Bradley Beal, Brandon Ingram, KAT headline NBA injury report for Tuesday, Dec. 28

The NBA could be getting a flood of players back into their respective lineups this week. The Association made it only 6 days of isolation after a positive COVID-19 test, down from 10 days. As a result, we should see more players returning to lineups while players go through the health and safety protocols cycle.

We’ll see tracking the injury report for Tuesday, December 28th and providing a bit of fantasy basketball analysis. Updates will be provided throughout the day.

Update, 11:50 a.m. — It appears the Wizards and Thunder are the two teams dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak at the moment. So those two are where we’ll look for value primarily. There are still plenty of injuries as well.

NBA injury report, December 28th

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Orlando Magic

Cole Anthony (ankle) OUT
Mo Bamba (protocols) OUT
Terrence Ross (protocols) OUT
Chuma Okeke (protocols) OUT

Washington Wizards vs. Miami Heat

Bradley Beal (protocols) OUT
Rui Hachimura (protocols) OUT
Thomas Bryant (protocols) OUT
Montrezl Harrell (protocols) OUT

Update - Beal has reportedly gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. Beal was one of the noted unvaccinated players in the beginning of the season.

Update - Beal has been ruled out of Tuesday’s contest after initially being listed as questionable. With the NBA cutting down isolation times, we could see Beal come back to the court soon.

Update — Hachimura was set to make his season debut tonight but has been placed into H&S protocols along with Harrell. With that news, Avdija, Kispert, Gafford and Kuzma will be strong options still. We’re still waiting to see if Beal can return. Gafford and Kuzma are great GPP plays knowing the Wizards won’t have either of those bigs tonight.

We got our first bit of news this AM with Harrell landing in protocols, so it looks like he won’t play tonight vs. the Heat. A lot of the plays for the Wiz will hinge on the status of Beal and Hachimura. Deni Avdija ($4,400) and Corey Kispert ($3,700) are two of them. Daniel Gafford ($4,700) will be a popular value play with Harrell out. Kyle Kuzma ($6,700) is a decent GPP option. Davis Bertans ($3,400) would be the other name to consider if both Beal and Harrell are out.

PJ Tucker (leg) OUT
Kyle Lowry (protocols) OUT
Dewayne Dedmon (knee) OUT
Max Strus (protocols) OUT

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Toronto Raptors

Pascal Siakam (conditioning) AVAILABLE
Gary Trent Jr. (conditioning) AVAILABLE
Khem Birch (conditioning) OUT
Malachi Flynn (conditioning) AVAILABLE
Dalano Banton (knee) OUT

Update - Birch is out, but Siakam, Flynn and Trent will suit up for the Raptors in this game. The three active players are likely to have minutes limits. With Siakam, Flynn and Trent dealing with a restriction, we can still fire up Chris Boucher ($6,200) and Yuta Watanabe ($5,300) in tournaments. Birch is still out too, so Watanabe’s minutes should still be secure. It maybe tough to trust him playing down low against Joel Embiid. Svi Mykhailiuk ($4,900) might be the best GPP value among Raptors players.

The Banton injury is bigger than you’d think. Even if Flynn is on a minutes limit, he’s min-price at $3K. All we need is about 20 minutes to get there playing Flynn, so he’s a consideration.

Siakam, Toronto’s centerpiece, has been upgraded to probable for Tuesday’s game. Trent Jr. has also been upgraded to probable for this contest.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets

LeBron James (abdominal) Will Play

Jae’Sean Tate (protocols) OUT
Kenyon Martin Jr. (protocols) OUT

Update - Porter Jr. and Green have been taken off the injury report, so expect both to suit up Tuesday against the Lakers. Both players will have minutes restrictions.

David Nwaba? David Nwaba is back! He’s priced at $3,400 tonight vs. the Lakers, though may not have a big role if Porter and Green return. Armoni Brooks ($4,400) also takes a hit with the starting backcourt healthy. Green ($4,700) is interesting. We’ll see how much he plays. If there’s a limit, this price tag is still pretty low. Porter ($7,700) is a bit high, though could be an option in tournaments at low ownership.

New York Knicks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Karl-Anthony Towns (protocols) OUT
D’Angelo Russell (protocols) OUT
Anthony Edwards (conditioning) OUT
Naz Reid (conditioning) Available
Taurean Prince (conditioning) OUT

Edwards and Reid were cleared of H&S protocols on Tuesday and could return to the lineup soon. Edwards should remain out while ramping up conditioning. Taurean Prince has also cleared protocols but will not play vs. the Knicks tonight.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New Orleans Pelicans

Brandon Ingram (Achilles) OUT
Josh Hart (ankle) OUT
Jonas Valanciunas (illness) Will Play

Evan Mobley (protocols) Will Play
Darius Garland (protocols) OUT
Isaac Okoro (conditioning) Available

Update — Ingram and Hart are out. Valanciunas is going to be a game-time call, so keep an eye out for that news.

Update — Garland has been placed in protocols so he isn’t going to play tonight vs. the Pelicans. Ricky Rubio ($6,400) is going to be pretty chalky as a result. Mobley is questionable, so there’s a chance he returns.

Mobley was cleared of the NBA’s H&S protocols on Tuesday and it would appear he has a shot to play tonight vs. the Pelicans. We’ll see if this means Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman are close to returning as well. It would be huge for the Cavs, who are still among the top teams in the East despite dealing with injuries and COVID-19 issues.

Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors

Jordan Poole (conditioning) OUT
Andrew Wiggins (conditioning) AVAILABLE

Update - Wiggins will play for the Warriors Tuesday against the Nuggets.

Both players have cleared protocols, but whether they play or not will come down to fitness. Poole has already been ruled out. The Warriors were able to upset the Suns without Poole and Wiggins, so it’s probably best to back Golden State as long as Stephen Curry is on the floor.

Monte Morris (knee) OUT
Aaron Gordon (hamstring) OUT

Update - Both players have been ruled for the Nuggets. Look for JaMychal Green ($3,300) and Nah’Shon Hyland ($3,400) to be potential value adds in DFS showdowns.

Morris has been downgraded to questionable and is the latest to join the long list of injury problems Denver has experienced.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Sacramento Kings

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (conditioning) OUT
Aleksej Pokusevski (protocols) OUT
Josh Giddey (protocols) OUT

With Giddey added to the COVID list, the Thunder will be down three bodies against the Kings. Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander ($9,500) is priced up and the rest of the team is in the $3-4K range. Aaron Wiggin ($3,400) will be a popular value after he dropped 24 points last game. Theo Maledon ($3,300) is another good option with Giddey out.