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Injuries are the worst part of sports, precisely because they are so inescapable. Elite athletes put an incredible amount of stress and strain on their bodies, so their bodies failing is an inevitable part of the game, even if it's impossible to predict who might get hurt.

Viewing injuries from a Fantasy perspective adds a whole host of other issues, because there's little room for sentimentality in this game. As soon as Jabari Parker went down Tuesday -- with what would prove to be a torn ACL that brought his rookie season to an early end -- I was fielding questions about who would see a boost in Fantasy value if Parker's injury proved serious. Being opportunistic and ruthless has never lost anyone a Fantasy championship, even if it might make some squirmish. 

Ultimately, all of the hand-wringing in the world won't bring Parker back this season, so Fantasy owners have to do the same thing Parker's teammates do; move forward. Khris Middleton and Ersan Ilyasova are surely devastated at the ill fate that has befallen their young comrade, but they probably also recognize the opportunity in front of them.

Middleton is my pick to see the most gains in Parker's absence, though he doesn't necessarily fill the same role. The Bucks maintain a high degree of fluidity with their frontcourt roles, with Parker, Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and even Jared Dudley switching pretty seamlessly between two or three positions. If Middleton sees an increase in his playing time, it will likely come with Antetokounmpo moving up the positional hierarchy, with Middleton slotting in as a small forward.

In fact, that is likely the best-case scenario for all involved. Antetokounmpo has followed up a solid rookie season by improving his game nearly across the board, but he has become a reticent shooter from the perimeter. Just 6.5 percent of his field goal attempts have come from three-point range, compared to 28.2 percent as a rookie. He has responded by attacking the basket more often, taking advantage of slower forwards off the dribble.

Middleton wasn't a great shooter in college, but has now connected on 39.9 percent of his 3-point attempts in the NBA, on a pretty hefty sample size. He should slot in nicely at small forward if the team opts to stick him there, and already showed he can be a solid Fantasy option last season, when he averaged 13.3 points, 2.4 assists and 1.7 3-pointers per game in 64 starts a year ago.

If Middleton is the priority as a Parker replacement, Ilyasova is the dark horse. Personally, I'm not terribly interested in adding Ilyasova, though I was consistently one of his biggest boosters last season. He has simply struggled to consistently produce, even when given a chance, and is shooting just 29.6 percent on 3-pointers since the end of the 2012-13 season, on 179 attempts.

Still, Ilyasova has proven he can be useful In the right situations. Though he's never put together one full, great season, he did average 16.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game after the All-Star break in 2011-12, and followed that up with 17.2 points and 9.0 rebounds after the 2012-13 break. I'll need to see Ilyasova show me something before I buy in, but if you're in a deeper league, taking a flier makes some sense.

Other players, like Dudley or John Henson could see expanded roles in Parker's absence, but they have even more to prove than Ilyasova. Henson, in particular, has plenty of promise, perhaps more from a Fantasy perspective than anyone here, given his career per-36 minute averages of 15.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. However, it isn't clear whether Jason Kidd views him as an option at power forward, which leaves him fighting for backup minutes behind Zaza Pachulia and Larry Sanders.

The Bucks entered the season with the kind of depth that made them difficult for Fantasy owners rely on. And, after 25 games, with 10 players averaging at least 18 minutes per game, the situation hasn't become any less cloudy. Things should get clearer moving forward, it's just unfortunate it had to come after Parker's injury.


A team with almost the exact opposite problem as the Bucks was the Trail Blazers, who entered the season with a very clearly defined hierarchy. A year ago, five players averaged 30-plus minutes for them, and only one more even managed more than 15 per game, and that trend has mostly held true this season.

However, the Blazers, who had some of the best injury luck in the league in 2013-14, will now have to spend the next 6-7 weeks without starting center Robin Lopez, who broke his hand earlier this week. Lopez's production has dipped a bit since last season, but he was still a solid starting option for category-based Fantasy leagues, given his strong contributions in the percentage categories.

The Blazers, for their part, do have an obvious player ready to step up in Lopez's absence, in the form of Chris Kaman. Kaman has played well in a bench role behind Lopez this season, averaging 10.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in just 19 minutes, numbers that could make him a very solid option in Fantasy circles if he can sustain them across a larger role.

However, though the path to a larger role is clearer for him, Kaman still has plenty of questions attached to his value. Specifically, whether he can manage to hold up under the strain of more minutes. Kaman has been notoriously injury-prone in recent years, missing an average of 32 games per season between 2010-11 and 2013-14. He has not averaged more than 21 minutes per game since 2011-12, and might not be able to carry a larger load without setbacks.

Kaman should be productive in a larger role, but hopefully the Blazers are judicious with their usage of him. This team doesn't have the depth to afford losing Kaman as well, so it might be best to cap his minutes around 25 on most nights. Additionally, his production may not increase as much as we might hope, since he's going from anchoring the second unit to playing with a Blazers' first unit that doesn't leave many shots left over for the fifth option.

At a weak position like center, adding Kaman makes plenty of sense, but you probably shouldn't view him as a top-20 center. If you have to drop someone like Omer Asik or Nerlens Noel to do it, it simply isn't worth it.