DFS Alerts
Big GPP Upside
Now that his DFS price is elevated, Randle is not a player that is often coveted in DFS. He’s inherently risky, and he plays for the Knicks. Enough said, right? Well, tonight the Knicks draw a juicy matchup against a Wizards team that offers little to no defensive resistance, and they play at a fast pace. This is a spot where Randle could absolutely smash, and he is one of my favorite GPP plays of the night.
Head Juancho
Hernangomez has always been a player who has a skilled fantasy game and only needs minutes to thrive, and in his two games with his new team, Hernangomez has played 27 and 26 minutes respectively. Hernangomez also jumped up to a 19.2% usage rate last game against Toronto. Tonight he gets the favorable matchup against the soft defense of Charlotte, so he makes for a solid salary saver on tonight’s slate.
Big East Showdown
Still priced in the “cheap” range across all sites, Victor Oladipo has seen his minutes steadily climb since returning from injury — from 21 minutes six games ago all the way to 27 minutes last time out against Brooklyn. Tonight is a big game against Milwaukee and it would not be surprising to see Indiana’s best player grab an extra couple of minutes with a long, nine-day All-Star Break coming up for the Pacers guard.
Brandon Ingram (ankle) out Tuesday
Ingram has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers due to a sprained right ankle that has now forced him to miss two games, while Zion Williamson is available to play, as expected, following his original probable designation on the Pelicans injury report with a sprained left ankle. In Ingram and Williamson’s absences, Josh Hart and Nicolo Melli ended up receiving the starts at the forward positions, but Hart was easily extended a longer leash with the starting as he was serviceable for fantasy purposes in just under 30 minutes of action in Saturday’s win. Since Williamson has only played eight games this season, there isn’t much sample size for this iteration of the Pelicans with Ingram off the court, but in that limited time, Williamson has a 35.7% usage rate and is averaging 1.65 DraftKings and 1.61 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: Will Guillory via Twitter
DeMar DeRozan (back) officially out Tuesday
As expected, DeRozan has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to back spasms that also forced him to be a late scratch from Monday’s loss. In his absence, Lonnie Walker IV ended up receiving the start at small forward, and he was ultimately serviceable for fantasy purposes in just under 27 minutes of action, whereas Marco Belinelli stepped into a meaningful role in the second unit for the first time in quite a while and logged 19 minutes off the bench. It comes as no surprise that LaMarcus Aldridge has benefitted the most with DeRozan off the court this season, and he has 30.1% usage rate, 15.9% assist rate, 15.7% rebound rate, and is averaging 1.37 DraftKings and 1.36 FanDuel points per minute in a 238.6 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Joe Mussatto via Twitter Anfernee Simons (concussion) available to play Tuesday
As expected, Simons has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans after missing one game due to a concussion, while Mario Hezonja and Nassir Little were already ruled out with their respective ailments. In Simons’ absence, head coach Terry Stotts trotted out an extremely tight rotation with Gary Trent Jr. essentially absorbed all of the available minutes at the shooting guard and small forward positions in the second unit, and he was more than serviceable in 33 minutes of action off the bench. Simons only has an 18.6% usage rate and is averaging just 0.68 DraftKings and 0.65 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far, so his return of the lineup likely hurts Trent’s viability for daily fantasy formats more than Simons is in consideration himself on a five-game slate.
As reported by: Jamie Goldberg via Twitter DeMar DeRozan (back) doubtful Tuesday
As expected, DeRozan has officially been listed as doubtful on the initial Spurs injury report for Tuesday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to back spasms that forced him to be a late scratch from Monday’s loss. In his absence, Lonnie Walker IV ended up receiving the start at small forward, and he was ultimately serviceable for fantasy purposes in just under 27 minutes of action, whereas Marco Belinelli stepped into a meaningful role in the second unit for the first time in quite a while and logged 19 minutes off the bench. It comes as no surprise that LaMarcus Aldridge has benefitted the most with DeRozan off the court this season, and he has 30.1% usage rate, 15.9% assist rate, 15.7% rebound rate, and is averaging 1.37 DraftKings and 1.36 FanDuel points per minute in a 238.6 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Evan Closky via Twitter Blazing a Trail Through Bourbon Street
Portland ranks middle of the pack in pace this season but tonight gets a boost by facing the 2nd-fastest team in the league in the New Orleans Pelicans. The extra possessions should help guys like Damian Lillard, who has been scorching lately. Over his last 10 games, Lillard has averaged 41.5 (real life) points per game to go along with the 5.7 rebounds and 9.4 assists he has contributed to his fantasy totals. On a small slate with limited elite options, Lillard looks like a solid investment in cash games.
Click Your Spurs
DeMar DeRozan is going to miss the game tonight and that means his team-leading usage rate is up for grabs. In nearly 239 minutes this season with DeRozan off the court, LaMarcus Aldridge has a team-high usage rate north of 30%. That’s nearly a 7% jump from his normal rate. His price tag still checks in at affordable ranges all around the industry, putting him squarely in play for cash games on a small slate.
Jimmy Butler (shoulder) will start Monday
Butler has officially been upgraded from questionable and will start in Monday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors after missing two games due to a strained right shoulder, while Tyler Herro was already ruled out and remains sidelined with a sore right ankle. There haven’t been any reports that Butler will be subject to a minute restriction in his return, so he should be fine to handle his usual minute workload, which will send Kelly Olynyk back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a couple of underwhelming fantasy performances in an average of 15.9 minutes over this span. As is the case most nights, Butler remains firmly in consideration for all daily fantasy formats, and he continues to lead the Heat with a 25.7% usage rate, a 28.9% assist rate, and is averaging 1.22 DraftKings and 1.23 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far.
As reported by: the Miami Heat via Twitter Deandre Ayton (ankle) officially out Monday
Ayton was briefly downgraded from questionable to doubtful and has now officially been ruled out Monday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a sore left ankle. The Suns are still without Aron Baynes, Dario Saric, and Frank Kaminsky, so they are paper-thin at the center position for tonight’s contest, which will force head coach Monty Williams to start Cheick Diallo at the five and will likely utilize a ton of small-ball lineups when he’s off the court with Tariq Owens as the only other true big man on the entire active roster. Ever since Ayton returned from a 25-game suspension and a lengthy injury absence, Kelly Oubre Jr. has benefitted the most with him off the court, as he has a 25.4% usage rate and is averaging 1.17 DraftKings and 1.15 FanDuel points per minute in a 192.6 minutes sample. This makes him a fine tournament option on a nine-game main slate even though he’ll come off the bench in favor of Cameron Johnson this evening.
As reported by: Duane Rankin via Twitter Gary Harris (adductor) will start Monday
As expected, Harris will start in Monday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs despite dealing with right adductor tightness, while Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr., and Mason Plumlee have already been ruled out with their respective ailments. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Harris, so he should be fine to handle his usual minute workload in tonight’s contest, and he was able to log over 36 minutes as a member of the starting unit in Saturday’s win. Newly-acquired Jordan McRae was a DNP-CD in that game, but it’d be difficult to imagine him not overtaking P.J. Dozier in the rotation and possibly even siphoning some second unit minutes from Monte Morris and Torrey Craig once Barton returns from his current injury absence. McRae will likely be a high-usage player off the bench for Denver since he has a 25.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.06 DraftKings and 1.04 FanDuel points per minute in 655.0 minutes this season.
As reported by: T.J. McBride via Twitter Mike Conley (rest) out Monday
Conley is a late addition to the Jazz’s injury report and won’t play in Monday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Dallas Mavericks due to rest purposes, while Ed Davis remains sidelined because of back spasms, but he’s long been a non-factor in head coach Quin Snyder’s rotation. The last time Conley was rested, Royce O’Neale ended up receiving the start alongside Joe Ingles on the wing, but he was dismal for fantasy purposes in 26 minutes as a starter, whereas Jordan Clarkson was phenomenal off the bench, dropping 37 real-life points in 31 minutes of action. Conley has only seen his playing time ramp-up over the last few games, so there isn’t really a major beneficiary with him off the court, but Clarkson does have a 24.3% usage rate and is averaging 0.92 DraftKings and 0.88 FanDuel points per minute since joining the Jazz in late-December.
As reported by: Tony Jones via Twitter D’Angelo Russell (quad) will play Monday
Russell has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Monday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors after missing one game due to a right quad contusion, Omari Spellman is away from the team and won’t be available to play in tonight’s contest. In Russell’s absence, head coach Ryan Saunders opted to start Jordan McLaughlin at point guard, and he was stellar for fantasy purposes in 37 minutes of action, whereas Malik Beasley was just as effective in his 29 minutes as the starting shooting guard in that contest.
As reported by: Alan Horton via Twitter Cam Reddish (concussion) and De'Andre Hunter (ankle) available to play Monday
As expected, Reddish and Hunter have officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic despite dealing with their respective ailments, while Jeff Teague is also available following his original probable designation on the Hawks injury report. Hunter was one of the four starters that logged at least 47 minutes in Sunday’s double-overtime loss, so barring some sort of setback, he should be able to handle his usual allotment of minutes in tonight’s second leg of a back-to-back. However, head coach Lloyd Pierce already disclosed to reporters at his pregame presser that Reddish will have a restriction of 25 minutes in his return from a four-game absence, which will obviously lower the minute floors Atlanta wing players like Kevin Huerter this evening.
As reported by: Sarah K. Spencer via Twitter Other tagged players: De'Andre Hunter