- Congested winter schedules, COVID protocols, mounting injuries, and much more have made the Pick One pool deeper than it probably has ever been.
- You wouldn't think that though if you saw the two players that made their way onto the scoresheet through both steps of the Last Man In provision. Colin was assigned Donovan Mitchell, but with Lou having already taken Mitchell earlier he was given the Second Step Man Joe Ingles. Mitchell more than doubled the output of his teammate by a 40-17 PRA margin, yet neither was able to help Utah defeat Washington.
- The Nets lost Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to protocols before their game with Orlando which propelled Matt's pick, Kessler Edwards, into the starting five. It wasn't a great shooting night for the second rounder but he still managed to finish the night with a rookie-boosted 32 PRA.
- Taken 37 picks ahead of Edwards was Trevor's pick Jonathan Kuminga. Golden State wasn't ravaged by COVID absences, but with an older roster the second half of a back-to-back, especially going to Canada, was going to mean a lot of "DNP-REST" designations. Kuminga benefited from those to the tune of a rookie-boosted 58 PRA.
- Orlando may have the worst mix of injuries and COVID protocol players in the league. It is not only giving our top scorer of the day a starring role, but giving a lot of minutes to a guy like Al's pick Gary Harris. Filling in at both guard spots, Harris went for 29 PRA in Orlando's win over the also-hobbled Nets.
- But the just alluded to player was Ryan's pick Franz Wagner. The 8th overall pick has been a starting mainstay most of the season for Orlando but with so many injuries and isolations the rookie is being thrown into the fire even more. He double-doubled his way to the night's top score of a rookie-boosted 62 PRA.
- Optimally, the two rookies in this blurb are regulars. Cade Cunningham continues to be one of the only glimpses of hope from a bleak Pistons season going for a rookie-boosted 78 in their loss to Houston. For those Rockets, Alperen Sengun was once again the rookie Bench Bargain with a rookie-boosted 36 PRA. But a name that had not been seen high up in the box score very often in 2021-22 was Boston's Josh Richardson. The Celtics handled their business against the Knicks and Richardson had 36 PRA for veteran Bench Bargain status.
All Images From ESPN.com Except Franz Wagner From NBA.com