Since it’s almost impossible to get hurt in a 143-138 game, there are no new injuries to report this week. Plenty of players used the long weekend to heal up and we should see a lot of lineup tweaking once they return. Let’s take a look at who’s finally suiting up and who will be wearing their Sunday best on the sidelines in this week’s injury report.
O.J. Mayo (ankle): Mayo reportedly tweaked his ankle in Monday’s practice and while the injury doesn’t sound serious owners should check on his status before starting him for Wednesday’s game against the Magic.
Danny Granger (knee): Granger was supposed to return before the All-Star break but got sick. He should return for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks but it’s not set in stone. Even once he’s back, the Pacers will want to limit him before he is playing the type of minutes we are used to seeing from him.
Wesley Matthews (ankle/elbow): Aside from a lingering elbow injury that he has been playing through, Matthews suffered a high ankle sprain last week against New Orleans. He missed Monday’s practice and is officially listed as a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game against the Suns but I’d expect him to sit out at least one game. If he’s out, Will Barton and Victor Claver would see a bump in minutes but neither is worth a pick up.
Kirk Hinrich (elbow): After missing seven straight games with an elbow injury, Hinrich is expected to start in the Bulls’ backcourt Tuesday against the Hornets. Hinrich has deep league value at best when he plays and probably won’t be back to the minutes he saw earlier in the season with Nate Robinson coming on strong in his absence but his return does severely limit Robinson’s fantasy value.
Chris Kaman (head): Kaman has now missed eight straight games after suffering a concussion on January 27 and has only now begun non-contact practice drills. He hasn’t been cleared by the NBA to return and he remains sidelined indefinitely.
Andrew Bogut (ankle): The Warriors haven’t let Bogut play back-to-back games since he returned from his ankle injury but Bogut says he expects to have no restrictions on games or minutes now that he is healed up. I would continue to check his status before games just in case anyway.
Larry Sanders (back): After missing four games with a back injury, Sanders appears all healed up and went through a full practice on Monday. He will be a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game at Brooklyn but I expect him to go and knock Samuel Dalembert out of fantasy relevance once again.
Eric Gordon (hand): After missing two games with a hand injury, Gordon was a full participant in Monday’s practice and is expected to go against the Bulls on Tuesday.
Thaddeus Young (hamstring): When he first went down we were told he may not be back until March but it looks like Young is on track to return by next week and could be on the floor as early as Sunday. Look for LaVoy Allen to return to irrelevance once Young is back in the lineup.
Marcus Thornton (hand): Thanks to the All-Star break, Thornton only missed one game with his bruised hand and is expected to be back on the court Tuesday against the Spurs.
