Dr. A Recaps the Weekend: Fantasy Basketball News, Notes and Takeaways

Down Goes Durant

Kevin Durant was fallen into by Jimmy Butler on Sunday night and injured his right knee. The video of it isn't all that promising and I'm worried he might have really hurt himself.

As someone who has been telling people that Durant is the smartest bet in the MVP race, it's pretty upsetting. Durant will have an MRI on Monday and fantasy managers just have to hope it's just a mild sprain and he's not going to miss an extended period of time. Ironically, he missed 21 games last season after spraining the MCL in his left knee in January so let's just hope this isn't deja vu all over again. 

The Nets pulled out a close win against the Heat on Sunday night and have won 18 of their last 20 games, which is a franchise record and makes them the hottest team in the league. So a lengthy KD injury would also be a buzzkill to the Nets, the city of Brooklyn and all his fantasy managers who have been rolling. Fingers crossed that he's OK. 

Kyrie Irving went off for 24 of his 29 points in the first half in the one-point win and is set to go off if KD is going to be out. Royce O'Neale, who had eight points, six rebounds, six dimes, a steal, two blocks and a three-pointer is going to see an increased role and should be grabbed in fantasy if he's available in your league. Nic Claxton, the league's leading shot blocker, is going to get more touches and opportunities and maybe, just maybe, the absence of KD could encourage Ben Simmons to shoot the ball every now and then.

Simmons hasn't scored more than seven points in his last five games and has hit double digits just 10 times this season, but at least he's kind of crushing it in rebounds, assists and steals. He's made just 19 free throws on the year and is shooting 41 percent from the line.

T.J. Warren and Seth Curry will also get a boost if KD is out and Warren is another guy who should be grabbed if available.

Big Names Sit Out Games Over the Weekend

In the same game, Tyler Herro took a weird fall after slipping and immediately grabbed his right knee on the last play of the game. He went off for 24 points with five triples but he might also be undergoing testing on Monday. 

• Paul George sat out Friday and Sunday's games with a hamstring injury and is questionable for Tuesday's tilt with Dallas.
• LeBron James is probable for Monday with left ankle soreness so he should be good to go.
• Luka Doncic (ankle) sat out on Sunday against the Thunder but it sounds like it was just a rest day as opposed to an actual injury.
• Ja Morant sat out on Sunday with a sore right thigh and missed his first game since Dec. 12.
  • Desmond Bane scored 24 with six boards and nine assists, and Tyus Jones added 21 points, six assists and four steals in the win over Utah. Morant should be ready to go on Monday and the Grizzlies will be looking for their seventh straight win when they host the tanking Spurs tonight. 
• Joel Embiid has missed three straight games with his sore left foot and remains day-to-day.
• Chris Paul (hip) is day-to-day after leaving Friday's game and the Suns need him to play with Cameron Payne (foot) out for a couple more weeks. 
• Anthony Davis has missed 11 games with his foot injury but is set to start doing individual on-court workouts this week.
  • Thomas Bryant will take a hit when Davis is ready to go but should still be worth holding. He just won't be an automatic DFS play like he has been for the last three weeks.
• Kawhi Leonard sat out on Friday for knee injury management but scored 29 points in Sunday's loss to the Hawks. He should be ready to roll this week but the Clippers are reeling, losing their sixth straight game on Sunday. Their next back-to-back is coming on Jan. 17 and 18, so don't be surprised if he sits out one of those games next week. 

Donovan Mitchell Returns to Utah on Tuesday

The Cavaliers and Donovan Mitchell are in Utah on Tuesday night for Mitchell's homecoming against his former team. Mitchell had 23 points, and not much else, on an 8-of-12 shooting night when the Jazz visited Cleveland on Dec. 19, but things will be different in Utah. I think Mitchell is going to go off against his former team and try to put on a show for the fans. The key will be whether he's pressing too much. But if there was ever a revenge game to jump on, this is it. 

More Notes from the Weekend

Trae Young scored 30 points with eight assists and three three-pointers for the Hawks and De'Andre Hunter added 20 points in Sunday's win over the Clippers. The Hawks have lost five of their last seven games and have a tough one against the Bucks on Wednesday. They'll be looking for their third straight win against Milwaukee and if they pull it off they'll finish the regular season with a 3-1 record against the Bucks this season, which could be interesting information if the two teams meet in the postseason. But the No. 10 seed Hawks are going to need to start winning more games if that's going to happen. 

Killian Hayes scored a season-high 26 points with four rebounds, six assists, three steals and four 3-pointers in Sunday's loss to the Sixers. Cade Cunningham is out for the season so Hayes should be rostered everywhere, especially given his strong outings in his last two games. 

Damian Lillard had 34 points and eight dimes on Sunday in a loss to the Raptors. Scottie Barnes had 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals, two blocks and a three-pointer on Sunday after a poor showing (2-of-10 shooting, 7 points) on Friday. He's played very well in three of his four January games and could be heating up at the right time. But the Raptors are struggling, winning just two of their last seven games. 

The Pacers got a nice win against Charlotte on Sunday as Myles Turner went off for 29 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and a 3-pointer. Tyrese Haliburton had 16 points and 13 assists in that one and the Pacers are a respectable 23-18, sitting in the No. 6 seed in the East currently. The big men had a field day in this one as P.J. Washington had 22 points and five boards, and Mason Plumlee went for 18 points and 13 boards in the loss. Plumlee is playing well for a bad team, recording double-digit rebounds in five straight games with double-doubles in four of those. Who knew he still had it in him?

Kelly Olynyk had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists on Sunday before leaving with a sprained ankle. He's iffy for Tuesday's game against the Cavaliers. Lauri Markkanen led the way with 21 points and Jordan Clarkson had 17 before being ejected for a flagrant foul against Desmond Bane. If Olynyk is going to miss time, look for Jarred Vanderbilt to step up, along with Walker Kessler. Vanderbilt had 12 points and eight boards last night, while Kessler chipped in with 10 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high six blocks. Both of those players should be rostered everywhere until further notice. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went off for 33 points, five rebounds and five assists in a win over the Luka-less Mavericks, while Christian Wood went for 27 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. Wood is cooking with or without Luka these days and has scored 20 or more points in five of his last seven games. Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 points and eight helpers, and is a must-start player any time Luka is sitting. 

The Race for Wemby

The Houston Rockets are winning the tank race for Victor Wembanyama with their 10-30 record, sitting one win behind the Hornets and Pistons, who each have 11 wins. The Spurs have just 13 wins and the Magic are sitting on 15 wins. Surprisingly, the Thunder have 18 wins, which is a pretty high number for a team that has basically written the rule book on tanking over the last three years.

They're going to have their work cut out for them if they're going to get back into the race for lottery balls and may have to consider shutting SGA and Josh Giddey down sooner than later. But the young Rockets appear to be intent on losing as much as possible in order to have the best shot at getting Wembanyama. Godspeed, Rockets. 

On a personal side note, I now have a YouTube channel. There's not much there yet and I promise not to make it a Luka channel. Of course, one of the few things there right now is a Luka rant but I'm going to mix it up. We should be posting an introduction video and some other content this week. Check it out here and subscribe if you wish to! And, of course, you can follow me on Twitter right here.