December 22, 2016

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

RotoBaller has assembled NBA injury updates for Week 9, 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 Nine

Questionable To Play

Otto Porter Jr. (SF, WAS): Back spasms. Kelly Oubre likely gets an uptick in minutes and role, while Sheldon McLellan also moves into the picture.

Rodney Hood (SG/SF, UTA): Gastric Distress. Joe Ingles is logging heavy minutes in a starting role with Hood out.

Dante Exum (PG, UTA): Knee. Raul Neto moves back into the rotation, but Shelvin Mack has gotten most of the PG minutes.

Omri Casspi (SF/PF, SAC): Illness. Garrett Temple has been their most consistent substitute, but Dave Joerger has opted to go with Matt Barnes in a primary role.

Rodney McGruder (SG, MIA): Ankle. It was good while it lasted, but Justise Winslow has returned in his starting role, which will make McGruder irrelevant.

Reggie Jackson (PG, DET): Sore Knee. Ish Smith becomes the man once again if R-Jax has to miss time.

J.J. Barea (PG/SG, DAL): Achilles. Seth Curry moves into the primary backup bench role if Barea misses more time.

Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG/SF, ATL): Groin. Taurean Prince got some extra run, but the main beneficiaries here are Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, and Thabo Sefolosha.

Rodney Stuckey (PG/SG, IND): Hamstring. C.J. Miles will take on heavy minutes off the bench and Aaron Brooks slides into a primary backup PG role.

Dwight Howard (C, ATL): Back. The Hawks are going small with Paul Millsap at center, while Kent Bazemore, Kyle Korver, and Thabo Sefolosha round out the perimeter. Mike Muscala should get extra run as well.

Victor Oladipo (PG/SG, OKC): Wrist. Anthony Morrow has entered the starting lineup and will probably do so if Oladipo doesn’t suit up against Boston on Friday.

George Hill (PG, UTA): Toe. Shelvin Mack is enjoying a huge boost in a starting role with Hill out.

Out Short Term

Evan Turner (SG/SF, POR): Ankle. Allen Crabbe will get a huge boost in bench minutes.

Wayne Ellington (SG/SF, MIA): Hamstring. Josh Richardson has returned, so even when Ellington returns, he’ll come back to a minimal bench role.

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 is nearing a return.

Andrew Bogut (C, DAL): Knee. The Mavs are opting to start Salah Mejri. Dwight Powell also gets a bump in minutes. Targeting a December 29 return date.

Kevin Love (PF/C, CLE): Knee. Richard Jefferson is starting at PF and could hold some streaming value, but Kyrie Irving and LeBron James are going to feast with Love out.

Rudy Gay (SF/PF, SAC): Hip. If Omri Casspi can ever get over his illness he becomes a relevant streaming option for the short-term while Rudy Gay is out.

Dion Waiters (SG/SF, MIA): Groin. It’ll be interesting how the lineup will work once Waiters returns with all the healthy bodies back in Miami. Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow probably benefit the most with his absence.

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

Jose Calderon (PG, LAL): Hamstring. Marcelo Huertas seems to taken over Calderon’s bench role, but the return of D’Angelo Russell has made 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.

Jose Calderon (PG, LAL): Hamstring. Marcelo Huertas moves to the starting unit as Luke Walton doesn’t want to breakup Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson in the second unit.

No Timetable to Return

Larry Nance Jr. (PF, LAL): Bone bruise, knee. Luol Deng, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle should get more minutes in the frontcourt.

J.R. Smith (SG/SF, CLE): Thumb. DeAndre Liggins will likely draw the starts for the duration of Smith’s absence, while Iman Shumpert may have some short-term value as well. Smith will go under the knife, but the Cavs haven’t said anything about his return date.

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

Blake Griffin (PF/C, LAC): Knee. Paul Pierce will start, but Marreese Speights, Brandon Bass, and Wes Johnson will see a bump in minutes for the next month or two.

Clint Capela (C, HOU): Leg. Nene and Montrezl Harrell absorbed most of the minutes in the last game, which will probably be the trend for the next month or so.

Michael Carter-Williams (PG, CHI): Wrist sprain, bone bruise. Isaiah Canaan and Denzel Valentine have seen a few more minutes, but remain irrelevant on the fantasy end. They’re hopeful he return in January.

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

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

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.

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.

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.