DFS Alerts
Nassir Little (knee) available to play Thursday
Little has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers after missing the past four games due to a sprained left knee. With Derrick Jones Jr. and Robert Covington available, Little’s role in the rotation is certainly not guaranteed, but Trail Blazers’ head coach Terry Stotts did disclose to reporters that if Little does actually play, he will be subject to a minute restriction as the team aims to ease him back into action. Should Little siphon absorb any playing time in the second unit, Jones, Covington, Rodney Hood, and Carmelo Anthony could all have less stable minute floors moving forward.
As reported by: Jay Allen via Twitter
Tyler Herro (protocols) a late scratch Thursday
Despite never appearing on the Heat’s injury report, Herro is a late scratch from the active roster and won’t be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets as he’s now in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and could be facing a mandatory self-isolation period pending contact tracing. His absence should enable either Gabe Vincent or Max Strus to join the backcourt rotation and either of them could be in line for significant playing time with the second unit this evening.
As reported by: the Miami Heat via Twitter Mason Plumlee (elbow) inactive Thursday
Despite never being listed on the Pistons’ injury report, Plumlee will be inactive for Thursday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to right elbow bursitis. Detroit is already without Jahlil Okafor for an extended period of time, so Isaiah Stewart will receive the starting nod at the center position in tonight’s contest and immediately becomes one of the top value options in all formats across the daily fantasy industry. Head coach Dwane Casey will more than likely be forced to stagger the minutes of Stewart and Blake Griffin, who should see significant time at the five sans Plumlee, which could lead to one of reserve forwards or wings like Saddiq Bey, Svi Mykhailiuk, or Rodney McGruder to substantially more playing time, especially if Wayne Ellington is still on a minute restriction as he works his way back from a recent injury hiatus.
As reported by: James Edwards III via Twitter OG Anunoby (calf) and Yuta Watanabe (ankle) ruled out Thursday
Anunoby has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics due to a strained left calf that has already forced him to miss the past two weeks, while Watanabe has been downgraded from doubtful, as expected, and won’t be available to play for a second straight game because of a sprained left ankle. In their absences, Norman Powell will continue to start alongside Fred VanVleet on the wing, while Stanley Johnson should see increased playing time with the second unit sans Watanabe, though DeAndre’ Bembry has taken on a larger role of late and even closed with the starters recently with Kyle Lowry leaving with an injury during the first quarter of Monday’s win.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter Other tagged players: Yuta Watanabe Moe Harkless (thigh) available to play Thursday
Harkless has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets after missing the past nine games due to a thigh contusion, while Gabe Vincent was also cleared to play following his original probable designation on the Heat’s injury report with a sore right knee. However, it remains unclear what type of role, if any, Harkless will have in head coach Erik Spoelstra’s second unit, but it appears unlikely that either he or Vincent will have the chance to compete for a regular rotation spot, especially once Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley are cleared to return from their respective ailments.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter Robert Williams (hip) ruled out Thursday
Williams is a new addition to the Celtics’ injury report and is now listed out for Thursday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors due to a sore left hip, while Marcus Smart continues to be sidelined with a left calf tear. Head coach Brad Stevens went back to his big starting lineup in Tuesday’s loss, so assuming Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson continue to start, one or both of Grant Williams and Semi Ojeleye could see additional playing time at the power forward spot when either Thies or Thompson is off the court this evening.
As reported by: Jared Weiss via Twitter Isaiah Roby (toe) a late scratch Wednesday
Despite never being listed on the Thunder’s injury report, Roby is a late scratch from the active roster for Wednesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers after not being able to make it through pregame warmups with some kind of toe injury. This will leave Oklahoma City with the required minimum of eight players to compete in tonight’s contest, so there will be a plethora of extra playing time available for the second unit that consists of Mike Muscala, Justin Jackson, and Darius Miller, which means the Thunder are starting Hamidou Diallo, Lu Dort, Kenrich Williams, Darius Bazley, and Al Horford this evening.
As reported by: Joe Mussatto via Twitter Alex Caruso (hand) ruled out Wednesday
Caruso has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a hand strain that has now forced him to miss two games, while Anthony Davis will be held out for a second straight game with right Achilles tendonosis. When Davis has been sidelined this season, Kyle Kuzma has typically received the start at power forward, and in his most recent spot start, he was phenomenal for fantasy purposes in 30 minutes of action. Head coach Frank Vogel’s rotation has shifted around a bit since the last time Davis was unavailable, so there may be a few extra minutes for Talen Horton-Tucker in the second unit if veterans Markieff Morris and Wesley Matthews continue to not see significant playing time on a nightly basis.
As reported by: Brad Turner via Twitter Karl-Anthony Towns (protocols) will start Wednesday
As expected, Towns has officially been upgraded from questionable and will start in Wednesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing 13 games due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. However, even with Towns active, it doesn’t sound like he’ll see extensive minutes in tonight’s contest as head coach Ryan Saunders recently mentioned to reporters that Towns was still experiencing underlying issues related to COVID-19 and would need to increase his lung capacity before being cleared by the medical staff. So, it seems likely he’ll have a pretty hard cap on his minutes, but his mere presence in the frontcourt rotation still does remove the other Timberwolves’ big men from consideration in daily fantasy formats this evening.
As reported by: Timberwolves PR via Twitter Anthony Davis (Achilles) ruled out Wednesday
Davis has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to right Achilles tendonosis that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Alex Caruso remains questionable with a hand strain. When Davis has been sidelined this season, Kyle Kuzma has typically received the start at power forward, and in his most recent spot start, he was phenomenal for fantasy purposes in 30 minutes of action. Head coach Frank Vogel’s rotation has shifted around a bit since the last time Davis was unavailable, so there may be a few extra minutes for Talen Horton-Tucker in the second unit if veterans Markieff Morris and Wesley Matthews continue to not see significant playing time on a nightly basis.
As reported by: Mike Trudell via Twitter OG Anunoby (calf) and Yuta Watanabe (ankle) ruled out Wednesday
Anunoby has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a strained left calf that has already forced him to miss two weeks, while Watanabe has been downgraded from doubtful, as expected, and won’t be available to play because of a sprained left ankle. In their absences, Norman Powell will continue to start alongside Fred VanVleet on the wing, while Stanley Johnson should see increased playing time with the second unit sans Watanabe, though DeAndre’ Bembry has taken on a larger role of late and even closed with the starters with Kyle Lowry leaving with an injury during the first quarter of Monday’s win.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter Other tagged players: Yuta Watanabe D'Angelo Russell (leg) ruled out Wednesday
Russell has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to left leg soreness. In his absence, Ricky Rubio will likely receive the start at point guard once again following a phenomenal fantasy performance in a season-high 34 minutes in Monday’s loss. Additionally, Shams Charania is reporting Karl-Anthony Towns will be back with the team after missing 13 games due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. However, even if Towns is active, it doesn’t sound like he’ll see an extensive run in tonight’s contest as head coach Ryan Saunders recently mentioned that Towns was still experiencing underlying issues related to COVID-19 and would need to increase his lung capacity before being cleared by the medical staff. So, it appears he’ll have a pretty hard cap on his minutes if he receives clearance, but his mere presence in the frontcourt rotation still does remove the other Timberwolves’ big men from consideration in daily fantasy formats this evening.
As reported by: Timberwolves PR via Twitter Karl-Anthony Towns (protocols) expected to play Wednesday
Despite originally being listed as doubtful on the Timberwolves’ injury report, Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that Towns is expected to return for Wednesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing 13 games due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. However, even if Towns is active, it doesn’t sound like he’s guaranteed to actually play in tonight’s contest as head coach Ryan Saunders recently mentioned that Towns was still experiencing underlying issues related to COVID-19 and would need to increase his lung capacity before being cleared by the medical staff. So, if Towns does receive clearance, it appears he’ll have a pretty hard cap on his minutes, but his mere presence in the frontcourt rotation still does essentially remove the other Timberwolves’ big men from consideration in daily fantasy formats this evening.
As reported by: Shams Charania via Twitter Jaylen Brown (knee) available to play Tuesday
As expected, Brown has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz after missing two games due to a sore left knee. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Brown, and Celtics head coach Brad Stevens even disclosed to reporters during his pregame media availability that he expects him to be a full-go for tonight’s contest. The return of Brown will also allow Stevens to move Daniel Theis back into the first unit alongside Tristan Thompson, so Grant Williams will head back to the bench to assume his usual reserve role after logging at least 23 minutes as a spot starter over the previous two games.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter Draymond Green (knee) active Tuesday
Green was included on the Warriors’ initial injury report, but he’s officially been upgraded from questionable and will be active for Tuesday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs despite dealing with a sore right knee. Green logged 36 minutes in Monday’s loss, but there haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction, so it’s possible he could see a relatively normal minute workload in tonight’s contest, especially with how depleted Golden State continues to be in frontcourt with Kevon Looney and James Wiseman each still unavailable because of their respective ailments. However, if Green’s minutes do end up being managed, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Eric Paschall would figure to benefit from additional playing time this evening.
As reported by: Anthony Slater via Twitter