Fantasy Basketball Injury Updates for Week 3 - Kyrie Irving, Rudy Gobert, Pascal Siakam

Welcome back RotoBallers! It might be early in the season, but there are still impactful injuries all across the fantasy basketball landscape. I'm here to help you stay up to date on injury news, and how it impacts your teams.

I'm doing this midday on Monday for release Tuesday morning, so any news that drops on Monday night won't be covered. I'll just cover what has changed since last week.

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Short-Term Injuries for Fantasy Basketball

Kyrie Irving, PG/SG, Brooklyn Nets - Anti-Semitism

What is there even left to say about Kyrie and this whole situation? It wouldn't shock me at all given Kyrie's history of stubbornness if he didn't fully comply with the six tasks the Nets assigned him for reinstatement and this suspension goes a lot longer than five games. I hope we'll have a clearer picture by next Monday. For now, Cam Thomas has benefitted the most from Irving's absence.

Rudy Gobert, C, Minnesota Timberwolves - Covid-19

Gobert was originally listed as a non-Covid illness, but that was switched on Saturday. Since Gobert is entering the Covid protocols later than he should have and given his likeliness of being unvaxxed, I'm going to lean towards Gobert missing a couple of games. I think Karl-Anthony Towns will be moved back to Center, and I like Taurean Prince to continue seeing increased minutes.

Pascal Siakam, PF/C, Toronto Raptors - Groin

Siakam is expected to miss 7-10 days with a groin strain. The Raptors still play three more games this week, even with today's off day, so they're a great spot to target for streaming purposes. Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa are the most likely to fill the minutes void, but neither is reliable for offensive stats.

Long-Term Injuries for Fantasy Basketball

Kawhi Leonard, SF/PF, LA Clippers - Knee

Congrats to Kawhi for being the first player moved to long-term from short-term! In a press conference over the weekend, Clippers' coach Tyronn Lue, said that Leonard has "no firm timetable" in regards to his injury, a phrase no fantasy owner wants to hear. Given Kawhi's injury history, this is the last thing you want to hear. We know the Clippers will be cautious with him, so I'll provide an update next week.

Cameron Johnson, SF/PF, Phoenix Suns - Knee

Johnson tore his right meniscus in last Friday's game against the Trailblazers. Johnson is getting surgery done this week, and recovery time is typically four weeks minimum. I wouldn't expect to see Johnson until about mid-December.

James Harden, PG/SG, Philadelphia 76ers - Foot

Harden is out for at least a month after suffering a tendon strain. If your league is any type of competitive, De'Anthony Melton is already off the waiver wire. If you need to dig deep, Shake Milton is an option, but that's thin at best.

Orlando Magic Backcourt

Recent injuries have sidelined Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris, seeing them join Markelle Fultz on the inactive list. This is a very unique situation though, as all three of them project to return at the same time in about a week. In the meantime, Terrence Ross looks like he's guaranteed to get shots, and RJ Hampton is there as well.

Week 2: There have been precisely zero updates from Orlando regarding their injuries, which is always concerning. Since this article last week, Cole Anthony has also joined the injured legion of Magic guards. The Magic have preferred bigger lineups, but until at least one of these guys returns from injury, there's just so much opportunity available for anyone still standing.

Week 3: Moving this to long term since Suggs has returned to action, and Anthony's injury status has been further clarified to be "multiple weeks". With no additional major updates anywhere else, all we can do is wait for more updates.

Robert Williams III, C, Boston Celtics - Knee

Williams' surgery caused the biggest pre-season shakeup from a fantasy impact. Currently scheduled out until January, Williams has already faced complications in rehab and it's always possible he's shut down for the year. For now, Grant Williams is a solid option from the Celtics frontcourt, and if the C's sign any more size that might be fantasy relevant I'll be sure to update that here.

Bruno Fernando, C, Houston Rockets - Knee

After an update earlier today said Fernando will be out "a while" – something you never want to hear about a big man's knees – Alperen Sengun is probably already rostered in your league, but Usman Garaba is another name to keep an eye on.

Update: Fernando's timetable to return has been clarified to roughly 2-3 weeks (as of 10/27).

Lonzo Ball, PG/SG, Chicago Bulls - Knee

Until Ball returns (which doesn't seem like it will be in 2022) Ayo Dosunmu is the starting PG for the Bulls. Dosunmu is off to a hot start, and he's definitely worth looking to acquire if you can find a good deal.

The Tank Corner 

Closed until later in the season, we'll get here when teams start trotting out G-Leaguers none of us have ever heard of.

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