Great googly-moogly! Injuries here, there, and everywhere this week. In one of my leagues, my opponent has 10 out of 14 players injured right now. Wouldn’t want to be him, or the injured players. If your fantasy league is still running, there are definitely opportunities to find 12th men cooking in the last two weeks of the NBA regular season.
Fantasy Basketball Injury Round-Up
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Injury: Right foot tendon injury
Projected Return Date: Last games of the season
According to Shams Charania, there is hope for James to return for the last 3-4 games of the regular season. These games will take place between April 4th and 9th. In fact, those four games are precisely the whole of the 24th gameweek so there might be still some fantasy value left in LeBron. Until then, there is only one thing left to do – keep riding the golden god that is Austin Reaves.
Recommendation: The recommendation is Austin Reaves.
Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
Injury: Right foot soreness
Projected Return Date: Day-to-day
Kyrie has missed 4 of the last 6 Mavs games and is currently listed as questionable to play against the Hornets on Friday. Predicting the comings and goings of Kyrie Irving is a task much taller than I am capable of. Let’s just assume that his attendance will be spotty for the rest of the season. If that is indeed the case, the direct replacement seems to be Jaden Hardy. In the games without Irving, Hardy averages 20 points with 4.2 threes and 5.2 rebounds in 35 minutes. Nothing wild but acceptable if those are the categories you need.
Recommendation: Look towards Hardy if you need scoring.
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
Injury: Left hand contusion
Projected Return Date: Day-to-day
The All-Star starter will be missing at least the game against the Bucks on Friday with a left hand contusion. A contusion means the hand is swollen and/or bruised. With the Jazz very much in contention for a play-in spot, it’s unlikely for the Mark to miss extended time. I would comfortably lock him in as a starter for next week in weekly fantasy leagues. In the meantime, Simone Fontecchio and Talen Horton-Tucker will be looking to divvy up Markkanen’s role in the Jazz offense. Neither is unlikely to do a reasonable impression of Markkanen.
Recommendation: Stick with Lauri.
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
Injury: Left knee soreness
Projected Return Date: Day-to-day
Beal will be missing his second game in a row with knee soreness against the Spurs on Friday. It’s probably fair to start speculating whether this is it for ol’ Brad for the season considering his injury history and the Wizards play-in chances (extremely low). The Wizards don’t seem to have an elite tank-commander on hand either to guide the team to a high draft pick whilst winning fantasy leagues. Deni Avdija, Kyle Kuzma, Delon Wright all could play a role
Recommendation: Keep an eye on it. Two eyes even.