DFS Alerts
Injury Opens Up Opportunity
With LaMarcus Aldridge set to miss another game for the Spurs, it opens up other players to exceed expectations. One of those guys is Trey Lyles and his cheap price tag around all sites. Last game, without Aldridge, Lyles played 26 minutes and scored 10 points while grabbing 8 rebounds. He doesn’t need a large usage rate to have a solid fantasy game, so this is a great spot to save money.
De'Anthony Melton (hand) out Wednesday; Jae Crowder (knee) available to play
Melton has been listed out on the latest Grizzlies’ injury report and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to a sore left hand that forced him to be a late scratch from Tuesday’s win, while Grayson Allen and Bruno Caboclo remain sidelined with their respective ailments. Prior to yesterday’s contest, Melton had settled into a consistent role off the bench in head coach Taylor Jenkins rotations, and he’s managed to see at least 22 minutes as a reserve in four of the Grizzlies’ previous six contests. However, the return of Jae Crowder from a two-game injury absence is likely a net-negative for the remaining members of the Memphis wing rotation, so it’s unlikely that any individual player sees a significant bump in playing time with Melton unavailable this evening.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Jae Crowder
Ricky Rubio (ankle) will start Tuesday
As expected, Rubio has officially been upgraded from probable and will start in Tuesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks despite dealing with a right ankle injury, while Aron Baynes, Cameron Johnson, and Frank Kaminsky all remain out with their respective ailments. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Rubio, so he’ll more than likely be fine to handle his usual minute workload in tonight’s contest, and he’s logged at least 35 minutes of action in four of the Suns’ previous six games. Rubio has struggled a bit for fantasy purposes in recent contests, but his price is now reduced to reflect the aforementioned slump, and he’s consistently flashed tournament upside this season, as he owns a 20.1% usage rate, a 37.4% assist rate, and is averaging 1.07 DraftKings and 1.05 FanDuel points per minute on the year thus far.
As reported by: Mike Peasley via Twitter Kristaps Porzingis (knee) will play Tuesday
Porzingis will play in Wednesday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Phoenix Suns despite originally being listed as questionable on the Mavericks’ injury report because of his ailing left knee, while Luka Doncic remains probable once again with a sore right ankle. Doncic has received an injury designation for his troublesome ankle several times this season, so it’d be surprising to see his status downgraded closer to tipoff with the Mavericks likely just taking the cautious approach by including him on the injury report. Doncic continues to play at an MVP-level for Dallas this season, and he’ll be an even stronger fantasy option if Porzingis is sidelined, as he leads the team with a 39.1% usage rate, a 45.8% assist rate, a 17.5% rebound rate and is averaging 1.77 DraftKings and 1.66 FanDuel points per minute with Porzingis off the court.
As reported by: Brad Townsend via Twitter Devonte' Graham (illness) will start Tuesday
Despite briefly being ruled out, Graham will now give it a go and start in Tuesday’s matchup against the New York Knicks despite dealing with an illness. This would have been the first game Graham had missed all season, but if he ends up being hampered by his aforementioned ailment, Dwayne Bacon or Malik Monk would appear to be the likeliest candidates to benefit from extra playing time, and Monk is coming off of a stellar fantasy performance in just under 34 minutes of action of the bench in Friday’s loss. Obviously, if Graham is able to play through the illness, he becomes a tremendous tournament option on an eight-game slate, as he still leads the Hornets with a 25.4% usage rate, a 35.2% assist rate, and is averaging 1.06 DraftKings and 0.99 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Kevin Porter Jr. (ankle) will play Tuesday
As expected, Porter Jr. will play in Tuesday’s against the New Orleans Pelicans despite dealing with a sprained right ankle he sustained during Monday’s win, while Darius Garland was already ruled out for rest purposes on the second leg of a back-to-back set. Garland has yet to miss a game this season, so his potential replacement in the starting lineup is a bit difficult to peg down, but with Porter available, he’ll come off the bench and serve as a backup at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. This means Dante Exum will start alongside Collin Sexton in the backcourt with Brandon Knight still sidelined with an injury. Porter was on a minute restriction and only logged 16 minutes in yesterday’s contest, so even though he’s active, there will be plenty of playing time available for the likes of Exum and Matthew Dellavedova, but they’ve both averaged fewer than 0.71 DraftKings and 0.68 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far.
As reported by: Chris Fedor via Twitter Kendrick Nunn (Achilles) out Tuesday
Nunn has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics due to bilateral Achilles soreness that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games. With Nunn sidelined for Monday’s win, Tyler Herro ended up receiving the starting alongside Duncan Robinson on the wing, and he was relatively solid for fantasy purposes in 30 minutes of action, and he will more than likely start once again, but his minute floor won’t be quite as stable with Goran Dragic back in the fold to siphon away vacant backcourt minutes. It comes as no surprise that Jimmy Butler has benefitted the most with Nunn and Justise Winslow off the court this season, as he owns a 28.9% usage rate, a 28.4% assist rate, and is averaging 1.34 DraftKings and 1.35 FanDuel points per minute in a 406.5 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter Bruno Fernando (calf) officially out Tuesday
As expected, Fernando has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors due to a strained left calf, while DeAndre’ Bembry and Alex Len were previously ruled out and remain sidelined with their respective ailments.
As reported by: Chris Kirschner via Twitter Jayson Tatum (groin) and Javonte Green (knee) out Tuesday
As expected, Tatum has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to a right groin strain, while Green has also been ruled out with a sore left knee. In Tatum’s absence, Marcus Smart will almost certainly remain in the starting lineup for at least one additional game, and he’s been relatively consistent for fantasy purposes of late following another solid performance in just over 36 minutes of action last time out. Among the healthy Celtics starters, Kemba Walker has benefitted the most with Tatum and Enes Kanter off the court this season, as he owns a 33.4% usage rate, a 23.9% assist rate, and is averaging 1.36 DraftKings and 1.31 FanDuel points per minute in a 286.9 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Chris Forsberg via Twitter Other tagged players: Javonte Green Joel Embiid (hand) and Zhaire Smith (ankle) available to play Tuesday
Embiid has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors after missing nine games due to surgery on his left hand, while Smith will be available to play despite dealing with a sprained left ankle he sustained during Saturday’s win. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Embiid, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he doesn’t see his usual minute workload in his first game back from a significant injury layoff. However, his return will still send one of Matisse Thybulle or Shake Milton to the bench to resume a reserve role, and head coach Brett Brown hinted during his pregame presser that Milton stick in the starting lineup for now with Josh Richardson still sidelined with a hamstring injury.
As reported by: Serena Winters via Twitter Other tagged players: Zhaire Smith Kevin Porter Jr. (ankle) expected to play Tuesday
Porter Jr. is still technically listed as questionable but is still expected to play in Tuesday’s against the New Orleans Pelicans despite dealing with a sprained right ankle he sustained during Monday’s win, while Darius Garland was already ruled out for rest purposes on the second leg of a back-to-back set. Garland has yet to miss a game this season, so his potential replacement in the starting lineup is a bit difficult to peg down, but with Porter on track to play, he’ll likely be the leading candidate to start at the shooting guard position. Otherwise, Dante Exum or Matthew Dellavedova would likely start alongside Collin Sexton in the backcourt with Brandon Knight still sidelined with an injury. Porter was on a minute restriction and only logged 16 minutes in yesterday’s contest, so even if he’s active, there will be plenty of playing time available for the likes of Exum and Dellavedova, but they’ve both averaged fewer than 0.71 DraftKings and 0.68 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far.
As reported by: Rick Noland via Twitter Popular Value Play With A Lot Of Upside
Ersan Ilyasova has played 26, 24, and 26 minutes in the last three games without Giannis. He scored 42.3, 39.4, and 36.3 fantasy points in those three games. These two teams both rank top four in pace, but Washington is ranked 30th in defensive efficiency. He’s likely going to be really popular, but it’s a really good spot for him.
Kristaps Porzingis (knee) listed questionable Tuesday; Luka Doncic (ankle) listed probable
Porzingis has been included in the latest Mavericks’ injury report and is questionable for Wednesday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Phoenix Suns due to injury recovery for his ailing left knee, while Doncic is listed as probable once again with a sore right ankle. Doncic has received an injury designation for his troublesome ankle several times this season, so it’d be surprising to see his status downgraded later in the day with the Mavericks likely just taking the cautious approach by including him on the injury report. Doncic continues to play at an MVP-level for Dallas this season, and he’ll be an even stronger fantasy option if Porzingis is sidelined, as he leads the team with a 39.1% usage rate, a 45.8% assist rate, a 17.5% rebound rate and is averaging 1.77 DraftKings and 1.66 FanDuel points per minute with Porzingis off the court.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Luka Doncic Giannis Antetokounmpo (shoulder) listed out Tuesday; George Hill (hamstring) available
Antetokounmpo has been listed out on the latest Bucks injury report and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a sore right shoulder, while Hill will be available to play despite dealing with a sore left hamstring. There haven’t been any announcements from the team or head coach Mike Budenholzer on who will replace Antetokounmpo in the starting lineup, but the three previous times Antetokounmpo has been sidelined this season, Ersan Ilyasova has started at power forward and averaged 26 minutes per game in those starts. Other than Ilyasova’s expected increase in playing time, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton have been the clear beneficiaries with Antetokounmpo off the court this season, as they each own a minimum of a +7.4% increase in usage rate and are averaging at least +0.21 more fantasy points per minute over their normal season-long numbers.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Darius Garland (rest) listed out Tuesday; Kevin Porter Jr. (ankle) listed questionable
Garland has been listed out on the latest Cavaliers’ injury report and won’t play in Tuesday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the New Orleans Pelicans due to rest purposes, while Porter Jr. is listed as questionable with a sprained right ankle he sustained during Monday’s win. Garland has yet to miss a game this season, so his potential replacement in the starting lineup is a bit difficult to peg down, though if Porter is cleared to play, he’ll likely be the leading candidate to start at the shooting guard position. Otherwise, Dante Exum or Matthew Dellavedova would likely start alongside Collin Sexton in the backcourt with Brandon Knight still sidelined with an injury. Porter was on a minute restriction and only logged 16 minutes in yesterday’s contest, so even if he’s active, there will be plenty of playing time available for the likes of Exum and Dellavedova, but they’ve both averaged fewer than 0.71 DraftKings and 0.68 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Kevin Porter Jr.