Bradley Beal out again Friday vs. Hawks [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Jan. 10, 5:22 p.m. — Beal will miss his fifth straight game Friday vs. the Hawks.

UPDATE: Jan. 8, 5:42 p.m. — Beal will remain out of the lineup, per coach Scott Brooks.

UPDATE: Jan. 8, 11:56 a.m. — Beal will be a game-time decision for Wednesday vs. the Orlando Magic. He did go through shootaround this morning, which is a strong indication he’ll return to the lineup.

UPDATE: Jan. 6, 6:28 p.m. — Beal has been ruled out vs. the Celtics.

With Beal out again, Jordan McRae and Troy Brown Jr. are good GPP value plays. Garrison Mathews is a bit riskier, but also an option. Keep in mind the Celtics are a good defensive team, however, so ceilings will be capped.

UPDATE: Jan. 6, 5:24 p.m. — Beal is considered a game-time decision vs. the Celtics.

UPDATE: Jan. 5, 5:47 p.m. — Beal and Ian Mahinmi are being listed as questionable to play Monday vs. the Boston Celtics.

UPDATE: Jan. 4, DEN-WAS Recap — Troy Brown Jr. ($5,200) and Ish Smith ($4,600) both had monster games to help the Wizards pull off another huge upset over the Nuggets on Saturday night. Beal sat again and it didn’t matter, though Jordan McRae was the starter in place of Beal and busted.

McRae finished with 15.5 fantasy points at a $5,700 salary. Brown and Smith on the other hand, broke some lineups. Smith notched 32 points with seven assists for 52 fantasy points, while TBJ had a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds for 49.75 fantasy points. Brown and McRae are becoming very valuable GPP plays with Beal out — though it’s rare we see both players thrive in the same game.

The Nuggets closed as 13-point favorites over Washington and lost by 14. The live total also hit the OVER at 221.5.

UPDATE: Jan. 4 6:23 p.m. — Beal has been ruled out vs. the Nuggets and Jordan McRae will start in his place.

McRae is coming off a season-high 35 points in Friday night’s loss to the Blazers. He’s set to start and at $5,700 on DraftKings is a very appealing cash-game play.

UPDATE: Jan. 4 1:29 p.m. — Beal is questionable to play Saturday vs. the Denver Nuggets.

Beal was held out of Friday’s game vs. the Blazers and we saw Troy Brown Jr. start in his place. Ish Smith, Jordan McRae and Gary Payton Jr. all played over 30 minutes, with McRae leading the team in scoring with 35 points. McRae has been an absolute monster lately scoring the rock and would be in line for another high-usage game if Beal sits vs. Denver.

UPDATE: Beal has been ruled out for Friday night’s game vs. the Blazers.

Troy Brown Jr. will start in place of Beal and is a good value play in DFS, along with Jordan McRae and Garrison Mathews off the bench. I also don’t mind rolling out Ish Smith at $4,200. He was listed as a value play earlier in the day.

UPDATE: Beal returned to the lineup on New Year’s Day against the Orlando Magic. Now, the Wizards are listing him as questionable to play Friday vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.

UPDATE: Beal was back at practice Tuesday morning in what was considered a light session.

With Beal sidelined on Monday night, the Wizards had perhaps their best game of the season, defeating the Miami Heat in convincing fashion. Jordan McRae and Garrison Mathews both had huge nights, combining for 57 points.

Beal is listed as questionable to play on New Year’s Day against the Orlando Magic.

UPDATE: Beal has been ruled out for Monday’s game vs. the Miami Heat and will miss his second straight game.

With Beal out, the Wizards remain extremely shorthanded. Troy Brown Jr. and Gary Payton II are candidates to see heavy minutes at SG. Isaiah Thomas and Ish Smith should also see more usage and playing time. This is a tough matchup, so I’m not sure how crazy I am about playing any of them in DFS or season-long. Still, we can argue with value.

Washington Wizards SG Bradley Beal is questionable to play in Saturday’s game vs. the New York Knicks.

On top of Beal, Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant will both remain sidelined. The Wizards All-Star left briefly in Thursday’s game due to right leg soreness but was able to play 24 minutes with 15 points in the blowout loss to the Detroit Pistons. Things aren’t looking good for Washington is Beal is ruled out. On top of Bryant and Hachimura, Davis Bertans is also out and Isaiah Thomas had been on a two-game suspension. IT should return, which is a good sign, but the Wiz are still potentially down their best player.

Fantasy Basketball Analysis: Washington Wizards roster

So assuming Beal is out and IT returns, both IT and Ish Smith should start in the backcourt, with Troy Brown Jr. rounding things out. Scott Brooks had been essentially running four guard lineups with Beal in there and Bertans out. So he shouldn’t stray much from that strategy given how thin the front court is.

Admiral Schofield should continue to play a role but could go back to the bench if the backcourt is Smith, Thomas and Brown. Isaac Bonga is also a candidate to get more minutes, but he hasn’t been playing much recently. I’d say IT, Smith and Brown are decent options in fantasy if Beal sits. Along with Gary Payton II, who signed with the Wizards and has immediately made an impact.