DFS Alerts

Marcus Smart (hip), Romeo Langford (Achilles), Jabari Parker (protocols), Juancho Hernangomez (protocols), Brodric Thomas (protocols) all available to play Saturday; Al Horford (conditioning) ruled out

Marcus Smart (hip), Romeo Langford (Achilles), Jabari Parker (protocols), Juancho Hernangomez (protocols), Brodric Thomas (protocols) are all available to play Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks, while Al Horford (conditioning) has been ruled out. Smart should start and could pick up a few extra minutes with Dennis Schroder being ruled out earlier in the day. Langford will also draw the start and will play increased minutes for the severely undermanned Celtics. Parker, Hernangomez, and Thomas should all be rotational pieces for Boston today as they try to fill out 240 minutes. With Horford ruled out, Parker and Hernangomez will likely be asked to play most of the big man bench minutes.

Dennis Schroder (protocols) ruled out for Saturday

Dennis Schroder (protocols) has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. With Schroder out, Payton Pritchard will likely end up being the first guard off the bench and should play increased minutes along with Romeo Langford, Joe Johnson, and Brodric Thomas. Pritchard and Langford will likely see the most meaningful increases and can be considered as value options based on expected volume.

Status Update: Josh Green (conditioning) now ruled out Saturday

After initially being upgraded to available for tonight’s game, Josh Green (conditioning) has now been ruled out for when the Mavericks are set to take on the Utah Jazz. With Green now out, Theo Pinson will likely enter the rotation with the remaining minutes being spread out across all other available Mavericks. Pinson could be considered as a value option but there are other players in his price range with higher upside.

Lineup Update: Hawks will start Wright, Bogdanovic, Reddish, Collins, Capela on Saturday

Danuel House (finger) now listed out Saturday

Danuel House (finger) is now listed out for Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. House wasn’t expected to play a major role today and with the Knicks relatively healthy compared to the rest of the league, his minutes will likely be spread out across available bodies. The best candidates to see a slight increase in minutes are Damyean Dotson, Quentin Grimes, and Wayne Selden. None of these players figure to be DFS relevant on today’s slate.

Status Update: RJ Barrett will play and start Saturday

RJ Barrett will play and start Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks. Barrett seemed to be trending in the right direction to play today and this was the expected move sending Alec Burks back to his bench role. Barrett should play an important role in the Knicks offense and can be considered in DFS contests while Burks loses some of his appeal coming off the bench.

Jericho Sims (health protocols) ruled out Saturday

Jericho Sims (health protocols) has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. The New York Knicks remain somewhat healthy compared to the rest of the league so they should be able to fill his bench minutes fairly easily by spreading them out among the available big men. Mitchell Robinson, Taj Gibson, and Obi Toppin will all likely take on a few of Sims’s minutes and can be considered slightly better plays.

Cam Reddish (ankle) and Delon Wright (ankle) available to play Saturday

As expected, Cam Reddish (ankle) and Delon Wright (ankle)will both be available to play Saturday against the New York Knicks after being listed as probable on the injury report last night. Both should play a significant role tonight with eight Hawks players currently in the health and safety protocols. Wright will likely start at point guard and can be considered at his 4.8K price on DK as a mid tier option. Cam Reddish should also start and will be one of the better plays on the entire slate at 5.4K on DK and should see a good portion of the usage for Atlanta.

Josh Green (health protocols) listed available to play Saturday

Josh Green (health protocols) listed available to play Saturday against the Utah Jazz. Josh Green will be available and should see somewhere near 20 minutes or so, making him a worthy consideration for a value option on the Christmas day slate.

RJ Barrett (conditioning) and Quentin Grimes (conditioning) are game-time decisions Saturday; Kevin Knox (conditioning) and Immanuel Quickley (conditioning) have been ruled out; Barrett will start if he plays

RJ Barrett (conditioning) and Quentin Grimes (conditioning) are game-time decisions for Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, while Kevin Knox (conditioning) and Immanuel Quickley (conditioning) have been ruled out. Barrett will assume his role in the starting lineup if he is cleared to play, likely pushing Alec Burks back to playing off the bench. If Quentin Grimes is cleared he could pick up some end of the rotation guard minutes but does not expect to be a major factor in DFS contests. With Immanuel Quickley ruled out, Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier should continue to start at the guard spots and play a good portion of minutes with Burks and Dotson available off the bench to spell them.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (health protocols) expected to be available to play Saturday; Donte DiVincenzo (health protocols) to make season debut

Giannis Antetokounmpo (health protocols) is expected to be available to play Saturday against the Boston Celtics, while Donte DiVincenzo (health protocols)is set to make his season debut. Giannis should instantly take over as the top dog in the Milwaukee offense and should shift some usage away from guys like Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton hurting their value. Giannis’s return should also eat into rotational players minutes like Jordan Nwora and Semi Ojeleye. DiVincenzo is set to make his season debut and while he will likely remain on somewhat of a minutes limit off the bench as he is eased back in the rotation he should take some minutes away from other bench guards like Grayson Allen and George Hill.

Aaron Gordon (hamstring) ruled out Thursday

Gordon quickly went from probable to questionable to out on the Nuggets’ injury report, and he now won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets due to a sore left hamstring. In his absence Vlatko Cancar will receive the starting nod at small forward, but he’ll more than likely just be a starter in name only with all the lineup combinations head coach Michael Malone is able to utilize with his players off the bench. For example, he can play bigger with JaMychal Green or Zeke Nnaji spending some time at power forward, or he could slide Will Barton down to small forward and have Facundo Campazzo, Bones Hyland, or Austin Rivers play as secondary point guards with or without Monte Morris on the court.

Kristaps Porzingis (toe) ruled out Thursday

The hits keep coming for the Mavericks as they’ll be without yet another starter in Porzingis for Thursday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks due to right toe soreness that’s now forced him to miss two games. Dallas is already without Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Reggie Bullock as well, so Sterling Brown and Frank Ntilikina figure to receive the starting nod alongside Dorian Finney-Smith on the wing. The Mavericks do still have Trey Burke and Theo Pinson available off the bench to help absorb additional wing and guard minutes, but with Porzingis unavailable, they will be dangerously thin in the frontcourt, which could lead to Marquese Chriss seeing more than the 16 minutes he logged in his Mavericks debut after signing his hardship contract earlier in the week.

Naji Marshall (protocols) ruled out Thursday

Marshall is the second Pelicans player to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols, so hopefully his unavailability for Thursday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic isn’t a perquisite to a larger breakout amongst the rest of the team. With Nickeil Alexander-Walker in protocols and Kira Lewis Jr. still out indefinitely with a sprained knee, New Orleans is ultra-thin in the backcourt behind Devonte’ Graham, who should theoretically now have a much longer leash in the starting lineup without Alexander-Walker coming off the bench. This means Tomas Satoransky is the next man up to handle the backup point guard responsibilities, but it remains to be seen just how much overlap he might have with Graham on the court. If it ends up being none or extraordinarily little, then there should be ample playing time on the wing to be absorbed by Garrett Temple and Trey Murphy this evening.

Quentin Grimes (protocols) listed available Thursday

Grimes joins RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin as the first three Knicks to clear the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and they will all be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards, although the Knicks remain shorthanded with Derrick Rose undergoing ankle surgery and four other players in health and safety protocols. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Barrett, so he’ll slot into his familiar starting position alongside Evan Fournier on the wing. The only other question needing to be addressed about the starting lineup is whether Kemba Walker or Alec Burks heads to the bench to assume Rose’s vacated role as the sixth man, but either way, both figures to see plenty of playing time in an already thin Tom Thibodeau rotation this evening.