It’s that time of year again!  No, not Single’s Awareness Day.  No, not the All-Star Break.  It’s that magical time that inevitable occurs every year when seemingly every relevant baller gets hurt.  It’s here in full effect, and let me tell ya, it sucks.  Here we go again…

Elton Brand
This just broke this afternoon.  This morning, it was a day-to-day sprained shoulder.  Now, it’s season-ending surgery.  Sweeeeet.  Yesterday ESPN reported that an MRI showed it was healing, too.  So who steps up?  Reggie Evans baby.  He’s long been a favorite of mine in fantasy, and with even 25 minutes we could see double digit rebounds often.  Go grab him now before everyone else catches on.  Marreese Speights should get a little extra burn too, and could be worth a look if you’re desperate.  Brand is probably safe to cut, but it might be smart to wait another day or two to make sure this is all definite.

Catch the rest of the recent injuries after the jump!

The Fig Cap: Yeah… how’s that working out for ya?

Andrew Bogut
Ouch.  The Bucks can say bye bye to the playoffs.  He’ll miss 8 weeks, so that puts us right around the end of the year.  If he comes back exactly on time, he’ll have a few games left, so in deep leagues, you may want to hang on to him.  That may not be enough to hang on to him in standard sized leagues.  Keep your eyes peeled for the Dan Gadzuric vs. Francisco Elson battle.  Elson started the first game without him, but Gadzuric played just as well.  Either may be worth a look.

Andrew Bynum
Of course everyone has heard this story.  Tragic, really.  Lamar Odom is the big winner here, back in the starting lineup, and Pau Gasol had a couple great games in New York and Toronto.  Outside of that, there isn’t a whole lot to be found floating around out on the waiver wire that might help you.  Please stay away from Chris Mihm.  If you own Bynum in a redraft, safely cut him.

Chris Paul
Paul is going to reportedly miss a few more games with his groin injury.  Bad, bad, bad news for the Hornets and your fantasy team.  Antonio Daniels is getting his minutes, but to be honest, it may not even be worth a look.  Paul shouldn’t be out TOO long, and Daniels isn’t exactly Oscar Robertson.  With the Hornets looking lost without CP3, don’t be surprised if he comes back quite soon.

Jameer Nelson
Well here’s an interesting situation.  His torn labrum is going to have him out a while.  He can opt for surgery, ending his season, or he can roll the dice and try to rehab it.  If he goes this route, he’ll still be out several weeks and won’t come back at 100% for the rest of the year.  With the Magic pretty safely tucked into the three-seed, they may elect to let him have surgery.  Of course, they could decide they need him to make any noise in the playoffs too.  The team brought in Tyronn Lue from Milwaukee today, and Anthony Johnson had quite a game last night.  We’ll see who starts while Jameer is out, but Anthony’s 6 threes last night is tough to ignore.  He’s worth a look at least, and Lue may be as well when all is said and done.

Chauncey Billups
Billups missed the game last night, but looks like he’ll be back in action Friday.  Keep in mind that game is against Washington, so don’t be shocked if he sits one more game.  Anthony Carter would get the nod in this case again and could be worth grabbing as a streamer.

Jose Calderon
He sat out against the Lakers Wednesday, but is expected to play Friday.  Probably a good thing for the Raptors.  Still, his hamstring is an injury that may linger, so keep an eye on it, especially before setting next week’s lineup in weekly leagues.

Chris Bosh
This one may not be too serious, but it’s worth at least mentioning.  He left the game Wednesday with a sprained knee and is doubtful Friday.  He’s been called day-to-day, and tests have come back looking good, so we’ll see.  Kris Humphries and Jake Voskuhl may see more time while he’s out, but they probably aren’t worth messing with unless Bosh misses a good chunk of time.