Fantasy Basketball Update: Injuries Everywhere, Top Waiver Pickups

Fantasy Basketball Update 12/15

Injury City Returns to the NBA

The Cavaliers are the newest team to enter Injury Hell. Darius Garland fractured his jaw in a collision with Kristaps Porzingis and will be out for a month. To make it worse, Evan Mobely underwent knee surgery and is expected to be out for a minimum of six to eight weeks. Donovan Mitchell has been playing injured recently, and trade rumors are spiraling. There's a chance that this young trio has already played it's last games together, as Mitchell may be on his way out with his contract set to expire at the end of this season.

How to account for Cleveland's injuries:

Craig Porter, Caris LeVert, and Donovan Mitchell will be the key ball handlers for Cleveland until further notice. All of these players get an upgrade in usage, and therefore, fantasy value. 

Max Strus, Isaac Okoro, Georges Niang, Dean Wade, Sam Merrill and Emoni Bates will be the wings and forwards in the rotation for the Cavs for now, while Jarrett Allen, Tristan Thompson, and Damian Jones are their remaining bigs. 

The players I think will stand out and will be important to hold onto in fantasy, besides the obvious stars Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, are Caris LeVert and Craig Porter. You can also spot-play Niang when you need 3s, or Okoro when you need steals. The one remaining player to watch is Emoni Bates, who is shooting an insane percentage in the G-League and scoring 24 points per game. He will almost certainly be called up and expected to score when he’s in the game. Keep an eye on the once #1 middle-school prospect, who could take this opportunity by storm. In the meantime, LeVert and Porter are great short-term assets to play, dangle as trade assets for teams that need wins now, or simply stream daily. Don't expect them to last forever, though, as Garland and Mobley will be back eventually.

Want to dominate your fantasy basketball league? Sync your league with the Fantasy Assistant to get rankings, waiver help, trade suggestions, optimal lineups, and more, and check out our NBA Trade Value Chart to make sure you win your trades!

Fantasy Basketball Strategy Tips For Injury Season

It’s crucial that fantasy managers push through the dog days of the NBA injury season and take advantage of their lineups. If you watch injury reports daily, it can pay huge dividends in fantasy. For example, tonight the Celtics are missing Al Horford, Luke Kornet, & Kristaps Porzingis all in one game. We can expect fourth-string center Neemias Queta to get minutes, and Jayson Tatum to have increased production along with Jaylen Brown. Filling in holes and filling in gaps is the name of the game right now, and staying on top of things will help you compete in matchups where you may feel helpless with injuries piling up. It doesn't even have to be injuries that open up opportunities: When Draymond Green gets suspended for whacking Jusuf Nurkic in the face, it’s natural to look into trading for Chris Paul and consider spot-starting Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and/or Brandin Podziemski. 

It’s also always great to note who a player is facing night in and night out when considering picking them up. No player who is in the NBA can't score, but certain defenders make it more difficult on players than others, while some may make things easier. Choosing a player whose primary matchup is Trae Young will always be more beneficial than choosing a player whose primary matchup is Luguentz Dort.

Best Fantasy Basketball Pickups

When you're going to the waiver wire, it’s important to note which players are more prepared to break out in comparison to others when the opportunity is there. Some players are more willing to take and make the shots and step up in a role while others are out. Taking that into account, here are my favorite waiver wire targets for this week:

• Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors (16.1% Rostered)
• Tari Eason, Houston Rockets (9.1% Rostered)
• Saddiq Bey, Atlanta Hawks (23% Rostered) 
• Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors (5% Rostered)
• Craig Porter, Cleveland Cavaliers (.2% Rostered)
• Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks (40.8% Rostered) — His value would SKYROCKET with a client Capela trade, as he would bring immense value as the primary lob threat for Trae Young.
• Marcus Smart, Memphis Grizzlies (57% Rostered) — If you can stash him on IR, his value will go way up when Ja Morant is back in the fold.
• Georges Niang, Cleveland Cavaliers (.5% Rostered)
• Moses Moody, Golden State Warriors (1.8% Rostered)