DFS Alerts
Fred VanVleet (hamstring) out Friday
VanVleet has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a strained right hamstring that has now forced him to miss six consecutive games. In his continued absence, head coach Nick Nurse will utilize his gigantic starting lineup that features a frontcourt of Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Pascal Siakam for a second straight contest, and each of the aforementioned players managed to log at least 29 minutes in Wednesday’s win.
As reported by: Josh Lewenberg via Twitter
Steven Adams (knee) listed questionable Friday
Adams has been re-added to the latest version of the Thunder’s injury report and is now questionable for Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to a right knee contusion, while Nerlens Noel remains questionable with a sprained left ankle that has already forced him to miss six games. 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. This means if both Adams and Noel are unable to suit up in tonight’s contest, Muscala would likely be locked into a starters’ minute workload and is averaging 0.87 DraftKings and 0.83 FanDuel points per minute with Adams and Noel off the court this season.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Rudy Gay (illness) listed out Friday
Gay has been added to the latest Spurs injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to an illness. Gay has managed to record at least 20 minutes off the bench in six of the Spurs previous seven games, so there will certainly be a sizable amount of playing time that will need to be absorbed by some combination of Lonnie Walker IV, Marco Belinelli, Jakob Poeltl, or even DeMarre Carroll this evening. This will more than likely be a difficult situation to dissect given head coach Gregg Popovich’s rotation tendencies, which relegates all of the aforementioned players to tournament-only options on tonight’s seven-game slate, but Walker is the most intriguing of the bunch with a 23.9% usage rate and an average of 0.78 DraftKings and 0.76 FanDuel points per minute with Gay off the court this season.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Kristaps Porzingis (knee) listed out Friday
Porzingis has been downgraded from questionable on the latest Mavericks’ injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers due to a sore right knee that has now forced him to miss 10 consecutive games. Porzingis was a late scratch in Wednesday’s win, and in his absence, Maxi Kleber and Delon Wright have essentially split to starts of late, depending on the matchup, but J.J. Barea and Justin Jackson have also made appearances in the first unit over this span. It comes as no shock that Luka Doncic has been especially stellar with Porzingis off the court this season, as he owns a 39.1% usage rate, 47.1% assist rate, 18.5% rebound rate, and is averaging 1.83 DraftKings and 1.72 FanDuel points per minute in a 534.0 minutes sample size.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Keep Targeting This Frontcourt
The absence of Joel Embiid has created plenty of opportunity for the other starters in Philadelphia. They don’t have quality backups up front, so Embiid’s minutes are being absorbed the likes of Thybulle and Scott — players who aren’t solid fantasy producers. This leaves production to go around for the likes of Harris and Horford, both of whom see their usage numbers skyrocket and their production increase by around five fantasy points per 36 minutes with Embiid off the floor. This is also a good matchup against a depleted Chicago frontcourt that struggles on the glass and is now being forced to use Luke Kornet as a key piece. Fire up Harris and Horford with confidence tonight, particularly on FanDuel where they remain under-priced for their current roles.
Other tagged players: Al Horford
Evan Fournier (quad) will start Thursday
Fournier has officially been upgraded from questionable and will start Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing one game due to a right quad contusion, while Augustin and Carter-Williams remain sidelined with their respective ailments. The Magic recently released Josh Magette recently to make room for Gary Clark on their active roster, so with Augustin and Carter-Williams unavailable, Markelle Fultz will still be the lone active point guard, which allowed him to see a season-high 33 minutes Wednesday’s win, and head coach Steve Clifford confirmed with reporters that the team will have to handle the backup point guard duties as a “committee” for the time being. Fultz isn’t exactly a monster fantasy producer in a per-minute sense, but he does have a respectable 21.4% usage rate, a 27.5% assist rate, and is averaging 0.97 DraftKings and 0.96 FanDuel points per minute with Augustin, Carter-Williams, and Jonathan Isaac off the court this season.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Brandon Ingram (knee) will start Thursday
As expected, Ingram will start in Thursday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz after missing one game due to a sore right knee, while Derrick Favors already confirmed with reporters at shootaround that he will play in tonight’s contest after missing two games with a strained right hamstring. There haven’t been any reports of potential minute restrictions for Favors or Brandon Ingram, who remains probable, so Favors could be able to handle the mid-20s minute allotment he had regularly been seeing prior to this most recent injury layoff. The availability of Ingram saps most of the potential value from this Pelicans squad, as he continues to lead the team with a 29.7% usage rate, a 26.2% assist rate, and is averaging 1.26 DraftKings and 1.17 FanDuel points per minute in a 229.9 minutes sample size with J.J. Redick and Jrue Holiday off the court this season.
As reported by: the New Orleans Pelicans via Twitter J.J. Redick (hamstring) and Jahlil Okfaor (back) out Thursday
Redick and Okafor have officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to their respective ailments, while Derrick Favors already confirmed with reporters at shootaround that he will play in tonight’s contest after missing two games with a strained right hamstring. There haven’t been any reports of potential minute restrictions for Favors or Brandon Ingram, who remains probable, so Favors could be able to handle the mid-20s minute allotment he had regularly been seeing prior to this most recent injury layoff. The likely availability of Ingram saps most of the potential value from this Pelicans squad, as he continues to lead the team with a 29.7% usage rate, a 26.2% assist rate, and is averaging 1.26 DraftKings and 1.17 FanDuel points per minute in a 229.9 minutes sample size with Redick and Jrue Holiday off the court this season.
As reported by: Daniel Sallerson via Twitter Other tagged players: Jahlil Okafor Marcus Morris (neck) and Frank Ntilikina (groin) available to play Thursday
As expected, Morris and Ntilikina will be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns after missing several games with their respective ailments, while Reggie Bullock was already ruled out due to a sore neck. With Morris sidelined for the last five games, Bullock started at small forward on each occasion, and he managed to log at least 23 minutes in every contest but was largely disappointing from a fantasy perspective relative to his price point across the industry over this span. With Morris slated to return from a five-game absence, there won’t really be any additional vacated minutes available for the other members of the rotation, and Morris continues to be one of the Knicks primary options on the offensive end of the floor, as he owns a 24.0% usage rate and is averaging 0.99 DraftKings and 0.95 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far.
As reported by: NY_KnicksPR via Twitter Other tagged players: Frank Ntilikina Jaylen Brown (thumb) out Thursday
Brown has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a sprained right thumb he sustained late in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s loss, while Jayson Tatum wasn’t included on the injury report after missing yesterday’s contest with a sore knee. In Tatum’s absence, Marcus Smart ended up receiving the start alongside Kemba Walker in the backcourt, and he was rather brutal from a fantasy perspective in 34 minutes of action, which isn’t too abnormal from his typical minute workload off the bench on a game-to-game basis. Smart will remain in the starting lineup for at least one more game with Brown unavailable, but the clear beneficiaries with him off the court have been Tatum and Gordon Hayward, as they each own a minimum of a +3.2% increase in usage rate and are averaging at least +0.14 more fantast points per minute over their normal season-long statistics.
As reported by: Tom Westerholm via Twitter Evan Fournier (quad) questionable Thursday; D.J. Augustin (knee) and Michael Carter-Williams (shoulder) remain out
Fournier has officially been listed as questionable for Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a right quad contusion that has already forced him to miss one game, while Augustin and Carter-Williams remain sidelined with their respective ailments. The Magic recently released Josh Magette yesterday to make room for Gary Clark on their active roster, so with Augustin and Carter-Williams unavailable, Markelle Fultz will still be the lone active point guard, which allowed him to see a season-high 33 minutes Wednesday’s win, and head coach Steve Clifford confirmed with reporters that the team will have to handle the backup point guard duties as a “committee” for the time being. Fultz isn’t exactly a monster fantasy producer in a per-minute sense, but he does have a respectable 21.4% usage rate, a 27.5% assist rate, and is averaging 0.97 DraftKings and 0.96 FanDuel points per minute with Augustin, Carter-Williams, and Jonathan Isaac off the court this season.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Other tagged players: D.J. Augustin, Michael Carter-Williams Reggie Bullock (neck) out Thursday
Bullock has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a sore neck, while Marcus Morris and Frank Ntilikina are game-time decisions but interim head coach Mike Miller is hopeful both will be available to play after missing several games. With Morris sidelined for the last five games, Bullock has started at small forward on each occasion, and he managed to log at least 23 minutes in every contest but was largely disappointing from a fantasy perspective relative to his price point across the industry over this span. If Morris remains on track to return from a five-game absence, there won’t really be any additional vacated minutes available for the other members of the rotation, and Morris continues to be one of the Knicks primary options on the offensive end of the floor, as he owns a 24.0% usage rate and is averaging 0.99 DraftKings and 0.95 FanDuel points per minute on the season thus far.
As reported by: NY_KnicksPR via Twitter Bench Player Could Provide GPP Leverage Off Popular Play Today
Donovan Mitchell is rightfully getting a lot of attention today as a good play against a New Orleans team that allows the second-most points per game in the NBA, but an interesting GPP pivot is Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson generally comes into the game when Mitchell comes out, and if this game turns into a blowout, Clarkson could see extended run in the 4th quarter. Clarkson has increased his scoring a bit, averaging 15 points per game since being traded to Utah, is low-priced across sites today, and is projected at around 1% ownership.
Forward Could See Increased Opportunity Tonight
Jaylen Brown is Questionable for tonight’s game with a thumb injury, and one player who could benefit is Gordon Hayward. Hayward sees a .14 fantasy point per minute increase (1.16 fpm total) with Brown off the court this season. Conveniently, Hayward is underpriced on FanDuel and a reasonable play even if Brown is not announced out prior to lock; on DraftKings, Hayward is just $100 cheaper than Brown and both are SF-eligible, making a one-for-one late swap possible if your lineup originally includes Brown.
Jaylen Brown (thumb) questionable Thursday
Brown has officially been listed as questionable for Thursday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a sprained right thumb he sustained late in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s loss, while Jayson Tatum was not included on the injury report after missing yesterday’s contest with a sore knee. In his absence, Marcus Smart ended up receiving the start alongside Kemba Walker in the backcourt, and he was rather brutal from a fantasy perspective in 34 minutes of action, which isn’t too abnormal from his typical minute workload off the bench on a game-to-game basis.
As reported by: the Boston Celtics via Twitter