I was born and raised in Southern California but went to school on the east coast and worked in NYC for four years. Yet, I will never, ever get used to the sports schedule out here — I’m currently in Brooklyn with my in-laws. First football game at 1 p.m. on Sunday? Did I just sleep in all morning? Basketball games starting at 10 p.m. and ending past midnight?! Lord have mercy! Ball is life, though, so I trudge through. Easy for me to say since I don’t have to wake up at 7 a.m. to go to work. I salute all you east coasters. And I hope everyone has a happy New Year!
Here are my thoughts from the past week:
Injury roundup
We had some big ones recently. The injury gods need to provide us with a sacrifice list, like reverse Santa Claus.
Ivica Zubac suffered a Grade 2 left ankle sprain and will miss several weeks. Brook Lopez has filled in admirably, averaging 32 minutes over three games and providing plenty of points, treys and blocks. The Clippers have won three straight with Lopez starting, and they weren’t cheapies either — Houston, Portland and Detroit. The sample size is small, but the Clippers are first in offensive rating and ninth in defensive rating over that span. The ability of Lopez to space the floor has been a boon for both James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, who just dropped 55 points on Sunday. If Lopez is somehow available, you scoop him up for sure. There have been tons of trade rumors regarding Zubac, so it’s within the range of outcomes that Lopez is a thing for the remainder of the season, but I wouldn’t put too high of a probability on it. Just something to make us go hmmmm …
Cameron Johnson hyperextended his right knee and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Playing alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, much was expected from Johnson from a fantasy perspective, but he has disappointed. Johnson is still converting 42% of his attempts from downtown, but the overall shooting volume is way down. Last season, he attempted 13.1 shots per game and is down to 8.8 this season, the lowest mark since 2020-21. We always have to give players a grace period when they move to a new city and join a new team, and Johnson looked to have been starting to get comfortable at the end of November, but alas, here we are. Tim Hardaway received the start in the past two games without Johnson, with Bruce Brown coming off the bench. Hardaway averaged 37 minutes, 15 shots and 19.5 points. Brown averaged 27.5 minutes and provided some rebounds, assists and steals. If only we could combine the two! If you want points, Hardaway is your guy, but he’s not going to contribute much else.
Whichever way you go, it will only be a short-term bandage because both Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon could be returning within a week. Yippee! It may take a minute for both to get ramped up, but if you have the roster spot, I’d scoop up both right now.
Anthony Davis suffered a groin injury and is out for a few games, which could mean the rest of the season. I kid, I kid… but not really.
Yes.
— IsAnthonyDavisHurt (@The_UnibrOUCH) January 9, 2016
It’s a shame the above Twitter account deleted all the posts because I enjoyed seeing how far I could scroll down seeing the same answer. With Davis out on Saturday, Daniel Gafford received the start and played 23 minutes, while Dwight Powell played 19 minutes off the bench. Moussa Cisse soaked up the remaining six minutes. Gafford is a per-minute beast, averaging 1.13 fantasy points per minute, but he likely won’t play more than 24 minutes a game. If you need rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage, Gafford will provide a short-term boost. And that fling could turn into a long-term commitment if Davis is out for an extended period of time or gets traded with no center coming back to Dallas.
Austin Reaves suffered a calf injury and is out for at least a month. He was having a fantastic start to the season, garnering a usage rate of 28 while posting top-25 fantasy numbers on a per-game basis. The 50 percent shooting on over 16 field goal attempts is chef’s kiss. In the first game without Reaves, Marcus Smart got the start and played 21 minutes. Interestingly, Nick Smith received 24 minutes off the bench and poured in 21 points. Smith is known as an inefficient bucket getter and converted 39 percent of his shots during his first two seasons in the league, but through 13 games with the Lakers, he’s at 45 percent from the field and 42 percent from downtown. He garnered a 24.8 usage rate on Sunday. Unfortunately, he doesn’t provide much else, but if you need points, he’s not a bad option. Just know the ride will be a bumpy one.
Speaking of turbulence, if you like to live dangerously, Smart could be an option. While there are so many empty games littered on his ledger, he’s scored double-digit points nine times, dished out at least five dimes seven times and has a seven-steal game this season. By the way, in the month of December, teams have played 10-12 games. The Brooklyn Nets have the best defensive rating, while the Los Angeles Lakers are 29th.
Kon Knueppel suffered an ankle injury and will be out for a few games. Thank goodness it’s not anything serious because it’s been a joy watching Knueppel play and provide the goodies for my fantasy teams. Charles Lee said Josh Green and Tre Mann will likely see more minutes with Tidjane Salaun in the mix as well.
🎙️ Charles Lee: “…with Kon (Knueppel) being out, Josh Green and Tre Mann might see some extended minutes.”
“We’ll see what we do to get creative and piece together some things, but I’ve also been really impressed with Tidjane (Salaun)’s growth and development.” pic.twitter.com/SjNZ6fQxU0
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) December 28, 2025
I’ve written about Salaun in the past and the positive momentum continues. Salaun has played 22 minutes in each of the past three games and contributes points, rebounds and treys. He’s a streamer for me right now, but I’ve been keeping my eye on him for a while. I have no interest in Josh Green for fantasy but I’ve always been a sucker for Tre Mann. I don’t think he gets the necessary minutes to be fantasy relevant, but if he gets at least 24 minutes, then I’d be interested because he has the skills to stuff the stat sheet.
Random thoughts
Tre Johnson got the start on Sunday for Kyshawn George. He started four games in early November, but has primarily been coming off the bench for Washington, filling the microwave scorer role. At some point, I think Johnson enters the starting lineup for good. Watching him play, he just looks so comfortable out there and the stroke is pure. He’s also shown some playmaking chops. CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton are unrestricted free agents after this season, so it’s highly likely they get shipped off in the next month or so. I’m thinking of a Wizards starting lineup consisting of Bub Carrington, Johnson, George, Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr to end the season. I wouldn’t add Johnson or Carrington yet, but the time could be coming soon.
Both Lauri Markkanen and Michael Porter have been great to start this season, delivering top-25 per game fantasy value, but I’d look to sell both if possible. Granted, it may be difficult because many will be thinking the same thing, but always shoot your shot. The risk of shutdown is high for both, as Utah has a top-eight protected pick that could go to the Thunder, while the Nets reacquired their 2026 first rounder. There is no way either team forgoes the chance to select high in a draft class considered to be one of the best in a while. Let’s say Markkanen and Porter get traded. Well, the most likely destinations would be on contending teams which means the usage rate would take a dip.
Sam Merrill missed 14 games due to a right hand injury. He’s back and has started three of Cleveland’s past four games. While Merrill is only playing around 26 minutes a night, he’s providing points, treys and assists. He’s shooting 43 percent from downtown on the season and the 2.7 assists are a career high. He’s around a top-100 player on a per-game basis and I’d scoop him up if you’re interested in those things.
Fantasy playoffs are still a ways off, but they are on the horizon. It’s not too early to start checking the schedules in your leagues and mapping out contingencies. I wouldn’t make moves now, but would have situations assessed so I won’t be caught off guard if certain opportunities present themselves.