Fantasy Basketball 2022: Streaming Options for Injured NBA Players for Week 12

The Portland Trail Blazers have asked players to step up in increased scoring roles for the next few games. 

Damian Lillard is dealing with an abdominal injury that will keep him out of the next three games at minimum, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Nassir Little has been one of the many beneficiaries in the Portland lineup as the team looks to fill the large scoring void left open by Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who has missed time with a collapsed lung.

The 21-year-old has worked himself into a nice role behind Norman Powell and Anfernee Simons on the scoring chart and is a solid fantasy basketball streaming option. 

Here are three players, including Little, who are worth considering to fill the spots left open by injuries to Lillard and Ricky Rubio, who recently tore his ACL. 

Nassir Little is not a like-for-like positional replacement for Damian Lillard, but he is the best possible replacement available on the waiver wire from Portland's current lineup.

The North Carolina product has attempted 26 field goals over the last two games, and he scored 22 points in Monday's high-scoring affair with the Atlanta Hawks. 

Norman Powell and Anfernee Simons shouldered much of the scoring load in the absence of Lillard, but both players are widely rostered in Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues. 

Little has a much lower roster percentage, and he could be useful at the small forward spot if he continues to shoot at a high volume. He reached double figures in the scoring column in four of his last six trips to the hardwood, and he chipped in at least six rebounds in five of his last six games. 

His roster percentage will only go up if he continues to rack up points and rebounds at that rate, and especially if Lillard is out for a longer period of time. 

It is hard to ignore the numbers produced by Kevin Love over the last few weeks. 

The 33-year-old has been in fantastic shooting form for the Cleveland Cavaliers while they deal with a ton of absences due to injuries and health and safety protocols. 

Love is not a direct positional replacement for Ricky Rubio, but he has taken up some of the scoring duties the point guard had while he was on the floor. 

The five-time All-Star produced 20 or more points in five straight games from December 26 to January 2, and he was two points away from continuing that streak on Tuesday. He is doing most of his damage from three-point range and has 31 three-point makes over the last six games. 

Love's red-hot streak from deep makes him an ideal waiver-wire pickup or just a weekly streaming option. You should keep him rostered until his production dips, or until Cleveland adds another scorer. 

Josh Hart is doing a bit of everything for the New Orleans Pelicans. 

The 26-year-old has at least 14 points in each of his last six games, and he has filled up the rebounds and assists columns.

Hart's overall production and eligibility at shooting guard in Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues make him a potential replacement for Lillard and Rubio if you have a guard spot open on your roster. 

The Villanova product added rebounding to his scoring prowess recently, with nine or more in each of his last four games. 

Those numbers should remain at a high level as long as Zion Williamson is away from the team. His injury absence does not appear set to be end any time soon, so you should put trust in role players such as Hart.