Washington

Wizards

Cooper has missed Washington’s last three games, but he does not usually play rotation minutes when healthy. Leave him on the waiver wire.

Branham, who played 14 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s loss to the Hawks, is dealing with a sprained right thumb. However, with Tre Johnson and Cam Whitmore absent from the injury report, Branham will likely fall out of the rotation if he’s available on Friday.

Johnson has missed Washington’s last seven games with a hip injury, most recently playing on November 21. While the rookie’s minutes are likely to be limited, his return will affect fellow rookies Will Riley and Jamir Watkins. Of the two, Watkins is more likely to fall out of the rotation entirely.

Middleton will miss a second consecutive game with a sore right knee. Justin Champagnie replaced him in the lineup for Saturday’s loss to the Hawks, playing 32 minutes. He should retain that role, although Tre Johnson could take away a few minutes since he has been removed from the injury report.

Sarr will miss a fifth straight game as he continues to recover from a strained right adductor. Marvin Bagley III has been his replacement in the starting lineup, but the inconsistent production has made him challenging to trust in fantasy leagues. Tristan Vukčević will once again slot in as the backup center.

There weren’t a ton of bright spots in this one for the Wizards as they fell to 3-19 on the season and dropped their second straight after a brutal 45-point loss at the hands of the Celtics earlier this week. The 34-year-old veteran remains a decent scoring threat for fantasy purposes, averaging 18.6 points through 22 games, but he doesn’t add much else at this advanced juncture of his career. The Wizards are off until Friday when they face the Cavaliers before closing out the week with a road matchup against the Pacers.

The Wizards are without Bilal Coulibaly, Khris Middleton and Alex Sarr, with Middleton being the most recent absentee. Carrington, Champagnie and Bagley start with the latter being the best streaming option. While Carrington’s fantasy ceiling has been raised, McCollum should also have the ball in his hands plenty.

With Alex Sarr (adductor) out, Vukčević has played rotation minutes as Marvin Bagley’s backup. While the consistent playing time has been good, Vukčević has not been productive enough to merit being rostered in most fantasy leagues.

Whitmore will be in the Wizards’ rotation on Saturday, but the role does not lend itself to fantasy managers deriving worthwhile value. Even with Khris Middleton unavailable, don’t expect Whitmore’s role to change too much.

Middleton was initially questionable for Saturday’s game. His absence frees up a place in the starting lineup, with Justin Champagnie being the most likely option to fill the void. Champagnie is worthy of consideration in deep leagues but is not a must-stream player.