Kevin Durant Injury Update: Who Rises for the Rockets in Fantasy Basketball?
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The Houston Rockets won Game 5, closing the Lakers series' lead to 3-2. The matchup is far from over, and while the Rockets charge for a comeback, they also hope to get back Kevin Durant. The star and future Hall of Famer has only played one game in the series. Yet, the Rockets need him to win through 7 games. His return, or lack thereof, will affect the world of fantasy basketball and DFS.
Fantasy Basketball Impact
When Durant has been out, the biggest beneficiary has been Jabari Smith Jr. In the 4 series games without Durant, Smith Jr. has scored +3.7 points and +1.4 rebounds per game above average, or a relative above-average usage increase of> 20% over average.
The secondary beneficiaries have been Tari Eason and Amen Thompson. Eason is up +4.3 points per game, while Thompson is up +2.0 points per game. Alperen Sengun, who may be considered rising, has remained quite stagnant in his output, with his statistics only up about 5% from the average.
When playing fantasy basketball, the best Rockets replacement is undoubtedly Smith Jr. Given Thompson's upside as the offense's top player outside Sengun, he is the next-best start rather than Eason.
If playing daily fantasy basketball on Friday, the best picks to play over Durant shall include the following sleepers and/or new upside plays:
- Austin Reaves
- RJ Barrett
- Desmond Bane
Kevin Durant Injury Update
The current injury report has Durant less than likely to play in Game 6, which will take place in Houston on Friday night. Durant deals with a left ankle sprain/bone bruise. The usual recovery timeframe for such an injury will be about 2-3 weeks. The injury, not to be confused with his right knee injury, newly arose in Game 2 last week.
If the Rockets force a Game 7, Durant will surely attempt to play, even if far below 100%. The Rockets see a 4-7% drop off in power rating when Durant is out.
Should Houston manage to win the final two games and advance to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant will hope to play in Game 1. Worst case, he missed the first 3 games, but more likely Game 1 and maybe 2. The current projected Rockets starting lineup is:
- PG, Reed Sheppard
- SG, Amen Thompson
- SF, Tari Eason
- PF, Jabari Smith Jr.
- C, Alperen Sengun
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.