DFS Alerts
Allen Crabbe (illness) questionable Saturday
Crabbe has officially been listed as questionable for Saturday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Toronto Raptors due to an illness, while Karl-Anthony Towns has finally been removed from the injury report after returning from a 15-game absence stemming from a sprained left knee in Friday’s loss. Towns managed to put together a solid real-life performance and logged 28 minutes in his first game back from an extended layoff, but it remains unclear if he’ll be allowed to see that amount of playing time on back-to-back days. Without Crabbe available for last night’s contest, head coach Ryan Saunders condensed his rotation to just nine players, but Andrew Wiggins, Jarret Culver, and Robert Covington were still the only starters to eclipse the 30-minute mark, and if Crabbe is cleared to play, he’ll likely siphon playing time from the likes of Jordan McLaughlin, Keita Bates-Diop, and Josh Okogie this evening.
As reported by: Timberwolves PR via Twitter
Steven Adams (knee) questionable Saturday
Adams is officially questionable for Saturday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Portland Trail Blazers due to a right knee contusion that has already forced him to miss one game, while Danilo Gallinari, Terrence Ferguson, and Abdel Nader have already been ruled out with their respective ailments. In Adams’ absence, Nerlens Noel ended up receiving the start at the center position in Friday’s loss, but he was limited to just 21 minutes and was relatively solid from a fantasy perspective in his return from a six-game injury layoff. Mike Muscala wasn’t as productive for fantasy purposes, but he did manage to absorb the remaining 27 minutes at the center spot off the bench. Darius Bazley will more than likely receive the start at power forward with Gallinari resting, but he’ll be nothing more than a tournament dart throw with his putrid 14.6% usage rate and a mediocre average of 0.73 DraftKings and 0.72 FanDuel points per minute with Gallinari, Ferguson, and Nader off the court this season.
As reported by: Jamie Hudson via Twitter Danilo Gallinari (rest), Terrance Ferguson (illness), and Abdel Nader (ankle) out Saturday
Gallinari, Ferguson, and Nader have all been ruled out for Saturday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Portland Trail Blazers due to their respective ailments, while Steven Adams is questionable with a right knee contusion that already forced him to miss one game. In his absence, Nerlens Noel ended up receiving the start at the center position in Friday’s loss, but he was limited to just 21 minutes and was relatively solid from a fantasy perspective in his return from a six-game injury layoff. Mike Muscala wasn’t as productive for fantasy purposes, but he did manage to absorb the remaining 27 minutes at the center spot off the bench. Darius Bazley will more than likely receive the start at power forward with Gallinari resting, but he’ll be nothing more than a tournament dart throw with his putrid 14.6% usage rate and a mediocre average of 0.73 DraftKings and 0.72 FanDuel points per minute with Gallinari, Ferguson, and Nader off the court this season.
As reported by: Jamie Hudson via Twitter Other tagged players: Terrance Ferguson, Abdel Nader Rajon Rondo (finger) out Saturday; Alex Caruso (neck) available to play
Rondo has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a non-displaced fracture in his right finger that has now forced him three games, while Caruso will be available to play despite dealing with a sore neck. Caruso exited in the first half of Wednesday’s loss, which allowed Quinn Cook and Troy Daniels to each log at least 21 minutes in relief off the bench, so if Caruso isn’t subject to a minute restriction, there will be a plethora of playing time available at the guard positions for him to absorb this evening. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis remains questionable with a Gluteus Maximus contusion that’s already forced him to miss time, and It comes as no surprise that LeBron James sees his usage spike to 38.1% with Davis and Rondo off the court, and he is averaging 1.67 DraftKings and 1.60 FanDuel points per minute in a 293.9 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Bill Oram via Twitter Other tagged players: Alex Caruso C.J. McCollum (ankle) officially out Saturday
As expected, McCollum has been ruled out and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a sprained left ankle he sustained during Friday’s loss, while Gary Trent Jr. wasn’t included on the Trail Blazers injury after also leaving last night’s game early. As for McCollum, he exited early in the second quarter and was replaced in the starting lineup to begin the second half by Anfernee Simons, who went on to record 16 of his 28 total minutes in the final two-quarters of the aforementioned contest. Other than the potential for more playing time for Simons and Trent, it should come as no surprise that Damian Lillard has benefitted the most with McCollum off the court this season, as he owns a 34.6% usage rate, a 45.2% assist rate, and is averaging 1.45 DraftKings and 1.36 FanDuel points per minute in a 281.3 minutes sample size since Carmelo Anthony made his Blazers debut in mid-November.
As reported by: Jamie Hudson via Twitter Kemba Walker (knee) downgraded to questionable Saturday; Marcus Smart (ankle) and Daniel Theis (knee) will play
Walker has been added to the Celtics’ injury report and is now questionable for Saturday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a sore left knee, while Jaylen Brown remains sidelined with a sprained right thumb and Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis will play following their original probably designations. In Brown’s absence, Smart ended up receiving the start alongside Kemba Walker in the backcourt, and he was rather productive from a fantasy perspective in 36 minutes of action in Thursday’s loss, which isn’t too abnormal from his typical minute workload off the bench on a game-to-game basis. Smart will likely remain in the starting lineup for at least one more game, but the clear beneficiaries with him Brown off the court have been Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward, as they each own a minimum of a +2.6% increase in usage rate and are averaging at least +0.09 more fantast points per minute over their normal season-long statistics.
As reported by: Marc D'Amico via Twitter Other tagged players: Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis Jaylen Brown (thumb) out Saturday
Brown has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a sprained right thumb that has now forced him to miss two games, while Kemba Walker has been added to the injury report with a sore left knee. In Brown’s absence, Marcus Smart ended up receiving the start alongside Kemba Walker in the backcourt, and he was rather productive from a fantasy perspective in 36 minutes of action in Thursday’s loss, which isn’t too abnormal from his typical minute workload off the bench on a game-to-game basis. Smart will likely remain in the starting lineup for at least one more game, but the clear beneficiaries with him Brown off the court have been Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward, as they each own a minimum of a +2.6% increase in usage rate and are averaging at least +0.09 more fantast points per minute over their normal season-long statistics.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter Value At The Guard Spot
There were a multitude of guard options I wanted to tag today as value is opening up. With C.J. McCollum getting hurt last night, I expect him to miss tonight and that would make Anfernee Simons an elite option to help jam in studs given his near minimum price. He started the second half for the Blazers and I’d expect him to be an emphasis in cash game formats. I also like Shabazz Napier, who continues to see heavy run even with KAT back as the team traded away Jeff Teague. The one that intrigues me the most is Mike Conley, who is making a surprise return tonight. I do worry a bit that the Jazz will ease him back and won’t give him normal minutes, so this is something you’ll absolutely want to monitor or check in LineupHQ as to what RG is projecting his minutes at. If he can get something between 24-28 minutes tonight, I love that at his price tag. He’s averaged roughly .9 fantasy points per minute this season, so anything in the 24-28 minute range would be amazing. This is all to say that there’s plenty of value at the point guard position today.
Ride The Hot Streak
I don’t expect Fox to be very popular today when there are cheaper options at the point guard spot, as well as Russell Westbrook to pay for. We also have Damian Lillard in the same price range who may be without C.J. McCollum. I expect Fox to be a low owned contrarian option because of this, and when people look at that matchup against the Jazz, they’ll probably ignore Fox despite the fact he’s posted 50+ fantasy points in three straight games. I love the idea of riding the hot streak in GPPs and hoping he can continue this output at a fraction of the ownership others will have. The Jazz are likely getting Mike Conley back which makes it a bit tougher of a matchup, but I still think there’s upside for Fox here.
Route To Minutes
It’s feels a bit point chasey, but after Damion Lee dropped 39+ fantasy points over 37 minutes in an overtime loss to the Nuggets, he has my attention. This matchup isn’t a great one with the Magic one of the better defensive units, but with the Warriors down Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and Jacob Evans, there should be a route for minutes for Lee. Glenn Robinson is also questionable, which would open up even more minutes for Lee should he miss the game. Lee was just given a multi-year dea by the Warriors, so they clearly like him and it would make sense to use this lost year to develop him. The price tag on Lee is fair enough around the industry that I have a lot of interest.
Damian Lillard (illness) and Mario Hezonja (back) will play Friday
Lillard confirmed to reporters following pregame warmups that he will play in Friday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks despite being a late addition to the Trail Blazers injury report due to an upper respiratory infection, while Hezonja will be available to play after missing multiple games in recent weeks with a back contusion. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Lillard, so he’ll almost certainly be able to handle his typical minute allotment as the starting point guard barring an in-game setback in tonight’s contest. Given the doubt in his availability leading up to lock on the main slate, Lillard will be a fantastic tournament option on a seven-game slate, and he continues to lead the Blazers with a 28.6% usage rate, a 32.8% assist rate and is averaging 1.26 DraftKings and 1.20 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far.
As reported by: Casey Holdahl via Twitter Other tagged players: Mario Hezonja Tyler Herro (knee) out Friday
Herro has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a left knee bruise that has now forced him to miss two games, while Justise Winslow continues to be sidelined with a lower-back bone bruise and remains without a concrete timetable for a return. It seems unlikely head coach Erik Spoelstra would be willing to give Dion Waiters playing time on the wing, so it’s certainly possible he just opts to reduce his rotation to eight players, which would be a boon to the playing time of Derrick Jones Jr., Kendrick Nunn, and James Johnson this evening. While Nunn sees a minimal bump in usage with Herro and Winslow off the court, Jones has benefited the most in this situation, as he has an 18.0% usage rate and is averaging 0.98 DraftKings and 1.01 FanDuel points per minute in a 158.9 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Mike Inglis via Twitter Steven Adams (knee) out Friday; Nerlens Noel (ankle) available to play
Adams has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to a right knee contusion, while Nerlens Noel will be available to play after missing six games with a sprained left ankle. Adams exited early in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss, and Mike Muscala ended up recording 31 minutes en route to a solid fantasy performance while Justin Patton filled in with 11 minutes as the backup center at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Noel, so assuming he’s close to full strength, he will likely receive the starting nod at the center position on tonight’s contest even if he isn’t afforded a full starters’ minute workload. Noel is easily the better fantasy producer than Muscala, as he contributes in nearly every stat category and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.21 FanDuel points per minute on the season.
As reported by: Joe Mussatto via Twitter Other tagged players: Nerlens Noel Jae Crower (hip) available to play Friday
Crowder has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing one game with a sore right hip, Bruno Caboclo was already ruled out and will remain sidelined for a second straight game with a sore left knee. In his absence, Kyle Anderson ended up receiving the start at small forward and was brutal for fantasy purposes in just 17 minutes of action in Tuesday’s win.
As reported by: Anthony Sain via Twitter Karl-Anthony Towns (knee, illness) will play Friday
Towns has finally been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers after missing 15 consecutive games due to a sprained left knee and an illness, while Allen Crabbe won’t yet make his Timberwolves debut following the trade that sent Jeff Teague to Atlanta earlier in the week. Head coach Ryan Saunders didn’t disclose if Towns would be subject to a concrete minute restriction, but he did confirm that Towns will start in his first game back this evening.
As reported by: Mark Montieth via Twitter