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The Chicago Bulls are listing C Wendell Carter Jr. and F Otto Porter as out for Saturday’s game vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bulls are coming off a win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night. Carter didn’t play in the win while Porter came off the bench. On the second night of a back-to-back, Porter will get some rest while WCJ is still dealing with a quad injury.
The Bulls started youngster Daniel Gafford at center in Friday’s win. He only played 19 minutes, so there’s a chance the Bulls run a smallish lineup with Lauri Markkanen at center and Thaddeus Young at power forward. Markkanen ($6,400) has been playing really well lately, scoring 23-plus points in two of three games during the Bulls’ winning streak. Zach LaVine ($9,200) continues to grow into one of the top scorers in the NBA. He’ll be a strong tournament option again going up against LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
As for value, Garrett Temple ($4,900) played 31 minutes off the bench last night and had 27.8 fantasy points and a 25.4 percent usage rate. Temple should see more minutes on Saturday night with Porter out. We would have likely seen Porter guarding LeBron James, so that could be Temple or Thad Young now. Young at $4,600 is a safe play as well. Again, if he’s tasked with slowing down LeBron or AD, he’ll see a decent amount of minutes with Porter out.
The Bulls aren’t getting any love from the books in this one. They are 9-point dogs at home on the second of a back-to-back. The Bulls played the Lakers close earlier in the season on the road. Chicago only lost by 2 points and Porter got hurt early in the game while Lauri Markkanen and Tomas Satoransky weren’t available. If the line goes up at all, the Bulls getting the points is the way I’d lean on this one.
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