RotoBaller has assembled NBA injury updates and advice on various injury situations throughout the NBA to help you prepare both your seasonal and daily fantasy league lineups in the NBA season. 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.
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NBA Injury Roundup for Week Six
Questionable To Play
Courtney Lee (SG/SF, NYK): Ankle. Brandon Jennings stepped up last night, but Justin Holiday started the third quarter. They both could be decent pickups if Lee should miss extra time.
Rodney Hood (SG/SF, UTA): Hamstring. Joe Johnson should see an increased role if Hood misses time.
Elfrid Payton (PG, ORL): Ankle. D.J. Augustin was starting before Payton went down and could be looking at an increased role.
Josh Richardson (SG/SF, MIA): Ankle. Rod McGruder has started the last few games at SG and Wayne Ellington is back and returned to relevant minutes.
Darrell Arthur (PF/C, DEN): Illness. Wilson Chandler will absorb the extra bench minutes as the Nuggets deal with injuries.
Justise Winslow (SF/PF, MIA): Wrist. Luke Babbitt and Josh McRoberts are starting. Yeah, the Heat are hurting bad.
Paul Millsap (PF/C, ATL): Hip. Mike Muscala has been the best bench big for the Hawks and will get a chance to produce in a starting role if Millsap misses more time.
Jeremy Lamb (SG/SF): Knee Contusion. Left after 13 minutes and didn’t come back. Marco Belinelli will get some added bench minutes with Lamb out.
Will Barton (SG/SF, DEN): Ankle. He’s only played six games for Denver this season. Jameer Nelson is the new starter with multiple injuries hitting the Nuggets.
Joakim Noah (PF/C, NYK): Illness. Kyle O’Quinn has been starting, but Hornacek likes Porzingis to close out games at the 5-spot.
Tyreke Evans (PG/SG, NOP): Knee. Gentry is starting Frazier and Holiday together with E’Twaun Moore acting as the sixth-man. Evans could come back real soon.
Out Short Term
Jerryd Bayless (PG/SG, PHI): Wrist. Spanish Chocolate and T.J. McConnell will go back to their roles they started the season with.
Paul George (SF/PF, IND): Ankle, back. Little dog, Glen Robinson III has looked good with the increased minutes.
Marvin Williams (SF/PF, CHA): Bone bruise, knee. Frank Kaminsky has shown strides since last season and will have a week to take advantage of the starting role.
Al-Farouq Aminu (SF/PF, POR): Calf. Aminu could return this week, but his return will make Ed Davis and Meyers Leonard irrelevant.
Nerlens Noel (PF/C, PHI): Left knee surgery. Noel is re-habbing in the D-League. Embiid and Okafor will eat up all the minutes at Center.
C.J. Miles (SG/SF, IND): Knee. The bench minutes are going to Rodney Stuckey while Glenn Robinson III starts.
Reggie Jackson (PG/SG, DET): Knee tendinitis. Ish Smith is still starting and Beno Udrih backs him up. Mr. October resumed basketball activities and is targeting December 4.
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.
Doug McDermott (SF, CHI): Concussion. Hoiberg has been shortening the rotation with Isaiah Canaan and Nikola Mirotic getting extra run.
No Timetable to Return
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 (that was fun to type) will be the starter, but Harrison Barnes has played his best at PF.
Jeremy Lin (PG/SG, BKN): Hamstring. Isaiah Whitehead is getting the starts, but Sean Kilpatrick has been a complete beast as the second (sometimes first) option in Brooklyn.
Derrick Favors (PF/C, UTA): Knee. Not sure why, but Diaw is starting. Trey Lyles is getting the better part of Favors’ minutes though.
T.J. Warren (SF, PHX): Head. He’s recovering from a mysterious head injury. P.J. Tucker has slid into the starting unit.
Quincy Pondexter (SG/SF, NOP): Knee Surgery. E’Twaun Moore has gotten all the 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
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. Re-evaluated in two weeks, but could miss longer. Rod McGruder and Wayne Ellington get a step-up.
Mike Conley (PG, MEM): Back. Wade Baldwin was called up, while Andrew Harrison will step into the starting role for the next little bit.
Nick Young (SG/SF, LAL): Achilles. Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson get a bump in minutes and looks while Uncle P is out.
James Ennis (SG/SF, MEM): Calf. Vince Carter, Troy Daniels and Troy Williams are all sharing the minutes with the Griz thin on the wings.
Chandler Parsons (SG/SF, MEM): Knee. Tony Allen will play both wing spots with Troy Williams starting for the injury depleted Grizzlies.
D’Angelo Russell (PG, LAL): Knee. Jordan Clarkson will be a strong play for the next few weeks and Lou Williams should also take advantage of the extra run.
Gary Harris (SG, DEN): Foot. Jameer Nelson and Jamal Murray get a boost with both Harris and Barton out.
J.J. Barea (PG/SG, DAL): Calf. Seth Curry and Devin Harris will split the extra minutes from Barea’s injury.
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. Luke Babbitt will get the starts for now, but James Johnson 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 when healthy.
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.