It has been a really brutal week in terms of injury news around the Association and I have to admit that I can’t remember a similar start to any season in this regard, particularly with the number of injuries. Ranked in order of apparent severity, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Jaren Jackson Jr, Anthony Edwards, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Kawhi Leonard are all expected to miss from the entire season to some weeks. You see that we are talking about some top names and the fantasy impact is real, as you will see in some of the Buy suggestions below. Let’s hope that the rest of the season brings us back to the mean and we have much fewer injuries.
To lighten the mood a bit before diving to the suggestions, here is Lamelo ball dancing one of the most famous Greek traditional dances, the Kalamatiano. It was danced even in the Greek revolution in 1821 and you can see the relevant picture in the thumbnail, it is a world first…
It is clear that he is performing the first 6 steps of the dance and that’s why no travel was called. Or alternatively it’s the infamous gather gather step step step back back.
Buy
Ja’Kobe Walter: Kawhi Leonard will miss the upcoming weeks with a knee inflammation and that is never good news for a guy with his injury history, so I expect the Raptors to be very cautious with his return. Enter Ja’Kobe Walter who was already in the fantasy mix as a 6th man buy should also start now. He ranks 57th in per game value due to his 2.7 triples and 2.3 steals and I expect that he will not remain so available in the upcoming weeks, as fantasy managers realize the value he has to offer (23% owned).
Jared McCain: The Thunder have been unfortunately decimated with injuries and someone has to absorb minutes in the backcourt, both in the short and in the long term. That someone might be McCain and despite not having such a fantasy friendly profile, the opportunity seems too good to pass up. He might not offer stocks and his assists are a bit light for his position but the scoring, triples and ft% make him an intriguing add (41% owned).
Kris Dunn: We all knew Kris Dunn will start the season hot and be the no18 ranked player in per game value right ? Right? Obviously this is a rarity but we should take advantage as long as guys remain out for the Clippers and stream Dunn, until the wheels inevitably fall off (44% owned).
Robert Williams: After years of recovering from the injuries that derailed his very promising fantasy career, Robert Williams is reportedly ready to play back to backs so for a guys that is an extremely good per minutes performer, that is automatically very interesting. He is a top 80 per game player so give him a chance to see if the back to backs rumors are true, if your team is in need of big man stats (12% owned).
Isaiah Jackson: With a similar big man profile as Williams above, Isaiah Jackson has taken over the starting role in LA with the Clippers and is providing standard big man stats. The limiting factor here is his tendency to get into foul trouble but he is a legit option off the wire with upside on games that he can contain his fouling tendencies (19% owned)
Sell
Zach Lavine: Last season was not a very productive one for Zach Lavine, who saw his averages drop pretty much across the board and was at times a spectator on the Sacramento offense. He still remains mostly a spectator on defense, but this season his shot is dropping and is looking more involved. The issue is the Kings are not a contending team and he is playing on a massive expiring contract, so despite being early, I would look to flip him during this hot streak if the market is there.
Naz Reid: He is off to a terrific start in his Charlotte career, but his usage and shot attempts are clearly boosted by the absences of Kon Knuppel and Coby White. He will not lose a lot of fantasy value when those guys return because his game is fantasy friendly, but exploring a trade now might represent his peak value all season long.
