DFS Alerts
Obvious Value
Assuming Favors sits tonight, Hayes becomes your lock and load top value of the night. His DFS price tag has not yet been adjusted anywhere, since the injury to Favors happened after pricing for today was already released. That leaves us with a $3,800 Hayes on DK, a $4,100 Hayes on FD, and dirt cheap tags on Yahoo and FantasyDraft as well. You can’t ignore that kind of price tag for a talented player that has been showing his potential of late. After Favors left the game last night, Hayes was borderline dominant with 18 points, 10 rebounds, a steal, and two blocks over 29 impressive minutes. He was 7-for-8 from the field and got to the free throw line nine times. This was on the heels of another good game against the Bulls, where he put up 14 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks in a game where Favors was active. Ride the wave.
LeBron James (illness) and Avery Bradley (illness) will play Friday
James and Bradley have officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, while Anthony Davis was already ruled out with a Gluteus Maximus contusion he sustained during Tuesday’s blowout win. Head coach Frank Vogel already confirmed during Thursday’s practice that Kyle Kuzma will receive the start at power forward in Davis’ absence, and he already has logged at least 21 minutes off the bench in all but one of the Lakers previous eight games. The less obvious consequence of Davis being unavailable is that JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard will now be relied upon to absorb all of the available center minutes, putting them both firmly into play for all daily fantasy formats this evening. It comes as no surprise that LeBron James sees his usage spike to 37.2% with Davis off the court, and he is averaging 1.61 DraftKings and 1.56 FanDuel points per minute in a 397.9 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Brad Turner via Twitter Other tagged players: Avery Bradley
Nemanja Bjelica (ankle) will play Friday; Marvin Bagley III (foot) remains out
Bjelica has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks despite dealing with a right ankle injury, while Bagley III remains sidelined with a sprained left foot that has now forced him to miss eight games. The Kings were already going to be shorthanded before final determinations are made on the statuses of Bjelica and Bagley were made, as Richaun Holmes and Bogdan Bogdanovic were previously ruled out, which will allow Harry Giles III to draw a second straight start at center following a serviceable fantasy performance in just 16 minutes of action in Tuesday’s win. Giles is obviously a volatile daily fantasy option with that low of a minute floor, but both he and Buddy Hield appeared to have been benched by head coach Luke Walton early in the third quarter, so there should theoretically be a higher ceiling for Giles if he manages to see run in the fourth quarter, making him an ideal tournament flier with Bagley unavailable.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter Other tagged players: Marvin Bagley Aaron Gordon (calf) out Friday; Khem Birch will start
Gordon has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to right calf tightness he began experiencing midway through the third quarter of Wednesday’s blowout win, while Augustin was already ruled out with a left knee contusion. The absence of Augustin should afford Markelle Fultz a full starters’ minute workload in tonight’s contest, and he’s already logged at least 30 minutes in three of the Magic’s previous four games. With Michael Carter-Williams still sidelined, Josh Magette should assume the backup point guard role, but he is unlikely to see many minutes alongside Fultz in the backcourt, which should lead to an elevated minute floor for Terrence Ross off the bench this evening. Even so, Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier have clearly benefitted the most with Augustin and the other injured Magic players off the court, as Vucevic has a 30.4% usage rate and both are averaging at least +0.21 more fantasy points per minute over their normal season-long statistics.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Khem Birch Domantas Sabonis (knee) and Malcolm Brogdon (illness) out Friday
Despite originally being cleared to play, Sabonis has now been ruled out and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls due to a sore left knee, while Malcolm Brogdon will remain sidelined for a sixth straight game because of an illness and a sore lower back. This will only be the third game Sabonis has missed all season, and Jakarr Sampson ended up receiving the start at power forward on the two previous occasions, but he has been out of the head coach Nate McMillan’s rotation for an extended period of time, so there is certainly some variability to his projected playing time. McMillan already did confirm with reporters at his pregame media availability that he is going to shake up his starting lineup by rolling with T.J. McConnell at point guard over Aaron Holiday, and McConnell becomes an elite value at his price since he has a 20.3% usage rate, a 39.8% assist rate, and is averaging 1.06 DraftKings and 1.04 FanDuel points per minute with Sabonis and Brogdon off the court this season.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Other tagged players: Malcolm Brogdon Domantas Sabonis (knee) will play Friday; Malcolm Brogdon (illness) ruled out
Sabonis has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls despite dealing with a sore left knee, while Brogdon will remain sidelined for a fifth straight game because of an illness and a sore lower back. With Edmond Sumner available in each of the Pacers’ previous three games, the backcourt rotation has become much more crowded, which has really hindered the minute floors of Aaron Holiday and T.J. McConnell on a game-to-game basis. However, Sumner won’t see enough playing time to become a viable daily fantasy option himself, but his presence in the rotation is enough to remove McConnell from consideration since head coach Nate McMillan won’t be forced to play as many lineups with McConnell and Holiday together in the backcourt. As for Sabonis, he continues to thrive with Brogdon off the court, and he owns a 24.1% usage rate, a 20.6% assist rate, a 20.8% rebound rate, and is averaging 1.25 DraftKings and 1.22 FanDuel points per minute in a 633.4 minutes sample size.
As reported by: J. Michael via Twitter Other tagged players: Malcolm Brogdon Ersan Ilyasova (knee) listed out Friday
Ilyasova has been downgraded from questionable on the latest Bucks injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to a sore right knee, while Giannis Antetokonmpo is available to play, as expected, despite continuing to nurse a sore back. Ilyasova has logged fewer than 16 minutes in each of Milwaukee’s previous two games, so his absence won’t have too much of an impact on the frontcourt rotation, but it should at least allow D.J. Wilson to assume a similar role in the second unit. Wilson has been decent in his limited run this season, but he won’t be allocated enough minutes in the second unit to become relevant for daily fantasy formats on tonight’s 10-game slate.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Marcus Morris (neck) and Dennis Smith Jr. (oblique) out Friday
As expected, Morris will join Smith Jr. and Julius Randle on the Knicks’ inactive list for Friday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a sore neck that has now forced him to miss three games, while Mitchell Robinson was already cleared to play following his original probable designation. With Morris and Randle sidelined last time out, Bobby Portis ended up receiving the start at power forward, and he was phenomenal for fantasy purposes in 29 minutes of action in Wednesday’s blowout loss, while Kevin Knox was limited to just 14 minutes before playing the entire fourth quarter in garbage time. Even if Knox somehow finds his way into the starting lineup this evening, Portis figures to continue to be the main beneficiary of additional playing time, and he has a 22.1% usage rate while averaging 1.05 DraftKings and 1.01 FanDuel points per minute with Morris and Randle off the court this season.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Dennis Smith Jr. Bradley Beal (leg) out Friday
Beal has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to a sore right lower leg that has now forced him to miss seven of the last eight games, while Garrison Mathews was also previously ruled out and is currently without a timetable for a return, Jordan McRae received the starting nod at small forward once again but has had some inconsistent fantasy performances of late, logging fewer than 29 minutes in two of the last three games, while Gary Payton II benefitted from Mathews injury and went on to record 22 minutes for just the third time in the past five games but could see that playing squeezed with Davis Bertans back in the fold. Payton had gradually been ceding playing time to a McRae and Troy Brown Jr., and McRae now has a 29.4% usage rate and is averaging 1.21 DraftKings and 1.19 FanDuel points per minute with Beal and the other injured Wizards off the court this season.
As reported by: Fred Katz via Twitter Nemanja Bjelica (ankle) downgraded to questionable Friday
Bjelica is a late addition to the Kings injury report and is now questionable for Friday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a right ankle injury, while Marvin Bagley III remains questionable with a sprained left foot that has already forced him to miss seven games. The Kings are already going to be shorthanded before final determinations are made on the statuses of Bjelica and Bagley, as Richaun Holmes and Bogdan Bogdanovic were previously ruled out, which could allow Harry Giles III to draw a second straight start at center following a serviceable fantasy performance in just 16 minutes of action in Tuesday’s win. Giles is obviously a volatile daily fantasy option with that low of a minute floor, but both he and Buddy Hield appeared to have been benched by head coach Luke Walton early in the third quarter, so there should theoretically be a higher ceiling for Giles if he manages to see run in the fourth quarter, making him an ideal tournament flier if at least one of Bjelica or Bagley are unavailable.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter Anthony Davis (glute) out Friday
Davis has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks due to a Gluteus Maximus contusion, while Avery Bradley remains questionable because of flu-like symptoms. Head coach Frank Vogel already confirmed during Thursday’s practice that Kyle Kuzma will receive the start at power forward in Davis’ absence, and he already has logged at least 21 minutes off the bench in all but one of the Lakers previous eight games. The less obvious consequence of Davis being unavailable is that JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard will now be relied upon to absorb all of the available center minutes, putting them both firmly into play for all daily fantasy formats this evening. It comes as no surprise that LeBron James sees his usage spike to 37.2% with Davis off the court, and he is averaging 1.61 DraftKings and 1.56 FanDuel points per minute in a 397.9 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Kyle Goon via Twitter Garrett Temple (knee) and Wilson Chandler (hamstring) out Friday
Temple and Chandler have officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to a right knee contusion and a left hamstring tightness, respectively, while Kyrie Irving remains sidelined with a right shoulder impingement and is still without a timetable for his return. The last time Temple was sidelined, Rodions Kurucs ended up receiving the start at one of the forward positions alongside Taurean Prince, but he was still limited to just under 18 minutes of action, while Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Theo Pinson each recorded over 24 minutes off the bench. With Chandler also unavailable, there is certainly a larger amount of vacated playing time left for the taking, but the return of Caris LeVert could negate any additional minutes Kurucs could have potentially been allocated this evening. Kurucs is averaging just 0.71 DraftKings and 0.66 FanDuel points per minute on the season, so he’ll be nothing more than a tournament dart throw on tonight’s 10-game main slate.
As reported by: Brian Lewis via Twitter Other tagged players: Wilson Chandler D'Angelo Russell (shoulder) out Friday
Russell has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors due to a right shoulder contusion that has now forced him to miss six consecutive games. Meanwhile, head coach Steve Kerr confirmed that Ky Bowman is still up the G-League, and he should receive a third straight start at point guard after logging at least 22 minutes in each of the Warriors’ previous two games. Bowman and Alec Burks have essentially been in a timeshare at the point of late, which limits them to tournament-only options on a nightly basis, but Burks has certainly flashed the higher ceiling of the two and has a 24.9% usage rate, 18.8% assist rate, and is averaging 1.03 DraftKings and 1.01 FanDuel points per minute with Russell, Stephen Curry, and Kevon Looney off the court this season.
As reported by: Anthony Slater via Twitter J.J. Barea (illness) listed probable Friday
Barea has been upgraded from questionable on the latest Mavericks injury report and is now probable for Friday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers due to an illness, while Kristaps Porzingis remains sidelined and will miss a six straight contest with a sore right knee. Barea had started three consecutive games next to Luka Doncic in backcourt prior to picking up a DNP-CD in Wednesday’s loss, and he was replaced in the starting lineup Delon Wright, who went on to have a solid fantasy performance in 31 minutes of action. Head coach Rick Carlisle ran with a rare nine-man rotation last time out, but if somehow Wright is allotted a similar amount of playing time in tonight’s contest, he’d be an intriguing tournament target since he has a 22.8% assist rate and is averaging 1.00 DraftKings and 1.03 FanDuel points per minute with Porzingis off the court this season.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report D.J. Augustin (knee) out Friday
As expected, Augustin won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a left knee contusion, while Aaron Gordon remains questionable with right calf tightness he began experiencing midway through the third quarter of Wednesday’s blowout win. The absence of Augustin should afford Markelle Fultz a full starters’ minute workload in tonight’s contest, and he’s already logged at least 30 minutes in three of the Magic’s previous four games. With Michael Carter-Williams still sidelined, Josh Magette should assume the backup point guard role, but he is unlikely to see many minutes alongside Fultz in the backcourt, which should lead to an elevated minute floor for Terrence Ross off the bench this evening. Even so, Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier have clearly benefitted the most with Augustin and the other injured Magic players off the court, as Vucevic has a 30.4% usage rate and both are averaging at least +0.21 more fantasy points per minute over their normal season-long statistics.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter