The past week should serve as a harsh reminder of just how quickly players’ fantasy basketball value can fluctuate at this time of year.
Between the Los Angeles Clippers’ shocking decision to trade Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons and a slew of injuries that knocked out early-round picks for the foreseeable future, it’s been a roller-coaster few days for fantasy owners. It goes to show that even if your squad is cruising toward a high seed in your fantasy playoff bracket, it only takes one moment to change your roster’s trajectory dramatically.
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Unfortunately, DeMarcus Cousins and Mike Conley weren’t the only major losses on the injury front. Both John Wall and Kevin Love went down Tuesday with ailments that are expected to sideline them through the rest of the fantasy regular season and perhaps the playoffs, too. While it’s bad news for those who own either player — each plunged in the rest-of-season rankings — it opens the door for their teammates to carve out a bigger role in the coming weeks.
Eight days from now, expect the fantasy landscape to look far different. But for now, here’s how players’ rest-of-season stocks measure up in nine-category formats. Below the rankings, read more about the notable risers and fallers from the week.
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Bradley Beal, SG, Washington Wizards: Wall has been bothered by a sore knee for much of the season, so he met with a surgeon Monday to determine the best course of action. Less than 24 hours later, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post reported he’s now set to miss the next six to eight weeks after he undergoes a knee procedure Wednesday. Since Tomas Satoransky and Tim Frazier won’t suddenly become nightly 20-10 threats overnight, the onus will fall on Bradley Beal, Otto Porter Jr., Markieff Morris and Kelly Oubre Jr. to shoulder more of an offensive load in Wall’s absence. All four jumped in this week’s rankings, but Beal cracked the top 25 for the first time all season.
Kevin Love, PF, Cleveland Cavaliers: During the first quarter of Tuesday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, Love left with what was later diagnosed as a non-displaced fracture in his left hand. He’s now likely to miss the next six to eight weeks as he recovers, according to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst, which puts his timetable to return somewhere during the fantasy playoffs. If you’re cruising toward a playoff berth or have an IR spot to burn, Love makes for a worthy stash, particularly on the off chance he can beat that expected timeline. Otherwise, owners desperate for roster spots may have no choice but to drop Love, who falls out of the top 100 in the rest-of-season rankings for the time being.
Nikola Mirotic, PF, Chicago Bulls: On Tuesday, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago reported the Bulls were trading Mirotic to the New Orleans Pelicans for Omer Asik and a first-round pick. Those talks soon broke down, according to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, as Mirotic has veto power unless the Bulls pick up his $12.5 million team option for 2018-19. Considering how close the two sides came to reaching a final agreement — Wojnarowski reported they “had a deal” in place — this may be your last chance to buy Mirotic at any semblance of a discount. Landing in New Orleans would be a boon to his fantasy value, as he’d have a chance to slide into the Pelicans’ starting lineup in place of Cousins. Float your trade offers now before it’s too late.
Lonzo Ball, PG, Los Angeles Lakers: Ball is set to miss his eighth straight game Wednesday when the Lakers take on the Orlando Magic, and he still has no timetable to return from the sprained MCL he suffered against the Dallas Mavericks in mid-January, per ESPN.com’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Head coach Luke Walton said Ball did some lateral movement with trainers Tuesday, but added it was “nothing to the extent of what it would take to be able to play basketball — move laterally and change direction, full speed, hit somebody, those type of drills.” With the Lakers likely to play it safe with their young franchise point guard, Ball slipped around 15 spots in the rest-of-season rankings for the time being.
Trey Lyles, PF, Denver Nuggets: Lyles has been a sneaky source of late-round value on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues on the year, as Paul Millsap’s wrist injury helped him carve out a regular spot in the Nuggets’ rotation. He’s poised to make even more noise in the coming days, as Denver head coach Mike Malone told reporters Tuesday that he expects Mason Plumlee to be “out for a little while” due to a right calf strain he suffered Monday against the Boston Celtics. Millsap is expected back sometime after the All-Star break, according to Harrison Wind of BSN Denver, so Lyles’ fantasy gains may be short-lived, but he rises to just outside of the top 100 for now.
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Trevor Ariza, SF, Houston Rockets: Ariza left the Rockets’ game against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday after only one minute, as a collision with forward Marquese Chriss caused him to suffer a left hamstring strain. On Monday, head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters he expects Ariza to miss Houston’s upcoming four-game road trip, which means he’ll be sidelined at least until next Friday. The veteran sharpshooter has churned out top-50 value on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues this season, so he doesn’t slip too far down the rest-of-season rankings, but hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky. With the Rockets coasting toward a top seed in the Western Conference, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them hold him out through the All-Star break in hopes of avoiding any further setbacks.
All ownership percentages via ESPN.com. All average draft position info via FantasyPros. All rankings via Basketball Monster are based on nine-category leagues and are current heading into Wednesday, Jan. 31.