DFS Alerts

Will Barton (hamstring) now questionable Wednesday

Will Barton was upgraded to doubtful last night and has been further upgraded to questionable Wednesday. Barton has been out since April 23rd when he injured his hamstring, returning after such a long layoff makes it difficult to predict how much playing time Barton will see if he is cleared to play so playing him tonight will require some risk tolerance. If Barton does play it will likely come at the expense of Austin Rivers, Monte Morris, and Markus Howard. The Denver offense should continue to be run through Nikola Jokic, Porter Jr. (if available, currently questionable), and Gordon as the Nuggets look to even the series at 1 game apiece.

As expected, Joe Ingles will enter the starting lineup for Mike Conley who is dealing with a strained hamstring.

The Clippers will run with the same starting five Tuesday that they used on Sunday to win Game 7 against the Mavericks. There were questions whether Ivica Zubac would rejoin the starting five now that the Clippers are forced to deal with Rudy Gobert but Coach Ty Lue has elected to stay small and sacrifice rebounding for defensive versatility at least at the onset of tonight’s contest. It is still likely that Zubac sees more than the 8 minutes combined he saw in Games 6 and 7 but will still be coming off the bench.

Solomon Hill will once again get the start for De’Andre Hunter as he remains out with knee soreness. Hill scored 14.75 DK points in 25 minutes of action on Sunday.

Lineup Update: Sixers will start Simmons, Curry, Green, Harris, Embiid on Tuesday

Joel Embiid (knee) will be available and start Tuesday

Joel Embiid will be available and start Tuesday for Game 2 against the Atlanta Hawks. Embiid who was able to suit up for Game 1 after missing the 76ers close out game of the previous series will once again be able to play in Game 2 despite being listed on the injury report as questionable yesterday. Embiid was able to play 38 minutes in the 76ers loss on Sunday so there shouldn’t be much of a minutes restriction for him going forward. Embiid should be considered a top-end spend up option at center as the offense should run through him, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris.

De'Andre Hunter (knee) ruled out Tuesday

De’Andre Hunter will not be available Tuesday for the Hawk’s Game 2 matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers. Hunter has been dealing with knee soreness and will remain out after also missing Game 1 of the series. Solomon Hill got the start for Hunter and played 25 minutes while Kevin Huerter saw the biggest bump and played 29 minutes. Huerter saw this increased playing time due to the fact that Philadelphia started to trap Trae Young and the Hawks needed another reliable ballhandler. It is likely this will once again be the defensive strategy for Philadelphia so expect a similar amount of minutes for both Huerter and Hill making them better value options for the Hawks.

Status Update: Joel Embiid a game-time decision Tuesday

Joel Embiid will be a game-time decision Tuesday though Coach Doc Rivers is “optimistic” he plays. Embiid who was able to suit up for Game 1 after missing the 76ers close out game of the previous series will once again most likely be able to play in Game 2 despite being listed on the injury report as questionable yesterday. Embiid was able to play 38 minutes in the 76ers loss on Sunday so there doesn’t seem to be much of a minutes restriction for him going forward. Embiid (if cleared) should be considered a top-end spend up option at center as the offense should run through him, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris.

Mike Conley (hamstring) ruled out Tuesday

Mike Conley will not be available Tuesday for the Jazz series opener with the Los Angeles Clippers. Most likely Joe Ingles or possibly Jordan Clarkson will join the starting lineup while both will see an increased role with Conley forced to miss. With Conley off the floor CourtIQ shows us that the biggest benefactors from an FPM perspective are Bojan Bogdanovic (.05) and Joe Ingles (.04) making them stronger options on today’s slate. Most of Utah’s production should continue to come from Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Bogdanovic.

Lineup Update: Suns will start Paul, Booker, Bridges, Crowder, Ayton on Monday

Lineup Update: Nuggets will start Campazzo, Rivers, Gordon, Porter Jr., Jokic on Monday

Lineup Update: Bucks will start Holiday, Middleton, Giannis, Tucker, Lopez on Monday

As expected, Bruce Brown will enter the lineup for the injured James Harden as he remains out after only playing one minute Saturday due to hamstring tightness in the Nets Game 1 win. Brown ended up seeing 21 minutes that game while the big winner at least from a minutes perspective was Mike James who saw 30 minutes off the bench. When we look at CourtIQ with both Harden and Jeff Green off the court we see that the biggest benefactors from an FPM boost standpoint are Blake Griffin (.06), Joe Harris (.05), Kyrie Irving (.03), and Kevin Durant (.03). Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving become even better options as elite plays with Harden out due to their FPM increases along with playing heavy minutes (both saw at least 40 minutes on Saturday) while all other starters see a boost as well.

Lineup Note: PJ Tucker will remain in starting lineup Monday

PJ Tucker will remain in starting lineup Monday for Game 2 of the Bucks series with the Brooklyn Nets. Tucker played 28 minutes last game and will likely play a similar amount tonight, he is known for being a horrible FPM producer but has upside with increased minutes.

Lineup Update: Clippers will start Jackson, George, Leonard, Batum, Morris on Sunday