This week’s NBA injurypocalypse wreaked havoc among fantasy basketball owners in the midst of competitive playoff matchups.
With Kent Bazemore, Wesley Matthews, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley all likely to miss the remainder of the regular season, their respective teams’ depth charts are being shuffled at the worst possible time for fantasy owners. While changes at this time of year are inevitable, the number of significant shakeups pose headaches in the midst of the fantasy playoffs.
Owners who are proactive — especially on the waiver wire — can use this time of upheaval to their advantage.
Bazemore’s injury opens the door for a certain Hawks wing player to surge in the final few weeks of the regular season. With Smart joining just about every other notable Celtics player on the shelf, those who remain will be short-term fantasy gold. Injuries and rotation changes create opportunity for others to emerge as fantasy factors.
Which players are surging or plummeting as of late? Check out an updated look at our rest-of-season rankings for owners in nine-category leagues. Below, read more about some of the notable risers and fallers from the past week.
2017 Fantasy Basketball Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
Taurean Prince, SF, Atlanta Hawks: Prince chose one hell of a time to have his best week of the season. Starting with a career-high 38-point eruption against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, the Hawks swingman went off for 28.3 points on 50.0 percent shooting, 8.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and an eye-popping 5.3 triples over his past three games, making him the seventh-ranked player on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues since Sunday. With Bazemore done for the year due to a bruised right knee, according to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Prince should be in line for a huge role over these final few weeks. He’s suddenly surging with top-50 upside and a top-75 floor.
Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat: Whiteside has missed each of Miami’s past three games with a strained hip flexor, according to Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald, and the Heat have already ruled him out for Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. Whiteside told Fernandez that he didn’t “want to make [the injury] worse,” which doesn’t seem to portend a quick return to the court. With the Heat a full 5.5 games ahead of the ninth-seeded Detroit Pistons for the final playoff spot in the East, they have little incentive to rush Whiteside back to the court before he’s fully healthy. As such, he plunges outside of the top 40 this week unless we get more clarity on his timetable to return.
Paul Millsap, PF/C, Denver Nuggets: Upon his return from the wrist injury that sidelined him since late November, Millsap immediately resumed looking like his former self. Over his first six games back, he chipped in a well-rounded 13.3 points on 47.5 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1.3 steals and 1.2 triples in 25.6 minutes per game, giving him top-35 value on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues over that span. He cooled off a bit in his ensuing three games, but with Gary Harris having suffered a scary-looking right leg injury Thursday night, the Nuggets may need Millsap to assume a larger offensive role as they chase a playoff spot. He’s somehow available in 15.1 percent of ESPN.com leagues, which makes no sense at all given his top-50 upside moving forward.
Kyrie Irving, PG, Boston Celtics: Irving already has been ruled out of Friday’s game against the Orlando Magic due to left knee soreness, which will mark his second straight game on the sidelines since leaving early during this past Sunday’s contest against the Indiana Pacers. Boston head coach Brad Stevens told reporters Irving may return Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans, but with the Celtics trailing the Toronto Raptors by five games heading into Friday’s action, they have no reason to rush Irving back. Getting him as healthy as possible for the playoffs should be their top priority—team president Danny Ainge said as much during a radio appearance Thursday—so he may be in for more rest down the stretch. As a result, he’s no longer a top-20 rest-of-season option.
Darren Collison, PG, Indiana Pacers: After undergoing knee surgery in early February and missing a month of action, Collison is beginning to round back into form. In Indiana’s 106-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, Collison finished with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, four assists, three triples, two rebounds and a steal in 28 minutes. It’s only a matter of time before Indiana ramps up his playing time and moves him back into the starting lineup, which is why it’s perplexing that he remains available in more than 40 percent of ESPN.com leagues. Prior to going down, Collison was churning out top-50 value on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues, and it shouldn’t be long before he’s back to doing so again. Like Prince, Collison has top-50 upside with a top-75 floor from here on out.
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Pau Gasol, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs: Gasol started March with a bang, dropping 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks in a four-point loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. But since then, he’s nosedived at the worst possible time, averaging only 6.6 points on 37.0 percent shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in just 17.6 minutes per game in his ensuing five outings. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich slid Gasol to the bench in each of the team’s past two contests, and the big man played only 10 minutes in San Antonio’s 98-93 victory over the Pelicans on Thursday. Given his recent lack of playing time, Gasol is no longer a must-hold, as he’ll struggle to post top-100 value if he’s playing fewer than 20 minutes per game.
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 Friday, March 16.