Fantasy Basketball Nba Injury Report

I was working on a Hoops Heist post to give you a few players to target on the trade market, but I had to switch gears as the injury news this afternoon started to pile up.

Jameer Nelson underwent an MRI this morning and we're now hit with the news that he needs to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. It is estimated that Nelson will miss four-to-six weeks. Now what? Well, if you're a Nelson owner it would be in your best interest to pick up point guard Jason Williams, then stand back and reassess.

Jason Williams propped up his fantasy profile in the season opener against the 76ers with 15 points, five assists, and three treys. Since then it's been a mixed bag. Williams' minutes have declined to the point where he hasn't hit the 20-minute mark in any of the previous five games. Now, however, it would seem that he's a lock for at least 25-plus minutes, with Anthony Johnson willing and able to fill in as the back-up. But what should you expect from Williams as your newly acquired point guard?

Leave it to me to go ahead and write the following words less than 48 hours ago: "if you're worried about Chris Paul -- don't be." In all fairness, that was meant as a bit of reassurance that Paul would not let the Byron Scott firing affect the way he plays on the court. Now let me say this: If you're worried about Chris Paul, you're only human.

On Friday night Paul went down with a severe ankle injury that has knocked him out for up to two weeks, possibly more. So what can we do in his absence?

The first thing you need to do is go and pick up rookie point guard Darren Collison. No, he won't "replace" Paul, but his Friday performance after the injury looked rather promising. Collison finished the gamed with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting with two assists and two steals. At the very least you can slot him into your lineup next week with the Hornets on the schedule for four games: home to the Clippers, Suns, Hawks, and at the Heat.

Collison, though, was known more for his leadership and intangibles in college, and less for his ability to take over games. His upside may be limited, but at this point you have to take what you can get.

Consider the Kevin Martin injury the official start of the fantasy basketball season. It's easy enough to draft players based on projections, but it's not until a top-5 player goes down with a serious injury do we really start to put in the hard work. Remember last season it was Gilbert Arenas who first broke the hearts of fantasy owners, followed by Carlos Boozer, then Elton Brand and Al Jefferson.

You can say that savvy Carlos Boozer owners were really the only ones who possibly came out of last year's major injuries unscathed -- thanks to Paul Millsap. The Kevin Martin injury is closer to the Gilbert Arenas injury in terms of fantasy impact. Beno Udrih is not going to replace Martin's production, and if you're lucky enough to be able to pick up Tyreke Evans you're still falling short of being able to breathe a sigh of relief. Evans is not Martin, though he's probably the best option available at this point -- if he's even available.

I'll give you the best insight I can on Martin's injury, as well as a few words on the injury to Tyrus Thomas.

What a night for Kevin Martin. The dynamic guard for the Kings -- and currently the league's No. 3 scorer -- learned Thursday morning his sore wrist was actually a fractured navicular bone, a pretty brutal injury in terms of risk and recovery. Sources tell FanHouse Martin was strongly recommended by at least two doctors (including Sacramento's team doctor and a separate hand specialist) to undergo reparative surgery or to put the in a cast for 6-8 weeks. The franchise, however, left the decision to Martin, who kept a third option -- play through it wearing a soft cast -- open temporarily.

Martin told reporters he'd sleep on it and make a decision Friday. Sanity has prevailed over machismo, and Martin told the Sacramento Bee's Sam Amick today that playing with a soft cast has been ruled out. Martin will either put a hard cast on the arm, or undergo surgery.

---

---

Picks and Roles provides all the vital information you need in making those tough lineup decisions for the week ahead.

The injuries have arrived. We're starting to see more and more ankle sprains and the 'DNPs' are beginning to add up. It's important as a fantasy owner to stay on top the the injury reports, especially in weekly leagues, as you don't want to set your lineup with a player who could miss an entire week of action.

Of course I had that happen to me last week with Pau Gasol. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers aren't in any rush to get Gasol back to the court. But don't they know that we need him back? I didn't use an early-second round draft pick on a guy, only to have him sit on the bench.

Anyway, let's see if we can get an idea of who is and isn't playing this week, checking in with our good friend Pau Gasol.

---

---

Get used to seeing Blake Griffin on the bench for the next six weeks. Those of us on the East Coast woke up this morning to the news of Griffin's stress fracture in his left kneecap, while those out West -- notably in Los Angeles -- probably didn't get much sleep at all.

It's frustrating, no matter where your NBA allegiance lies, when a talent like Griffin goes down before we even get to see him lace up for the Clippers in a meaningful game. It wasn't that long ago that we lost the 2007 No.1 draft pick, Greg Oden, before the start of the '07-'08 season. Let's hope it doesn't take Griffin as long as it took Oden to return to action.

From a fantasy perspective it's hard to speculate who could "replace" Blake Griffin on your lineup since we actually don't even know who he is as a fantasy baller. But, I'll do my best to identify a few guys who are widely available in FleaFlicker and Yahoo! leagues.

It's becoming more and more frustrating as the list of "questionable" players for opening night continues to grow. The case has been made that maybe the preseason is too long -- about four games too long.

Who would have thought that of the past three No. 1 overall draft picks only Greg Oden will start the 2009-10 season with a clean bill of health. Blake Griffin is reportedly sidelined for up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his left knee, while Derrick Rose is questionable after injuring his ankle early on in the preseason. Rose is likely to play on opening night, but his action could be limited as he nurses his ankle back to health. In other news, future No. 1 pick John Wall is not serving much better. Advantage, Oden.

With less than 24 hours to go before your lineups are required to be set in stone for the week, it's only right that we discuss a few of the "questionable" lineup decisions you might need to make based on injuries and matchups.

---

---

They say that all bad things come in threes. Don't tell that to Kevin and Denise Jonas. In Minnesota, though, they feel like they've suffered enough. Between the Ricky Rubio debacle, Kevin Love's fractured left hand, and now Al Jefferson's sore Achilles' tendon -- that has limited him this preseason -- haven't they suffered enough?