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Brooklyn Nets C Brook Lopez injured his ankle in the team’s 110-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night and the big man hobbled off the court. The injury doesn’t appear to be too serious, but there is still no official timetable for his return.
It has still left countless fantasy basketball owners searching for a viable replacement for the center and the answer may simpler than it appears. One guy to seriously consider adding off the wire is the center’s backup, Andray Blatche.
Blatche finished the game in Lopez’s absence and ended up having a pretty decent night. He ended with a team-high 19 points, while adding an impressive eight rebounds, two assists, and a three-pointer. Even better, Blatche did it all against the very physical play of DeAndre Jordan. Blatche was constantly banging bodies with the Clippers’ big man and the fact that he had such a stellar stat line shows that he held his own in the matchup.
In his limited starting experience last season, Blatche posted 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals. He will be fighting for minutes with Mason Plumlee this year, but Blatche is much more experienced and is obvious choice to get the bulk of the minutes in the paint.
Blatche will a strong plug-in starter while Lopez recovers from his most recent injury. He won’t drop 19 every game, but he should at least be able to post at least 10 points and six boards each start.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
