RADIO
RotoBaller has assembled NBA injury updates and advice on various injury situations throughout the NBA to prepare for your daily lineups on January 26, 2016. Understanding the injury landscape, and who plans to benefit instead, is critical for setting your fantasy basketball lineups daily.
Here we will focus on the important questions: Who is injured? When are they coming back? Should you stash an injured player on your roster? Who is getting an opportunity in the mean time?
This injury analysis should assist in setting your daily lineups for both DFS formats and seasonal leagues. Consider this your one-stop overview of fantasy-relevant injuries in the NBA.
NBA Injury News for Fantasy Lineups (1/26)
No Biggie Injuries
Carmelo Anthony (SF/PF, NYK): Anthony is questionable for Tuesday's game with a sore knee. He said he should be able to go though and that the injury is just tendinitis. Anthony is not expected to be limited, but the injury could act up at any time so there is some major risk. Should he exit the game early, or not suit up, Derrick Williams would stand to benefit the most.
Bradley Beal (SG, WAS): Beal will not suit up for Tuesday's game after breaking his nose on Monday. As a result, Garrett Temple will see a large complement of minutes. Ramon Sessions and Kelly Oubre also could see an increase in minutes.
Tim Duncan (PF/C, SA): The veteran for the Spurs sat out on Monday against the Warriors with a sore knee. It's unknown whether this was an injury he suffered on Friday or if it's just normal wear and tear. David West, Boris Diaw, and Boban Marjanovic will see more minutes in the interim, but Timmy is not expected to miss much time.
Dwight Howard (C, HOU): Howard has missed consecutive games with a sprained ankle, though it is not supposed to be serious enough to keep him out long-term. Clint Capela will continue to have solid value as a blocker and rebounder while Howard is out.
Ian Mahinmi (C, IND): Mahinmi sprained his ankle last Tuesday and hasn't played since. He has improved, and is considered a game-time call against the Clippers tonight. Myles Turner has been incredible in his absence.
Markieff Morris (PF/C, PHO): His off-court issues make him a risky play anyway, but Morris has been upgraded to probable status for Tuesday's game. Morris had missed the previous two games with a shoulder injury, but appears to be feeling better and to be out of Jeff Hornacek's doghouse...for now.
Hassan Whiteside (C, MIA): Whiteside pushed to play on Monday night, but was ruled out by coach Erik Spoelstra. He should return in the next game or two (either tonight against Brooklyn or Friday against Milwaukee). Amar'e Stoudemire has been starting in his absence, though he has hardly had fantasy relevance.
Up in the Air Injuries
Steven Adams (C, OKC): Adams looks to be highly questionable for Tuesday's game with an elbow injury. He did some light practice on Monday, but is still likely to be a game time decision. Even if he does play, he will be limited and Enes Kanter looks to be in for some more minutes as a result.
Nicolas Batum (SG/SF, CHA): Batum's toe injury kept him out of another game on Monday, and it doesn't look like he's going to be ready for action soon. P.J. Hairston and Jeremy Lin will continue to see increased roles in his absence.
Anthony Davis (PF/C, NO): Davis left Monday's game after suffering a concussion. His next game isn't until Thursday so he should have some time to recover. However monitor his status until then to see if he clears the league's concussion protocol.
Tyreke Evans (PG/SG, NO): Evans was dealing with pain in his right knee and will undergo an MRI on Tuesday. Stay tuned for more once the results are disclosed.
Brandon Knight (PG/SG, PHO): Knight has been ruled for the entire four-game road trip starting on Tuesday. Archie Goodwin and Devin Booker will have to shoulder the load until Knight is ready to go.
Jameer Nelson (PG, DEN): Nelson seems toe be dealing with a fairly severe wrist sprain that has kept him out for five straight contests. Emmanuel Mudiay will continue to see significant minutes, and Randy Foye and Sean Kilpatrick will see modest increases as well.
Zaza Pachulia (C, DAL): Pachulia is officially doubtful for Tuesday's game with a leg injury. JaVale McGee and Dwight Powell will pick up the slack while Zaza recovers.
Derrick Rose (PG, CHI): D-Rose exited Monday's game early with hamstring soreness and will be evaluated on Tuesday. Should the oft-injured guard miss any time, Aaron Brooks would see a substantial increase in value.
Cody Zeller (PF/C, CHA): Zeller is out with a shoulder injury that will keep him out for at least a few more games. He's not worth hanging onto in most leagues. Frank Kaminsky is playing well in his absence, and Al Jefferson is projected to return in less than a month.
On the Mend Injuries
Goran Dragic (PG, MIA): Dragic is targeting a return on Friday against Milwaukee. For tonight against Milwaukee, Beno Udrih and Tyler Johnson should continue to man the point for the Heat.
Mike Dunleavy (SG/SF, CHI): Dunleavy is set to do some contact drills in practice on Tuesday. There is still no timetable for his return, but this is certainly a step in the right direction.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (SG/SF, CHA): The small forward for the Hornets is recovering from a torn labrum that he suffered in October, and looks to be ahead of schedule. The original timetable was six months, and the Hornets were hoping to get him back in time for the postseason. He was cleared for practice with full contact on Tuesday so he should start seeing some game action relatively soon. MKG looks like he could be back for the second half of the season and, as such, is worth stashing if you have an IR spot or bench space in a deep league.
Rodney Stuckey (PG/SG, IND): Stuckey is out again on Tuesday with an ankle sprain. He's missed seven games with the ailment and doesn't look like he's close to returning. Monta Ellis and George Hill will handle most of the backcourt duties in the meantime.
Down N' Out Injuries
DeMarre Carroll (PF, TOR): Carroll had knee surgery in December, and is reportedly ahead of schedule with his recovery. It's a long-shot he contributes anything to fantasy owners for the rest of the season. He's definitely not worth taking up a bench spot. However, there's a long-shot chance he comes back for the end of the year, so if you are in a roto league or a H2H league with April playoffs and you have an unused IR spot, stashing him there is better than nothing. In the mean time, James Johnson will continue to be the "starter" at small forward, with Terrence Ross and Patrick Patterson seeing most the boost in fantasy value created by Carroll's absence.
Eric Gordon (SG, NO): The shooting guard for the Pelicans underwent successful surgery on his finger and will be out for four-to-six weeks. This injury hurts, especially if you don't have an injured spot, but don't cut him. In the meantime, Jrue Holiday and Norris Cole will see increased minutes.
Blake Griffin (PF/C, LAC): Griffin, who had been hoping to return soon from a quadriceps injury, has reported broke his hand in a fight with a team employee in a Toronto restaurant. Wonderful. It will reportedly keep him out for "a matter of weeks, not days." The Clippers have been managing without Griffin and Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, and DeAndre Jordan have stepped up in his absence, and they should continue to have increased value without him.
Al Jefferson (PF/C, CHA): Jefferson underwent knee surgery for a torn meniscus at the end of December and was given a timetable to return of six weeks. He is now approximately three weeks into that timetable. There have been no public updates regarding his recovery, so we can only assume he's still targeting a return in mid-to-late February. While he belongs on rosters when healthy and should be slotted into IR spots, his declining production isn't worth using up a bench spot in most H2H leagues. In the mean time, Frank Kaminsky will continue to pick up the slack for the big man in the absence of Cody Zeller.
