Fantasy Basketball 2020: Streaming Options for Injured NBA Players for Week 1

Injuries have not affected the first week of the 2020-21 NBA season in a major way, but there are a few key pieces missing across the league.

Draymond Green was not available for the Golden State Warriors' Tuesday opener, and Rui Hachimura will miss time for the Washington Wizards. 

Cody Zeller suffered the first notable in-game injury on Wednesday when he left the Charlotte Hornets' game with a fractured left hand, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

While neither of those three players are in the elite tier of fantasy basketball players, they could still be used in frontcourt roles throughout the season. 

To keep up the production at power forward and center, you should take a dive into the waiver wire for big men that have carved out decent roles on contending squads. 

Ivica Zubac turned in a decent season debut with 11 points and six rebounds in the Los Angeles Clippers' win over the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The 23-year-old center should put up similar totals every time he hits the floor as the Clippers replace the production of Montrezl Harrell, who signed with their cross-town rival in the short offseason. 

Zubac is rostered in 30 percent of Yahoo leagues, per Fantasy Pros, and he plays in two more games this week against the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks. 

The fifth-year center should chip in rebounds on a nightly basis since he averaged over seven boards per game in his last two seasons with the Clippers. 

If he reaches double digits in points in either of those games, it will be viewed as an added bonus for a player that can be plugged in at center if your regular starter is off on a night he plays. 

Zubac should be a better second center option than Zeller anyway, and his roster percentage may increase depending on how many points he records in the next few weeks. 

Marquese Chriss should have a few more opportunities to make his case for additional playing time in the coming weeks. 

Chriss kicked off the season with nine points and eight rebounds in the Golden State Warriors' blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets. 

The Warriors staff has to be pleased with that output in just 12 minutes, and those totals could give him more minutes on Christmas Day against the Milwaukee Bucks and in Sunday's road game versus the Chicago Bulls. 

Chriss should receive a decent chunk of minutes in those games as Green works his way back from injury. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Green would not play on Friday and "the hope" is he will be ready for the next two road games, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater.

With a roster percentage under 30 percent, Chriss could be the perfect plug-and-play option to close the week in place of Green. He could also be a depth option to help replace Hachimura's impact on fantasy rosters. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference