Fantasy Basketball Injury Updates for Week 19 - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anfernee Simons, Jalen Green

February 21, 2023

Max Kulish's NBA injuries report for fantasy basketball in Week 19. 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 might have been a snoozer of an All-Star Game, but there was plenty on the injury front in the shortened week last 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

Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF/C, Milwaukee Bucks - Hand

With his hand injury resulting in a 20-second, 2-point performance in the All-Star Game, Giannis capped off his weekend in Salt Lake City leaving NBA fans wondering how bad things were. Giannis got an MRI today that showed "no serious damage", but I would be surprised if he doesn't miss any time as a result of this injury. The Bucks have won 12 straight and are comfortably sitting at #2 in the East. If Giannis does miss time, newly acquired Jae Crowder could be worth a look.

Anfernee Simons, PG/SG, Portland Trailblazers - Ankle

In the Blazers' last game before the ASB, Simons suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain according to MRI results. The Blazers haven't made any statements about when he might return, but coach Chauncey Billups said the injury "didn't look awesome". Typically these injuries are 2-3 weeks, so I would expect Simons out until March at least. If Shaedon Sharpe is available in your league, he's worth consideration as a streamer.

Jalen Green, PG/SG, Houston Rockets - Groin

An MRI confirmed on Friday that Green suffered a strained left groin, and it appears he'll miss a couple of games at most, but an injury is an injury. If you're looking for a streaming option, Josh Christopher could see an uptick in usage given the Rockets' current backcourt injuries.

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.

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.

Update 2/15: Curry said that he will likely miss a few more games post-ASB before making his return.

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 2/15: The Wolves are hopeful that KAT will be able to rejoin them for their final 10-15 games this year. Depending on when your league does playoffs, this could be the green light to drop him.

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.

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.

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.

Update 2/14: Pokusevski was seen doing "light shooting", if he's actually going to return this year, this would be a good starting point.

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 2/12: The Bulls announced they will provide a further update on Lonzo "after the ASB", so I expect that will be this week. I would be surprised if it's anything but him being shut down for the season. The signing of Patrick Beverley is also an ominous sign for Lonzo seeing the court this season.

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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