Week 9 Fantasy Basketball Injury Report: Harden & Giannis Among Stars Sidelined By COVID-19
This week, the NBA's COVID-19 problem has spiraled further out of control. The Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets are two NBA teams missing the majority of their players due to the virus. While their problem has gotten worse and worse, the Charlotte Hornets have seemed to recover. The most important players sidelined with COVID-19 at the moment are Giannis Antetokoumpo, DeMar DeRozan, James Harden, and Zach LaVine. Every day, there seem to be clusters of new COVID-19 cases in every NBA locker room.
Elsewhere, Klay Thompson is on track to make a return before Christmas day. In contrast, Ja Morant's timetable for a return has been pushed back until after the New Year.
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Week 9 Fantasy Basketball Injury Report
SG Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors (Achilles)
Klay Thompson is on track to return to NBA action within the coming days. His best-case scenario is that he returns in time for a home game against the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 20. Regardless, Thompson will likely suit up before Christmas and will without a question be on the court by the end of this year. Fantasy owners can immediately fire him up in their lineups despite the fact that head coach Steve Kerr will likely ease him into action given Thompson's extended absence.
PG Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Knee)
Ja Morant’s return from a knee sprain has been pushed back until after the New Year. The Memphis Grizzlies announced that the superstar point guard will not be in the rotation until he is at full strength. This means that Desmond Bane and De’Anthony Melton will continue to be the two best available guards in the Grizzlies' rotation.
SG Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Hamstring)
Devin Booker's lingering hamstring injury has kept him out longer than expected. He has been listed as questionable and DTD but not week-to-week since dealing with this injury, although he has not played since Nov. 30. Fortunately, the Suns have kept rolling without him in the lineup. Cameron Johnson has seen his role in the rotation rise significantly. Johnson has seen a significant uptick in minutes in his last 10 games, directly matching the time Booker has been sidelined for. Johnson has scored in double-figures in seven consecutive games for the Suns and shot respectably from the field in that time. He seems like the player in Phoenix’s rotation who has benefited the most from Booker’s absence. The Suns indicated that Booker will not play for the rest of the week, meaning his earliest return could be on Dec. 21.
C.J. McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers (Collapsed Lung)
McCollum sustained a collapsed lung last week. Fortunately, it seems that McCollum will return sooner rather than later. The team reported earlier this week that McCollum received a CT scan which showed that his lung is improving. He will be re-evaluated next week but is still out indefinitely. Dennis Smith Jr. is also out of the Trail Blazers' rotation due to a minor knee injury, which means that Anfernee Simons is the best available guard on Portland’s active roster after Damian Lillard. Lillard recently returned from an abdominal injury. Simons scored 22 points and 26 points in two of his last three games played. He’s also seen an uptick in minutes and is now averaging 24.0 MPG on the season.
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Health & Safety Protocols:
Brooklyn Nets:
As of Tuesday, Dec. 14, seven Brooklyn Nets tested positive for COVID-19. Each of the players below has entered Health & Safety Protocols and will not return before Dec. 23. This leaves Patty Mills as a viable option to start in fantasy basketball for the next few weeks (unless he tests positive).
- SG Bruce Brown
- PG Jevon Carter
- PG/SG James Harden
- PF James Johnson
- SF DeAndre’ Bembry
- C LaMarcus Aldridge
- PF Paul Millsap
Chicago Bulls:
- New COVID-19 Cases / Players Added To Health & Safety Protocols:
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- SF Troy Brown Jr.
- PG Ayo Dosunmu
- PF Alize Johnson
- SG Stanley Johnson
- SG Zach LaVine
- Game Time Decisions/ Returning From COVID-19 (Likely that these players become active this week):
-
- PF Javonte Green
- PG Colby White
- SG/SF DeMar DeRozan
- SF Derrick Jones Jr.
- SG Matt Thomas
It was unrealistic to expect the Chicago Bulls to successfully contain the outbreak of the virus. The team already had seven positive COVID-19 tests last week. Fortunately, many of the players who were out with COVID-19 are game-time decisions for this week's games, including DeMar DeRozan. While those players are returning from the virus, another wave of Chicago Bulls players (including Zach LaVine) tested positive and entered the league's Health & Safety protocols.
Here are the other NBA teams with two or more players out with Covid-19:
Milwaukee Bucks:
The Bucks are hoping to contain a relatively tame (at the moment) COVID-19 outbreak. Unfortunately, they lost Giannis to the virus and he will not be available until Dec. 22 at the earliest. This means that Bobby Portis will have an opportunity to get more touches on the offensive end of the floor, and perhaps exceed the strong numbers he's tallied thus far. He's averaging 15.6 points and nine rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game this season. With Giannis out, he might have an opportunity to score and rebound even more.
Los Angeles Lakers:
- C Dwight Howard
- SG/SF Talen Horton-Tucker
- SG Malik Monk
With both Talen Horton-Tucker and Malik Monk out, Carmelo Anthony will likely see an uptick in minutes over the next few games. Melo was excellent earlier in the season when THT and LeBron James were out of action. The veteran will take on a more extensive offensive role until Horton-Tucker and Monk return to the lineup.
New York Knicks:
- SF/PF Kevin Knox II
- SF RJ Barrett
- SG/SF Quentin Grimes
- PF Obi Toppin
The Knicks are missing three wings and Obi Toppin at the moment. As a result, Alec Burks and Evan Fournier become viable options as fantasy starters because of the Knicks' current roster status. Although Burks and Fournier are shooting inconsistently this season, they each should get more looks on the offensive end of the floor over the Knicks' next few games. This should translate into decent fantasy production, especially with Kemba Walker still in the doghouse.
Sacramento Kings:
- SG/SF Terence Davis
- PF Marvin Bagley III
If Davis is missing from the lineup over the next two weeks, Davion Mitchell and Buddy Hield should see an uptick in minutes. The Kings have canceled their practice for today in an effort to contain the current outbreak on their hands.
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