With only a handful of games remaining before the NBA transitions from the regular season to the playoffs, lottery-bound teams don't have many reasons to remain competitive. They can fight for pride, attempt to develop young players and examine their rosters' fringe members, trying to figure out who can contribute in 2016-17. 

It's the last method we're interested in here. 

Three teams destined to finish outside the playoff picture have potential up-and-comers who aren't receiving nearly enough burn. One of them is already playing for the Brooklyn Nets and excelling in limited minutes, but it's time to expand his role. The other two spend most of their time sitting on the bench. 

In the interest of timely evaluation, they should all get chances before the season is over. 

Sean Kilpatrick, Brooklyn Nets

Thanks to the many injuries suffered and the Brooklyn Nets' overall futility, Sean Kilpatrick has already been receiving substantial backcourt minutes during the stretch run. But, similar to what's happened lately for Shane Larkin at point guard, it's time to let him spend upward of 30 minutes on the court each time the Nets play. 

Late in March, interim head coach Tony Brown indicated he was looking to reduce Wayne Ellington's minutes, per Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com: 

That hasn't happened. 

On the season as a whole, Ellington is logging 21.1 minutes per contest. Since Brown's statement on March 23, the veteran wing has sat out of three games but played in each of the last four while averaging 24.3 minutes. 

That run is coming at Kilpatrick's expense, even though he's looked excellent during spurts. Per 36 minutes, the Cincinnati product is contributing 21.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks since the beginning of March, and those numbers are coming while he shoots 47.5 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 90 percent at the free-throw line.

After finishing up his career with the Bearcats by averaging 20.6 points as a senior, Kilpatrick went undrafted in 2014. Since then, he's suited up for various NBA Developmental League squads, receiving only the occasional cup of coffee in the Association. 

But this year, he wasn't just a nondescript D-League roster member; he was an All-Star at the lower level, averaging an efficient 26.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Delaware 87ers before signing a series of 10-day contracts that took him from the Denver Nuggets to the Nets. 

At this point, we know he can score. The guard has a fantastic perimeter stroke, and he's currently shooting with unabashed confidence from all over the court, seeming to set a new career high in the points column every time he plays. 

"He just looks very comfortable, and he has a lot of confidence in his scoring abilities," Brown told Newsday's Brian Heyman back on March 14, before the young guard had exploded for a 25-spot against the Charlotte Hornets or established himself as a consistent scoring threat. "He's playing well, and it's good to see.”

It doesn't seem like that will change anytime soon, but it's up to the Nets to decide whether they want to test him in an even larger role during 2015-16's final few games. And since this is a team operating without much free-agency appeal or a first-round pick in the 2016 NBA draft, unearthing a gem that's already on the roster is key. 

Right now, we know Kilpatrick is looking like a precious stone, but some NBA breakouts are more precious than others. Without more evaluation, we won't learn whether the Nets are looking at the real thing or mere pyrite/cubic zirconia. 

Shabazz Napier, Orlando Magic

We're still not too far removed from Shabazz Napier's impressive run through the 2014 NCAA tournament, steering Connecticut to a title while scoring 21.2 points per game. He was a consensus All-American that year, and he turned the national spotlight into lofty status on draft night. 

But since Napier was selected at No. 24 during the 2014 NBA draft, success has proved tough to come by. He struggled immensely with his shot during his one season for the Miami Heat, and the team traded him to the Orlando Magic following his rookie year. 

Napier's shot has continued to elude him, but he hasn't exactly received the consistent run necessary to shine. Bad as his percentages—33.7 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from downtown—may look, Orlando knows he's capable of scoring in more efficient fashion. 

Magic head coach Scott Skiles said as much earlier this season, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe:

One of the reasons we got him was his ability to shoot the ball. He hasn't shot the ball as well as we know he can shoot yet. He's had some games and some moments. I played him the whole fourth quarter the other night [against Milwaukee] because we had the team in a good rhythm. We have confidence in him. Like almost everybody else, he needs to play better.

Time is running out for Napier to prove this, and the Magic are still squandering opportunities to get good looks at him. The team picked up his $1.35 million option for 2016-17 before the start of the current campaign, but his minimal salary would be relatively easy to cut if Orlando needed an extra roster spot this summer. 

And yet, Napier hasn't received chances to strut his stuff in recent outings, even though his team has fallen firmly out of playoff contention. Since the All-Star break, the point guard has been inactive more times than he's played, and he's logged more than five minutes only three times.

How are you supposed to find a rhythm when your shots are so few and far between? How are you supposed to learn how to run an NBA offense and stop disrupting the flow when you're only watching from the bench?

While Napier's production during his brief run might not indicate a need for more action, his pedigree and upside do. It might get ugly if Napier plays big minutes, but there's only one way to find out. And given Orlando's placement in the Eastern Conference standings, the larger negative would be a failure to give him that shot. 

Christian Wood, Philadelphia 76ers

Even though it once seemed he could go as high as the first round's middle portion during the 2016 NBA draft, Christian Wood never heard his name called out. Wood then resigned himself to fate as an undrafted free agent while producing one of the most unfortunate pictures imaginable: 

But don't confuse the lack of bites for a lack of talent. He's not lagging in that department, as Draft Express' Jonathan Givony wrote before the selection process began: 

On paper, Wood should be drafted much higher than where he is currently slated (in the 20s), as he is clearly a lottery-level talent with rare tools and impressive two-way potential. The hardest thing to find in today's NBA is a long-armed power forward who can block shots and make 3-pointers, two things Wood proved to be able to, albeit inconsistently. The fact that he also rebounds and finishes well around the basket makes him even more attractive. ...

More than anyone possibly, Wood is one of the biggest boom or bust prospects in this draft, and it will be fascinating to see how things play out over the next two months, and then over the course of his career

The Sixers don't have to make a firm commitment to him until next year, and that makes it even more crucial to see how he's developed by playing him at the NBA level. Thus far, he's shown he can hang with D-League competitors, throwing up some gaudy statistics throughout the year. 

In 32 games for the 87ers, the 20-year-old has averaged 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.1 blocks while playing less than 30 minutes per contest. Even more impressively, he's shot 52.9 percent from the field, though his three-point stroke has been predictably inconsistent. 

However, Wood's ability to knock down shots from the perimeter has been present in the NBA. The sample size is quite small, but he's connected on four of his 10 attempts from downtown. Those flashes are exactly what the Sixers should be seeking out. 

Jahlil Okafor is done for the season. Nerlens Noel has been plagued by nagging injuries, and there's no telling when he'll return from his latest knee malady. Richaun Holmes may not play again in 2015-16 after hurting his Achilles. But these guys will be back in 2016-17, and there's a chance both Joel Embiid and Dario Saric could be on board to make the frontcourt even deeper.

Before that happens, Wood needs a chance to prove he belongs. Palpable two-way upside can only turn into actual two-way production with real minutes. 

Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.

All stats, unless otherwise indicated, are from Basketball-Reference.com or Adam's own databases and accurate heading into games on April 5.