Fantasy Basketball Injury Updates for Week 18 - Jaylen Brown, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum

February 14, 2023

Max Kulish's NBA injuries report for fantasy basketball in Week 18. He recommends NBA injury replacements to set optimal lineups for seasonal and DFS formats.

Welcome back RotoBallers! I'm here to help you stay up to date on injury news, and how it impacts your teams in case you had a busy weekend and couldn't keep track of everything. It's finally February, and it's trade deadline week!

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.

Drop me a follow on Twitter (@Maxadelphia) for all things fantasy basketball, and nightly NBA plays. Be sure to also bookmark our awesome free NBA injuries report tool for up-to-the-minute fantasy basketball injury updates.

Short-Term Injuries for Fantasy Basketball

Jaylen Brown, SG/SF, Boston Celtics - Face

Brown suffered a maxillary fracture last Wednesday against the Sixers, but Celtics fans needn't worry too much. President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has already shared that the injury isn't thought to be long-term. In the meantime, Sam Hauser has been starting and is worth a shout in deeper leagues.

Smart remains out with an ankle injury that initially was initially supposed to be a week at most. Fast-forward to the present day, when Smart acknowledged he might be out through the All-Star Break. It would make sense for the Celtics to keep the reigning Defensive Player of the Year sidelined until he's fully healthy. Until he returns, Derrick White should see a healthy minutes total most nights.

CJ McCollum, PG/SG, New Orleans Pelicans - Ankle

McCollum was downgraded on Monday's injury report from Questionable to Out, which is never a great sign. If I had to bet, the Pelicans are playing it safe and giving McCollum rest before the ASB, but if you need short-term streaming options, Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy are two names to look at.

Jusuf Nurkic, C, Portland Trailblazers - Calf

Nurkic was injured last Wednesday night, and his follow-up MRI showed that he suffered a strain, not just soreness as the team initially reported during the game. Nurkic missed a game two weeks ago after suffering a minor injury to the same calf, so the team is exerting caution and will hold him out through the All-Star Break. I expect Nurkic to return after the ASB, but in the meantime look at Drew Eubanks and Trendon Watford as replacement options.

Kyle Kuzma, PF, Washington Wizards - Ankle 

After leaving early against the Nets on Saturday, Kuzma was diagnosed with a mild left ankle sprain. The severity of the sprain isn't known yet, but if it's bad enough to be labeled as a sprain, I can't imagine he'll return after only one game. I'm looking to get out ahead of this one, just in case. If Kuzma does miss extended time, Corey Kispert could be worth a look as a deeper option.

Week 2: Kuzma has returned to shootarounds, but has still not been cleared to return to game action. I would be surprised if he's out all week, but I do think he'll miss tonight's game after sitting out last night, making his next chance to play Thursday in Minnesota.

Seth Curry, PG/SG, Brooklyn Nets - Adductor

Curry strained his adductor on Saturday, and on Monday coach Jacque Vaughn acknowledged Curry got an MRI but said he doesn't know when Curry will return. I would bet he'll miss at least this week, based on the initial thought of Curry missing a few games before this MRI. With the Nets dealing with injury and the trade fall-out of Kyrie Irving, any active guard in Brooklyn is worth a look this week.

Week 2: Curry has been ruled out through the ASB, if any of Brooklyn's starting guards are available, they're worth picking up.

OG Anunoby, SG/SF, Toronto Raptors - Wrist

Anunoby left last Friday's game @ Golden State after only 10 minutes after what was deemed a "wrist sprain". He subsequently missed their game the next night in Portland, and there has been no update official update since. Anunoby was ruled out for Monday's game in Phoenix, so this is one to keep an eye on. I would recommend targeting Precious Achiuwa on waivers until Anunoby returns (or if you're looking for some depth).

Week 2: The Raptors don't play again until Wednesday, so there's been no need for the team to make further updates after initially ruling Anunoby out through their whole road trip (which ended Sunday). Even if he is healthy, Anunoby has been a hot name on the trade market as the rumors heat up, and should he get moved he would likely miss a game or two at least.

Week 3: Anunoby has been cleared for non-contact, so I think he'll be back after the ASB. If not, this is something much more serious than initially let on.

Long-Term Injuries for Fantasy Basketball

Kevin Porter Jr, PG, Houston Rockets - Foot

I'm sick of the Rockets leaving us in the dark about KPJ's status. Hopefully, there's a concrete update after the ASB. If not I'm going to call my shot at a season shutdown with the Rockets limping toward another high draft pick.

Stephen Curry, PG/SG, Golden State Warriors - Knee

Curry suffered partial tears on two different ligaments in his knee, and the team is treating this as a week-to-week injury. All we really know right now is that he's definitely out through the All-Star Break, potentially longer. As a result, Donte DiVincenzo should take over as the top dog off the bench with Jordan Poole shifting into the starting lineup. If you need to dig deeper, Ty Jerome should see enough minutes to make an impact of some kind.

Steven Adams, C, Memphis Grizzlies - Knee

Adams, who currently sits 4th in the NBA in rebounding, suffered a PCL sprain last Tuesday, and his return timetable is supposed to be 3-5 weeks. I'm going to err on the side of caution here – that the Grizzlies, who are cruising toward the playoffs, don't rush Adams back to action and his absence is closer to five weeks than three. Assuming Brandon Clarke is already rostered in your league, look at Santi Aldama to pick up Adams' vacated rebounds.

Mitchell Robinson, C, New York Knicks - Thumb

Robinson had thumb surgery last Thursday, and won't be re-evaluated for three weeks; that would put us right at the week leading to the All-Star break. From a front-office perspective, the obvious move would be to keep Robinson out through the All-Star break. Early results of Robinson missing time indicate that Jericho Sims will have a larger role over Isaiah Hartenstein.

Update 1/26): Moving Robinson to long-term officially off the back of some James Dolan comments on a radio show. Dolan said during his weekly appearance on the "Good Day New York" show that Robinson will be out for four weeks. That would us right back in the ballpark of the post-ASB timeline I had predicted last week, this just makes it official.

Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, Minnesota Timberwolves - Calf

KAT strained his calf last Monday night, and his timetable for return is 4-6 weeks. Based on usage since the injury, it looks like the Wolves starters will just take on more of the load. If you're looking for streaming options, both Jaden McDaniels and Kyle Anderson are worth evaluating.

Update 1/31: Third week in a row with an update for Towns, and the third week in a row it's not a positive one. Timberwolves' GM Tim Connelly said on a Podcast that KAT remains "out indefinitely".

Zion Williamson, PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans -  Hamstring

Zion tweaked his hammy last Monday night in Philly, and the Pelicans initially ruled him out for three weeks. We're 1/3 of the way through their initial diagnosis but given the organization's track record with their former #1 overall pick, I'd much prefer to err on the side of a long absence.

Update 2/12: You might have missed this given the Super Bowl and all, but Zion reportedly suffered a setback in his rehab and will be out "several more weeks". It feels like this is probably curtains for Zion in terms of the season-long fantasy basketball calendar, but maybe more info will come out after the ASB.

Marvin Bagley, PF/C, Detroit Pistons - Hand

Bagley underwent hand surgery last Thursday, after suffering two broken fingers, and is going to miss 6-8 weeks. I'm going to assume Jalen Duren is no longer available in your league, so if you need to dig deep, look at Nerlens Noel.

Update 2/13: Bagley is approaching a return to the court according to coach Dwane Casey. I would expect him to return either immediately or shortly after the ASB, however, there is a lot of competition for minutes and you shouldn't be relying on Bagley until he shows us otherwise.

Devin Vassel, SG, San Antonio Spurs - Knee

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that Vassel won't return until "a little after the All-Star break" after the rookie standout got hurt and is expected to have surgery done this Wednesday. The Spurs are obviously not looking to compete for anything (besides the Victor Wembenyama sweepstakes) this year, so hopefully, this isn't the beginning of the end for the standout rookie guard. Josh Richardson looks to be a great replacement option for Vassel from a fantasy perspective.

Update 2/10: Vassel says he remains without a return date but is aiming for "a return date sometime after the ASB". Not the most convincing of responses considering the Spurs' position in the standing. I officially am placing Vassel on shutdown warning.

Kelly Oubre Jr, SF/PF, Charlotte Hornets - Hand

Oubre is going to miss 4-6 weeks after getting surgery on his left hand. Jalen McDaniels was called upon to take Gordon Hayward's minutes when he was injured, and I would expect he and Hayward will fill the void left by Oubre.

Aleksej Pokusevski, SF/PF/C, Oklahoma City Thunder - Leg

Pokusevski suffered some sort of tibia fracture in his left leg, which is expected to sideline him for at least 6-8 weeks. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, said that he doesn't think the injury is "long-long term", and expects Pokusevski to return before the end of the year. But...we know the Thunder, currently 12th in the West, love a good tank, so take that with a grain of salt.

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.

Update 1/28: Ball has been deemed "nowhere close to returning" by Bulls coaching/management. Coach Billy Donovan said that if there isn't marked improvement by post-ASB, Lonzo will just be shut down for the year officially.

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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