DFS Alerts
Avery Bradley (illness) listed available Monday
Bradley has officially been upgraded from questionable and is now listed as available for Monday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder despite dealing with an illness that forced him to miss a practice over the weekend. Prior to Friday’s loss, Bradley’s minutes had been trending in an upwards trajectory, but head coach Erik Spoelstra continues to tinker with rotations and limit the playing time of veteran players coming off of an abbreviated offseason and training camp, making it extremely difficult to target any Heat players in daily fantasy formats, especially on an abundant nine-game slate on sites across the industry.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report
Blake Griffin (knee) and Josh Jackson (ankle) listed out Monday
Griffin was included on the Pistons’ initial injury report and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks as the team attempts to manage his chronic knee issues on the second leg of a back-to-back set, while Jackson will also be unavailable after spraining his ankle in Sunday’s loss. This will leave Detroit down two starters and will likely enable Saddiq Bey and Delon Wright to join the starting lineup at the small forward and shooting guard positions, respectively. The last time Griffin was sidelined, Bey was tremendous for daily fantasy purposes in just over 30 minutes of action, so with his playing time likely even more secure this time around sans Jackson, he likely becomes one of the top value options on tonight’s slates across the daily fantasy industry.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Josh Jackson James Harden (ankle) listed available Monday
Harden has officially been upgraded from questionable and is now listed as available for Monday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks after missing one game due to a sprained right ankle. 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 will send Eric Gordon back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a serviceable fantasy performance in just under 33 minutes of action in Saturday’s win. The Rockets are also poised to get back a sleuth of players that have passed the NBA’s health and safety protocols in tonight’s contest, 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 pick up DNP-CDs this evening.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Luka Doncic (quad) listed probable Monday
Doncic has been listed as probable on the Mavericks’ initial injury report for Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets after missing one game due to a left quad contusion. The likely 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: NBA Official Injury Report Jeff Teague (ankle) ruled out Monday; Marcus Smart (thumb) questionable
Teague has been included on the Celtics’ initial injury report and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors due to a sprained left ankle he sustained during Sunday’s win, while Smart is currently listed as questionable with a sprained right thumb. If Smart is unable to give it a go, the Celtics would begin to look relatively depleted in the backcourt, but as things stand now, Payton Pritchard is poised for an increased role in the rotation after 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 someone like Carsen Edwards sees 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 Other tagged players: Marcus Smart Luka Doncic (quad) officially out Sunday
As expected, Doncic has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls due to a left quad contusion, while Maxi Kleber will continue to play through a sprained right ankle despite continually being listed on the injury report. In his absence, Jalen Brunson will almost certainly join the starting lineup and become the primary initiator in the offense with Trey Burk serving as the backup at point guard and potentially even the shooting guard position if head coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t stagger the minutes of Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway Jr. or insert someone like Josh Green into the rotation for tonight’s contest. The Mavericks have historically played at a faster pace when Doncic is sidelined, so Hardaway, in particular, appears to be a tremendous value in all daily fantasy formats since he leads the team in usage rate differential with the two All-Stars off the court.
As reported by: Eddie Sefko via Twitter LaMarcus Aldridge (knee) remains out Sunday
Aldridge has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to a sore left knee that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games. Aldridge had started at center in all three games prior to his injury this season, so Jakob Poeltl appears to be the overwhelming favorite to remain in the starting lineup, and he has relatively serviceable for fantasy purposes thus far despite dealing with a bit of foul trouble. With Aldridge off the court over the last two seasons, players like DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay have benefitted the most, as they each see at least a +1.8% increase in usage rate and average a minimum of +0.08 more fantasy points over this sample.
As reported by: RJ Marquez via Twitter Grayson Allen (ankle) available to play Sunday
Allen has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing one game due to a sprained right ankle. Head coach Taylor Jenkins also confirmed that De’Anthony Melton has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, so suddenly the Grizzlies backcourt rotation is much more crowded than it had been just two short days ago even with Ja Morant still sidelined for the foreseeable future. Even Jenkins admitted to reporters that it’s going to take some time to figure out the rotations with nearly all of his guards at his disposal, making all of them a pretty easy avoid on the daily fantasy slates across the industry this evening.
As reported by: Evan Barnes via Twitter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ankle) listed out Sunday
Caldwell-Pope has officially been downgraded from questionable and is now listed out on the Lakers’ injury report for Sunday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a sprained left ankle he sustained during Friday’s win. Since Alex Caruso is still away from the team because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Wesley Matthews or Talen Horton-Tucker are the leading candidates to start alongside Dennis Schroder in tonight’s contest. However, 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 tournament across the industry this evening.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Pascal Siakam will play Saturday, as expected
Pascal Siakam will play Saturday, as expected. He ended up being held out of Toronto’s blowout win over the Knicks as a result of team discipline, but will be back in the lineup tonight and shouldn’t be restricted in any way. He’s projected for 36 minutes in the RotoGrinders projections.
As reported by: Josh Lewenberg
Brandon Goodwin available to play Saturday
Brandon Goodwin available to play Saturday. With Rajon Rondo on the shelf, Goodwin will act as the backup PG behind Trae Young and should see somewhere in the range of 12-15 minutes. He’s not a DFS option.
Other tagged players: Rajon Rondo Alec Burks ruled out Saturday
Alec Burks has been ruled out Saturday. His absence should lead to increased court time for Reggie Bullock, Austin Rivers and the recently activated Immanuel Quickley. Despite not offering a whole lot from a per-minute perspective, Bullock could push for 35+ minutes with Burks out, especially given that Austin Rivers is still working his way back into game shape and Quickley has also missed time recently. The Knicks have one of the lowest implied team totals on the slate, but Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton still have GPP appeal.
As reported by: Steve Popper Other tagged players: Reggie Bullock, Austin Rivers, Immanuel Quickley Immanuel Quickley (sore left hip) is available to play Saturday
Immanuel Quickley (sore left hip) is available to play Saturday. It looks like he’ll return to the rotation, which could eat into Elfrid Payton’s playing time and could also lead to a little less run for Austin Rivers or RJ Barrett. It’s not totally clear what Quickley’s role is yet, but he figures to work in off the bench and provide a spark offensively. Quickley put up a couple big stat lines in preseason.
Evan Fournier (back spasms) will not play Saturday
Evan Fournier (back spasms) will not play Saturday. His absence will shift Michael Carter-Williams into the starting lineup, giving MCW DFS viability on a shorter Saturday slate. Fournier is very involved in Orlando’s offense, so look for a combination of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Markelle Fultz to potentially see slight upticks in usage/shot attempts. The Magic will get Terrence Ross back, and he could very well push for 30 minutes and see an uptick in his production, making him one of the stronger GPP targets in the mid-range.
As reported by: Roy Parry Other tagged players: Terrence Ross, Michael Carter-Williams James Harden (ankle) ruled out Saturday
James Harden (ankle) ruled out Saturday. John Wall’s impact on Harden was notable in the duo’s first game together, as Wall was just as involved offensively as Harden. With Harden now out of the fold on Saturday, Wall becomes an elite target in all formats and is a very tough fade in contests that include the early HOU/SAC game. Christian Wood’s ceiling rises a bit and we’ll likely see more of David Nwaba, Sterling Brown and Eric Gordon. All three have viability with Gordon being the safest from a minutes perspective.
As reported by: Kelly Iko Other tagged players: John Wall, Christian Wood