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Each week of the NBA season unfortunately brings injuries to key players across the league. The goal of this column is to break down those injuries and understand which players could benefit in fantasy from an injury to a teammate.
As a reminder, COVID-19 related absences from players are included in this column.
There are a few injuries to cover in this last week of the column, so let’s dive into it one last time.
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Short-Term Injuries
Miles Bridges, SF, Charlotte Hornets- health and safety protocols
Bridges has been out since last week due to health and safety protocols and whether he even returns during the regular season is a question mark considering he was expected to sit out for nearly two weeks. In the meantime, Jalen McDaniels could continue to see more playing time, but he’s not worth considering for fantasy.
Kevin Porter Jr., SG, Houston Rockets- ankle
Porter missed his third consecutive game on Monday with an ankle injury and whether he returns at any point this week is unclear. If he doesn’t, the 20-year-old will have finished the season averaging a respectable 16.6 points per game. Meanwhile, Armoni Brooks is worth looking into as a streaming option as he has compiled at least 15 points in three straight games through Sunday.
Zion Williamson, PF, New Orleans Pelicans- finger
A finger injury could possibly keep Zion out for the remainder of this campaign. The talented player would have finished the season averaging a solid 27 points per game. James Johnson and Naji Marshall will likely see more minutes but none are fantasy-relevant.
Brandon Ingram, SF, New Orleans Pelicans- ankle
Ingram missed his third straight game on Monday and whether he returns this week is unclear. The Pelicans are dealing with several injuries at the forward and center positions and guys like James Johnson and Naji Marshall would see more playing time if Ingram is held out more. Again, none of those two are worth considering for fantasy, though.
Pascal Siakam, PF, Toronto Raptors- shoulder
A shoulder injury will keep Siakam out of Tuesday’s contest. The Raptors are dealing with a lot of absences right now and Yuta Watanabe could see more playing time due to Siakam missing time. Nevertheless, Watanabe is best left on waivers.
Bradley Beal, SG, Washington Wizards- hamstring
A hamstring injury will keep Beal out at least until Friday, and this comes at an inopportune time as the guard was carrying the team with a 50-point effort on Saturday. Guys like Davis Bertans and Chandler Hutchinson are candidates for more minutes but none are fantasy-worthy.
Kevin Love, PF, Cleveland Cavaliers- knee
Love has now missed two out of the three past games because of a knee injury. The forward’s status going forward is questionable and Dean Wade would see more playing time if Love misses another game. Wade isn’t fantasy-relevant, though.
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