Jalen Smith

After playing 21 and 19 minutes in his first two appearances of the season, Collins logged 20 minutes on Friday. While the production was good, the true attention-grabber was the fact that he was part of the Bulls' closing lineup, with starting center Nikola Vucevic (13/3/4 with one block and one three-pointer in 22 minutes) watching from the bench despite not being in foul trouble. With Jalen Smith (5/10/1/1/1 with one three-pointer) playing 17 minutes and sharing the court with Collins at times, this is a position to monitor in the short term. Chicago sticking with this setup would make Collins worthy of a look in deep leagues.

Collins was initially probable for Friday's game, so the upgrade in status is unsurprising. However, with Jalen Smith (hamstring) also available, neither player is likely to get the minutes needed to affect fantasy basketball.

Smith is back in the Bulls' rotation after missing five games with a strained left hamstring. He will be limited to 20 minutes, but the presence of starter Nikola Vucevic and Zach Collins would have made it difficult for Smith to hit that number without a restriction. Fantasy managers can afford to leave him on the waiver wire.

Smith has missed the last five games with a hamstring injury but will return on Friday. The wrinkle is that Zach Collins (wrist) returned to the court for the first time this season while Smith was sidelined. The two have not played together this season, so it remains to be seen how the minutes will be distributed, but neither player will likely have much fantasy appeal.

Sunday's game will be the fifth that Smith has missed with a strained left hamstring. Zach Collins will once again fill the backup center role, with Lachlan Olbrich being available in case of emergency.