Kobe’s injury is being called an avulsion fracture, which is basically the best type of fracture since it only involves a small bone fragment. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kobe battled his way to 20 points, five rebounds and five assists despite dealing with the broken finger.

Further good news for Kobe’s fantasy basketball owners is that he has experience playing with injured fingers. An injured pinkie has bothered him in recent years — although he hasn’t let it affect his performance.

On the season, Kobe is playing very well. He’s averaging 28.8 points and is shooting a career-high 49.3% from the field. He’s also grabbing 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.30 steals. At 31, Kobe shows no signs of slowing down and his Lakers are the favorites to take home the franchise’s 17th championship.

Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers (Image: Zuma Press)

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Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks
When speaking of NBA rookies, Brandon Jennings must be mentioned first. While he’s still producing at a high level, his shooting percentage has been plummeting lately. It’ll be interesting to see if he can bounce back.

Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings
With Kevin Martin out injured, Tyreke Evans has emerged as the star of the Kings. He can score, grab rebounds and dish out assists. If Jennings doesn’t heat back up, Evans may become the talk of this rookie class.

Darren Collison, New Orleans Hornets
With Chris Paul out, Darren Collison has stepped in and done a fantastic job as a starter. In his last five games, he’s averaging 16.4 points, 7.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds.

DeJuan Blair, San Antonio Spurs
When it comes to per-minute production, DeJuan Blair is a beast. He grabs more boards per minute than anyone in the NBA and he can score when he touches the ball. If he gets more minutes, watch out!

Brandon Jennings - Milwaukee Bucks (Image: Zuma Press)

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Rajon Rondo
When it comes to steals, Rajon Rondo is elite. He’s a rugged defender with long arms and a mean streak. He has no problem going after your ball.

Monta Ellis
Currently the league leader in steals, he has free reign to go after as many steals as he wants since Golden State doesn’t care much about the defensive end.

Trevor Ariza
On the basketball court, few players have as much defensive range as Trevor Ariza. If you pass it, he will come into the picture.

Corey Brewer
At Florida, we remember Corey Brewer as a defensive ace who racked up a lot of steals. He’s starting to do that on the NBA level now.

Rudy Fernandez
If Rudy Fernandez starts getting more minutes — watch out! He doesn’t play much defense but he’s great at anticipating and stacking steals in a hurry.

Monta Ellis likes to score ... and get steals (Image: Zuma Press)

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“I was cursing and screaming and trying to make them shoot me up,” explained O’Neal, “but they wouldn’t do it.”

For fantasy basketball owners, they’ll be happy to learn that O’Neal plans to return on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons. On the season, the Big Clevelander is averaging 11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks. He’s hitting 53.2% of his field goals but only 47.4% of his free throws.

Even though his free throw percentage limits his fantasy basketball value, the good news is that O’Neal has cut down on his turnovers — averaging a career-low 1.4 per game.

As the season goes along, expect Shaq to become a bigger part of the Cavs attack. He probably won’t average more than 14 or 15 points but expect him to remain efficient everywhere except for at the free throw line.

Shaquille O'Neal will return from injury soon (Image: Zuma Press)

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For Bogut fantasy owners, this is bad news for a player who is having arguably the best season of his career. The 24-year-old former number one overall pick is averaging 16.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.44 blocks while shooting 56.5% from the field. Bogut has had a history of injuries so while this news isn’t horribly surprising, it is unfortunate for fantasy owners.

With Bogut sidelined, that will put even more pressure on rookie point guard Brandon Jennings. The good news for the Bucks is that Jennings has been absolutely amazing this season. He’s far and away the best rookie in the NBA and his potential seems to be limitless.

As far as who will gobble up the minutes at center in Milwaukee, it’ll probably be Dan Gadzuric. But the Bucks have a number of other veteran centers including Kurt Thomas and Francisco Elson.

Andrew Bogut is injured against for the Bucks (Image: Zuma Press)

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C Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers
To begin the fantasy basketball season, Andrew Bynum has been amazing. He seems to be living up to his vast potential. That said, expect his numbers to come crashing back down to earth once Pau Gasol returns. Trade him now while he’s putting up superstar numbers.

PF Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
Yes, Chris Bosh is a great player. But he’s playing over his head at the moment. He’s averaging career-highs in points and points — and he hasn’t missed a three-pointer this season. Trade him before he cools off.

SF Richard Jefferson, San Antonio Spurs
In the last few games, Richard Jefferson has been very good. He’s putting up fantasy stats by the truck load. But once Tim Duncan and Tony Parker return from injury, expect Jefferson’s role to be diminished.

SG Ben Gordon, Detroit Pistons
Ben Gordon is yet another player that is seeing his stats boosted by missing stars. In Detroit, both Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have been sidelined — which has allowed Gordon to get off to a very good start.

PG Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks
In future years, Brandon Jennings will be a fantasy basketball stud. But even though he’s off to a very good start this season, remember that he’s a very young player who doesn’t have many games under his belt. He’ll be hitting the rookie wall and his value in fantasy basketball will plummet. Trade him prior to that point.

Chris Bosh - Toronto Raptors (Image: Zuma Press)

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PG Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks
Wow. Brandon Jennings has gone from a quiet season in Europe to a monster first few weeks in the NBA. He’s currently averaging 20.7 points and 5.2 assists in 32.7 minutes per game.

SG Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Although he hasn’t been the scoring machine that he was billed as coming out of college, Stephen Curry is impressing with his all-around game. He’s hitting three-pointers and he’s averaging 5.4 assists to go with his 8.7 points.

SF Omri Casspi, Sacramento Kings
Omri Casspi has the makings of a fantasy basketball beast. He’s capable of scoring, hitting threes, grabbing rebounds and adding bonus tallies in blocks and steals.

PF DeJuan Blair, San Antonio Spurs
When DeJuan Blair gets minutes, he has produced. He’s scoring, rebounding and shooting for a high percentage so far in his young career.

C Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls
A hustle player first and foremost, Taj Gibson can also score a little bit in addition to rebounding and blocking a few shots.

Stephen Curry is starting to show why he was so success in college (Image: Zuma Press)

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In the first two games of the season, Harris had 30 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds. However, his fantasy basketball value was limited because he shot only 32.3% from the field, missed all four of his three-point attempts and hit just 71.4% of his free throws.

With Harris out, the fantasy basketball point guard sleeper on the Nets becomes Rafer Alston. Like Alston showed last season, he’s a very capable fill-in starter.

Players who will pick up the scoring slack for Harris include Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams. If you have Harris on your fantasy basketball team, the best idea is to say a prayer at night and wish him back ASAP. Either that or pickup Alston as a stopgap.

Devin Harris Injury Info - New Jersey Nets (Image: Zuma Press)

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C Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
It seemed like Ben Wallace’s career was over. In the last few seasons, he did next to nothing. But he’s starting for the Pistons at center and he’s putting up stats. It might not last but he’s valuable for the time being.

PF Marreese Speights, Philadelphia 76ers
Although Marreese Speights might not get many minutes on a consistent basis, his per-minute numbers have been very good so far in his NBA career. If there’s an injury to the front line, his value would skyrocket. As it is, he holds a decent amount of value.

SF Danilo Gallinari, New York Knicks
If you are in a league that values three-point shooting, Danilo Gallinari is a player you should get on your team. Playing for Mike D’Antoni in New York, Gallinari is sure to hoist a ton of threes this season.

Danilo Gallinari - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

SG Rasual Butler, Los Angeles Clippers
Although he’s coming off the bench, Rasual Butler has a steady role so far for the Clippers. He’ll help you in three-pointers made and he can pick up stats in a variety of categories. Not a great fantasy option but he’s a solid filler with upside.

PG Jason Williams, Orlando Magic
It’s difficult to roster a backup point guard in most fantasy basketball formats, but if it makes sense in your situation, go ahead and pickup Jason Williams. He could put up very good per-minute stats playing with a talented Orlando squad. He’s averaging nearly ten points and seven assists in his first two games of the 2009-10 NBA season.

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While Gasol is out, the fantasy basketball value of many of his teammates will be high. Andrew Bynum will get more touches in the low block with Gasol out, which makes him a better fantasy player. Lamar Odom will also get more playing time.

Once Gasol is able to get back on the court, he’ll continue to be a valuable fantasy basketball player. He’s a very efficient player who can help you in a variety of categories. While his minutes could be done this year, the big Spaniard won’t hurt your fantasy team at all.

Last season, Gasol played 81 out of 82 games and averaged nearly 19 points to go along with 9.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

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