DFS Alerts

Jimmy Butler (back) listed questionable Saturday

Jimmy Butler is now listed questionable Saturday and now joins Kendrick Nunn who is also questionable ahead of their game with the Milwaukee Bucks. If Butler were to miss Andre Iguodala would likely make his way into the starting lineup and benefit from some increased run while KZ Okpala would likely enter the rotation and see some minutes backing him up. When we look at CourtIQ with Butler off the floor we see that the biggest benefactors from an FPM boost perspective are Bam Adebayo (.10), Goran Dragic (.09), Iguodala (.06), and if available Nunn (.06). All of these guys become much stronger plays if Butler were to miss with most of the offense running through Nunn (if available), Robinson, and Adebayo.

Tatum and Fournier who were listed as probable last night will be available and start tonight wile Pritchard, Ojeleye, and Kornet will round out the rest of the starting five for the Celtics on Saturday as most of their usual starters are unavailable.

Jayson Tatum and Evan Fournier will be available and start Saturday

As expected, both Jayson Tatum and Evan Fournier will be available Saturday when the Celtics take on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tatum and Fournier should dominate the usage and production for the Celtics as they are the only regular starters available today. Tatum and Fournier will both be strong plays today if they see their full run but there is some question about how long they will play today with the Celtics already locked in to the play in games.

McDaniels will return to the starting lineup after working his way back from injury.

These will be the starters for the Spurs who only have 9 available players Saturday while they rest many of their key contributors with the 10th seed already locked up in the west and no possibility of improvement.

Goga Bitadze will draw the start for Domantas Sabonis Saturday against the Los Angeles Lakers

Deandre Ayton (knee) ruled out Saturday

Deandre Ayton has been ruled out Saturday and will miss his second straight game when the Suns take on the San Antonio Spurs. Last game Dario Saric got the start for Ayton and played 30 minutes while Frank Kaminsky saw some time at center off the bench (14 minutes) and Jae Crowder played some small ball five. This will likely be the case again today and Saric will be a potential value play at 3.1K on DK. The Suns offense should run through Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Mikal Bridges and should be the main considerations on the Suns side with Saric being a value option based on playing time.

McDaniels will remain in the starting lineup despite the availability of Miles Bridges who will come off the bench, also Cody Zeller will get the start Saturday over Bismack Biyombo.

Domantas Sabonis (quad) ruled out Saturday; Caris LeVert available

Domantas Sabonis has been ruled out Saturday while Caris LeVert will be available when the Pacers take on the Los Angeles Lakers. With Sabonis out Goga Bitadze will likely draw the start at center with Oshae Brissett at power forward and both should see increased run. Off the bench Kelan Martin and JaKarr Sampson should pick up some more minutes to help fill the void of Sabonis being unavailable. With Caris LeVert in Justin Holiday and TJ McConnell will have their potential somewhat limited but should still be strong plays with Aaron Holiday and Malcolm Brogdon out. Caris LeVert is by far going to see the most usage and production and will most likely be the top scorer for the Pacers who have a tough matchup with a full strength Lakers team that has an incentive to win.

As expected Bruce Brown will get the start Saturday in the place of Joe Harris.

Dejounte Murray and Rudy Gay ruled out Saturday

Dejounte Murray and Rudy Gay have been ruled out Saturday ahead of the Spurs matchup with the Phoenix Suns. This is no real surprise as the Spurs are already locked into the 10th seed going in to the play in tournament and will be giving as many of their main contributors the day off as possible. With Murray and Gay joing the other five spurs listed unavailable tonight Lonnie Walker will likely run point with Patty Mills and Tre Jones backing him up while Gay’s minutes should be split between Devin Vassell and Keita Bates-Diop. As we have seen the Spurs have no problem shaking their lineup up with surprise starters when their top guys miss so stay tuned to find out who is starting. The Spurs offense will likely be run through Lonnie Walker and Keldon Johnson with Drew Eubanks being a good vale option at only 3.1K on DK.

Derrick Rose (ankle) available to play Saturday

Derrick Rose will be available to play Saturday when the Knicks take on the Charlotte Hornets after being deemed a game-time decision earlier in the day. With the return of Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley Rose will likely see his minutes decline somewhat but it remains to be seen how many they all get when all are active. It might be a good idea to stay away from the situation right now until we know more about how the playing time will shake out for the Knicks guards. The Knicks offense should be run through Julius Randle and RJ Barrett and they should be your main considerations on the Knicks.

Zach LaVine and Tomas Satoransky ruled out Saturday

Zach LaVine and Tomas Satoransky have been ruled out Saturday when the Chicago Bulls are scheduled to face off with the Brooklyn Nets. The Chicago Bulls were eliminated from any possible playoff run last night so it makes sense for them to not push any of their players that are dealing with injury or fatigue, which looks to be the case with both Lavine and Satoransky. With both out the Bulls will likely turn to Coby White and Garrett Temple to lead the guards with Javonte Green, Denzel Valentine, and Ryan Arcidiacono available off the bench. Coby White has been impressive when given free reign in the backcourt this season for the Bulls so he should be considered as a viable option today. The Bulls offense will run through White and Vucevic making them strong plays. It is also likely Vucevic could see a few more rebounds with Daniel Theis also being unavailable.

LeBron James, Dennis Schroder, and Anthony Davis will play Saturday; Alex Caruso available but "might be held out"

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dennis Schroder will play Saturday and likely start while Alex Caruso will be available but “might be held out” according to Coach Frank Vogel. With the three main pieces of the Lakers offense being available now (LeBron, AD, and Schroder) a lot of role players who have seen extended run for the Lakers the past few weeks will likely return to their normal roles. This includes Kyle Kuzma, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Caruso (if he plays) among others who will lose all of their potential upside. Schroder and LeBron will not have a strict minutes limit but Coach Vogel once again said he will be responsible with their minutes. As we have seen throughout the year with Vogel this means different things for different players so we can not know for sure what to expect. The Lakers offense should once again be run through LeBron, AD, and Schroder for however long they are available to play, it is also worth noting that this is an important game for the Lakers as they look to avoid the play in games.

Status note: James Harden will start Saturday with an increased minutes limit

James Harden will start Saturday with an increased minutes limit, Harden played 26 minutes last game so expect him to see closer to 30 minutes this game. Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving will all be available today so most of the Brooklyn offense should be run through these three. Harden will be limited but can easily reach value in his expected 30 minutes of playing time so he should be considered as a potential spend up option on this slate along with the other two Brooklyn superstars.