Day 54: Brook Lopez is done, Aaron Brooks would like your attention

(Kudos if you can name the player behind Brooks in this pic. Illustration courtesy of Wang Tao)

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever talked about something or someone that you pretty much never talk about, and then like a day or a week later, that thing you talked about is suddenly in the news for some reason, and you think to yourself, "Wow, I was just talking about this."? Well, that happened to me yesterday, as I ruminated on Mirza Teletovic's fantasy value and ultimately came to the conclusion that: "Teletovic is a garbage time extraordinaire and could one day be a serviceable fantasy option in standard leagues. But with Evans and KG standing in front of him, that time ain't now."

Guess what? Brook Lopez is now out for the season with a fractured metatarsal in his right foot (whatever that is), which is a crushing blow to both his fantasy owners and the Brooklyn Nets, who now have absolutely no chance of challenging the Pacers or Heat in the playoffs, if they can even get to the playoffs. What it does do, however, is move up Kevin Garnett and Reggie Evans in the rotation, not to mention Andray Blatche. And because of all that, Mirza Teletovic suddenly finds himself quite relevant in the Nets rotation.

Teletovic is an interesting fantasy option, as a power forward capable of putting up a lot of points and nailing a few three's in a short amount of time. And I would be happy to label him a savvy pickup if not for the fact that the Nets still have a logjam at the power forward positions, and Teletovic was hardly playing at all before the Nets started piling up the injuries. Blatche, Evans, Garnett and Kirilenko are still all ahead of him on the depth chart, and Mason Plumlee is somewhere in the mix too. So in order for Teletovic to be someone who'll you want to rush out and add, a few more injuries would have to take place. It's possible Jason Kidd could shake up the rotation and use Lopez' injury as an excuse to start Teletovic, but given that he'd been using Andray Blatche in lieu of Lopez up until now, that isn't likely to change.

The good news is that the Nets are so decrepit that there's a good chance Teletovic will at some point wind up getting big minutes for them, as Blatche and Garnett are hardly pillars of health. Until then, those guys are still standing in his path, and while the playing field has certainly been widened and while Teletovic is vastly more ownable today than he was a week ago, he's probably not worth touching in standard leagues quite yet (unless Kidd surprises me and starts him on Monday). Soon though, grasshopper. Soon.

Ah, but Teletovic isn't the only NBA player whose fantasy value has risen exponentially due to an injury.

• Patrick Beverley has a fracture in his right hand and is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks. And with Jeremy Lin also out with a chronic back injury, Aaron Brooks is suddenly the only point guard left standing on the Houston Rockets. Brooks, before injures hampered his career, was an elite fantasy point guard, capable of hitting a few three's a game while scoring in the teen's and nailing an excellent percentage of his free-throws. He is, unequivocally, a must-own player if you need a point guard in the short-term.
• There was a shakeup with the Grizzlies lineup yesterday, with Ed Davis moving into the starting lineup and Kosta Koufos moving to the bench. Davis is an extremely talented bigman and was the big prize in the team's trade that sent away Rudy Gay, and he was productive on Saturday, putting up 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in 25 minutes. There's still something of a timeshare going on, with John Leuer and Koufos also in the mix. But Davis is without a doubt the man to own with Marc Gasol still recovering from his MCL malady. He's not at all a bad pickup right now if you need some blocks and rebounds.
• J.R. Smith strung together his third straight productive line, going for 16 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 three's and 4 steals in 38 minutes off the bench. Smith is an erratic player capable of dropping 30 points in one game and then 4 points in the next. But he's productive enough when he's rolling like this that he's still pretty valuable.
• Victor Oladipo was banished to the bench yesterday, allowing Tobias Harris to start and put up 21 points and 4 rebounds. Oladipo, meanwhile, played 21 minutes and produced 12 points, 2 assists, a steal and block. The promotion to the starting five is a huge boon for Harris, who has a chance to be an outstanding fantasy option from here on out. As for Oladipo, he's still going to get enough of a run to be worth owning, though the loss in minutes is unquestionably an unfortunate series of events, brought on in part because of his disastrous 1-12 shooting night in his previous game. Fear not, though, as with Arron Afflalo destined to be traded at some point, Oladipo is likely to become a starter again for Orlando in the coming weeks or months.
• With James Harden resting, Dwight Howard was fantastic on Saturday, producing 35 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks, while even going a not-terrible 9-14 from the foul line. He's having an awesome year and can once again be looked at as an elite fantasy center.
• Khris Middleton had a nice outing for the Bucks, scoring 27 points to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block in 36 minutes. Middleton is a diverse enough fantasy producer that he's a good add right now while he's getting all these minutes. But I wouldn't get too comfortable owning him, as the Bucks are a team in constant flux, and who are about to get back their starting center in Larry Sanders. Again, he's not a bad option, but it's worth mentioning that his stats have more to do with him capitalizing on other players' injuries than that he's actually breaking out and is about to become a superstar.
• Caron Butler made his return to the Bucks lineup and played a startling 40 minutes, wherein he produced 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Butler is not afraid to jack up as many shots as he can, and with the team as injury-riddled as it is, he may seriously be their best offensive option right now. He's probably worth owning in standard leagues, though considering his recent rash of injuries and, again, how wonky the Bucks are overall, he's hardly a lock on a nightly basis.
• Tony Parker returned to action for the Spurs, putting up 23 points and 8 assists in 33 minutes. Parker is one of the most unsung fantasy players out there, as he continues to put up awesome numbers on a regular basis. It's questionable how much run he'll get in the fantasy playoffs, but for now, he's easily a must-start point guard.
• Brandon Wright did good things in mop-up duty for the Mavericks, producing 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks in 29 minutes off the bench. Wright is easily the Mavs' best option at center right now, and a promotion to the center spot appears imminent. Given his upside in blocking shots, he's a terrific fantasy option and should be picked up pronto if he's still out there.
• With Pau Gasol out with a respiratory ailment, Chris Kaman was given a spot-start at Golden State and he responded with 10 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks in what was his best game of the season by a country mile. The Lakers are so insanely hurt right now that Kaman could legitimately be considered a must-own player if Gasol was out for any length of time. But given that Gasol is only day-to-day, it's probably best to chock this outing up as a fluke.
• Even with Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar and Kobe Bryant out, and with the game so out of reach that they wound up losing by 19, the Lakers only handed Kendall Marshall 6 minutes yesterday. Given that Farmar is mere days away from making his return, there's just not enough juice to give Marshall a chance, even in an extremely deep league.
• Andre Iguodala looked shaky on Saturday, going 1-6 from the floor for 3 points and 2 steals. Iggy has played like crap since he made it back from his hamstring tear. Still, his owners should just look at this as a bump in the road, as he's a terrific fantasy option when he's on his game, and he's bound to start playing better in the coming weeks.
• Harrison Barnes put up 8 points on Saturday, giving him just 16 in the three games since Iguodala returned. Barnes is merely a sixth man now for the Dubs, and while he's certainly talented enough to chip in with a great outing once in a while, his value has taken a seismic hit in the past week. You're excused if you want to drop him.