December 15, 2016

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

RotoBaller has assembled NBA injury updates for Week 8, and advice on various injury situations throughout the NBA 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. Consider this your one-stop overview of fantasy-relevant injuries in the NBA.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive BOTH our full season NBA and NFL Premium Passes for free, a $119.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Passes.

NBA Injury Roundup for Week Eight

Questionable To Play

Salah Mejri (C, DAL): Ankle. The Mavs were already thin to begin with, but if Mejri’s out, then Dwight Powell could see a huge boost.

Jerami Grant (SF/PF, OKC): Head. Anthony Morrow took Grant’s spot in the second half and should see an increased role if he misses additional time.

T.J. Warren (SF, PHX): Head. He’s recovering from a mysterious head injury. P.J. Tucker has slid into the starting unit and hasn’t looked awful.

Alex Len (C, PHX): Hip. Tyson Chandler has played heavy minutes and looks like a man possessed after posting ridiculous rebound totals in the last two.

Brandon Knight (PG/SG, PHX): Hand. Leandro Barbosa has looked like the Brazilian Blur in the last couple games and will benefit with Knight’s absence.

Victor Oladipo (PG/SG, OKC): Wrist. Jerami Grant has gotten the starts and Semaj Christon has gotten a major boost in minutes.

Nerlens Noel (PF/C, PHI): Ankle. He made his long-awaited return and immediately hurt himself. Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Richaun Holmes make up the center rotation.

Tyreke Evans (PG/SG, NOP): Knee. Evans is questionable for Thursday, but Solomon Hill will continue to play heavy unproductive minutes if he is a no-go.

Derrick Rose (PG, NYK): Back. Brandon Jennings will be a great short-term add if Rose misses time.

Tim Frazier (PG, NOP): Wrist. Langston Galloway should provide decent value, while E’Twaun Moore should also get a noticeable bump.

Luc Mbah A Moute (SF/PF, LAC): Shoulder. Austin Rivers drew the start and Wes Johnson gets an increased bench role.

Gary Harris (SG, DEN): Foot. Jameer Nelson and Jamal Murray get a boost with Harris out.

Jeremy Lin (PG/SG, BKN): Hamstring. Lin is close to a return, but the Nets are being so very careful with him. Sean Kilpatrick is still taking extra ballhandling duties while he’s out.

Rajon Rondo (PG, CHI): Ankle. Jerian Grant got the start, but Isaiah Canaan got the majority of minutes.

George Hill (PG, UTA): Toe. Dante Exum and Shelvin Mack are enjoying the extra run with Hill out.

Out Short Term

Isaiah Thomas (PG, BOS): Groin. Marcus Smart gets the starts and Terry Rozier will get more run. Targeting a Friday return.

Markieff Morris (PF, WAS): Left foot. Kelly Oubre was inserted for the start and Jason Smith was productive with the extra run.

Lucas Noguiera (C, TOR): Knee. Jakob Poeltl acts as the primary backup, but Patrick Patterson will likely see more minutes in the smaller Dwane Casey lineups.

Rudy Gay (SF/PF, SAC): Hip. Omri Casspi becomes a relevant streaming option for the short-term while Rudy Gay is out.

Al-Farouq Aminu (SF/PF, POR): Back contusion. Noah Vonleh started last game, but Terry Stotts has used Ed Davis and Meyers Leonard in starts as well. The dreaded committee is in full effect.

Nikola Vucevic (C, ORL): Back. It gets less congested in the frontcourt as Bismack Biyombo gets more playing time. Aaron Gordon has had a bigger role, but has split a good game with a bad one.

James Ennis (SG/SF, MEM): Calf. Troy Daniels and Troy Williams are sharing the minutes with the Griz thin on the wings.

Dion Waiters (SG/SF, MIA): Groin. He’s hoping to play in the upcoming week, but Wayne Ellington and Rodney McGruder are putting up serviceable numbers while he recovers.

Jose Calderon (PG, LAL): Hamstring. Marcelo Huertas seems to have taken over Calderon’s role, but the return of D’Angelo Russell will make them both irrelevant.

Monta Ellis (PG/SG, IND): Groin. Monta will sit out at least for the rest of the week. Little Dog, Glen Robinson III is starting and gets a huge bump in minutes. C.J. Miles gets more minutes as well.

Zaza Pachulia (C, GSW): Wrist. Steve Kerr is officially going by committee after starting Anderson Varejao, Kevon Looney, and JaVale McGee in the last three.

J.J. Barea (PG/SG, DAL): Calf. He’s close to returning and the Mavs suddenly have their backcourt healthy again. Devin Harris and Seth Curry will lose a bit of minutes once Barea returns.

Tarik Black (PF/C, LAL): Ankle. Thomas Robinson moves into deep-league fantasy relevancy.

Jerryd Bayless (PG/SG, PHI): Wrist. Spanish Chocolate and T.J. McConnell will go back to their roles they started the season with.

No Timetable to Return

Chandler Parsons (SG/SF, MEM): Knee. Tony Allen will play both wing spots with Troy Williams starting for the injury depleted Grizzlies. Parsons’ return date remains a mystery.

Dirk Nowitzki (PF/C, DAL): Achilles. Dorian Finney-Smith is starting. Harrison Barnes has played his best playing PF, so he benefits the most. Dirk could be out for awhile.

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

Cameron Payne (PG, OKC): Foot. Semaj Christon has looked serviceable in real-life, but it hasn’t translated to fantasy ball just yet.

Out Multiple Weeks

Andrew Bogut (C, DAL): Knee. The Mavs are opting to start Salah Mejri. Dwight Powell also gets a bump in minutes.

Michael Carter-Williams (PG, CHI): Wrist sprain, bone bruise. He’s going to be re-evaluated on Friday. Isaiah Canaan and Denzel Valentine have seen a few more minutes, but remain irrelevant on the fantasy end.

Dante Cunningham (SF/PF, NOP): Knee. Solomon Hill is starting with Cunningham out until Christmas.

Mike Conley (PG, MEM): Back. Wade Baldwin was called up, while Andrew Harrison is stepping into the starting role for the next little bit.

Ben Simmons (SF/PF, PHI): Foot. Ersan Ilyasova looks to be starting for the next few months with Dario Saric getting the bench minutes. Slowly making progress.

Jared Sullinger (PF/C, PHI): Foot surgery. Pascal Siakam will draw starts with Patrick Patterson getting most of the minutes until Sully returns. He’s still in a walking boot.

Likely Out for the Season

Khris Middleton (SG/SF, MIL): Torn hamstring. The Bucks push Tony Snell to the starting lineup for his ability to space the floor. We’re still hoping he comes back this season.

Chris Bosh (PF/C, MIA): Blood clot. Josh McRoberts will get the starts for now, but James Johnson, Luke Babbitt and Willie Reed benefit from the extra frontcourt minutes.

Alec Burks (PG/SG, UTA): Left Ankle. Suffered a setback after off-season surgery. Rodney Hood should continue to earn the starts as long as he stays on the court.

Nikola Pekovic (C, MIN): Chronic Ankle Issues. Will likely be bought out for the final year in his contract. Cole Aldrich has gotten the primary backup minutes behind Karl-Anthony Towns.