Fantasy Basketball Injury Updates for Week 21 - Luka Doncic, Tyrese Haliburton, Kevin Durant

March 14, 2023

Max Kulish's NBA injuries report for fantasy basketball in Week 21. 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

Luka Doncic, PG - Thigh and Kyrie Irving, PG/SG, - Foot, Dallas Mavericks

If you're a Mavs fan, seeing both Luka and Kyrie out with injury is probably your worst nightmare. Both missed their second consecutive game last night as the Mavericks played in Memphis. Even one of them remaining out would provide a major void in usage in the Dallas backcourt, but while both are out any active Dallas ball-handler is fantasy relevant.

Tyrese Haliburton - PG, Indiana Pacers - Knee

Haliburton was ruled out two days prior to the Pacers' Monday night game in Detroit, which isn't a great sign. I would expect the Pacers to be extra cautious with their young All-Star, but they are only 1 game back of the last play-in spot, so I don't expect him out too long. With TJ McConnell also out, Andrew Nembhard has been running the show for Indiana and makes for a solid streaming option.

Robert Williams, C, Boston Celtics - Hamstring

Williams left early during the Celtics' loss in Brooklyn this past Friday, and yesterday (3/5) coach Joe Mazzulla said Williams is expected to miss around 7-10 days. Grant Williams saw a major uptick in minutes during the Celtics' double-overtime loss to the Knicks last night and should be your priority if looking for a Williams replacement.

Week 2: No updates from the Celtics yet, but it has been 7 days officially since a 7-10 day time frame was given.

Colin Sexton, PG/SG, Utah Jazz - Hamstring 

The Jazz announced Monday (2/27) that Sexton will be re-evaluated in another week. He was missing time pre-ASB and has continued to sit. I guess I'm technically cheating by putting him in short-term considering he's already missed multiple weeks, but from this moment his injury is short-term, so cut me some slack, okay?

Update 3/6: The Jazz announced Sexton remains injured and will be reevaluated after another 7 days.

Long-Term Injuries for Fantasy Basketball

Kevin Durant, PF, Phoenix Suns - Ankle

KD didn't last long in a Suns' uniform before picking up a new injury, a freak accident caused by a slip in pregame warm-ups. Durant won't be evaluated for three more weeks, so chances are he's done in season-long formats.

Ja Morant, PG, Memphis Grizzlies - Personal

I'm not going to write a condescending, preachy, holier-than-thou blurb about the issues Morant is dealing with. If you follow the NBA enough to play fantasy and end up here, you already know Morant is on indefinite leave from the team. Let's hope he gets the help he needs and hopefully, we can all enjoy his game next season.

Update 3/13: Morant checked into a facility in Florida to seek help, and he remains "without a timetable to return". If there was any doubt before, there's none now – his season is finished.

LeBron James, PG/SF, Los Angeles Lakers - Foot

Just when the Lakers seemed to be turning their season around, LeBron is ruled out for "an indefinite period" with a foot injury. Look at Troy Brown or Rui Hachimura as a streaming replacement.

Update 3/2: The Lakers' medical staff determined that it will be at least three weeks until LeBron is reevaluated. I would say it's safe to drop him in redraft formats.

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.

Update 3/9: Adams received a stem cell injection to help with his injury recovery after the team determined his healing wasn't going as expected. It's safe to drop Adams in all redraft formats.

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 3/8: Zion is out for at least two more weeks according to the team, so I think it's about time to call his fantasy season wraps.

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.

The Tank Corner 

The Tank Corner makes its debut, FINALLY!

Unfortunately, it's an underwhelming debut, as we don't even have full shutdowns of players yet. At this point in time, it certainly seems that the San Antonio Spurs are going to cross the finish line first. They might not have the worst record, but when you're pulling starters and going 11 men deep against fellow tankers in the Houston Rockets, it's not exactly hard to read between the lines. No doubt, Gregg Popovich knows what he's doing. The Spurs have lacked a true star since Kawhi Leonard left for Toronto, and getting one would give Pop one last run toward another title.

The next addition to the Tank Corner is one that makes too much sense. The Detroit Pistons currently hold the worst record in the NBA (as of 3/13/23) and look to be the first team to see meaningful contributors go out with injuries that just keep them out through the regular season. After losing franchise cornerstone Cade Cunningham earlier this year, the Pistons have had a season to forget. As of the night of writing this (3/13/23), the Pistons currently have six players who see meaningful minutes listed as out, with two of them recently diagnosed with four-week injuries (Isaiah Stewart and Hamidou Diallo). I expect the Pistons to continue to stink it up in hopes of a top-two pick to pair with Cunningham.

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