Injuries and Opportune Pickups | Week 16

It’s late on Monday, January 31st, the eve before “trade deadline month” and Isaiah Jackson just went off for 26 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 1 three-pointer. What?! If you’ve been playing fantasy basketball for a little bit you know this is what happens as the season progresses.. injuries lead to opportunity for some players, and when they deliver – we love it! In honor of Isaiah Jackson we focused on a few teams who are dealing with a more injuries than the average squad, and tried our best to highlight some hidden performers that could produce for your fantasy team. Hope it helps!

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The Thunder were dealt a significant blow this weekend after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander suffered a right ankle sprain against the Pacers. The Thunder announced SGA will be out until the All-Star break and re-evaluated then – woof. SGA’s massive usage will have to be picked up by multiple players, the obvious choices are Josh Giddey (14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block) and Lu Dort (18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 three’s). 

There’s a lot of unknowns still about this Thunder team outside of those three, but there are definitely some players to keep an eye on while SGA is out. Darius Bazley (15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 three’s), Tre Mann (13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 three’s) and Aaron Wiggins (7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 three) are all options to watch closely. Here’s the minutes distribution of those players from Monday night: Dort (34 min), Giddey (33 min), Wiggins (28 min), Bazley (25 min), Mann (24 min). Assuming Giddey is already rostered in your league (if not, grab him), we would rank these pickups; Dort, Bazley, Wiggins, Mann.

INDIANA PACERS
The Pacers find themselves Sabonis-less once again this month, this time to health & safety protocols. Already down Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon, TJ McConnell and a long list of other supporting players – the Pacers are in trouble. Enter Isaiah Jackson (26 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 three), Duane Washington Jr (16 points. 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 three’s), and Terry Taylor (15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 three) to the rescue!? Okay, maybe not long term but there are some players that can definitely provide some lift in the short term.

It’ll be interesting to see how a few storylines shake out for the Pacers within the next 2 weeks. The Pacers do have some interesting supporting players who should be making a return soon (Goga Bitadze & Oshae Brissett mainly), keep an eye on how their return affects some of the players already mentioned. The Pacers were also one of the earlier teams rumored to be fairly active at the trade deadline. It’ll be interesting to see how that shakes out for them with so many key players injured.

MIAMI HEAT
Another team facing a few more injuries than preferred right now. Monday the Heat were without Jimmy Butler (that big toe), Kyle Lowry (personal), PJ Tucker (knee) and a few others. Kyle Lowry has missed the last 8 contests, and Gabe Vincent (10 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 three’s) has filled in fairly well in his absence. Other notable contributors while some key players are out with injuries are Max Strus (27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 9 three’s), Caleb Martin (14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 three) and Duncan Robinson (6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 threes) – although yesterday wasn’t really his night.

Once the Heat get healthy, that likely means a reduced role for the majority of the guys listed above. The exception is probably Max Strus and Duncan Robinson who have proven to score big even when the Heat are healthy. Also, doubt we see Oladipo suit up and play meaningful minutes this fantasy year.

DALLAS MAVERICKS
For a team that already didn’t have the most depth, every injury hurts just a little bit more for the Mavericks unfortunately. On Sunday, the Mavericks were without Kristaps Porzingis (knee) and Tim Hardaway Jr (foot fracture) and came up just short to the Orland Magic. Without Porzingis, the Mavericks turn to Dwight Powell (8 points, 3 rebounds 1 assist, 1 steal), Maxi Kleber (6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 2 three’s) and Dorian Finney-Smith (10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 3 three’s). Not the sexiest stat lines for some guys getting 22 – 39 minutes, but the safest option there is Dorian Finney-Smith (39 minutes).

If you like living on the wild side though, some risky picks would be Reggie Bullock (10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 3 three’s in 31 minutes) and Marquese Chriss (14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, 2 blocks in only 19 minutes). We’re still not sure how long Porzingis will be out for, while THJ will be out for an extended period of time we know for sure. We’d roll the dice on Bullock or Chriss and see what happens.