Portland Trail Blazers DVOA, Stats, & NBA Rankings

Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija (knee) has been ruled out ahead of Saturday's game against the Chicago Bulls. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, Avdija was ruled out minutes before tip-off on Saturday. Instead, Corey Kispert will move into the starting five with Avdija unavailable for this game. A shift to the starting five should give Kispert a solid fantasy boost for Saturday's slate.

Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija (knee) has been upgraded from questionable to available for Saturday's matchup against the Bulls. The 23-year-old is dealing with a right knee contusion but will remain in the lineup for a ninth consecutive game. Avdija has played a massive part for the Wizards lately and should be able to produce another good fantasy line on Saturday. He's averaging 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.0 steals for the month.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (knee) will rejoin the action on Saturday against New Orleans. He has been upgraded from probable to available. Simons couldn't play on Thursday versus the Knicks due to a knee problem. Scoot Henderson picked up a start in his place and will head back to the second unit on Saturday while remaining on a minutes restriction. Simons is a high-usage player who leads Portland in scoring, and he will be asked to do a lot on the offensive end on Saturday because the team remains without three of its other top four highest scorers. In eight March appearances, Simons has taken his scoring average from 23.0 points to 24.9 points, adding 4.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists.

Portland Trail Blazers guard/forward Matisse Thybulle (ankle) has been ruled out for Saturday's meeting with New Orleans. The defensive specialist comes out of the lineup for just the second time in 28 games. Thybulle has averaged nearly 25 minutes per game for the month, meaning there will be a nice chunk of minutes to be shared around the rest of the bench. This could be a good matchup for Portland's second unit, as the Pelicans have a tendency to give up plenty of bench points, with only 11 teams allowing more across the season.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Jabari Walker (hip) will be available for Saturday's clash against the Pelicans. The team has upgraded him from a questionable status. Walker returns after missing five games with a right hip inflammation. The 21-year-old was rolling before getting hurt, and it will be interesting to see if he can carry on the momentum Saturday. Walker is certainly in a good position to post a third double-double in five appearances, as Jerami Grant (hamstring) remains out, and his absence leaves a lot of frontcourt minutes to fill.