DFS Alerts
Christian Wood (knee) ruled out Wednesday
Wood was a late addition to the Rockets’ injury report, and he’s officially been downgraded from questionable to out for Wednesday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to a sore left knee. The Rockets are already without rotation players Danuel House Jr. and Ben McLemore for tonight’s contest, so with Wood unable to suit up, DeMarcus Cousins should be expected to handle a large portion of the center minutes with some combination of P.J. Tucker or Bruno Caboclo filling in at the five when he’s off the court. The more time Tucker spends at the center spot, the more minutes will be available for the likes of David Nwaba, Jae’Sean Tate, and Sterling Brown at the forward positions.
As reported by: Mark Berman via Twitter
Marcus Smart (thumb) will play Wednesday; Jeff Teague (ankle) ruled out
Smart has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Miami Heat after missing one game due to a sprained right thumb, while Teague will miss a second straight contest with a sprained left ankle. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Smart, so his presence in the starting lineup will relegate Tremont Waters back to the bench, and in all likelihood, out of the rotation entirely, whereas Payton Pritchard should see still see a substantial but potentially reduced role to some extent following his phenomenal fantasy performance in 32 minutes of action in Monday’s win.
As reported by: Jared Weiss via Twitter Evan Fournier (back) officially out Wednesday
Fournier has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to back spasms that have now forced him to miss three consecutive games. The Magic will be without Michael Carter-Williams because of a sprained left foot, but they will receive some reinforcements with James Ennis slated to make his season debut following an extended injury absence. Head coach Steve Clifford already confirmed that Gary Clark will receive the starting nod at power forward in tonight’s contest, which will slide Aaron Gordon and Dwayne Bacon up a spot to the small forward and shooting guard position, respectively. However, Clark is unlikely to see extended run even as a starter with another body available in Ennis to absorb minutes in the frontcourt.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Nerlens Noel (ankle) ruled out Wednesday
Noel has officially been downgraded from questionable and will not be available to play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to a sprained right ankle, while Reggie Bullock remains listed as questionable with a sore left knee. The Knicks are already without Alec Burks and Frank Ntilikina because of their respective ailments, so they may end up being extremely thin at the wing positions if Bullock is unable to suit up in tonight’s contest. With Omari Spellman on track to make his season debut off the bench, he’ll likely slide into at least a portion of the backup center minutes, though Julius Randle filled that role in Monday’s win and logged a whopping 43 minutes of action.
As reported by: NY_KnicksPR via Twitter Paul George (ankle) and Marcus Morris (knee) questionable Wednesday
George has been listed as questionable on the Clippers’ initial injury report for Wednesday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors due to a sore ankle that forced him to miss Tuesday’s loss, while Marcus Morris has been upgraded to questionable and appears to have a chance to make his season debut following an extended injury absence. Interestingly, Kawhi Leonard was excluded from the Clippers’ injury report, and if he does suit up for tonight’s contest, it would be the first back-to-back he will have played in over three years. There have been no reports if Leonard will have his minutes limited if he plays, but that’s certainly a fair assumption after he logged 37 minutes yesterday evening.
As reported by: Mirjam Swanson via Twitter Other tagged players: Marcus Morris Christian Wood (knee) downgraded to questionable Wednesday
Wood is a new addition to the Rockets’ injury report and is now listed as questionable for Wednesday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to a sore left knee. The Rockets are already without rotation players Danuel House Jr. and Ben McLemore for tonight’s contest, so if Wood is unable to suit up, DeMarcus Cousins should be expected to handle a large portion of the center minutes with some combination of P.J. Tucker or Bruno Caboclo filling in at the five when he’s off the court. The more time Tucker spends at the center spot, the more minutes will be available for the likes of David Nwaba, Jae’Sean Tate, and Sterling Brown at the forward positions.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Paul George (ankle) ruled out Tuesday
George was an extremely late addition to the Clippers’ injury report and has now officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs due to a sore right ankle he apparently aggravated at the end of Sunday’s win. In his absence, Luke Kennard will join the starting lineup alongside Kawhi Leonard on the wing, and he’s typically approached the 30-minute mark in his previous spot starts when Leonard was sidelined with an injury despite sporadic success from a fantasy perspective. Unsurprisingly, Leonard and Lou Williams have the largest sample size with George off the court over the last two seasons, and they each own at least a +2.8% usage rate differential while averaging a minimum of +0.10 more fantasy points per minute.
As reported by: Mirjam Swanson via Twitter LaMarcus Aldridge (knee) will play Tuesday
Aldridge has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing three consecutive games due to a sore left knee. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Aldridge, so he should be fine to handle his usual allotment of playing time that had him consistently in the upper-20s in terms of minutes prior to his injury absence. His presence in the starting lineup will relegate Jakob Poeltl back to his usual reserve center role while Drew Eubanks will likely find himself out of the rotation entirely and will be a nightly DNP-CD candidate in head coach Gregg Popovich’s rotation.
As reported by: Evan Closky via Twitter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ankle) ruled out Tuesday
Caldwell-Pope has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a sprained left ankle that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Since Alex Caruso is still away from the team because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Kyle Kuzma will receive the starting nod at small forward despite a relatively disappointing fantasy performance in 30 minutes of action in Sunday’s win. Additionally, Wesley Matthews and Talen Horton-Tucker ended up seeing significant increases in playing time last time out, but Matthews has been such a low usage player in the latter stages of his career, Horton-Tucker is really the only intriguing option of the two for daily fantasy tournaments across the industry this evening.
As reported by: Jovan Buha via Twitter Josh Okogie (hamstring) remains out Tuesday
Okogie went through shootaround and was briefly listed as questionable on the Timberwolves’ injury report, but head coach Ryan Saunders already confirmed with reporters that he won’t be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a strained left hamstring that has now forced him to miss four consecutive games. In his absence, Saunders has tried out several different starting lineup combinations, but Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez are the most recent beneficiaries and started at the forward positions in Sunday’s loss. Culver was the more productive of the two for fantasy purposes in just under 29 minutes of action, but he’s proven to be an inconsistent and volatile player in the past, making him an easy player to avoid if he picks up any decent ownership steam over the next few hours.
As reported by: Dane Moore via Twitter Luka Doncic (quad) available to play Monday
As expected, Doncic has been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets after missing one game due to a left quad contusion. The return of Doncic to the starting lineup will relegate Jalen Brunson to the bench to resume his usual backup point guard role following his phenomenal fantasy performance in just under 38 minutes of action in Sunday’s loss. Doncic has been a bit more inconsistent in the early portion of the young season, but he’s still leading the Mavericks by a wide margin with a 37.9% usage rate while averaging 1.45 DraftKings and 1.39 FanDuel points per minute in a 155.9 minutes sample size thus far.
As reported by: Mavs PR via Twitter Danuel House Jr. (back) ruled out Monday
House is a late scratch and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks due to back spasms. However, the Rockets will get James Harden back after a one-game injury absence, and there haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Harden, so he should be expected to handle his usual minute allotment and his presence in the lineup could send Eric Gordon back to the bench if he doesn’t stick around to start in place of House in tonight’s contest. The Rockets are also poised to get back a sleuth of players that have passed the NBA’s health and safety protocols, though Ben McLemore is the only one of the bunch that projects to compete for rotation minutes and may force one or both of Sterling Brown and David Nwaba to reduced or nonexistent roles in the second unit this evening.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen via Twitter Darius Garland (shoulder) and Isaac Okoro (foot) ruled out Monday
Garland has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic due to a strained right shoulder, while Okoro remains sidelined with a sprained left foot. This will leave the Cavaliers down three starters with Kevin Love also recovering from an injury, so head coach JB Bickerstaff will slide Collin Sexton over the point guard position with Dante Exum and Damyean Dotson joining him at the wing positions. Given Cleveland’s lack of depth in the backcourt, there should be a surplus of minutes available for Exum and Dotson, making them each viable value options on the daily fantasy slates across the industry this evening.
As reported by: Chris Fedor via Twitter Other tagged players: Isaac Okoro Marcus Smart (thumb) ruled out Monday
Smart has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors due to a sprained right thumb, while Jeff Teague will also be sidelined because of a sprained ankle he sustained during Sunday’s win. With Smart unable to give it a go, the Celtics are now relatively depleted in the backcourt, and Payton Pritchard is poised for an increased role in the rotation after already logging just under 28 minutes last time out. Since Teague also sees time at the shooting guard position in smaller lineup combinations, it’s also possible players like Aaron NeSmith and Tremont Waters see nominal minutes off the bench, but the more likely scenario is that Jaylen Brown spends more time playing up at the two-spot and one or both of Grant Williams and Semi Ojeleye see extended playing time at forward this evening.
As reported by: Brian Robb via Twitter Alec Burks (ankle) and Dennis Smith Jr. (quad) ruled out Monday
Burks has been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to a sprained left ankle that’s now forced him to miss four consecutive games. This will leave the Knicks somewhat thin in the backcourt with Smith Jr., and Frank Ntilikina both still sidelined with their respective ailments. Immanuel Quickley saw just over 15 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s win, so it seems pretty likely that he and Austin Rivers will continue to split the vacated playing time behind Elfrid Payton and RJ Barrets at the guard positions if head coach Tom Thibodeau continues in that direction with his backcourt rotation. However, Payton should also maintain a more solidified minute floor in the starting lineup with the lack of depth at point guard, making him an intriguing option for tournament formats across the daily fantasy industry this evening.
As reported by: NY_KnicksPR via Twitter Other tagged players: Dennis Smith Jr.