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.
Nets VS Hornets – 04:00 PM – NOT ON MAIN SLATE
Nets: Kyrie Irving remains OUT!
Notes: Not many changing here as Irving has been out for the first week and will continue to be out for the foreseeable future. While Irving is out the main two guys you want to target are Harden and Durant. The guessing game will be which one goes off? It’s been Durant the first two so I’m turning it back this time and going with Harden being the guy today. it’s impossible to predict the bigs on this team as Griffin/Claxton/LMA/Millsap all see an equal share of minutes around 18 per game. These are the guys I’ll target in the showdown:
- James Harden
- Kevin Durant
- Nicholas Claxton
- Patty Mills
It’s unlikely you’ll be able to comfortably fit both Harden/Durant in the same line but it’s important you make sure you have one or the other.
Hornets: Terry Rozier is Questionable.
Notes: I’m going to play this scenario a couple different ways to give you a clear understand of how I’ll play it.
- If Rozier plays: This is a hit to LaMelo/Hayward however they are still okay plays. Rozier had very little impact (only played 23 minutes) on the game flow last time out when he played however he is always a threat to go off. This could have also been impacted by Oubre and Bridges went bonkers.
- If Rozier sits: LaMelo becomes a core play in the showdown. Build around him. Then Oubre gets a bump as he slides into the starting line but very risky due to rollercoaster of his play. Hayward/Bridges are also in play as the shots open up with Rozier off the court.
Celtics VS Rockets – 07:00 PM
Celtics: Jaylen Brown is Questionable.
Notes: Brown could change the state of this slate as it changes some big plays here.
- If Brown plays: He’s in a good spot to smash after having a very bad game last time out. There is no defense to be had on this Rockets team. The main challenge will be this impacts Tatum quite a bit because there is less shots for him to take.
- If Brown sits: If he sits I love targeting Jayson Tatum who likely becomes a core. Robert Williams and Al Horford also come in play as we should see some more shots from them. Lastly we should see Josh Richardson jump into the starting lineup but will need to watch the #NBA-Breaking-News channel in our discord.
Rockets: No injury news to report.
Notes: With no news to report here there’s not much that changes on how I want to attack this team. Below are the guys I want to target:
- Christian Wood
- Kevin Porter JR
- Jalen Green
- Alperen Sengun (likely doesn’t see over 18 minutes)
Magic VS Knicks – 07:00 PM
Magic: Gary Harris is Questionable. Michael Carter-Williams, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, E’Twuan Moore and Chuma Okele are OUT!
Notes: It’s really hard to trust anyone on the Magic in this matchup as it could really just go completely sideways from the tip off and they were also just blown out from this same team on Friday. However the guys I could see having any kind of impact are:
- Jalen Suggs
- Mo Bamba
- Wendall Carter JR
- RJ Hampton – saw 20 minutes last game and just needs a few more shots to really do damage at his price point.
Knicks: Taj Gibson is Questionable. Nerlens Noel is OUT!
Notes: Taj Gibson could potentially hurt Mitchell as he may cut into his minutes but not something I am overly worried about. They get another great matchup they could easily blowout here which does scare me off some of their starters. Regardless I don’t want to fade this offensive side and these are the guys I want:
- Julius Randle
- Derrick Rose
- Evan Fournier
76ers VS Thunder – 07:00 PM
76ers: Joel Embid is Questionable. Andre Drummond is Doubtful. Shake Milton and Ben Simmons are OUT!
Notes: This could get a little tricky with Drummond doubtful and Embid coming in questionable. We will really need to see where they go if both miss here as it opens up some serious minutes. Below are the ways I’ll target this:
- If Embid plays: I’ll have some shares of Embid here along with Maxey and Harris however nothing crazy as Embid will be the guy I have the most of.
- If Embid Sits: Boy, this changes a lot of things. If Embid sits then I’ll be locking in Harris along with Maxey. Then we need to see who is in the starting line at the center position because that person becomes a huge value play in this matchup.
Thunder: No injuries to report.
Notes: No major news here so nothing really impacted. This team is so bad right now and I can’t see this game being competitive however if it does get there it’s because of these guys:
- SGA – I know I know.. and if he gets the Thybulle treatment I want nothing to do with him.
- Josh Giddey
Here is the main challenge with this team. They had a 15 man rotation last game… 15.. While this was a blowout, many played 9 or more minutes.
Warriors VS Kings – 09:00 PM
Warriors: Andre Iguodola is Questionable. James Wiseman, Klay Thompson and Jonathan Kuminga are OUT!
Notes: Biggest news is waiting on Iguodola. IF he were to miss this puts Bjelica in a good spot to get some more run and we know he can do when given the chance. This should be a fast paced game and these are the guys I want to target:
- Steph Curry
- Andrew Wiggens
- Bjelica
Kings: Maurice Harkless is Questionable.
Notes: If Harkless misses this puts Terrance Davis back into the starting lineup who saw 20 minutes last game with this situation. I love the pace of this matchup and likely have heavy target shares on both sides of the ball here.
- De’Aaron Fox
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Davion Mitchell – his shooting has been awful however he is averaging 28 minutes in the first two games.
- Terrance Davis
Grizzlies VS Lakers – 09:30 PM
Grizzlies: No injury report yet.
Notes: No news has been released here however we should see a similar situation with Dillion Brooks out. These are the guys you want to target:
- Desmond Bane
- De’Anthony Melton
- Ja Morant
- Jaren Jackson JR
One thing to be mindful of here is this is not the same matchup. This could be very challenging for them this game and the value could not be good value.
Lakers: Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn are OUT!
Notes: Same injuries we have been seeing over the past two games so no reason for much to change here. The is going to be a tough matchup for the Grizzlies and it’s always going to be challenging to pick the studs on this team that will go off. That being said, I’ll likely have shares of these guys here:
- Lebron james
- Anthony Davis
- Russell Westbrook
- Melo Anthony
Just a quick reminder here. Make sure you become a VIP member so you can get access to all of our tools including Discord. This article will not update so it’s best to join-up to not miss updates with new important pivot plays. Good luck to all this year and I look forward to seeing all the new members!