Injuries are a part of sports the same way excess showers down on Hollywood. In the NBA, 82 games over five months, back-to-backs and players flying through the air with reckless abandoned will lead to its fair share of sidelined stars. When those guys go down--for however how long it may be--lesser known players can step in and either keep the ship afloat, or take it to unknown heights. Those players can also help you fantasy basketball team a great deal as well.  When do you pounce? When do you sit and wait? The code can be difficult to crack.

For most of those who excel, they have given glimpses of their respective talent. In this new age of analytics and per 100 stats, you can get a good idea on the efficiency of a player and how they will perform with more minutes.  A player like Tim Frazier stepped in when Jrue Holiday was hurt to make considerable contributions as an assists beacon in years past with New Orleans. The signs were there. Other times, they just appear out of thin air: Jeremy Lin.

Here are three players who fit the mold of "The Replacements." Those players who have stepped in to contribute for injured top-100 fantasy players and have actually performed equally well--or in some cases--even better.

The Injury Replacements

Kyle Kuzma

Before the regular season started, most who follow the NBA would have pegged Lonzo Ball as the rookie who would make the biggest impact through the season's first two months. While Ball has been excellent as a pro--averaging 14.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.9 assists per 100 possessions--it  has been Kuzma that has excited most Laker fans.

To think, coming into the regular season were it not for Larry Nance, Jr. breaking his hand in the first couple of weeks, no one would have known how good Kuzma would play.

Kuzma is averaging 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as the team's fourth offensive option. He is scoring more with the Lakers than he did in any of his three years at Utah. The biggest surprise is how the former Ute went from a 30 percent college three point shooter to a 39.4 percent shooter from the NBA's distance.

Maybe he was just shooting too close?

In any event, Laker Nation is salivating at multiple seasons of Ball and Kuzma or as they have been calling themselves, "The Light-Skinned Connection."

Spencer Dinwiddie

The Nets certainly didn't see Dinwiddie becoming a point guard Brooklyn could build a team around. During the 2017 NBA Draft, the Nets traded Brook Lopez and the 27th pick (Kyle Kuzma--ouch!) for Tim Mozgov and D'Angelo Russell. Brooklyn also signed Allen Crabbe as a combo guard, expecting Crabbe to come off the bench to spell Russell and Jeremy Lin.

Then Lin got hurt on opening night. Russell would have arthroscopic knee surgery a month later. All of a sudden the Nets were hurting--literally-at guard and Dinwiddie was one of the few remaining. Over the last month, Dinwiddie has averaged 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.2 threes per game. He is a top-80 fantasy performer.

This from the Step Back:

"Per 100 possessions, Dinwiddie is averaging more than 11 assists (11.5) and under three turnovers (2.5). That would only be the 24th time since turnovers were first recorded (1973-74) that any player managed to do this — and the last time was a full decade ago by a 26-year-old Jose Calderon."

A year ago, this man was on the G-League and now he is flirting with uncharted territory. Only concern for fantasy owners is what will the Nets do once Russell returns from injury in the new year. Dinwiddie has proven his worth on the court, and at only 24 years old he is a valuable asset.

Trey Lyles

While there are more Replacements who have stepped up in a season marred by injuries, Lyles' ascension the last few weeks has been fantasy basketball gold.

When Paul Millsap went down with a wrist injury in late November, there was treasure to be had for whoever could fill his shoes. The Nuggets are in the top-10 for offensive efficiency averaging over 107 points per 100 possessions. Head Coach Michael Malone tinkered with his rotation for a few weeks, then starting center Nikola Jokic went down and Malone had no choice but to give Lyles the green light.

Over the last two weeks, Lyles is averaging 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 threes while shooting 54 percent from the field, 73 percent from the line and 52 percent from three! He has been a top-40 monster.

Even with Jokic returning, Lyles has continued to produce coming off the bench. Still draining threes, too.

That's the thing about "The Replacements." Give them an inch, and they'll take a mile.

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