With fantasy basketball playoffs coming up, or already started for some, a short term injury to a star player can make for a very tough decision. Currently on one of my teams, Lowry and Okafor are both out. Luckily Deng came back last night, but with his injury he could be out at anytime. In my other league, Lowry is out and Hawes is on limited minutes. I held onto Hawes through his entire injury because I knew with a healthy Hawes my team could be deadly. Going into the last two weeks, even with Hawes on the bench, my team is 2nd. I don’t need him to win against most teams, but I will need him against the top seeds, which is why I have not dropped him. In the other league, with Okafor out for an extended period of time, I still have the 2nd best record in the league. So once again, my team is capable of winning without him, but I need him to beat the top seeds in the playoffs. I need them to win, and therefore I refuse to drop them, yet.
Going into the playoffs, should you still hang onto these players? The answer to this is yet another set of questions. What is your overall fantasy goal? Can your team get through a few weeks of knockouts until the injured player returns? And the biggest question, without this player, can you still challenge for the title? I refuse to drop Lowry, because I know without him, I have no chance of knocking off the 1st seed. Whether he comes back in 2 weeks, which I hope, or 4 weeks, I need him to win. If I drop him, and someone else decides to pick him up and take a chance on him, I’m in trouble. My goal is not to get as far into the playoffs as possible, it is to win the title. If your goal is different than this, you might consider dropping your injured player. But for most fantasy sports owners, the goal is to win. A player like Okafor is a possible drop because, while replacing a 10-10 guy is difficult, it is still possible to find a player with production close to that. A player like Lowry is impossible to replace, unless you play in a very small league. In the end, the decision is yours. You must do what is in your best interest, and it all depends on what your goals are. In situations like this, there is no right decision. Unless you win, you will always look back and wonder if you made the right choice. Go with your gut. It hasn’t let you down yet, right?
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