March 26, 2017

Trevor rounds up injuries across the fantasy basketball landscape for week 22 of the NBA season. NBA injury news and updates for DFS and seasonal fantasy leagues.

RotoBaller has assembled NBA injury updates for Week 22, and lineups advice on various injury situations throughout the NBA to understand who stands to benefit instead.

We're here to help you prepare both your seasonal and daily fantasy league (DFS) lineups. Understanding the injury landscape, including who's out and who could benefit is a key skill in all forms of fantasy basketball.

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 projecting how to respond to injuries in seasonal leagues, and who can you target with your DFS lineups. Consider this your one-stop overview of fantasy-relevant injuries in the NBA.

NBA Injury Roundup For Week 22

Questionable to Play

Iman Shumpert (SG/SF, CLE): Knee soreness. Shumpert sat out Saturday's game. It's hard to say who the prime beneficiary is, as the Cavs basically went with an eight man rotation instead of their usual nine guys, and spread Shumpert's minutes pretty evenly around.

Brandon Ingram (SF, LAL): Knee tendinitis. Ingram is dealing with some knee issues. If he has to sit, David Nwaba and Corey Brewer could see some extra action on the wing for the Lakers.

Marc Gasol (C, MEM): Foot sprain. If Gasol's foot sidelines him, Zach Randolph, JaMychal Green, and Brandan Wright could all see a spike in minutes and usage.

DeMarcus Cousins (PF/C, NOP): Right ankle sprain. Boogie is a bundle of injuries at once again at the end of the season. Dante Cunningham would start again if Cousins can't go.

Carmelo Anthony (SF/PF, NYK) and Lance Thomas (SF/PF, NYK): Knee and hip, respectively. Both guys sat on Saturday with injuries, leaving Mindaugas Kuzminskas to start at SF. The Knicks have no reason to rush back Melo until he's healthy. When Thomas is healthy again, he'd likely start in place of Anthony, but for now it's time to watch The Mindaugas Project in New York.

Jahlil Okafor (C, PHI): Knee. Okafor sat Friday and is considered day-to-day. Rishaun Holmes started in his place, but had a quiet game as it was Dario Saric who did all the heavy lifting for the Sixers offense.

TJ Warren (SF, PHO): Foot. Derrick Jones, Jr. has been starting in Warren's place, but it's been Devin Booker who's been taking all his shots, just like Devin Booker has taken everybody else's shots on the Suns injury-ravaged tank-machine.

Out Short Term

Paul Millsap (F/C, ATL): Knee tightness. Millsap has been out since last Saturday with discomfort in his knee. Ersan Ilyasova is starting and playing big minutes in his place.

Kent Bazemore (SG/SF, ATL): Knee.  Bazemore missed Friday and has been ruled out for Sunday, and it' sunclear when he'll return for the banged-up, slumping Hawks. Tim Hardaway, Jr. has been lighting it up in his absence, while Thabo Sefolosha has a more secure night-to-night role than normal.

Cristiano Felicio (PF/C, CHI): Back.  Felicio missed Friday's game and will not play on Sunday either. Bobby Portis, who went for 17 points and 11 rebounds on Friday, will have a big opportunity in the Bulls' suddenly light big man rotation. Joffrey Lauvergne is the only other true big behind Robin Lopez at the moment.

Joe Harris (SG, BKN) and Sean Kilpatrick (PG/SG, BKN): Shoulder injury/concussion and hamstring, respectively. Randy Foye is the ineffective starter at SG, with K.J. McDaniels seeing some extra run in addition to the two backup point guards, Isaiah Whitehead and Spencer Dinwiddie.

John Henson (PF/C, MIL): Sprained thumb. Henson is expected to miss all of this week with his sprained thumb. Greg Monroe will at least have some sort of added stability to his bench role, but who knows with Jason Kidd, who played Spencer Hawes more minutes than he did "starter" Thon Maker on Friday.

DeMarre Carroll (SF/PF, TOR): Back. The oft-injured Carroll is out with a back injury, but his performance and playing time weren't that great to begin with. P.J. Tucker is the superior option and will continue to start, while numerous Delon Wright sightings have been reported off the bench in Toronto.

No Timetable to Return

Ryan Anderson (PF/C, HOU): Ankle sprain. Ryno twisted his ankle pretty badly in Friday's game. There's a good chance the playoff-bound Rockets just let him rest up and heal until the games matter again, so he's probably not worth holding in fake leagues. Sam Dekker will see a big spike in playing time.

Dion Waiters (SG/SF, MIA): Ankle sprain. Josh Richardson and Wayne Ellington will see a boost with Waiters island momentarily sunk.

Josh McRoberts (F/C, MIA): Left foot. Luke Babbitt slides into the starting spot, but James Johnson has been the better fantasy producer even off the bench. McBob remains out indefinitely.

Out Multiple Weeks

Kevin Durant (F, GSW): MCL sprain, tibial bone bruise. Has progressed to various basketball activities. Andre Iguodala, Patrick McCaw, and Matt Barnes will are seeing an increased role with Durant out.

Dragan Bender (F, PHX): Ankle. Marqueese Chriss’ rest of season outlook gets a slight boost, but no significant increases elsewhere.

Likely Out for the Season

Dwyane Wade (SG, CHI): Fracture in elbow. Paul Zipser is filling in as starter, but Denzel Valentine is the bigger fantasy beneficiary.

Joakim Noah (F/C, NYK): Left knee surgery. Oh, also he got suspended for 20 games. Willy Hernangomez is killing it as the Knicks new starting center.

Brandon Knight (PG/SG, PHO): Back injury. For what it's worth, Knight's been ruled out for the rest of the year. He was completely out of the rotation anyway, so it won't change a thing.

Andrew Bogut (C, CLE): Fractured left tibia. He played less than a minute for his new squad, so everything should remain unchanged in Cleveland.

Kyle Lowry (G, TOR): Wrist surgery. Cory Joseph will log most of the minutes at the one with Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet backing him up.

Joel Embiid (C, PHI): Knee. Jahlil Okafor will draw the when healthy, but Richaun Holmes is an alluring fantasy option.

Ben Simmons (F, PHI): Foot. T.J. McConnell will gladly take all the ballhandling duties with Sergio Rodriguez acting as the primary backup.

Jabari Parker (F, MIL): Torn left ACL. It could be a mix of Mirza Teletovic and Michael Beasley stepping up now that Parker will be out for 12 months.

Zach LaVine (G, MIN): Torn ACL. Shabazz Muhammed seeing a lot of run. Kris Dunn and Tyus Jones get an increased role in the lineup well.

Rudy Gay (F, SAC): Ruptured left Achilles. Garrett Temple is the most reliable option on the perimeter, but Matt Barnes could also so an increase in minutes.

Quincy Pondexter (G/F, NOP): Knee Surgery. E’Twaun Moore, Tim Frazier and Solomon Hill have received starts, while Langston Galloway has carved out deep league value.

Justise Winslow (F, MIA): Right Shoulder. James Johnson becomes essential to the Heat frontcourt, while Rodney McGruder and Wayne Ellington should see increased run.

Jerryd Bayless (G, PHI): Wrist surgery. T.J. McConnell has taken over the point guard duties in Philly.

Chris Bosh (F/C, MIA): Blood clot. James Johnson, Luke Babbitt and Willie Reed benefit from the extra frontcourt minutes.

Chris Andersen (C, CLE): Knee. He suffered an ACL tear in his right knee during practice. He’s been relegated to a deep bench role anyways.