Wednesday features a big 10-game NBA slate and there are plenty of players already ruled out including Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard. There could be more on the way so be sure to watch the newswire and come back to the What If Matrix to see which players benefit.
This article will attempt to list all of the relevant injury situations to monitor for the day’s NBA slate and provide guidance on which players will benefit with either an increase in minutes or usage or both if that player is ruled out. I will also place a plus (+) by players that I think are worth DFS consideration if that player is ruled out. Players that have been out for at least five consecutive games I will not list as general playing time and usage patterns should be established.
This will NOT be an interactive article that is continually updated throughout the day as I hope to capture all of the potentially relevant injury situations that could impact DFS lineups for the night and pre-determine what players benefit. Ideally, you monitor late-breaking news leading up to tipoff, find out a player is ruled out and come check the matrix below to see who the players are you should consider for your DFS lineups based on that news.
NBA What If – Wednesday, January 23
| Team | Player | Status | If OUT |
| Bulls | Wendell Carter Jr. | Out | Robin Lopez (minutes) Bobby Portis (minutes/usage)+ Zach LaVine (usage)+ Jabari Parker (usage) |
| Cavaliers | Tristan Thompson | Out | Ante Zizic (minutes)+ Channing Frye (minutes/usage) |
| Celtics | Al Horford | Out | Aron Baynes (minutes)+ Robert Williams (minutes) Daniel Theis (minutes) Marcus Morris (usage)+ Marcus Smart (usage) |
| Celtics | Kyrie Irving | Out | Terry Rozier (minutes/usage)+ Jaylen Brown (minutes/usage)+ Marcus Smart (minutes/usage)+ Marcus Morris (usage)+ Gordon Hayward (usage) |
| Clippers | Danilo Gallinari | Out | Patrick Beverley (minutes)+ Mike Scott (minutes) Montrezl Harrell (minutes) Lou Williams (usage) |
| Grizzlies | Garrett Temple | Probable | Shelvin Mack (minutes/usage) Jevon Carter (minutes) JaMychal Green (usage) Marc Gasol (usage) |
| Hawks | Kevin Huerter | Doubtful | Taurean Prince (minutes) DeAndre Bembry (minutes) Dewayne Dedmon (usage)+ |
| Heat | None | ||
| Hornets | None | ||
| Jazz | None | ||
| Knicks | Luke Kornet | Out | Enes Kanter (minutes)+ Mitchell Robinson (minutes) Tim Hardaway Jr. (usage) |
| Knicks | Trey Burke | Questionable | Frank Ntilikina (minutes/usage) |
| Magic | Aaron Gordon | Questionable | Jonathan Simmons (minutes/usage)+ Mo Bamba (minutes) Terrance Ross (usage) Evan Fournier (usage)+ Nikola Vucevic (usage)+ |
| Nets | None | ||
| Nuggets | Juan Hernangomez | Questionable | Will Barton (minutes) Torrey Craig (minutes) |
| Pacers | None | ||
| Pelicans | Anthony Davis | Out | Jahlil Okafor (minutes)+ Julius Randle (minutes/usage)+ Nikola Mirotic (minutes/usage)+ Jrue Holiday (usage)+ |
| Pistons | Ish Smith | Doubtful | Jose Calderon (minutes) |
| Pistons | Andre Drummond | Questionable | Zaza Pachulia (minutes)+ Jon Leuer (minutes/usage) Blake Griffin (usage)+ Luke Kennard (usage) Stanley Johnson (usage) |
| Raptors | Kawhi Leonard | Out | Fred VanVleet (minutes)+ CJ Miles (minutes/usage)+ Norman Powell (minutes) Serge Ibaka (usage)+ Kyle Lowry (usage)+ Danny Green (usage) |
| Raptors | OG Anunoby | Out | CJ Miles (minutes) Norman Powell (minutes) |
| Rockets | Clint Capela | Out | Kenneth Faried (minutes)+ P.J. Tucker (minutes) James Harden (usage)+ Eric Gordon (usage) |
| Rockets | Eric Gordon | Questionable | Gerald Green (minutes/usage)+ Gary Clark (minutes/usage) James Harden (usage)+ |
| Sixers | Ben Simmons | Questionable | T.J. McConnell (minutes/usage)+ Landry Shamet (minutes/usage) Joel Embiid (usage)+ |
| Sixers | Jimmy Butler | Questionable | Corey Brewer (minutes)+ Ben Simmons (usage)+ Joel Embiid (usage)+ |
| Spurs | Davis Bertans | Out | Dante Cunningham (minutes) |
