Last Updated on January 9, 2026 2:08 pm by Keston Paul | Published: January 9, 2026

Week 13 offers both balance and a high volume of games at the same time. For some of you, every day will be a viable streaming day and that means you can win on volume.

This article should, as always, help you to plan out your path to victory.

Injuries to Watch

This is for January 10 to January 18.

Impending Evaluations

Josh Giddey (left hamstring) should get an update around the middle of next week and Zach Collins (toe) almost any day now.

Jalen Duren (right ankle) should be evaluated any day now and Tobias Harris (hip) should be sometime next week.

Zach Edey (left ankle stress reaction) should be evaluated with an update any day now. Given the injury, I do not expect an immediate return. I expect the Grizzlies to tell us he will return in 4-to-6 weeks or something like that, as they have often done this season. A stress reaction can hold players out for multiple months.
Ask Georges Niang (also has a stress reaction). He has been been evaluated every two weeks to have a timeline pushed back and is overdue for another evaluation right now.

Brandon Clarke (right calf) should be evaluated in mid-January.

Scotty Pippen Jr. (left toe surgery) should be due for an evaluation around the end of next week and I expect us to get a return-to-play timeline since that is the way the Grizzlies have operated. I do think we see Pippen by the All-Star break though, if not earlier.

Josh Hart (right ankle sprain) should be evaluated this weekend.

Jalen Green (right hamstring strain) should get an update by the end of next week, but it could be any day now.

Terrence Shannon Jr. (left foot) but that doesn’t feel too relevant.

Timelines Getting Close

Jrue Holiday (right calf strain) got upgraded to doubtful for Friday!
That means he likely won’t play but he is very close!

Franz Wagner (left ankle sprain) should literally show up in any game now and Moritz (Moe) Wagner (left ACL tear) is also expected to play soon. Last week, a Magic TV analyst said these two were expected back this week.
This week is almost over! On Friday, we were told Wagner is conditioning and doing cardio.

Ty Jerome (high-grade right calf strain) was given a timeline of 6-to-9 weeks for a return to play after he was evaluated on November 22, 2025. I decided to actually count the weeks on a calendar and January 10 will be exactly seven weeks since that report. Jerome might still be two weeks away if he is on the later end of that timeline, but he could appear very soon.

It isn’t “getting close,” but Alperen Sengun (right ankle sprain) should be at the end of his timeline by the end of next week.

Other Injury Notes

Jakob Poeltl (back) seems to be close but he doesn’t have a precise timeline.

Ryan Kalkbrenner (left elbow sprain), Jalen Smith (concussion), Isaiah Jackson (concussion), Isaiah Hartenstein (right calf) and Jaylin Williams (right heel) all have unknown timelines but seem like they could appear for any upcoming game.

Devin Vassell (adductor), Bennedict Mathurin (thumb sprain), Bogdan Bogdanovic (left hamstring) and Landry Shamet (right shoulder) all have unclear timelines but don’t feel close or at least aren’t players I would view as day-to-day.

Seth Curry (sciatica) is pretty much past his re-evaluation timeline, but hey, that doesn’t matter for fantasy.

Schedule Breakdown

Weekly Info

Games played:

ONE team with FIVE games: LAL

12 teams with FOUR games: DAL, BKN, DEN, SAC, CHI, UTA, HOU, POR, CHA, TOR, IND, NOR

13 teams with THREE games: CLE, LAC, WAS, GSW, BOS, ATL, PHI, NYK, PHO, OKC, MIN, SAS, MIA

FOUR teams with TWO games: ORL, DET, MIL, MEM

Start/Sit Decisions for Weekly Lineup Leagues:
If you play in a league where your team locks in for seven days after tipoff on Monday, this applies to you. If you only play in Daily Changes formats (can adjust lineups daily, as the name implies), this isn’t your battle.

The two-game teams have a major, major disadvantage. In weekly lineups, I would trust Giannis Antetokounmpo, maybe Kevin Porter Jr. and maybe Cade Cunningham if we know he is healthy after a right wrist contusion held him out on Wednesday. All of those names might still be questionable starts depending on the depth of your league and the quality of your roster.

Of the three-game teams, “red flags” would be Joel Embiid (one B2B) and Trae Young (one B2B, if he plays at all). They will almost assuredly have two-game weeks as a maximum, so it depends on your team’s depth on whether or not they are a weekly-lineup starter.

While the Nuggets have four games, since they have two B2Bs, I highly doubt we see Aaron Gordon for more than two games. I think the same might apply to Christian Braun (but it isn’t guaranteed since his injury was an ankle sprain, not a tissue strain which is prone to aggravation). I don’t think I’d start Gordon or Braun in weekly settings. I also just don’t trust Braun’s quality of play this season.

The five-game week for the Lakers is both exciting and brutal. I would expect LeBron James to play three games max, but that just gives him an average week, so he is a must-start. Luka Doncic may also get at least one game off and I imagine Deandre Ayton might get one day off just to ensure everyone stays healthy through a crowded schedule. Your Lakers will generally just be startable regardless. Rui Hachimura should get games off after a recent calf strain too, so Jake LaRavia makes tons of sense as a stream for a weekly lineup league if possible.

Daily Info

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• About the Author
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Keston Paul

Keston majored in Biology and minored in Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies (U.W.I.), St. Augustine. Hailing from Trinidad & Tobago, Kes grew up loving cricket, then football (soccer, not NFL) & never missed a Barça game in the 2010s. Later on, he grew obsessed with basketball/fantasy basketball & unfortunately claims to be a Sixers fan for some reason.

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