This past week of the NBA season had huge developments as the Cleveland Cavaliers remain the NBA’s only undefeated team after last week’s play. There are some huge developments and devastating news across the entire league, including fantasy owners, including myself, in my redraft league. The NBA season is going to start ramping up as we have the NBA Cup play starting this week. Here are the major storylines from last week’s NBA season in terms of fantasy that you need to know heading into this important week of the NBA season.
Injuries to Huge Stars
Last week, we had five stars who suffered huge injuries that have put them out for multiple weeks. The players that were impacted by the injury bug of early November were 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, New Orleans forward Zion Williamson, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, and Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren. All of those players have averaged over 30 fantasy points per game this season when they have been on the court this season.
Holmgren’s injury is the most devasting one out of all of those injuries mentioned, Holmgren went up for a block on Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins in the first quarter and he ended up breaking his hip on the play. Holmgren will be reevaluated in 8-10 weeks. Maxey, Williamson, and each have hamstring injuries, Morant has a hip injury, and finally, Durant has a calf strain. These injuries to these stars will have owners scrambling to replace their value this week.
Darius Garland is back to All-Star Level
Garland is back to playing at all-star level, averaging 20.5 points per game, 6.6 assists per game, and 1.2 steals per game this season. Garland has been one of the most productive guards in fantasy so far this season, averaging 36.6 fantasy points. Garland is one of those players that needed a bounce-back season after last season, which was a disappointment. New Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson has got this Cavaliers team playing stellar basketball overall, and the impact of this dynamic point guard play of Garland has elevated this Cavaliers team to being undefeated through the first three weeks.
Garland’s play has also impacted Donovan Mitchell’s value a little bit, but I believe both guys are still valued in fantasy basketball this season going forward. This Cleveland team is going to continue to make some noise in the Eastern Conference the rest of the way, I think they have to be one of the early favorites to win the NBA Cup at the moment.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Finally has stepped up
Jaren Jackson Jr. had a productive week for the Grizzlies last week, thanks to the injuries to Desmond Bane and Ja Morant. Jackson Jr. averaged 38.5 fantasy points per game last week over four games. Jaren Jackson Jr. is going to be the most important player in the grand scheme of things until Bane and Morant get back onto the court, so his fantasy value, as a result, has gone up astronomically. Jackson Jr. will be one of the most important pieces at the center position in fantasy basketball, especially with the news of Holmgren’s injury.
Final Thoughts
Fantasy basketball is one of those tricky navigational situations because the injuries could matter a lot more, as we learned this week in the NBA. This NBA season has been a good start to this point with the parody involved thus far, and fantasy basketball has shown that parody a little bit as well. Look for the NBA Cup to change some things around this week as teams will get more competitive to try and win the Cup. Looking forward to this week in fantasy basketball? Tune into Total Apex Fantasy for DFS articles for some of the NBA and NFL games throughout the week.
