Anthony Davis Out with Injury | Fantasy Basketball Impact for Mavericks, Including Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and More

The hits keep coming for top-end fantasy basketball players.

After it was announced that Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo would miss time with an injury, Dallas Mavericks' Anthony Davis was also ruled out.

Let's discuss what the injury means, both for fantasy owners and in real life.

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The Injury

Davis is dealing with a left adductor strain. It's expected to keep him out multiple weeks, and maybe up to a month.

Davis was a top-five fantasy asset at the time of the injury, but that's going to drop, especially if he's out close to a month.

For the season, Davis is averaging 25.7 points, 12 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocks across 34.2 minutes in 43 games. 

He's been dealing with the injury in his final days with the Lakers, but made his Mavericks' debut on Saturday. Davis had 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in 31 minutes before leaving the game.

Davis is too good of a fantasy player to drop, even if you don't have an IR spot to work with. You will need to tread water until Davis returns. It's not going to be easy, but hopefully you have a good backup on your roster already for the oft-injured Davis.

Mavericks Outlook

Several Mavs will need to step up in his absence. There's a ton of pressure on everyone as Dallas sits in eighth place in the Western Conference right now.

Several Dallas fantasy players are already owned in almost every league.

Kyrie Irving will guide the Mavs with Davis out. Irving is owned in every league already of course, but should see an increase on his averages for the next couple weeks. He's averaging 24.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.4 blocks across 36.3 minutes.

I'd expect Irving to be even better in the games to come. He probably will play a similar amount of minutes, but take on more scoring responsibility. A few more assists are likely now that Davis won't have the ball in his hands often.

P.J. Washington is owned in just about every fantasy league, but is dealing with an injury of his own. He's questionable for the team's game on Monday, but played in the last game. 

Washington only played 16 minutes in that game, and until he's closer to 100%, Washington might be a bit limited as a fantasy performer. You might have to keep him on your bench until he returns to his normal allotment of minutes.

Washington is averaging 14.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1 block across 32.6 minutes. He should be able to at least deliver similar numbers with Davis out, and likely would be asked to do a bit more.

Daniel Gafford is another Mav who is owned in every fantasy league already. He'll take on even more with Davis now out for a few weeks.

Across 22.1 minutes a game, Gafford is averaging 12.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.4 steals and 1.9 steals. Don't let those numbers fool you, because he's averaging 15.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.4 steals and 3.3 blocks across 28.8 minutes in his past 13 games (12 starts). Gafford should remain a good/great fantasy option at least until Davis returns.

Dereck Lively II would be another big man likely to pick up more slack with Davis out, but he's out with a right ankle stress fracture. 

He was set to be re-evaluated in four weeks, and that was on January 23 that we got that news. Lively could maybe return after the All-Star break and will be a big-time waiver pickup when his return is announced. He's rostered in just 38% of leagues right now.

Dwight Powell is another big man who could pick up some extra minutes with Davis out. Powell is out right now with a hip injury though, and he's not likely to be a very consistent fantasy asset when active anyways.

Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin are two more forwards who could play more minutes with Davis out of the picture.

Marshall is averaging 11.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal and 0.1 blocks across 24.5 minutes a game this season. He's rostered in 24% of fantasy leagues.

Dallas is hopeful to get the newly-acquired Martin back in 2-3 weeks. That was announced on February 6, so another post-All Star break return could be in the cards. Martin is only rostered in 8% of leagues right now.

Klay Thompson, Max Christie, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dante Exum are a few other guards/forwards who could take on more responsibility with Davis out.

Thompson is available in about 20% of leagues. He's averaging 13.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks across 27.2 minutes in 46 games this season.

A little more scoring and rebounding could be in Thompson's future, but it's not likely going to be consistent enough to roster him in more fantasy leagues.

Dinwiddie is averaging 10.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.2 blocks across 25 minutes a game this season. That's enough to roster him in 25% of fantasy leagues.

He should get enough minutes with Davis out to remain a deep-league fantasy option. Dinwiddie would only become a standard league option if Irving or Thompson were out for an extended period.

Christie was also part of the deal that brought in Davis and sent out Luka Doncic. In three games off the bench for Dallas, Christie is averaging 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.7 blocks across 31.3 minutes. 

He's been a very popular waiver wire option. Christie is up to 49% rostered, and he should continue to see that grow with more numbers like he's been delivering of late.

Exum is just getting back into the swing of things after missing the first few months of the season. In five games so far, Exum is averaging 10 points, 1.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 0.6 steals across 19.2 minutes.

He doesn't have really great averages, but he's doing enough to roster and utilize in a few deep leagues at least. Exum is one to keep tabs on in case he hits his stride with more time on the court.

Some others to keep an eye on in Dallas are Jaden Hardy, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Kessler Edwards.

Final Thoughts

Losing Davis is a big blow to the Mavericks in real life and for fantasy basketball owners alike.

Dallas will be challenged to hold its playoff spot until Davis can return. Really, the team would be hoping to improve its seeding right now, so this injury comes at a rough time.

The Mavs have enough talent to win without Davis, but it's definitely going to be a challenge.

For the fantasy owners who roster Davis, these next few weeks are probably going to be rough, especially if you can't throw him in an IR spot.

There's no Mavs you could really add who are going to pick up the slack either, because those players are already owned in almost every fantasy league. Irving, Washington, Gafford and Thompson are among the players who should see their fantasy outlooks increase in the next couple weeks.

The return of Martin, Lively and others will help, and maybe make some others decent fantasy assets, but we are a ways off from some of their returns.

The best way to locate the best fantasy assets in Davis' absence would be to either keep watching the FantasySP Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups page, or simply watch the team's box scores.