Domantas Sabonis

Pacers head coach Nate McMillan confirmed F/C Domantas Sabonis (foot) is returning to the Bubble Saturday and will enter quarantine for a “few days.”

Fantasy Impact

It’s unclear how long Sabonis will have to quarantine when he arrives back on the NBA campus, but this is positive news for both him and the Pacers, who find themselves currently down 0-2 heading into Game 3. Game 4 of the series is on Monday, and depending on the length of quarantine, Sabonis could rejoin the team for that one.

When asked about the possibility of teammate Domantas Sabonis’ return this season, Pacers F/C Myles Turner said, “I'm playing with the mentality he won't be back. I'm preparing for the worst.”

Fantasy Impact

It doesn’t sound good for Sabonis’ prospects of returning to the court this season after suffering from a foot injury a few weeks ago. As such, the Pacers are extremely thin in the front court which means a ton of opportunity for Turner. He should see heavy minutes immediately and is worthy of a spot in your DFS lineup, especially early in the regular season as the Pacers are also without big man Goga Bitadze.

Pacers F/C Domantas Sabonis will leave the Orlando bubble with a significant foot injury. He will seek treatment from a specialist.

Fantasy Impact

Enter Myles Turner, who is likely to see a whole lot of minutes at the 5 now with Sabonis unlikely to return to play. Big man Goga Bitadze (knee) is also dealing with an injury himself, and all of a sudden the Pacers are looking really thin up front. Hoping for the best with Sabonis, but the news doesn’t look promising. The arrow is pointing straight up for Turner who should play a ton of minutes moving forward without Sabonis and/or Bitadze.

Pacers' coach Nate McMillan has confirmed that Domantas Sabonis is dealing with plantar fasciitis. The foot injury is expected to sideline Sabonis in all of the Pacers' exhibition games and his absence could extend beyond that.

Fantasy Impact

Plantar fasciitis is an injury that often requires an extended period of rest and can flare up again if players jump into activity too early. There is a good chance that Sabonis will have to miss the start of the NBA restart. In that case, Justin Holiday is likely to receive the starting power forward position for Indiana, with Doug McDermott and TJ Leaf seeing some increased minutes as well. Holiday could provide some fantasy value for owners as he is currently averaging 1.9 three-pointers and 1.2 steals per game. In an extended role, Holiday could have an opportunity to improve on those per game averages.

Domantas Sabonis, as explained by coach Nate McMillan, is dealing with foot soreness and will miss the next few days at least.

Fantasy Impact

Sabonis' contribution and production are invaluable for this Pacers team. Before the break, he was having the best season of his career, averaging 34.8 minutes of playing time, 18.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, with all of them being career-highs. Sabonis is a "walking" double-double and should be considered a must-start in all formats. If he is unable to go, you could see Doug McDermott get some extra run or even T.J Warren filling in at the four while having Justin Holiday at the three. All three would be worth having on your radar should there be any setbacks with Sabonis. Warren could creep into must-start territory with an expanded role, and both Justin Holiday and Doug McDermott would be reliable options in a deep-league play; they could even be considered as a salary relief option in other formats.