Fantasy sports have ruined the NCAA Tournament for me, at least to this point. On Thursday, I wrote about my NCAA Tournament bracket in the introduction to my schedule breakdown article, and I have barely paid attention to my bracket since. I know my bracket took a beating Thursday, and I was happy to hear Michigan State won Friday, but for the most part I have been far more interested in tracking the latest NBA injury news, preparing for fantasy baseball drafts and following my fantasy golf lineups than in watching the NCAA Tournament. I still like the tournament just fine, but with so many things going on in the world of fantasy sports I have put the tournament on the back burner.

I feel the same about the NCAA Tournament as I do about Nikola Mirotic and Gorgui Dieng in fantasy. I like both of those players a lot, but only when Taj Gibson and Nikola Pekovic are out. With Gibson returning Friday and Pekovic expected back soon, Mirotic and Dieng go back to being fantasy afterthoughts. Of course, I will not forget about Mirotic and Dieng. The next time they get a shot at increased minutes, whether this season or next, I will jump right back on the bandwagon. Similarly, as soon as the Arnold Palmer Invitational and my fantasy baseball drafts have ended I will flip right back to the tournament. With that in mind, let us get right to the latest NBA injury news so we can turn our attention to other matters.

Kevin Durant has been “removed from basketball activities” after experiencing soreness in his right foot. The Thunder would not go so far as to rule Durant out for the rest of the season, but that is essentially what they are doing. For now, this means Russell Westbrook will continue climbing the leaderboard for most triple-doubles in a season, joining Magic Johnson, Fat Lever, Michael Jordan, Grant Hill, Jason Kidd and Larry Bird as the only players with 10 or more in a season.

Shutting down Durant for the rest of this season, and a significant amount of the summer, should allow him to come back fully healthy next season. After all the injury issues Durant has had this season I wouldn’t blame anybody for moving him down their draft boards, but as of right now I would still pick him number one overall. Durant was the best player in fantasy last season and has been top-five this season when healthy. I would consider moving Stephen Curry, James Harden and Anthony Davis ahead of Durant, but that is it.

Serge Ibaka’s knee surgery Tuesday likely played a role in Oklahoma City’s decision to take it easy with Durant. Ibaka will miss a few weeks, meaning at best he could play a game or two before the playoffs begin. He is droppable in all leagues, and Steven Adams should be owned in more leagues. Adams has three double-doubles and is averaging 13.8 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks over the last four games.

Steven Adams’s value is helped by Enes Kanter’s sprained left ankle. Kanter did not play Friday and would appear to be a longshot to play Sunday, but beyond that his status is up in the air. I certainly wouldn’t want to drop Kanter, especially in light of the Ibaka injury, but I won’t blame anyone who does. Kanter could easily miss most or even all of the Thunder’s remaining games.

Believe it or not, the Thunder are not the only NBA team dealing with injuries right now. DeMarcus Cousins has missed the last two games with a calf injury. Cousins was set to play Friday but was downgraded to a game-time-decision and then ruled out before the game. Fantasy players should probably consider Cousins day-to-day; if he does not play Sunday against the Wizards he could play Tuesday against the 76ers. Derrick Williams averaged 12 points over the two games Cousins missed, and he will be a decent play in deep leagues if Cousins is out again.

Greg Monroe will likely sit out Saturday and Sunday after missing Detroit’s previous two games with a knee injury. Reggie Jackson had 23 points and 20 assists in Monroe’s first game out and had a triple-double in the second. Jackson should continue to put up nice fantasy numbers for as long as Monroe is out.

Taj Gibson returned to the lineup Friday after missing 10 games with an ankle injury, marking the beginning of the end of Nikola Mirotic’s value. Gibson played only 11 minutes Friday, but that should increase as he works his way back into shape. Mirotic should see even less playing time when Jimmy Butler returns, which could be as soon as Saturday or Monday. Butler should go back into your lineup as soon as he is healthy. Butler was great after the All-Star break, and his time off for this latest elbow injury could prove to be good for him. Butler should be very good, at least until Derrick Rose returns. On Tuesday Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose is “on schedule, maybe even slightly ahead.” At this point, it seems likely he could play a couple of games before the playoffs though given his underwhelming numbers and the chance of a setback he still isn’t ownable in 12-team fantasy leagues.

Nick Young is expected to miss at least two more weeks with the knee injury that has kept him out for nearly a month. Young has a chance to play before the end of the season, but he should not be owned, either. Jordan Clarkson and Jeremy Lin have played reasonably well lately, and that should continue to be the case until Young returns.

Terrence Jones just cannot catch a break. After missing 42 games already this season, Jones will miss at least the next three games with a collapsed lung. That would mean the earliest Jones could return is Friday against the Timberwolves. Jones has played well this season when healthy, but not well enough to hold onto in 12-team leagues. Donatas Motiejunas averaged 13.9 points and 6.4 rebounds in January with Jones mostly out of the lineup, and he could put up similar numbers this time around, as long as Dwight Howard remains out.

Howard will not play Saturday, and while he has said he is “really close” to returning, The Rockets have not indicated that is the case. Howard could play Monday at Indiana, but that does not appear to be particularly likely. Howard should, of course, be picked up in all leagues when he returns, but until we hear from the team a return is imminent, he probably belongs on the waiver wire.

Nikola Pekovic missed his fifth consecutive game Thursday, though he was listed as questionable. He seems like a good bet to play Sunday against the Hornets or Monday at Utah, but given the way Flip Saunders has managed injured players this season, it is hard to imagine Pekovic playing both games. Gorgui Dieng has averaged 13.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and 1.6 steals over the last five games, and he is a great play whenever Pekovic is out.

On Monday it was reported Jamal Crawford would miss at least 10 more days. That officially made him droppable, though he probably was already. Matt Barnes should continue to provide nice fantasy numbers while Crawford is out, though not as nice as when Blake Griffin was out.

Barnes and Mirotic are great examples of the complexities of analyzing fantasy basketball values. In some ways, their value is directly tied to one player. If Jamal Crawford and Taj Gibson are out they have value, and if those players are healthy they do not have any value. At the same time, Mirotic had far more value this month than at any other time this season because Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose were also out. Not only was Mirotic playing more than before, he was getting more shots as well.

For Barnes the issue is not shots as much as position. At this stage of his career Barnes is much better for fantasy as a stretch four, but with Blake Griffin back Barnes is almost exclusively playing the three. He still has value there, as I mentioned above, not as much as with Blake Griffin out. Sometimes fantasy players get in the habit of thinking “Player X is out, so Player Y will be great” and while it is sometimes that simple, the truth is often more nuanced. Fantasy players should play close attention to all of the players in the rotation because they all affect each other.