Fantasy Basketball Injury Updates for Week 11 - Jimmy Butler, Dillon Brooks, Zach Collins

January 2, 2024

Max Kulish's NBA injuries report for fantasy basketball in Week 11. He recommends NBA injury replacements to set optimal lineups for seasonal and DFS formats.

Welcome back, RotoBallers! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and New Year! I'm here to help you stay up to date on injury news, and how it impacts your teams.

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

Drop me a follow on Twitter/X (@Maxadelphia) for all things fantasy basketball and nightly NBA plays.

Short-Term Injuries for Fantasy Basketball

Jimmy Butler, SF - Foot and Caleb Martin, SF - Ankle, Miami Heat

Butler missed four games with a calf injury, only to return and pick up a knick of some kind on his right foot. Martin left the Heat's Christmas showdown with the Sixers after only nine minutes and hasn't played since. Both of these injuries are expected to be short-term, which is good news for Heat fans, but with Josh Richardson (back) also having missed his 4th straight game on Monday night, the Heat are pretty thin on the wings currently.

Dillon Brooks, SF, Houston Rockets - Oblique

Rockets' coach Ime Udoka gave us a bit of a paradoxical answer relating to Brooks' injury; he said he expects Brooks to miss about a week, but also wouldn't commit to putting a firm timetable on his return. Udoka made that comment on Friday 12/29, so hopefully we'll have more clarity one way or another by next Monday. For now, both Jae'Sean Tate and Tari Eason should see more minutes.

Nikola Vucevic, C, Chicago Bulls - Groin

Vucevic was expected to miss 7-10 days after pulling his groin ahead of the Bulls' contest in Atlanta on 12/26, so he should be back relatively soon. If all the members in your fantasy league have a pulse, Andre Drummond was scooped off waivers immediately. If you want to look to the Bulls for streaming options, Patrick Williams is probably your best bet, although he's not a direct replacement for what Vucevic provides.

Zach Collins, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs - Ankle

Coach Gregg Popovich announced on New Year's Eve that Collins is expected to miss anywhere from 2-4 weeks after leaving their 12/29 game in Portland early. While he's gone, look at Sandro Mamukelashvili to fill in as the Spurs' primary bench big man.

Dante Exum, PG/SF, Dallas Mavericks - Heel

Exum was initially listed as questionable with his heel injury before suiting up for Monday's game against the Jazz. He left the game early after aggravating that same injury, but as of now, that's all we know. This could ultimately be nothing, but it's definitely an injury to keep an eye on.

Deandre Ayton, C, Portland Trail Blazers - Knee

Ayton was a surprise "questionable" add to the Blazers' injury report on Monday night. He missed three games in early December due to knee issues, and as we all know, knee injuries are not to be taken lightly with big men. This write-up is mostly precautionary, but if Ayton does miss time, Duop Reath should slide into the starting five.

Week 2: Turns out Ayton's absence was more than precautionary, as he's missed the Blazers' last 4 games. Also, Reath is dealing with a back issue, leaving the Blazers thin in the frontcourt. I'd check out Jabari Walker as a potential fill-in for the time being.

Ben Simmons, PG/PF, Brooklyn Nets - Hip

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Nets announced on December 20 that Simmons is progressing well and will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Long-Term Injuries for Fantasy Basketball

Zach LaVine, SG/SF, Chicago Bulls - Foot

LaVine also got hurt Thursday, missed a game on Saturday, and was initially diagnosed to miss a week. He could return as early as Friday night, which would only result in that single game missed. However, LaVine has been a popular name in trade talks all year, and you can't trade an injured player, so the Bulls may very well exercise caution and not rush him back.

Update 1/1: LaVine is now being ruled out on a game-by-game basis, and could return as soon as the end of this week. Although nothing is set in stone, I would expect this to be the last week he could miss all the Bulls' games.

Mitchell Robinson, C, New York Knicks - Ankle

One week after undergoing surgery, Robinson's recovery timeline has drastically changed. Initially only slated to miss around two months, an update on December 20 announced Robinson's 2023-24 campaign has ended due to this injury. Isaiah Hartenstein has taken over the starting role and with Jericho Sims scheduled to return at the beginning of 2024, Tom Thibodeau favorite Taj Gibson will be in the Knicks' rotation.

Gabe Vincent, PG/SG, Los Angeles Lakers - Knee

After missing nearly two months with a knee issue, Vincent returned to the Lakers' lineup for one whole game. He hurt the same left knee that's been bothering him all year, and the team announced he'll undergo surgery this week. He's expected to miss six to eight weeks minimum, but due to the recurring nature of this injury, I wouldn't be surprised if his absence is longer than that. It seems most likely that rookie Max Christie will rejoin the rotation in his wake.

Draymond Green, PF/C, Golden State Warriors - Anger Management

If you follow the NBA at all, you've seen Green's latest antics and the resulting indefinite suspension. A report came out yesterday (December 25) that he's begun counseling, and could return in as soon as three weeks. For as long as he remains out, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski should benefit the most.

Evan Mobley, C, Cleveland Cavaliers - Knee

Mobley was initially ruled day-by-day but on one of those days, the decision was made that arthroscopic surgery was the best course of action. Mobley underwent surgery on December 15 and is out for six to eight weeks as a result. The Cavs don't really have anyone else to replicate their twin towers lineup, but Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro are likely candidates to see increased minutes.

Darius Garland, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers - Jaw

When it rains it pours, as the Cavs are finding out. On the same day the team announced Mobley's surgery, Garland fractured his jaw against the Celtics. He is expected to miss "a few weeks", which to me sounds like it will line up perfectly with the mini-break all teams get around New Year's Day. If you're desperate to fill his roster spot, Craig Porter should enter fantasy relevance, but won't be high on the pecking order without more injuries.

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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