Fantasy Basketball Injury Updates for Week 12 - Ja Morant, Tyrese Haliburton, Cade Cunningham

Max Kulish's NBA injuries report for fantasy basketball in Week 12. 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

Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Indiana Pacers - Hamstring

Pacers fans saw their season flash before their eyes on Monday night when Haliburton slipped on a wet spot and did a split. Initial reports came out that it was only a strain, and that he'll receive an MRI today (1/9), but after getting carried off the court by teammates, I can't imagine he'll be back for their next game on Wednesday.

Cade Cunningham, PG/SG, Detroit Pistons - Knee

Cunningham sprained his knee during Sunday's game in Denver. The only official word the team has put out so far is that "serious damage looks to be avoided", but that could still equate to a lengthy absence. We'll have more info by next Monday, but keep an eye on this situation for the Pistons.

Wendell Carter, C, Orlando Magic - Knee

Carter has dealt with multiple injuries this year, the latest being a knee issue. He's missed the Magic's last three games and has already been ruled out for their Tuesday night game against the Timberwolves. If Goga Bitadze is still available in your leagues, he's a great streaming option.

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.

Week 2: Both Butler and Martin continue to miss games without a timetable to return. I'm going to leave them in short term for this week since they're being ruled out on a game-by-game basis.

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.

Week 2: Brooks is now being considered week-to-week, although he was spotted at the Rockets' shootaround on Monday morning.

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 has missed the Mavs' last three games after reaggravating his heel injury on New Year's Day and has already been ruled out for Tuesday's game in Memphis. The Mavs haven't given him an official timetable to return, but for now, it looks like he's been treated as game-by-game.

Deandre Ayton, C, Portland Trail Blazers - Knee

Ayton has missed 8 straight games, but coach Chauncey Billups said he was "hopeful" that Ayton would return to the team by the end of their current road trip on Friday 1/12.

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

Ja Morant, PG, Memphis Grizzlies - Shoulder

This season came and went for Morant, who will only end up playing nine games this year. Morant tore a labral muscle in his right shoulder and is undergoing season-ending surgery. This season looks lost for the 13-23 Grizzlies, who are now officially on tank watch.

Chris Paul, PG, Golden State Warriors - Hand

The Warriors announced over the weekend that Paul will undergo surgery on his injured hand and miss 4-6 weeks. If I had to guess, he'll probably return after All-Star Weekend (Feb 16-18). Coach Steve Kerr has indicated Moses Moody will see additional minutes off the Warriors bench and is worth looking at for fantasy purposes.

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.

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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