Welcome to a brand new NBA season. We have a lot of changes this year in terms of where players are however the one thing that never changes are the injuries that happen.
The purpose for this article is to give you an early morning look at the injuries on the upcoming slate and how those players could impact your player pool. The most important thing to remember with this article is that while there is a lot of information here you will want to become a VIP Member for the most update and current information as this article will not change. This will give you access to our Discord channel for the #NBA-Breaking-News and #NBA-Coaches-Notes which will have all the up-to-date information as we get it. Not a member? What are you waiting for?!
A quick reminder here as we roll into the new season with so many changes to rosters some of the usual information such as usage will be difficult to grab. However once we get more games under the belt, this information is going to get much cleaner.
Brooklyn Nets VS Milwaukee Bucks – 7:30 PM
Nets: Kyrie Irving is OUT!
Notes: Let’s not focus on why Irving is not playing and just focus on that he is not. This is huge because it adds so much usage back onto the team. Who gets that? Well Durant/Harden take a huge portion of that which is really nice to not worry about that third mouth. The team has changed some with the additions of James Johnson, Paul Millsap and Aldridge decided to unretire however Durant/Harden are the main ball handlers. Below are the individuals I like the most:
- James Harden – 34.9% usage with 1.69 FPM without Irving on the court.
- Kevin Durant – 34% usage with 1.61 FPM without Irving on the court.
- Bruce Brown
- Paul Millsap
While I think both will be very popular I think most will be heaviest on Harden. The pivot would be Durant.
Bucks: Donte DiVincenzo, Rodney Hood, Semi Ojeleye and Bobby Portis are OUT!
Notes: For the most part this team is virtually untouched aside from some bench spots. With that being said there is not much we want to adjust here as this is still a starting 5 that contains Giannis, Middleton and Holiday. These are the main guys here for the starting line with Lopez being an option. Portis out does make some nice Nwora time who has been stellar in pre-season and was outstanding last year when the team sat starters. No problem taking some shots on Nwora.
- Giannis
- Jrue Holiday
- Jordan Nwora
- Grayson Allen – will need to see the starting line however without Donte, we could potentially see him slide into the starting group.
Golden State Warriors VS Los Angeles Lakers – 10:00 PM
Warriors: Jeff Dowtin, Johnathan Kuminga, Klay Thompson and James Wiseman are OUT!
Notes: A lot of the news for this team is not important because they are low level or they are Klay Thompson who hasn’t played a game in quite a while. I look forward to the day he comes back because that should be exciting. However the Wiseman news has some impact. While the team has changed slightly with the addition of players like Bjelica and Porter Jr. Without Wiseman we should see some bumps to both of these guys and at a cheap price. While it’s not an ideal matchup they are just too cheap to pass up. Below are my top few players:
- Steph Curry – Had 35.7% usage and 1.57 FPM without Thompson last year.
- Jordan Poole – Should get a lot of 2nd usage run.
- Otto Porter Jr
- Nemanja Bjelica
Lakers: Malik Monk is PROBABLE. Kendrick Nunn is QUESTIONABLE. Talen Horton-Tucker, Wayne Ellington and Trevor Ariza are OUT!
Notes: This team made some pretty significant changes this year with the addition of Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony. I know what you’re thinking, the average age of this team has to be pushing 40? Regardless Westbrook is a usage vacuum so it’ll be interesting to see how he meshes with Lebron and AD. With the changes and the injuries there is not much we can go off but below are the guys I like:
- Russell Westbrook
- Dwight Howard – will be interesting to see what kind of run he gets
- Camelo Anthony – how does he fit on the second unit?
- Malik Monk.
Lebron and Davis are also in play here but I think Westbrook is the main guy I want on that starting line.
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