Last Updated on December 12, 2025 2:36 pm by Keston Paul | Published: December 12, 2025

Week 8 was a bit of a mess for fantasy managers, with few avenues out of any bad games because of the total lack of volume across the slate. Unless you were blessed with multiple Pacers and Pelicans, there wasn’t a lot you could do. Your players just needed (and still need, since technically it’s Friday) to play well. Week 9 isn’t entirely different because we have one day off and four relatively light schedule days with two full boats, limiting your options as far as streaming and maneuvering goes.

While these two weeks, more than any others, are going to leave you twisting in the wind, it’s a good opportunity to take stock of where you’re at and what lies ahead. You can get a real edge on your opponent thanks to next week’s schedule, and without the daily grind of checking injury reports and setting rosters, you can take some time to see how your team builds are delivering on their promise. It’s a pleasant point in the season to stop and smell the roses, or assess your new plan of attack if the first quarter of the campaign hasn’t been kind.

Let’s check in on the injury report then hit the schedule before wrapping up with some final thoughts.

Injuries to Watch

Impending Evaluations

Jrue Holiday (right calf strain) and Scoot Henderson (left hamstring tear) are due for reevaluations soon, though with word that both are still limited to non-contact drills it feels like we’re going to hear about slow progress, if anything.

Domantas Sabonis (left meniscus) was given a 3-4 week timetable for his reevaluation back on November 20, so some kind of update should be forthcoming. The Kings are already leaking that this could be a 3-5 year project as far as a rebuild goes, so they may not be in a rush to get Sabonis back if it means risking his health in the long term.

RJ Barrett (right knee sprain) received a PRP injection but the Raptors have also finally gotten a break in their schedule after a run of seven games in 11 days, which will give everyone some time to rest and rehab. Expect an update early next week.

Jalen Green (left hamstring strain) got hurt a month ago and it was reported his evaluation would come in 4-6 weeks, so the Suns figure to make some sort of statement. He has been traveling with the team on their road trip, which is a good sign, but the lack of on-court activity means you can probably expect to be without Green for another week at the absolute minimum.

Cam Thomas (left hamstring strain) is about 10 days out from his next evaluation, and the Nets have already said that he’s doing on-court work. If everything goes perfectly, there’s a chance he’s back around Christmas.

Trae Young (right MCL sprain) is working away behind the scenes but Shams Charania reported that Young is optimistic about playing this month. If that holds, it means Young will need to get back on the practice court within the next couple of weeks, which means the Hawks could have news for us very soon.

Isaiah Hartenstein (left calf strain) was said to be evaluated in 10-14 days, and that was 13 days ago.

Kelly Oubre (left LCL sprain) is supposed to head for another evaluation this week — in fact, right about now. With Paul George and Joel Embiid back Oubre is trending down either way, but his presence is going to have a downstream effect on weaker fantasy options like VJ Edgecombe and Dom Barlow, plus the other deep-league options.

Timelines Getting Close

Devin Booker (right groin strain) was close to playing on Wednesday night and ultimately the Suns decided to play it safe. We’re guessing that a couple more days off does the trick and Booker returns next week.

Steph Curry (left quad contusion) has been targeting the 12th vs. Minnesota for his return and nothing we’ve seen suggests that he won’t be good to go. Draymond Green (right midfoot sprain) was held out of Sunday’s game but Steve Kerr’s media availability made it sound like that was precautionary. We’re also expecting him back imminently.

Donovan Clingan (left lower leg contusion) has been able to get through partial practices but until he gets a full one, you can shade him to the bad side of questionable.

Jarrett Allen (right finger strain) was said to miss about a week, and that was nearly two weeks ago. The Cavs’ layoff as a result of the NBA Cup should be enough to get hi back on the floor, or at least very close to it.

Ja Morant (right calf strain) was upgraded to doubtful ahead of Sunday’s game and the Grizzlies aren’t usually one of those teams to list players as questionable or doubtful for indeterminate lengths of time — if they’re on the report, it’s going to be accurate. Whether you get meaningful timelines on those indefinite injuries is another story entirely, but as far as Morant goes we’re seeing clear progress and he shouldn’t be out for much longer.

Jordan Poole (left quad strain) is right around the corner from returning and this one will have major fantasy implications. Poole was not starting at the time of his injury, but will a new coaching staff return him to his old role? If Poole does start, it’s going to demote Jeremiah Fears, Saddiq Bey or Herb Jones.

Aaron Gordon (right hamstring strain) and Christian Braun (left ankle sprain) are nearing their 4-6 week timelines but it has been said that neither player has great odds of suiting up before Christmas.

Tari Eason (oblique strain) was slated to miss 4-6 weeks of his own, and with that injury occurring back on November 14 we’re getting close to that rumored date. The lack of announcements about Eason’s rehab means we are likely looking at something closer to the six-week mark, but either way it’s creeping up.

Rick Carlisle stated that Aaron Nesmith (left knee sprain) would miss about four weeks with his injury, and that was said on November 15. We’re nearly there so keep an eye out to see if Nesmith returns to practices this week.

Other Injury Notes

Zach Edey will miss a month with more ankle problems. Just when he was getting rolling and the Grizzlies were racking up some wins.

LaMelo Ball (left ankle bone bruise) missed Charlotte’s last game and while there hasn’t been any timeline established — or any outward concern from Charlotte — you should always prepare for him to miss time. Meanwhile, Collin Sexton (left quad strain) has missed the last two. The timing of the NBA Cup has given him some extra time to rest, so prepare to pick him up if he can return before Ball.

Further up the roster, Moussa Diabate (right knee soreness) also miss the team’s previous game. This doesn’t seem serious but any absence would give Ryan Kalkbrenner a chance to cement the lion’s share of minutes.

Alex Sarr (right adductor strain) got ruled out of a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back and the Wizards weren’t stressing. He was then ruled out of the following three games, which is a little more troubling. You’re hoping that the Wizards were just using the schedule to their advantage and giving Sarr an extended rest to get healthy, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Dereck Lively is out for the season as the Mavs announced he would be undergoing right foot surgery. He had surgery on the same foot this past offseason, so this is now an area of concern moving forward in his career. Through three years in the league, Lively has played 55, 36 and now seven games.

Daniel Gafford is a strong pickup in all leagues now that the center spot has thinned out, though he has missed the last two games for right ankle injury management. Hopefully the time off gets him ready, because there’s nothing stopping him from a top-120 season other than his own health.

Klay Thompson was a late scratch on Sunday due to left knee soreness. He has found his shooting touch again lately and this one-game absence shouldn’t throw him too far off track.

Tre Jones (left ankle sprain) has missed Chicago’s last three games while Kevin Huerter (left adductor strain) has missed the last week of action himself. The Bulls have a lot of guard depth so it hasn’t been felt — beyond the fact that the team keeps losing — but these two are both viable in standard leagues when they’re healthy. Jones feels a little closer to a return than Huerter, but that’s just guesswork.

Schedule Breakdown

The number of games played will dictate weekly lineups, but if you have fringe 12-team players from a team with two games in daily lineup formats, you may want to consider dropping them and streaming their spot instead.

Weekly Info

Daily Info

Monday: 5 games
Tuesday: 1, the NBA Cup Finals — this will not count in most leagues
Wednesday: 2 games
Thursday: 12 games
Friday: 5 games
Saturday: 10 games
Sunday: 6 games

Looking for more help with your lineup and streaming decisions? Check out our Fantasy Basketball Tools! 

Quick Adds

The break afforded to us by the NBA Cup schedule is a nice little reset for everyone. Consider it like a first half All-Star break, where everyone gets a few days to rest, recover and get right for the next burst. It’s a good time to take a look at the waiver wire out there and see who is worth picking up now that we have a small respite from the day-to-day roster churn.

As a reminder, we have a dedicated waiver wire column that runs every Thursday, as well as a specialized deep-league waiver column that goes every other Tuesday. If you want more than that, we blurb every game, every night, and pickup advice is sprinkled in for all the relevant performers.

First and foremost there’s a few players who are available in around half of Yahoo leagues that just shouldn’t be. Some of this is due to inactive players and leagues; some is due to Yahoo’s new default league format. But if we can see Ryan Nembhard go from 0% up to the 20s in less than two weeks, it means there’s probably a few leagues out there where guys like this are simply being overlooked.

Jaden McDaniels (46%), Kon Knueppel (50%), Derik Queen (49%), PJ Washington (45%), Ryan Kalkbrenner (26%) and Ryan Rollins (58%) lead the way there. There’s no reason any of these guys should be on waivers in a competitive league.

Jay Huff (30%), Reed Sheppard (40%) and Collin Gillespie (33%) aren’t far behind. Not everyone has bought in yet, but you can only fight math for so long.

Anthony Black (29%) is a relatively new name on the block but he’s got a ton of minutes on his plate and has taken a real leap in his third season. The aforementioned Ryan Nembhard (23%) is also someone who should be rostered, though a little skepticism is healthy given how new he is to the scene. Same for Maxime Raynaud (23%), though as we mentioned above it may not be much longer for Sabonis.

Some of these players, plus a few more viable ones out there that we’re not going to get into — the waiver columns exist for a reason — are all far more available than they should be. With the season hitting a brief pause, underrated, low-key producers tend to find their way to the wire so managers can pursue the flavor of the week. It’s worth checking to see if you can pick up some very easy wins before we get rolling at full speed again.

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Mike Passador

Mike graduated from Boston University’s Dual Degree Program with a BA in Economics and a BS in Business with Concentrations in Marketing and Operations Management. He is a faithful supporter of Toronto sports and the Detroit Lions and is always ready to be let down. Tweet to him @Mike_Pandador, but if you badmouth Jose Calderon you might get blocked.

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