The 2026-27 NBA season tips off Tuesday, October 20, with Celtics-Pistons, 76ers-Knicks and a Thunder-Spurs rematch of last spring’s Western Conference Finals. Most fantasy leagues will draft this weekend, and the injury report going into opening week is long enough to move real value. The rankings you printed two weeks ago don’t account for a center rotation in Phoenix that runs through a rookie, a Warriors frontcourt with no timetable for Kristaps Porzingis, or a Charlotte backcourt missing two projected starters.
This board goes team by team through the absences that matter, who picks up the minutes, and how to adjust draft prices. Statuses are as of Saturday, October 17.
Golden State: Porzingis Out Indefinitely, Draymond Slides to the Five
The Warriors announced Wednesday that Porzingis will remain out indefinitely with a private health-related issue. He is back around the team facility, but there is no timeline for practice, let alone games, and the October 21 opener at the Lakers looks unlikely. He missed the Hawaii trip and the team’s early preseason games entirely.
Steve Kerr has already shown what the fallback looks like. Al Horford started at center in the preseason opener in Honolulu, then Kerr moved Draymond Green to the middle against the Lakers to look at a smaller group, and reporting since points toward Green opening the season at center. Charles Bassey and Graham Ike are the young bigs behind him, and Kerr has said he is open to rookie Yaxel Lendeborg playing some center.
- Draymond Green: Small-ball center minutes mean more rebounds and more touches as a hub. His points-league value rises more than his category value, but the assists-plus-defense profile plays in both. Move him up a round.
- Al Horford: The likely beneficiary in bench minutes, but his workload at this stage of his career caps the upside. A late-round option in deep leagues only.
- Kristaps Porzingis: Do not draft him in the single-digit rounds. With no return timeline, he is a late-round stash at best in leagues with IL slots.
Phoenix: Mark Williams Out for Months, Maluach Gets His Shot
Mark Williams had surgery on a torn left labrum in September, and the Suns have described his absence in months, not weeks. Local reporting puts a realistic return somewhere around February. That leaves Oso Ighodaro and second-year big Khaman Maluach to split the center job.
Jordan Ott rotated his starters through the preseason. Ighodaro opened the first two exhibitions, then Maluach got the nod against San Antonio on October 10 and put up 10 points and 15 rebounds in 21 minutes, a performance Ott called his best. That is a preseason line, so treat it as a signal rather than a baseline, but 15 boards in 21 minutes is exactly the rate that wins rebounding and blocks categories.
- Khaman Maluach: The higher-upside play of the two. If he wins the starting job, he is a top-150 target on rebounds and blocks alone, and his price is still deep-sleeper territory.
- Oso Ighodaro: A safer floor as a passer and finisher, but less category juice. Worth a late pick in deep formats; otherwise watch the opening-week minutes split from the waiver wire.
Utah: Nurkic’s Toe Opens the Middle
Jusuf Nurkic suffered a partial plantar plate tear in his right second toe in Utah’s preseason opener against Denver on October 4 and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Re-evaluation is not a return date; at minimum he misses the October 21 opener at Memphis and roughly the first eight games of the season.
The beneficiaries are Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jaxson Hayes. Jackson sliding to center is the version that matters for fantasy, because more time at the five means more blocks and rebounds on top of his scoring. Hayes is the cleaner like-for-like replacement and could start if Utah wants to keep his forward group intact.
- Jaren Jackson Jr.: A modest bump. His blocks were already elite, and center minutes keep him on the glass. Don’t overpay, but don’t let him slide.
- Jaxson Hayes: Streaming material for the first two to three weeks if he starts. He loses value fast once Nurkic returns in November.
Charlotte: Knueppel and Coby White Both in Question
The Hornets are the most uncertain backcourt in the league entering opening week. Kon Knueppel hurt his left hamstring during offseason court work, missed all of camp and preseason, and the team plans to re-evaluate him during the first week of the regular season. Charlotte’s front office has said it doesn’t know whether he will be ready for the October 21 opener against Brooklyn. Coby White strained his left calf in camp and was shut down for the entire preseason; expect a limited workload whenever he returns, even if he dresses for the opener.
With both out, Charlotte opened the preseason with Dennis Schröder and Grayson Allen in the backcourt alongside Brandon Miller. Grant Williams is also out with a hamstring injury, which thins the forward depth.
- Kon Knueppel: Hamstrings linger and Charlotte is being cautious. Knock him down a few rounds, but don’t let him fall into the late rounds; the shooting volume is still there once he is healthy.
- Coby White: Similar story. A player who sat all preseason with a calf strain usually starts on a minutes restriction. Draft him for November, not opening week.
- Brandon Miller: The biggest winner. With two primary ball handlers limited or out, his usage ceiling in October is as high as it has been.
- Dennis Schröder and Grayson Allen: Short-term streamers. Schröder’s assists and Allen’s threes play in category leagues while the starters are out.
Los Angeles Clippers: Three Rotation Players Down
The Clippers open October 21 against Sacramento without Max Strus, who partially tore the plantar fascia in his right foot in the preseason opener and will be re-evaluated after four weeks. Tyronn Lue said on October 14 that Bradley Beal will not be ready for the start of the season, with no set timetable. Brandon Ingram, working back from a partially torn Achilles, has resumed on-court work but has no concrete return date either.
That is a lot of wing scoring off the floor at once. Beal and Ingram are stash-only picks in leagues with IL slots; in leagues without them, let someone else carry the dead roster spot. Strus is a waiver-wire pickup in November, not a draft-day selection.
Quick Hits: Opening-Week Absences
- Nic Claxton (Bulls): Hamstring injury from October 4, listed out with a re-evaluation landing right around Chicago’s October 21 opener at Toronto. Plan on him missing at least the first game.
- Sacramento centers: Maxime Raynaud (right patellar subluxation) is out at least five games, and Dylan Cardwell (calf) is expected to miss the first five or six. The Kings’ backup center minutes are wide open.
- Isaiah Stewart (Grizzlies): Left ankle sprain in his preseason debut; expected to miss the opener but could return shortly after.
- Anthony Black (Magic): Ramping up from an ankle sprain and on track for the regular season. A popular breakout pick whose price shouldn’t move.
Long-Term Stashes
If your league has IL slots, these are the names worth burning a final-round pick on, in rough order of when they should matter:
- Jimmy Butler (Warriors): Recovering from right ACL reconstruction. ESPN’s reporting points to an optimistic January or February target, though Golden State hasn’t set an official timeline.
- Mark Williams (Suns): A starting center when healthy, likely back around February.
- Shaedon Sharpe (Trail Blazers): Lateral meniscus surgery in late August with a six-month estimate, which points to late February or March at the earliest.
- Brandon Ingram (Clippers): Back on the court, but an Achilles recovery without a date is a pure dart throw.
Moses Moody (left knee surgery) and Donte DiVincenzo (torn right Achilles) are also out for the opening stretch, but neither has a ceiling worth tying up a roster spot this early.
The Bottom Line for Your Draft
The injuries that should actually change your draft board are the ones that hand a starting job to someone cheap: Maluach in Phoenix, Green at center in Golden State, Jackson Jr. and Hayes in Utah, and Miller’s expanded role in Charlotte. Take the discount on Knueppel and White, but not so much that a healthy November version of either ends up on someone else’s roster. And check the official NBA injury report Monday night, because opening-night designations will settle several of these before your waiver wire opens.
See today's NBA lines on DFS Lines, each one set against the player's last ten games.