Fantasy Basketball Buzzer Beater for Nov 7th 2010

With two weeks of the 2010-11 NBA season in the books, injuries are starting to pile up.  Let’s go over some of the more notable tweaks and sprains that occurred this past Friday and Saturday:

Andre Iguodala will be sitting out Sunday’s game versus the Knicks after leaving Friday’s game with a strained Achilles’ tendon.  Still waiting for the MRI results. Any time missed, would give rookie Evan Turner more opportunity for touches and production.

Jameer Nelson sat out Saturday’s game with a sprained left ankle. Chris Duhon started in his place and dished out 9 assists.  Duhon has limited short term value in assists, but Nelson is not expected to miss an extended period of time.

Near the end of the double overtime loss to the Utah Jazz, Eric Gordon left the game with a strained left shoulder. According to Rotoworld, during a timeout, Gordon told teammates that he felt a ‘pop’ in his shoulder.  But at the moment it does not appear he will miss any games.

Both Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin left Saturday’s game with ankle injuries.  We will not know the severity until after the x-rays.  If either misses any time, the biggest benefactors will be Shane Battier and Courtney Lee.  After a quiet start, Battier had his best game of the season, picking up the offensive slack once the backcourt duo of Martin and Brooks left the game.  Battier is already a starter, but is there primarily for his defense.  He has shown over the years that he can contribute on the offensive end if needed, especially in the three-point category.

Vince Carter slipped on a wet spot during Saturday’s game in Charlotte and left the game. Right now, the Orlando Sentinel reports that VC has a sore hip and knee.  Doesn’t sound like much, but Carter isn’t exactly the toughest player around.  I would not be surprised if he misses a game or two.  J.J. Redick and Mickael Pietrus would be the benefactors of any Carter absence.

Josh Howard has been cleared for full contact drills and plans to return by the second week of December. His last few years have been filled with injuries and off-the-court issues, but we have to remember that before that he was an All-Star in 2007 and scored at least 18 points for 3 straight seasons.  With Al Thornton currently starting at Small Forward, Howard will have to earn his minutes.  At the same time, with Blatche, Wall, McGee, and Hinrich/Arenas, Washington’s SF spot may be the weakest. Depending on his progress over the next few weeks, Howard may be worth a pickup at the beginning of December.

Fantasy Basketball Buzzer Beater is a daily feature where Rizzla and J-Has scour the Internet for the top fantasy basketball related links and provide them all in one place to make your life easier.

Written by Win My Fantasy League Senior Writer Justin Hasan (J-Has)

Comment below or e-mail him at JHas@WinMyFantasyLeague.com