Fantasy Basketball News and Notes: Hawks lose Trae Young, Butler Suspended, Late-Season Schedule Breakdown + More

Here are some key storylines and thoughts that you might have missed over the weekend, as well as a look at what some of the impacts may be as we enter Week 19 of the NBA season. It was a busy weekend with a ton of games and plenty of injury news to go around, including Trae Young being lost for a month due to finger surgery. 

Schedule Notes

Every team goes three or four times this week but next week is a different story, as the Nets play five games while the rest of the league plays three or four games. If you can find some fringe Nets players to add to your roster, now is a good time to do so as they also play four times this week. Dorian Finney-Smith, Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas and Dennis Schroder are all probably worth a look. Check out RotoWire's full, customizable schedule breakdown here.

League hands out suspensions for Heat-Pelicans scuffle

Pelicans Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall were both suspended by the league on Sunday for their parts in a fracas with the Heat on Friday. Alvarado got three games and Marshall got one game for their roles in the scuffle. Jimmy Butler got one game for fighting with Marshall, Thomas Bryant got three games for leaving the bench and Nikola Jovic got one game for leaving the bench area. Butler will miss Monday's game against the Kings due to the suspension. 

Trae Young (finger) out for at least a month

In the most shocking news of the weekend, the Hawks announced Sunday that Young would undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a tear of the radial collateral ligament in the fifth finger on his left hand. He'll be evaluated in four weeks after the surgery. That means he'll be out through late March, at least, and a lot of fantasy playoffs will already be over by the time a return to action is possible for Young.

Dejounte Murray is the big winner and Bogdan Bogdanovic should move into the starting lineup going forward. Bogdanovic is worth grabbing if he's currently available in your league while Young can be dropped in many leagues, assuming he's eligible to be dropped. Bogdanovic had 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal and three triples in 36 minutes on Sunday. 

Paul George (knee) sits on Sunday

George missed Sunday due to a sore left knee and sat for the first time since January. If George misses any more time, Norman Powell is likely to benefit. Powell started on Sunday and had 21 points and five three-pointers in 37 minutes in a loss to the Kings. 

Paolo Banchero misses Sunday due to illness

Banchero was a late scratch on Sunday due to an illness, missing his first game of the season. Consider him questionable for Tuesday against the Nets and look for Moritz Wagner to pick up the bulk of his minutes if he misses any more time. 

LaMelo Ball (ankle) still not ready

Ball has been practicing since Wednesday but is still out for the Hornets, missing his 14th straight game on Sunday. Maybe he'll play on Tuesday against the Bucks, but the Hornets don't have anything left to play for this season and Ball's ankle has been an issue for most of his professional seasons. Just keep him stashed on your IR and hope he returns to full time action some time this week. I think Tre Mann will hold most of his value even when Ball is playing, but he'll likely need to start at shooting guard going forward if that's going to be the case. 

Onyeka Okongwu (toe) to be re-evaluated in two weeks

A toe injury will keep the Hawks center out for at least two more weeks and Clint Capela will be the center of attention in Atlanta until then. Now that they've also lost Trae Young, the 10th-seeded Hawks could have trouble holding off teams like the Nets and Raptors, who are both within 4.0 games in the standings. Capela played just 17 minutes on Sunday against the Magic, but should get closer to 30 ticks on most nights, while Bruno Fernando could also see a boost with Okongwu out. 

Khris Middleton (ankle) misses weekend

Middleton missed two games of the weekend due to an ankle injury and sounds doubtful for Tuesday. However, he is close to a return and should be back some time after Tuesday if he's still not available for that game against the Hornets. He hasn't played since Feb. 6 and Malik Beasley and Jae Crowder have been getting his minutes, with Beasley being the player you want to use on nights when Middleton is out. 

Tari Eason (leg) still without timetable for return

Eason hasn't played since New Year's Day and it appears that his season could be in jeopardy, as the Rockets say there is no clear timetable for his return from a lower leg injury. As long as he's out, Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore should continue to thrive off the Rockets' bench. 

Jonathan Isaac (knee strain) could miss time

Isaac left Sunday's game against the Hawks and didn't return after being diagnosed with a left knee strain. X-rays were negative but, as fantasy managers know, it won't take much to knock Isaac out for a few games. Right now he's questionable for Tuesday against the Nets, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him miss the week. 

Bilal Coulibaly injures pelvis Sunday

Coulibaly left Sunday's game due to a right pelvis contusion after a hard fall in the first quarter leaving him questionable for Wednesday against the Warriors. Coulibaly isn't worth rostering in most leagues right now, but could become a silly-season hero if he can stay healthy and replace a Washington starter once they start shutting people down.  

Tyler Herro (knee) iffy for Monday

Herro is dealing with a hyperextended left knee that he hurt on Friday against the Pelicans, leaving him questionable against the Kings tonight. If he's out, both Duncan Robinson and Jaime Jaquez should see extended minutes against Sacramento. 

Terry Rozier (knee) iffy for Monday

Rozier is listed as questionable for Monday due to and has missed three straight games. It sounds like there's a chance he'll play tonight so managers will want to keep a close eye on the RotoWire News Feed throughout the day.