COVID-19's Impact on Fantasy Basketball: What to Do?

"Filipinos love fantasy basketball," there's no way Aaron Atayde could have said any better.

Not only is the 2020-2021 National Basketball Association (NBA) just a few weeks away this week also marks the beginning of the fantasy basketball leagues in which Filipinos like Jump Thru Hoops hosts Jinno Rufino and Aaron Atayde, are actively participating. On Tuesday,  the duo took the time to discuss who are the NBA players that fantasy players should and should pick. Aside from the fact that the upcoming season will be compressed to a 72-game regular season, there's a high possibility that guys like LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and other big stars in the league won't be playing all of the games and those are the players who, for Rufino and Atayde, fantasy players should avoid. Aside from injuries to players, there's one thing that has impacted the real thing and will impact fantasy basketball: the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. 

As Rufino asked, "How big a factor this virus gonna affect fantasy basketball?"

In the new set of health and safety protocols set by the NBA for this new season, it says that if a player tests positive, that player will be prohibited to exercise for a minimum of 10 days, and then he will be monitored in individual workouts for two additional days. A total of possibly 12 days that a player could miss. and that long absence could hurt a fantasy player who had that player on his list. "What do you do? Do you drop (that player)? That's a huge amount of time, especially in a condensed 72-game schedule. If you miss a guy for about 10 games, what are you gonna do?" Rufino asked.

For Atayde, fantasy basketball should have another list. "This is why I think fantasy (basketball) should have a COVID list. If one player has COVID, you should be able to put him on your COVID list. you will have two tries to pick someone else. That is the best way to do it,"

To offer fantasy players a solution, Atayde has this to say, "Try and draft players that are not known for going out. Don't get James Harden because he goes to so many clubs. Don't get Lou Williams. Don't get anyone from the Clippers. Just find the guys that stay at home and play video games. Anyone that streams. Anyone that's on Twitch, dive and you'll be fine,"  

Screenshot is from pinoyliga.com Facebook page