Fantasy Basketball: Jeremy Lin Injury Impact

On the night before Thanksgiving while you were strategizing for in-law invasions, turkey time, and Black Friday, a huge fantasy basketball injury went almost unnoticed, but it could have major ramifications going forward in your fantasy hoops league.

Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin collided with Paul Millsap and was lifted from the game after playing just four minutes. At the time, it appeared to be a bruise that could cost him a game or two, but today it was reported all across twitter and other outlets that he’ll be down for at least two weeks with a Grade 1 knee sprain.

With Lin on the sidelines, his minutes will be up for grabs which could create some nice opportunity if you need some point guard production and are looking on the waiver wire.

The player who stepped in right away and contributed on Wednesday was Aaron Brooks who dropped four three-pointers on his way to 21 points in 27 minutes while adding four assists, two steals, and two rebounds. It was his second game with 20 points or more in the last three games, and the Rockets will look to him to provide some scoring from the backcourt with Lin joining fellow-guard James Harden on the sidelines.

Brooks is owned in under 1% of ESPN leagues as of this Friday morning, but should be your top pickup if you need a point guard since Brooks should get a nice chunk of minutes for the next two weeks and can provide three’s, points, assists, and steals when he gets the time. He will hurt your percentages a bit in some games, but as long as you have team balance you should be able to absorb that hit.

The other intriguing name in Houston is Patrick Beverly. Beverly is more owned than Brooks, but seems to be focused more on the defensive end of the floor than on producing for his fantasy owners. While Brooks is a must-grab, I’d wait and see on Beverly to see how he adjusts his game in the absence of Jeremy Lin. He’ll get the minutes, but may not match Brooks production from a fantasy perspective.