Injuries shape the fantasy basketball landscape more than any other variable, and staying ahead of each team’s rotation changes can be the difference between winning and falling behind. Each week, we will be bringing you an Injury Impact Report, where we break down the most important injuries around the league and highlight the players most likely to benefit. Let’s get started!
NBA Fantasy Basketball Injury Impact Report
Three Key Injuries Across the League:
- Aaron Gordon (DEN – Right Hamstring Strain): 2-3 Weeks
- Peyton Watson (DEN – Left Hamstring Strain): 4 Weeks
- Jimmy Butler (GS – Right ACL Tear): Out for Season
- Kristaps Porzingis (GS – Achilles): Post All-Star Break
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC – Abdominal Strain): Post All-Star Break
Aaron Gordon (Denver Nuggets) – Right Hamstring Strain – 2-3 Weeks
Peyton Watson (Denver Nuggets) – Left Hamstring Strain – 4 Weeks
The Nuggets are one team that will be welcoming the upcoming All-Star break as they are dealing with multiple injuries. Aaron Gordon has dealt with his hamstring strain all season and has been out since January 27, and is likely out until late February. Peyton Watson suffered a hamstring injury this past week and will miss at least a month. Both players are over 80% rostered in Fantrax leagues, and with their injury lengths, it does open up some value if needing some help on waivers.
Who Benefits?
Julian Strawther got his second start of the season on Saturday and looked good. He went 7 for 14 from the field, which included going 4 for 8 from beyond the arc. He also contributed five rebounds and two steals for a 26.3 fantasy point performance. He is just 16% rostered in Fantrax leagues and, with more starts in his future, is a top waiver wire add.
Both Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. come off the bench but have been trending up lately. Brown has played 30+ minutes in back-to-back games, going 7 for 14 from the field, adding eight rebounds, four assists, and six steals. Both games resulted in 20+ fantasy points. For Hardaway, he has been consistent even longer, tallying 27 and 30 fantasy points in his last two games, and has tallied 20+ fantasy points in six of his last eight games. He is still just 50% rostered while Brown is much more widely available at 27% rostered. Both are excellent depth pickups this week.
Jimmy Butler (Golden State Warriors) – Right ACL Tear – Out for Season
Kristaps Porzingis (Golden State Warriors) – Achilles Strain – Post All-Star Break
Butler suffered his injury back in mid-January, and Porzingis was just recently traded to the Warriors and won’t make his debut until post-All-Star break. I mainly wanted to discuss the Warriors, as there will be some players who should have solid roles for the next week or so that can help in deeper leagues.
Who Benefits?
Moses Moody has the highest upside of the players we will discuss, but also one of the lowest floors for someone who is in the starting lineup consistently. He has played 30+ minutes in back-to-back games and is coming off a 41 fantasy point performance against the Lakers on Saturday.
De’Anthony Melton’s risk comes with his minutes, as he has yet to top 30 minutes all season. He has, however, made back-to-back starts with double-digit shots in each and is averaging just over 23 fantasy points per game since Butler went down.
The player that interests me the most is Gui Santos. He has now made three straight starts, shot 61% from the field (17 for 28), and with his excellent secondary stat value has averaged an impressive 27.9 fantasy points per game over his last seven games. He is being picked up at a rapid pace across Fantrax leagues but is still just 35% rostered overall. Get to the waivers and pick him up immediately.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) – Abdominal Strain – Post All-Star Break
SGA suffered the injury early last week and is not expected to be re-evaluated until after the All-Star break. He will miss each of the Thunder’s final three games before the break and possibly at least the first two after the break.
Who Benefits?
Cason Wallace has started 10 of his last 13 games, but has really stepped up in terms of usage with SGA out. He has played a ton of minutes(34+ in both), seen a spike in usage with 16 shots in each of those two games while shooting 50% from the field. The production doesn’t stop there as he has also contributed seven rebounds, nine assists, and seven steals in those two games for 29 and 39 fantasy points. The only issue is that the hot performance has him just 24% available in Fantrax leagues.
Aaron Wiggins is another player who has seen a nice boost in usage with SGA out in the past two games. He has taken 29 shots(14 from beyond the arc) and scored 20 and 17 points. If he continues to start, he has a floor of about 18-20 and a ceiling around 40 fantasy points. He is available in just over 50% of Fantrax leagues at the moment.
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