Sharife

Cooper

Hardy did not play in Tuesday’s loss to the Bulls, which factored into Sharife Cooper playing 27 minutes off the bench. Cooper should take on a similar workload in Thursday’s rematch.

As many fantasy managers know by now, the silly season is going to churn out some unexpected stat lines. Cooper certainly qualifies, even if he’s reached double figures in six of his last nine appearances. Against the Heat, the Wizards guard matched his season-high in assists and recorded his second 20-point game of the season. Depending on who’s available for Sunday’s game against the Nets, Cooper may be worthy of a look in deep leagues.

Young picked up a right quad contusion in the third quarter of Monday’s loss to the Warriors, and he did not return. The injury will keep him out for at least one game, which means more playing time for Bub Carrington and potentially some extra run for Sharife Cooper.

Young suffered a right quad contusion early in the third quarter of Monday’s game and departed for the Wizards’ locker room shortly thereafter. He played 21 minutes, finishing with 21 points, two rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block and three three-pointers. With Bub Carrington getting ejected later in the third, the Wizards will turn to Sharife Cooper to run the show the rest of the way.

Cooper was initially listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Celtics with a sprained ankle, but has since been listed as available. He’s not worth rostering in most fantasy leagues, though, with Trae Young and Bub Carrington ahead of him on the depth chart.

Cooper is dealing with a sprained right ankle. His potential absence would not affect fantasy basketball, especially with Trae Young and Bub Carrington being available.

24 hours after he scored 21 points against the Rockets, Cooper was able to have another solid outing, though he wasn’t able to match his 8-of-10 shooting from that game. Still, Cooper has been a consistent part of the rotation for the past month and should continue to play a role off the bench for the rest of the season, which could lead to some starts in April. He won’t retain value next season, but he should be a solid option during silly season.

Having totaled 22 points in his prior four appearances, Cooper recorded his first 20-point game as an NBA player on Monday. The guard was highly efficient, shooting 80 percent from the field and committing no turnovers. Cooper has not been productive enough to merit fantasy consideration, and things will get more challenging with Trae Young expected to make his Wizards’ debut on Thursday. Young will be limited to 17-20 minutes, but one would assume that most of the remaining minutes will go to Bub Carrington (11/5/4/2 with two three-pointers in 28 minutes).

George is battling a knee contusion that has kept his minutes down since the start of the month. With the Wizards not feeling much pressure to win games, they are not going to stress one of their young players more than they feel is necessary. The last time George missed a game, Justin Champagnie started but Sharife Cooper also played 27 minutes.

Cooper was one of the reserves who benefited from the Wizards’ apparent decision to cut the playing time of a few of their starters. Not only did he log a career-high 34 minutes, but Cooper hit double figures for the first time as an NBA player. There’s no need for fantasy managers to add him, but don’t be surprised if he’s logging extended minutes after the All-Star break as Washington looks to avoid losing its top-8 protected lottery pick.