I am, admittedly, a bit of a basketball nerd. I find it really fascinating to watch the way the game evolves as trends like resting healthy players and valuing the corner three sweep through the league. There is a constant game of cat and mouse as teams constantly adopt new strategies and then try to adjust to those strategies.

It seems we may be seeing a new trend in the way players deal with significant injuries. LaMarcus Aldridge was, by all accounts, set to undergo thumb surgery and miss 6-to-8 weeks. Instead he skipped the surgery, missed two games, and has been phenomenal while playing through the injury. In his three games since injuring his thumb, Aldridge is averaging 33.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

Shortly after Aldridge made his stunning decision to try to play through the injury, Kemba Walker was reportedly considering trying to play through the pain of his torn meniscus before finally going under the knife, as did Kobe Bryant. Every player and every injury is different, and Aldridge at least had to consider the odds his team would miss the playoffs if he had the surgery right away. Even so, I wonder if we are starting to see a pattern where players suffer very significant injuries, but put off surgery even when they may need it.

The entire reason I bring this up is because I know some fantasy players were burned when they dropped LaMarcus Aldridge when they thought he would be out 6-to-8 weeks. That is one of the reasons I cautioned players to hold onto Kobe Bryant until we knew for certain if he would have surgery or not. In this time of second opinions and super-tight playoff races, we can never be sure a player will actually elect to have surgery even when it seems like the obvious course of action. Fortunately, there are not any star players facing surgery this week though there are a lot of significant injuries to important players that are worth discussing.

Kevin Durant did not practice with his teammates Friday though he did take some jump shots. His toe injury already caused him to miss two games this week, and he is questionable Saturday at Memphis. As Always Russell Westbrook is a great play with Durant out, while Reggie Jackson scored at least 13 points in both of the games Durant missed this week.

John Wall did not participate in shootaround Saturday as he deals with migraines and an ankle injury. Garrett Temple ran with the starters Saturday, and he, Andre Miller and Rasual Butler would probably share the point guard minutes if John Wall is out. All three are interesting in deep leagues or daily games though none has a particularly high ceiling. Bradley Beal and Paul Pierce would likely get some more shots off with Wall out, but I expect all of the Wizards would be less efficient without Wall there to break down the defense and dish out the assists.

An MRI Wednesday revealed an edema on Dwight Howard’s right knee. He will be evaluated in the coming days. Howard’s fantasy owners have to hold onto him until we have a better idea of his timetable. Josh Smith is a very nice play for as long as Howard is out.

Anthony Davis sat Friday with a grade 1 adductor strain and is day-to-day moving forward. Ryan Anderson and Omer Asik should play a bit more with Davis out though neither really did much in the four games Davis missed in January.

Dwayne Wade expects to miss at least 2-to-3 weeks with his latest hamstring injury. No one in the Eastern Conference looks good enough to knock Miami out of the playoff picture, but if Pistons make another run the Heat might have to start thinking about shutting Wade down for the year, or at least resting him even when he is healthy like they did last season. Shabazz Napier has played pretty well in the last three games Wade has missed, and he might actually be useful for fantasy this time around.

Mike Conley is probable to return Saturday after missing two games with a sprained wrist. He should go right back into your starting lineup while Beno Udrih is droppable except in very deep leagues.

The Timberwolves continue to have enough injury news to fill this article all by themselves. Mo Williams is questionable Saturday after missing the last two games with a hip injury. His backup, rookie Zach LaVine, is questionable as well after rolling his ankle Friday. If both guards are out, Lorenzo Brown will get the start. His upside is limited, but he could be useful in daily games simply based upon his minutes. If either Williams or LaVine is out, the other is a good fantasy play.

All three of those point guards should be irrelevant soon, as Ricky Rubio is expected to return Monday. Rubio will be on a minutes restriction until after the All-Star break, but he will still be worth starting for anyone who needs assists. Rubio was averaging 10 assists per game before he hurt his ankle.

It seems to me like Brandon Jennings has been out for a really long time with his torn Achilles, but the Pistons have played just three games without him. D.J. Augustin had a clunker Wednesday against the 76ers, but he is still a must-own. Despite going 0-for-7 from the field in that game, Augustin still played 34 minutes and is averaging ­­­­­­­18.7 points, three rebounds and seven assists per game since Jennings went down.

Kobe Bryant had successful surgery Wednesday and will be out for nine months. As I discussed last week, Wayne Ellington has some value for the rest of the season, especially in deep leagues.

Kobe’s case is especially interesting because he really had no reason to consider not having the surgery. In fact, the Lakers probably would have been smart to push for the surgery, since they need to finish as poorly as possible to try to hold onto their first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Kobe is notoriously competitive, and we probably shouldn’t try to extrapolate from anything he does, but if he was trying to put off surgery, we probably shouldn’t be surprised when players in the thick of a playoff race do the same. These players avoided a knee-jerk reaction to a serious injury, and fantasy players should as well.