunday’s game will be the second that Johnson has missed in as many days. Justin Champagnie moved into the starting lineup for Saturday’s loss to the Thunder, and that should remain the case on Sunday. Hopefully, he plays longer than he did against the champs, as Champagnie was ejected during the second quarter for his role in an altercation that led to three Thunder players being tossed.

Johnson was initially listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Thunder, but has since been ruled out with a foot injury. Expect Justin Champagnie to play with the 20-year-old Johnson sidelined after he was out of the rotation in Thursday’s loss to the Pistons.

While Riley returned to the Wizards’ lineup on Thursday after missing Tuesday’s loss to the Pistons, Johnson has been a fixture in the starting five since the All-Star break. If either sits on Saturday, Justin Champagnie may return to the rotation after not playing on Thursday.

Johnson has been a fixture in the Wizards’ starting lineup since the team’s final game before the All-Star break, but fantasy managers have seldom reaped the rewards. The final stat line on Thursday was lean beyond the points tally, and Johnson’s value since the All-Star break is outside of the top-300. While the opportunity places Johnson on some radars, the juice may not be worth the squeeze at this point in his career.

The good news for fantasy managers was that Johnson reached double figures after totaling 10 points in his prior two appearances. The bad is that he only played 23 minutes, and the rookie has not exceeded 25 since returning from a sprained left ankle that sidelined him for six games in early February. Johnson is rostered in only eight percent of Yahoo! leagues, and with good reason, given his playing time.

Johnson’s offensive production has picked up recently, with the rookie having scored at least 15 points in three consecutive games. He was efficient against the Heat, shooting over 50 percent from the field. Unfortunately, the overall stat line was a bit lean on Tuesday. Johnson has the potential to be an impactful option for fantasy managers over the final month, especially in points leagues, as his playing time should be a priority for the Wizards.

While George was back in the Wizards’ lineup after sitting out Thursday’s loss to the Hawks, he was one of three starters under a minutes restriction. He logged 15 minutes against the Raptors, with Tre Johnson (eight points, three rebounds, one block and one three-pointer) and Tristan Vukčević (13 points, three rebounds, three assists, one block and three three-pointers) logging 19 apiece. After getting off to a hot start to the season, George’s fantasy value has lost its luster due to injuries and subsequent minutes limits.

Johnson was one of four players to score 14 points for Washington in this game, but his came efficiently in just 20 minutes. He has been hovering around 20 minutes since returning from a six-game absence with an ankle injury. This was a strong performance, but his role may be limited the rest of the way, limiting his fantasy upside.

Johnson shot the ball well on Friday, but the lack of playing time was a disappointment for fantasy managers. Due to the ankle injury suffered in late January, the rookie guard remains on a minutes restriction. While Johnson’s overall stat line was lean, there were signs that he could be a silly-season standout. However, that depends on how the Wizards handle the playing time, especially with fellow rookie Will Riley playing 12 minutes despite being healthy.