Our Injury Report NBA article is here to bring you all of the daily updates needed to maximize your bets for the day.
Make sure to check back regularly to this NBA injury report article as each pick could help inform your betting. We’ll update this article with three of our top injuries that will have a significant impact on certain matchups.
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Injury Report NBA – Key News For Friday, Jan. 17
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Friday nights usually mean oversized NBA slates, and this week is no different. Nine games are on tap, and the injury report is once again littered with some very big names whose potential absences could have significant ripple effects on their teams.
This article typically examines the top three confirmed or potential prominent absences on the night’s NBA slate and how the player’s team may be impacted, including how others could benefit from that star potentially being off the floor.
At the conclusion of today’s article, we’ll also examine three additional noteworthy injuries.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks, QUESTIONABLE (thumb):
Towns is once again questionable for Friday’s game against his old Timberwolves squad due to the thumb sprain he suffered in Monday’s game against the Pistons. The big man still played 43 minutes in that contest and finished with a 26-point, 12-rebound double-double, but he then sat out Wednesday’s win over the 76ers. The absence was Towns’ fourth of the season, and New York is now 2-2 without him this season.
The biggest beneficiary when Towns is off the floor for any reason is far and away Jalen Brunson, who carries a 34.2% usage rate and per-36 averages of 31.5 points, 7.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in that scenario. Cameron Payne is actually second among regular members of the rotation with a 25.1% usage rate and a jump from 12.6 to 17.7 shot attempts per 36 when not on the floor with Towns, but the caveat there is that his minutes are capped when Brunson is healthy.
If Towns does sit, Jericho Sims (back), who has started in Towns’ stead during his four absences, is likely to draw into the first unit yet again. Sims posted eight points and seven rebounds across 23 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the 76ers, while Precious Achiuwa once again outpaced him with 30 minutes off the bench. Achiuwa was productive in his own right, supplying 10 points, six rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one steal on a 14.0% usage rate.
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets, QUESTIONABLE (elbow):
Jokic is questionable for Friday’s game against the Heat with the elbow injury that caused his sixth absence of the season Wednesday versus the Rockets. Denver took a 128-108 loss in that game, pushing its record without Jokic this season to 2-3.
DeAndre Jordan started in Jokic’s stead Wednesday and went scoreless while posting eight rebounds, three blocks and one steal over 23 minutes while generating a minuscule 2.1% usage rate. Dario Saric helped pick up the slack at center the rest of the way with eight points, five assists and four rebounds over 19 minutes. If Jokic sits again Friday, head coach Mike Malone may opt to go with the same arrangement at the five against a Heat team that’s had trouble against centers at times this season despite Bam Adebayo’s presence down low.
Whenever Jokic is off the floor, it’s Russell Westbrook who’s actually the biggest beneficiary by usage rate. The future Hall of Famer sports a 31.5% usage rate in that scenario while averaging 19.9 points, 7.8 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per 36 minutes. Westbrook has already been holding down a starting role in the backcourt over the last 12 games alongside Jamal Murray, who checks in second on the Nuggets with a 27% usage rate and per-36 figures of 20.4 points, 6.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals when not sharing the floor with Jokic.
Ja Morant, Grizzlies, QUESTIONABLE (foot):
Morant is questionable for Friday’s game against the Spurs due to right foot soreness. The star guard has already missed 17 games this season, but Memphis has managed fairly well without him by going 10-7 over that span.
If Morant is sidelined for the first time since Jan. 6, Scotty Pippen is expected to draw a spot start at point guard. Pippen has often performed well with that opportunity this season, averaging 13.9 points (on 51.3% shooting, including 42.9% from three-point range), 5.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals across 26.4 minutes per contest in 16 starts. Pippen sports a 19.4% usage rate overall this season any time he’s not sharing the floor with Morant.
On a team-wide basis, it’s Jaren Jackson who leads the way with a 33% usage rate and averages of 31.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals per 36 minutes sans Morant. Jackson’s shot attempts also bump up from 16.0 when on the floor with Ja to 23.7 without (per 36 minutes), a highly significant increase.
Desmond Bane, who’s also had his fair share of missed time this season due injury, is second among Memphis’ first-unit members sans Ja, posting a 24.3% usage rate without his star backcourt mate. It’s also worth noting Bane enters Friday on an extended stretch of highly efficient shooting, sinking 54.3% of his shots over the last 13 games, including 43.9% of the 6.3 per contest he’s averaged from behind the arc in that span.
Other notable injuries:
Kyrie Irving, Mavericks, QUESTIONABLE (back):
Irving is questionable for Friday’s game against the Thunder with the back injury that’s led to absences for him in six of the last seven games. Kyrie has missed 10 games overall this season, with Dallas holding a 3-7 record without him. Spencer Dinwiddie is likely to remain in the starting five Friday if Irving sits again, while Jaden Hardy (team-high 26.4% usage rate with Luka and Kyrie off the floor) could be a prime beneficiary off the bench.
Lauri Markkanen, Jazz, OUT (back):
Markkanen has been ruled out for Friday’s game against the Pelicans, which will be his third straight absence and ninth overall this season. The Jazz are 4-4 without Markkanen this season, and in his ongoing absence, Micah Potter and Brice Sensabaugh may reprise their respective starting and bench roles they’ve filled the last two games.
That modest sample has seen Sensabaugh as the bigger beneficiary, with averages of 17.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds across 27 minutes per contest. Keyonte George, who went off for 26 points over 31 minutes against the Hornets on Wednesday, notably leads healthy Jazz regulars with a 27.6% usage rate when Markkanen isn’t on the floor.
Isaiah Hartenstein, Thunder, OUT (calf):
Hartenstein is out for Friday’s game against the Mavericks with the soleus strain he suffered in Tuesday’s win over the 76ers and which already cost him Thursday’s blowout victory over the Cavaliers. In his stead, Jaylin Williams, who drew the start against Cleveland and posted five points, five rebounds and one assist across 14 minutes, is likely to slide into the first unit once again.
NBA Injury Report Betting Guide
With a long 82-game season that’s played out on the unforgiving surface of the hardwood – not to mention the fact players are faster and more physical than ever – injuries are a nightly albatross for coaches, players, fans and bettors alike to contend with from their respective perspectives.
Pay Attention To Star Players
For those of us spectators that like to add a little monetary incentive to the games we consume, NBA injuries to frontline players are particularly impactful due to the compact number of players on a first unit and the inherent dependency the production of each typically has on their teammates.
Usage Rate Is Key
Perhaps the single most revelatory metric for gauging the impact of a player’s absence is usage rate, commonly defined as a measure of what percentage of a team’s plays a specific player is involved in by touching the ball in some form.
There is no shortage of tools available that pinpoint what players benefit the most from another’s absence in terms of a rise in usage rate, and those same tools also typically provide each player’s average in all major categories when another specified player is off the floor.
Line and Total Movement Impact
The bigger the name in terms of an injured player, the bigger the impact naturally is on betting strategy.
However, that in itself is a multi-layered scenario – there are many factors that go into determining how to go about wagering on a team missing a major star on any given night, including how much line and totals movement has occurred as a result of the news.