Fantasy Basketball Impact of Luka Doncic Injury | Outlooks for Klay Thompson, Jaden Hardy, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes and More

The big news out of the NBA today was an injury to Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic. He’s out at least a week with a right wrist strain, and then will be re-evaluated after that.

Let’s take a look at what it means for some of the other Mavericks’ fantasy outlooks.

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Doncic’s Stats

Doncic is one of the better fantasy players in the league, and is enjoying another big season.

He’s averaging 28.1 points, 7.6 assists and rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.4 blocks. Doncic has played 508 minutes (36.3 a game) and made 138 of his 317 shots. He’s also had 46 turnovers this season.

Finding a way to fill 36 minutes a game is no easy feat, especially when that player is averaging what Doncic does. Dallas does have a few guards who can fill in, while other forwards and bigs might also see their usage increase until Doncic returns.

Top-End Fantasy Players

Along with Doncic, Kyrie Irving is also rostered in every fantasy league out there.

Irving is averaging 24.3 points, 5.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.2 blocks across 34 minutes a game. He might play a couple extra minutes with Doncic out, but he is most importantly the top offensive piece for the Mavs for a bit.

You should expect an increase in his scoring over the next few games, and his assists should also go up now that he’ll have the ball over Doncic. Irving should be starting every night anyway, but he might be one of the top fantasy performers every game until Doncic returns.

Klay Thompson is rostered in 91% of fantasy leagues, according to FantasySP data. He’s averaging 14 points, 1.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks across 28.1 minutes.

I’d expect his minutes to go up, and with more usage, I’d anticipate Thompson’s numbers to get a good boost. He’s a player who should be rostered in every league until Doncic returns, at least.

Daniel Gafford is the other big-time fantasy player for Dallas. He’s rostered in 91% of leagues as well and is averaging 12.5 points, 1 assist, 6.5 rebounds, 0.4 steals and 1.2 blocks across 20.1 minutes.

While Gafford doesn’t play a heavy amount of minutes, he’s a good daily starting option for fantasy teams. He should take on more offensive responsibilities with Doncic out and maybe plays a couple extra minutes. I also think he should be rostered and played in every league until Doncic is back out there.

Streaming Options and Fill-In Guys

P.J. Washington is rostered in 79% of leagues, which puts him in that streaming category. He’s averaging 9.7 points, 1.5 assists, 8.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks across 29.7 minutes.

Washington has only played in 10 games this season, and has been a pretty inconsistent fantasy contributor. He’ll have a bigger role with Doncic out for a bit, and will be a good streaming option, especially in the right matchups.

Dereck Lively II is rostered in 73% of leagues and is averaging 8.6 points, 2.3 assists, 6.8 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 1.5 blocks across 22 minutes.

He’s been a consistent fantasy performer this season, and should see an uptick in his usage and production with Doncic out. He’s another really good streaming option for the next couple days, and a player to add and utilize for the next week or so.

Naji Marshall is rostered in 13% of leagues. He’s averaging 9.1 points, 2.9 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.1 blocks across 23.1 minutes. 

He should get a couple extra minutes with Doncic out, which should mean more fantasy production. He should see an uptick in his own percentage in deeper leagues, but he’s worth watching in case he takes off without Doncic in the lineup.

Quentin Grimes, Spencer Dinwiddie and Jaden Hardy are three guards who could see an increase in their minutes since Doncic won’t be playing nearly the entire game.

Dinwiddie is rostered in just 4% of leagues. He’s averaging 16.5 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.6 assists, 1.2 rebounds, 0.4 steals and 0.2 blocks.

Grimes is at 2% rostered. He’s averaging 5.6 points, 1.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 0.4 steals and 0.1 blocks across 16.6 minutes. 

Hardy is rostered in just 1% of leagues. He’s averaging 5.6 points, 1.4 assists and rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.1 blocks across 13.9 minutes.

All three of those guys could see more minutes for the next few nights, and should be deep-league streaming options at the very least. If I had to guess who is the best fantasy option, I’d say Grimes, followed by Dinwiddie and Hardy.

There’s other players who could also see an increase in playing time, and thus be better fantasy options, so you’d be best served to watch the Mavs’ box scores the next couple nights and react accordingly.