Fantasy Basketball Week 8 Key Injuries

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This week will also be strange for fantasy managers who may have assumed the awkward schedules were done with Week 7 (Yahoo leagues; Week 8 in ESPN and Fantrax). After Monday’s six-game slate, 28 teams will be off until Thursday at the earliest, with Milwaukee and Oklahoma City being the exceptions due to Tuesday’s Emirates NBA Cup final. That will make for some interesting choices for managers playing in leagues that require lineups for the week to be set on Monday due to some key injuries. Let’s look at a few of them, beginning with the unfortunate poster child of injuries this season.

C Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

In his second game back from a knee injury that sidelined him for seven, Embiid suffered a sinus fracture when he was inadvertently hit in the face by Bennedict Mathurin during Friday’s loss to the Pacers. At a minimum, he will miss Monday’s game against the Charlotte, the first of three games Philadelphia plays during Week 8. That puts C Andre Drummond (14%) back on the streaming radar, but PF/C Guerschon Yabusele (10%) has been more productive. Neither should be considered a must-add, as they’re both ranked outside the top 200 in season-long value.

PF/C Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics

Porzingis, who was dealing with a sore heel, either aggravated that injury or took a hit to his ankle during Sunday’s win over Washington. The 7-foot-3 Porzingis did not return for the second half, saying after the game that he merely sat as a precautionary measure and believes he should be available for Thursday’s game against the Bulls. PF/C Al Horford (33%) did not play on Sunday but should be back for Chicago, as he sat for rest reasons. He’s been the replacement in the starting lineup whenever one of Boston’s usual five starters doesn’t play. Also, PG Payton Pritchard (56%) should be rostered in more standard leagues, while SF/PF Sam Hauser (5%) may have added value in deep leagues if Porzingis cannot play on Thursday.

Porzingis said he banged his ankle in the first quarter and felt something linger but sat out for precautionary reasons and thinks he’ll play in the next game.

— Adam Himmelsbach…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy-basketball-week-8-key-150000206.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-16 15:00:00

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