It was another week in the NBA featuring some significant injuries; a couple that seem minor enough to tank a person’s fantasy playoff matchup and nothing more, and a couple that could prove to derail the campaign for someone’s whole team.

Condolences go out to anyone who got bounced from the playoffs because Devin Booker, Steph Curry or Donovan Mitchell got hurt. They shouldn’t be out long (Booker is likely to be back on Monday), so you’ll get the double-sting of watching them return a couple days too late for you. On that note, a special batch of condolences to anyone who got eliminated and is watching their entire team pop off.

The big injury news came out of Minnesota, where Karl-Anthony Towns was diagnosed with a torn left meniscus. That has a pretty big ripple effect on the rotation, and makes Naz Reid the top pickup of the week if he’s available to you. More on him later.

Cleveland also had a rough week, with Evan Mobley suffering an ankle sprain that is going to cost him time. That’s on top of Mitchell’s injury and the ongoing absence for Max Strus.

We got some more terrible news on the weekend as Alperen Sengun needed to be wheeled off the court after suffering a knee injury. We’re still waiting on the diagnosis for that one but it didn’t look good and managers need to prepare for the worst.

Mix in some teams at the bottom of the standings starting to fiddle with the rotation and there is plenty to sift through on the wire this week.

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Naz Reid, C, Minnesota Timberwolves

Reid has already been on the fringes of 12-team value as Minnesota’s third-best center option, featuring a few weeks of legitimate startable output even in a reserve role. He’s going to be a lot busier going forward with Towns done for a significant stretch of time. Last week Reid had four games of double-digit scoring, with at least one block and five rebounds in each to go with 17 3-pointers. He’s a must-start player.

Corey Kispert, G, Washington Wizards

Kispert had a rough week, landing outside the top-200 despite over 26 minutes a night, though he did score over 12 points per game with a pair of 3-pointers. He was dragged down by a .405 mark from the field that can be described as uncharacteristic, and Kispert ended up starting on Sunday when Richaun Holmes (toe sprain) was ruled out. The lack of center options means the Wizards will be doing more with small-ball lineups, which should benefit Kispert. He’s a 12-team option as a guard who typically provides a lift in FG%, with upside in points and triples.

Dalano Banton, G, Portland Trail Blazers

Banton was only a late-round value last week because he shot .408 from the field and .667 at the line, but anyone who didn’t need to think about those categories got some fantastic numbers. He’s starting for the depleted Blazers and had the best week of his career with averages of 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.8 blocks and 3.0 3-pointers in 35.8 mpg. At this point in the season you can’t afford to pass up a chance to roll with a hand that’s this hot.

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