NBA Injury Analysis: First Quarter Report

The first quarter of the NBA season is in the books, and fantasy standings are starting to take shape. Injuries have played their role, with multiple teams turning to rookies or role players to pick up the slack. Injury creates opportunity, and fantasy owners should remain opportunistic on the waiver wire. The Sixers, Heat, Jazz, Mavericks and Grizzlies lead the league in man games lost to injury. Conversely, the Kings, Suns, Rockets, Knicks and Warriors have done the best job of keeping their players on the court and in fantasy lineups. These trends remain fluid, as multiple players are nearing their season debuts in the coming weeks, and three players saw their seasons end over the past seven days.

Chris Andersen: Andersen suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season. Andersen is the first player to suffer the severe injury this season and is the oldest player to tear the ligament since 2005-06. Consequently, this could be the end of a 15-year career for the 38 year-old whose contract expires at the conclusion of the year.

Carmelo Anthony: The nine-time All-Star missed one game with left shoulder soreness but was back in action on Saturday. He showed no signs that the shoulder was limiting his shooting motion as he scored 29 points on 10 of 14 attempts. He does have a history of shoulder problems, including glenoid labral tears on both sides, but this isn't an injury worth stressing out over just yet.

J.J. Barea: The injury-depleted Mavericks could welcome Barea back during the upcoming week. The veteran point guard hasn't played in more than a month since suffering a Grade 2 calf strain. Barea was putting up career high numbers in points, rebounds, steals and made three-pointers before he got hurt, but that was largely in part to Deron Williams' missing time with an injury of his own. Barea won't get the same amount of playing time with Williams back in action but he's worth a speculative pickup for fantasy owners looking for guard help.

Mike Conley: Conley was initially expected to miss between six to eight weeks with a broken vertebrae in his back but returned to the lineup 18 days later. The early return shouldn't be a huge surprise as I had previously noted other NBA players to suffer transverse process fractures only missed an average of 6.5 games (generally two to three weeks). The Grizzlies may opt to give their point guard the occasional day of rest moving forward but there shouldn't be any lingering long-term effects. Plug him back in with confidence.

Jerryd Bayless: Because of a severe left wrist sprain, the Sixers point guard won't play again this season. Bayless tore a ligament in the area during the preseason and missed Philadelphia's first 13 games. He returned for three games and had just started to garner some fantasy attention when soreness in the wrist returned. Surgery ultimately was required, and the veteran will see his season prematurely end. Sergio Rodriguez gets a bump in value though T.J. McConnell has been playing good enough to steal minutes.

Festus Ezeli: The center likely will have to wait until next season to make his Portland debut as he's strongly considering season-ending surgery on his problematic left knee. Ezeli missed 31 games last season after opting for a debridement surgery on the knee, and underwent bone marrow aspirate and Orthovisc injections during the offseason. However, the pain has lingered and likely will require additional treatment. Those hoping for a mid to late season comeback for Ezeli can now move on.

Blake Griffin: It looks as though Griffin will need surgery on his ailing right knee. The Clippers forward is leaning toward a debridement procedure to "clean up" the troublesome joint. Griffin has had knee troubles since entering the league, but most of those problems, including a fractured kneecap in 2010 and meniscus tear in 2012, have involved the opposite knee. However, he did need to have his medial meniscus scoped as a freshman at Oklahoma. The exact reason for the debridement remains unknown, but it looks like he'll miss roughly a month recovering. Unfortunately, this is a concerning trend for Griffin and will elevate his inherent risk moving forward.

Zaza Pachulia: The Warriors welcomed Pachulia back into the fold on Saturday after he missed four games with a bone bruise in his wrist. Bone bruises in the wrist can be tricky to manage, especially if the injury occurred to an area with a limited blood supply. He had the area heavily taped over the weekend but fortunately showed no signs of limitation. Still the 32-year-old center isn't much more than solid source of rebounds and his return should end JaVale McGee's temporary boost in productivity.

Cameron Payne: Oklahoma City is optimistic Payne will return to action by the end of the month, with a mentioned target date of December 29. Payne hasn't played since breaking his fifth metatarsal for the second time since late last year. He underwent surgery for the first incident during the summer but went the nonsurgical route after rebreaking the bone during the preseason. The Thunder are becoming all too familiar with the recovery process for fifth metatarsal fractures, as this is the same type of injury that sidelined Kevin Durant for most of the 2014-15 season.

Payne was slated to be one of the first guards off the Thunder bench but that responsibility has fallen on the shoulder of Semaj Christon. Payne will return with an elevated level of risk and while he won't be an instant impact player, he could be a good streaming candidate if Russell Westbrook is rested or if Victor Oladipo's wrist problems linger.

Derrick Rose: The Knicks point guard has missed three of New York's last five games with back spasms. Back spasms aren't actually an injury but a symptom caused by an underlying problem. Generally the injury is muscular in nature, but more significant issues like sprains or disc problems can also initiate the painful pain-spasm cycle. Even if the spasms are appropriately treated, they can return if the root of the problem remains unaddressed. Fantasy owners may want to consider alternatives until Rose proves he's capable of sustained health. Brandon Jennings has replaced Rose in the starting lineup, but other than points per game, the majority of his stats remain unchanged.