Fantasy NBA: How to Survive Injuries

Three of the eight teams that made the Conference Semifinals in last year’s playoffs have been hit by the injury bug in a nasty way to start this new NBA season, resulting in what has been, in some cases, a pretty disappointing first week of the fantasy season.

Oklahoma City and Indiana, for example, are shells of their formers selves thanks to the loss three players with All-NBA honors on their resumes: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Paul George. They aren’t the only frustrating injuries these teams have had, however; Oklahoma City has also been playing without Reggie Jackson, while Indiana has gone without C.J. Watson and George Hill, Washington has gone without Bradley Beal, Orlando has gone without Victor Oladipo and New York has gone without Jose Calderon.

For fantasy purposes, this is no good, since a lot of these were players that you drafted. So how do you survive while these studs get healthy? Figure out who’s going to get the minutes in their absence and try to ride them if you can.

Here are a few of the better replacement guys through the first week of the season:

Donald Sloan, PG/SG, Indiana Pacers – With Both Watson and Hill missing the first week of the season, Sloan sort of had no choice but to be effective statistically, putting up 14 points, six rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.3 three-pointers and one steal per game through his first three appearances of the year. Those are pretty well-rounded numbers that should continue for as long as both guys ahead of him continue to be out. Hill isn’t expected back for a couple more weeks, and Watson should be out for at least another week of action. That means you can dial up Sloan for at least another decent week of head-to-head.

Chris Copeland, Sf/PF, Indiana Pacers – Of course, point guard isn’t the only place where the Pacers are hurting; with Paul George out, Lance Stephenson on the east coast and Rodney Stuckey battling some minor ailments, the swing positions are places of weakness for the Pacers this year, as well. Copeland, so far, has been the guy to step up in that role, as he’s currently leading the team with 16 PPG in just over 30 minutes per game. He’s coming off the bench at small forward behind Solomon Hill, but he’s third on the team in minutes and should continue to see a decent role while Hill, Watson and Stuckey are ailing. On Saturday he knocked down a career-high six three-pointers and has been rebounding fairly well, too. Not a bad streamer, particularly as the Pacers play four games next week.

Perry Jones, SF/PF, OKC Thunder – We all wondered who would pick up the slack at small forward with Kevin Durant out, and it looks like former Baylor standout Perry Jones III is going to be the guy. Through his first few games, Jones is averaging an impressive 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and two three-pointers per game. His percentages have been average, and he’s at 2.7 turnovers per contest, but he’s just now getting first real heavy NBA playing time. As he settles in, he should be more efficient, giving him a great chance to be effective until Durant is healthy. Currently available in 51 percent of Yahoo! leagues, he’s a great guy to scoop for the next month or two.

Andre Roberson, SF/PF, OKC Thunder – While Roberson isn’t really scoring the ball all that much, he is doing some really nice things in several other categories, averaging seven rebounds, one steal and one block per game, all while shooting .615 from the field and .875 from the free throw line. The numbers are pretty well-rounded, and if he’s going to continue playing over 35 minutes a game over the course of the next few weeks, he’s at least worthy of consideration, especially since Oklahoma City plays four games this week, including on Monday and Sunday—two of the lighter slates in the next seven days.

Shane Larkin, PG, New York Knicks – Only six percent owned in Yahoo! leagues, Larkin is actually off to a really solid start playing Jose Calderon’s minutes. Calderon, who was at one point questionable to play the Knicks season opener, now is expected to miss another 2-3 weeks with a bum calf. That means Larkin, who through the first three games of the season is averaging eight points, 4.3 assists, two rebounds, 2.7 steals and only 1.3 turnovers per game, is pretty likely to average 25-30 minutes a game until Calderon gets back. He’s off to a strong start, and while the steals aren’t sustainable, he should put up some reasonable all-around guard numbers while he remains the starter.

Garrett Temple, PG/SG, Washington Wizards – It’s hard to know exactly how Washington will deal with the shooting guard position moving forward, but Garrett Temple has been John Wall’s main man early this season in Bradley Beal’s absence. Averaging 12 PPG, three RPG, 1.7 SPG and two three-pointers per game, Temple has chipped in helpful stats in several categories. He also doesn’t hurt you in turnovers (1.7 per game) or field goal percentage (.480), and his .857 free-throw percentage thus far has looked good, too. If Otto Porter gets more minutes at shooting guard, that could eat into Temple’s effectiveness. However, with Beal out for several weeks, there should be plenty of minutes to go around for both players and if Temple keeps up these numbers, he’s definitely worth owning until Beal gets back.

Losing your first week in fantasy hoops isn’t the end of the world, nor is a major injury. There’s plenty of season left and all sorts of untapped potential on the waiver wire. Find your replacement guys, weather the storm, and stay the course this very young fantasy season. There’s a lot of ball left to be played.