RotoBaller has assembled NBA injury updates for Week 7, and advice on various injury situations throughout the NBA to help you prepare both your seasonal and daily fantasy league (DFS) lineups. Understanding the injury landscape, including who's out and who could benefit is a key skill in all forms of fantasy basketball.
Here we will focus on the important questions: Who is injured? When are they coming back? Should you stash an injured player on your roster? Who is getting an opportunity in the mean time? This injury analysis should assist in projecting how to respond to injuries in seasonal leagues. Consider this your one-stop overview of fantasy-relevant injuries in the NBA.
Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive BOTH our full season NBA and NFL Premium Passes for free, a $119.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Passes.
NBA Injury Roundup for Week Seven
Questionable To Play
George Hill (PG, UTA): Toe. Dante Exum and Shelvin Mack are enjoying the extra run with Hill out.
Jahlil Okafor (C, PHI): Gastroenteritis. Richaun Holmes and Dario Saric have put up solid numbers in Okafor’s absence.
Jrue Holiday (PG, NOP): Toe. Tim Frazier’s fantasy life has a heartbeat with Holiday out.
E’Twaun Moore (PG/SG, NOP): Toe. Langston Galloway and Buddy Hield are getting solid perimeter minutes with Moore and Holiday out.
Vince Carter (SG/SF, MEM): Hip. Troy Daniels and Troy Williams are great options while Carter is out.
Seth Curry (PG/SG, DAL): Knee. Jonathan Gibson will play primary backup to Deron Williams while Seth and Barea are out.
Justise Winslow (SF/PF, MIA): Wrist. Wayne Ellington and Rodney McGruder are fantasy relevant as long as the real starters are out.
Out Short Term
Gary Harris (SG, DEN): Foot. Jameer Nelson and Jamal Murray get a boost with both Harris out.
D’Angelo Russell (PG, LAL): Knee. Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams have had a strong run with Russell out.
Tyreke Evans (PG/SG, NOP): Knee. Evans is nearing a return, but Solomon Hill will continue to play heavy unproductive minutes with Buddy Hield also getting relevant minutes.
Rodney Hood (SG/SF, UTA): Hamstring. Joe Johnson and Joe Ingles are getting increased opportunities under Quinn Snyder.
Robert Covington (SF/PF, PHI): Knee. Nik Stauskas has moved into the starting lineup and Hollis Thompson also gets a boost in minutes.
Derrick Rose (PG, NYK): Back. Brandon Jennings steps immediately into a relevant role.
Josh Richardson (SG/SF, MIA): Ankle. Rod McGruder and Wayne Ellington are being leaned on heavily with the Heat thin on the wings.
Luke Babbitt (SF, MIA): Hip. Josh McRoberts has been inserted into the starting lineup and Derrick Williams will serve as the primary backup.
James Ennis (SG/SF, MEM): Calf. Troy Daniels and Troy Williams are sharing the minutes with the Griz thin on the wings.
Jose Calderon (PG, LAL): Hamstring. Marcelo Huertas moves to the starting unit as Luke Walton doesn’t want to break up Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson in the second unit.
Tarik Black (PF/C, LAL): Ankle. Thomas Robinson moves into deep-league fantasy relevancy.
J.R. Smith (PG/SG, CLE): Knee. DeAndre Liggins has been granted the start, but Coach Lue will play it by committee with Iman Shumpert and Richard Jefferson also in the mix.
Isaiah Thomas (PG, BOS): Groin. Marcus Smart gets the starts and Terry Rozier will get more run.
Kent Bazemore (SG/SF, ATL): Knee. Ruled out for the next two games. Thabo Sefolosha already moved to a starting spot and Tim Hardaway Jr. has been better.
Jerryd Bayless (PG/SG, PHI): Wrist. Spanish Chocolate and T.J. McConnell will go back to their roles they started the season with.
Nerlens Noel (PF/C, PHI): Left knee surgery. Embiid and Okafor will eat up all the minutes at Center.
No Timetable to Return
Chandler Parsons (SG/SF, MEM): Knee. Tony Allen will play both wing spots with Troy Williams starting for the injury depleted Grizzlies. Parsons’ return date remains a mystery.
Dirk Nowitzki (PF/C, DAL): Achilles. He’ll miss at least the next three games, but you could bet the Mav’s will be much more careful this time around. Dorian Finney-Smith is starting, but Harrison Barnes has played his best playing PF.
Jeremy Lin (PG/SG, BKN): Hamstring. The Nets are being vague with Lin’s return, but Isaiah Whitehead is getting the starts with Sean Kilpatrick taking major ball handling duties
Derrick Favors (PF/C, UTA): Knee. Not sure why, but Diaw is starting. Trey Lyles is getting more looks on the offensive end as well.
T.J. Warren (SF, PHX): Head. He’s recovering from a mysterious head injury. P.J. Tucker has slid into the starting unit with little production.
Quincy Pondexter (SG/SF, NOP): Knee Surgery. E’Twaun Moore, Tim Frazier and Solomon Hill have gotten starts, while Langston Galloway has carved out deep league value.
Cameron Payne (PG, OKC): Foot. Semaj Christon has looked serviceable in real-life, but it hasn’t translated to fantasy ball just yet.
Out Multiple Weeks
Tony Parker (PG, SAS): Knee. Nicolas Laprovittola has gained enough trust from Gregg Popovich to start, but Patty Mills is the real beneficiary here.
James Johnson (SF/PF, MIA): Shoulder. Josh McRoberts has been starting and Derrick Williams has been the primary backup.
Andrew Bogut (C, DAL): Knee. The Mavs are opting to start Salah Mejri, but Dwight Powell is the guy to own in this situation.
Michael Carter-Williams (PG, CHI): Wrist sprain, bone bruise. Isaiah Canaan and Denzel Valentine have seen a few more minutes, but remain irrelevant on the fantasy end.
Dante Cunningham (SF/PF, NOP): Knee. Solomon Hill is the starter with Cunningham out for at least a month.
Dion Waiters (SG/SF, MIA): Groin. He’s hoping to play in the upcoming week, but Wayne Ellington and Rodney McGruder are putting up serviceable numbers while he recovers.
Mike Conley (PG, MEM): Back. Wade Baldwin was called up, while Andrew Harrison is stepping into the starting role for the next little bit.
Nick Young (SG/SF, LAL): Calf. Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson get a bump in minutes and looks while Uncle P is out.
J.J. Barea (PG/SG, DAL): Calf. Rick Carlisle is praying that Deron Williams can stay healthy until Barea and Curry come back. Jonathan Gibson is a super deep league add.
Ben Simmons (SF/PF, PHI): Foot. Ersan Ilyasova looks to be starting for the next couple of months with Dario Saric getting the bench minutes.
Jared Sullinger (PF/C, PHI): Foot surgery. Pascal Siakam will draw the starts with Patrick Patterson getting most of the minutes.
Likely Out for the Season
Khris Middleton (SG/SF, MIL): Torn hamstring. The Bucks push Tony Snell to the starting lineup for his ability to space the floor. We’re still hoping he comes back this season.
Chris Bosh (PF/C, MIA): Blood clot. Josh McRoberts will get the starts for now, but James Johnson, Luke Babbitt and Willie Reed benefit from the extra frontcourt minutes.
Alec Burks (PG/SG, UTA): Left Ankle. Suffered a setback after off-season surgery. Rodney Hood should continue to earn the starts as long as he stays on the court.
Nikola Pekovic (C, MIN): Chronic Ankle Issues. Will likely be bought out for the final year in his contract. Cole Aldrich has gotten the primary backup minutes behind Karl-Anthony Towns.