Last Updated on January 16, 2026 2:50 pm by Keston Paul | Published: January 16, 2026

Week 14 pretty much said, “I see how balanced you were Week 13, but I can do better.” Keep reading to find out more.

Injuries to Watch

This is for January 17 to January 25.

Impending Evaluations

Scoot Henderson (left hamstring tear) is due for another evaluation.

You might hear about an Austin Reaves (left calf strain) update at the very end of Week 14, but it may more likely come at the beginning of Week 15.

I also think Nikola Jokic (left knee) will be more of a Week 15 watch for an update, but there is a small chance we get an update at the end of Week 14.

Max Strus (left foot) is another player I would say is more likely to be in the Week 15 group, but there is a small chance of an update at the end of Week 14.

Seth Curry (sciatica) should get an update but that is not impacting fantasy.

Timelines Getting Close

So last week I pointed out that January 10 would be exactly seven weeks since the Grizzlies said that Ty Jerome will return in 6-to-9 weeks.
That means January 17 will be eight weeks and January 24 will be nine weeks. If the Grizzlies are on the nose with that report from November 22, 2025, Jerome could be showing up within the next week.
Stash time is officially here!

Josh Giddey (left hamstring strain) appears to be close.

Jalen Green (right hamstring strain) also appears to be close.

Other Injury Notes

Isaiah Jackson has been out with a concussion since December 22, 2025.

Isaiah Hartenstein (right calf strain) has also been out since December 28, 2025 with little word on a return.

Devin Vassell (left adductor strain) does not have a precise timeline.

Jakob Poeltl (lower back strain) does not have a real timeline and earlier this week, it did not sound like he was close based on the reporting.

We literally have no idea about a Jalen Suggs (right MCL contusion) timeline.

Bennedict Mathurin (right thumb sprain) still doesn’t have a timeline.

Schedule Breakdown

Weekly Info

Games played:

ONE team with FIVE games: MIA
16 teams with FOUR games: SAS, DEN, LAC, DET, PHO, MIL, TOR, BOS, DAL, OKC, SAC, CLE, UTA, GSW, BKN, PHI
11 teams with THREE games: MIN, MEM, CHA, WAS, ATL, LAL, NOR, NYK, CHI, IND, HOU
TWO teams with TWO games: ORL, POR

Back-to-Backs (B2Bs) This Week:

ONE team with TWO B2Bs: MIA
16 teams with ONE B2B: SAS, DEN, LAC, PHO, TOR, BOS, DAL, SAC, CLE, UTA, GSW, BKN, PHI, CHA, HOU, POR
13 teams WITHOUT a B2B: DET, MIL, OKC, MIN, MEM, WAS, ATL, LAL, NOR, NYK, CHI, IND, ORL

Start/Sit Decisions for Weekly Lineup Leagues:

If you play in a league with Daily Lineup Changes, this does not apply to you, so you can move along to the next section.

As always, I think you can only start the fantasy-star-level players among the two-game teams unless you’re in a super-deep league like a 20-teamer, a 30-teamer and so on.. We will have to see if Deni Avdija shows up this weekend, otherwise he might be a shaky starter in weekly lineups. The fact that the Blazers’ two games is a also a back-to-back set sort of puts me off from starting any of their players unless you absolutely have to. That isn’t just a concern about rest, but the potential downturn in performance for the second leg of a back-to-back even if active.

The Magic have two games once again. You can maybe consider a Paolo Banchero (the anti-Banchero gene in my bones shuddered at that thought) or a Franz Wagner, but again, I think you could possibly get more from a four-gamer or even three-gamer (obviously a five-gamer is a no-brainer) as one bad game from Wagner or Banchero equates to a shaky week. Anthony Black is also up there, but again, one bad game ruins his week.

Obviously, the Heat are a gold mine, but with five games, I expect some rest too. Monitor the health of Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Davion Mitchell, but I think most of the lineup gets at least one game off across the two back-to-back sets. A three-game week (if anyone rests a leg of both back-to-backs) is also still just solid.
While Kel’el Ware has been bad lately, the five-game schedule should give you some incentive to ride with him for another week and also see if some resting around him allows for extra minutes. Ware would be likely to play in all five games.

Among the three-game teams, are there players who could actually have a two-game week because they are at risk of back-to-back rest?

Three-game teams with a B2B: Hornets, Rockets

If Tari Eason appears to be healthy going into next week, I would expect him to sit a leg of the back-to-back set and have his week reduced to two games. Dorian Finney-Smith, too, if you’re in a 30-teamer.

For the Hornets, LaMelo Ball is playing back-to-backs but he may come off the bench to be restricted to around 25, 26 or 27 minutes for one of those games as we saw last time. I think he is still a fair starter with one slightly-reduced game instead of being sat outright. Maybe Ryan Kalkbrenner gets a night off given some of his injury issues over the past month. I assume none of you are relying on Grant Williams (I say as I have him stashed in IL+ in a 20-team league while writing this). Kalkbrenner likely isn’t worth trusting in a standard league right now since Moussa Diabate has appeared to surpass him.

Anyone else with a back-to-back is on a four-game team, so you should generally be safe to start any player that isn’t a Magic or a Blazer for a Weekly Lineup league.

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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