The Scoop: Jalen Suggs' (hip) absence has allowed Black to log four consecutive starts, and his standout production might summon an adjustment in the rotation upon Suggs' return. Franz Wagner's return is still at least a week away, so the team could conceivably run with Suggs and Black in the backcourt and shift Desmond Bane to the wing, a position where he is usually comfortable.

 The Scoop: The Grizzlies were short-handed with only nine players, so Caldwell-Pope had an enhanced role in the loss. The veteran logged a double-digit scoring total for the 12th time this season, but his secondary numbers were slightly below his usual totals. Caldwell-Pope entered Saturday's game averaging 7.6 points, 3.3 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 steals across 27 games.

 The Scoop: Brandon Clarke's (calf) exit in the first quarter and an ineffective beginning for Jaylen Wells hastened Aldama's entrance into the game, and he took full advantage of his opportunity with the best scoring performance of his career. The fifth-year pro also recorded his third double-double of the season during the loss. During his fifth season with the Grizzlies, Aldama is on pace to set career highs in minutes, points, rebounds, assists and steals.

 The Scoop: Although Middleton was cleared to play after a four-game absence, his minutes were limited, and he failed to find his shooting stroke in his first game back. He converted only one of his nine shot attempts but was able to partly salvage his total with adequate secondary numbers. It may take a couple of games for Middleton to right the ship, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him sit during the back-to-back Sunday against the Spurs.

 The Scoop: The Grizzlies lost Brandon Clarke (calf) early in the contest, and Sarr was able to take advantage of the gap opposite an overworked Jaren Jackson. Although Jock Landale stepped in to cover the absence, he had limited success while the Wizards worked their way back from a massive deficit. Sarr showed no ill effects from the thigh injury that sidelined him for six games, although he may take a seat for injury management Sunday, which is the tail end of the back-to-back.

 The Scoop: McCollum and Kyshawn George were brilliant down the stretch for the Wizards, who were facing a massive deficit at halftime but were able to close the gap thanks to the dynamic duo. McCollum experienced a slight scoring dip this week against the Kings and Pacers, but he bounced back to the high-scoring ways he enjoyed earlier in the month. Coming into Saturday's game, McCollum was averaging 20.6 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 steals during the month of December.

 The Scoop: Bane sealed the victory with a driving layup to the basket with less than a second remaining in the overtime period. This was an excellent bounce-back performance from Bane, who was held to just six points on 3-for-11 shooting his last time out, and he also snatched a steal after failing to do so during Thursday's loss to the Nuggets. While there have been some low points, Bane has been mostly solid over the past month, flirting with top-50 value behind averages of 21.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 triples per contest.

 The Scoop: Avdija came into Saturday's game with a fourth-round valuation in nine-category formats with averages of 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks and 2.4 three-pointers in his previous 27 regular-season games. This was his eighth game of the campaign with at least 30 points, and following Saturday's win, the team improved to 12-16 on the season.

 The Scoop: The severity of the injury is unclear, but if there is some good news for the Lakers, it's that the team is off until Dec. 23. Dalton Knecht started the second half in his absence. Doncic finished with 12 points (4-13 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 3-5 FT), five rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes.

 The Scoop: On the surface, Poole had a solid performance in 32 minutes. However, the fact that he went 1-for-7 from three-point range limited his fantasy upside. Poole is a proven scorer at the NBA level, but he's likely to continue coming off the bench for the foreseeable future. Poole has scored at least 15 points off the bench in his four outings since his return from injury on Dec. 11.