DFS Alerts
Aaron Gordon (Achilles) will start Friday
Gordon has officially been upgraded from questionable and will start in Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat after missing two games due to a sore left Achilles tendon, while Jonathan Isaac will miss his first game in what is expected to be at least a two-month layoff with a left knee injury. In his absence, head coach Steve Clifford has opted to go big by starting Khem Birch alongside Nikola Vucevic to counter the size of the Heat’s frontcourt duo of Bam Adebayo and Meyers Leonard this evening. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Gordon, so if he receives a full minute workload in tonight’s contest, he could be an interesting option for tournament formats since he owns a 21.1% usage rate and is averaging 0.94 DraftKings and 0.93 FanDuel points per minute with Isaac off the court this season.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter
Jabari Parker (illness) will play Friday
As expected, Parker will play in Friday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics despite battling illness after missing three games with a shoulder injury, while Kevin Huerter is also available to play following his original probable designation on the Hawks’ injury report. The return of Parker could spell the end of regular rotation minutes for one of Atlanta’s plethora of wings and forwards like Vince Carter, Allen Crabbe, or DeAndre Bembry moving forward. Even so, it’s unlikely Parker becomes a viable daily fantasy option himself, as he has been limited to 15 or fewer minutes in both games he was active since John Collins made his return from a 25-game suspension, though there may be a few extra minutes available with head coach Lloyd Pierce starting small with Collins at center this evening.
As reported by: Sarah K. Spence via Twitter Frank Kaminsky (knee) listed out Friday
As expected, Kaminsky has been downgraded to out on the latest Suns injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to a sore right knee that’s now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Kaminsky ended up being a DNP-CD in Monday’s win, but it remains unclear if that was a result of his ailing knee or if he’s no longer in the rotation with Deandre Ayton working his way back to full strength and was essentially splitting the center minutes with Aron Baynes prior to logging 32 minutes in Wednesday’s loss. Without Kaminsky soaking up available playing time at power forward, Mikal Bridges has been allocated at least 25 minutes off the bench the last two games, and even though he averages just 0.77 DraftKings and 0.80 FanDuel points per minute on the season, he becomes a viable punt option for tournament formats on tonight’s six-game slate if he’s able to approach the 30-minute mark again this evening.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Bradley Beal (leg) out Friday; Troy Brown Jr. will start
Beal has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers due to lower right le soreness. In his absence, Brown Jr. will rejoin the starting lineup following a one-game hiatus as a reserve, but he was still allocated 28 minutes off the bench while Gary Payton II logged just under 10 minutes as a false starter with Beal active for Wednesday’s loss. The drastic decrease in playing time for Payton is mostly related to the emergence of Jordan McRae off the bench over the last three games, and he’s managed to record at least 29 minutes in each of those aforementioned contests.
As reported by: Fred Katz via Twitter Alex Caruso (calf) out Friday
Caruso has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to right calf tightness, while Anthony Davis is listed as probable, per usual, with a sore right shoulder. However, Davis continues to start and play heavy minutes, so the shoulder appears to far from a hindrance in his overall effectiveness on the court. As for Caruso, he’s seen his playing time dwindle in recent weeks, and he’s actually logged fewer than 20 minutes in five of the Lakers’ previous six games with Avery Bradley, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope absorbing most of the available guard minutes. In Caruso’s absence, one or both of Troy Daniels and Quinn Cook will likely enter the rotation, but their projected minute allotments would be too minuscule for them to be considered in daily fantasy formats this evening.
As reported by: Tania Ganguli via Twitter Expanded Role if Payton Out
Elfrid Payton is currently listed as questionable for Friday’s game against the Suns and if he’s to miss Frankie would vault into the discussion as one of the slates top value options. Ntilikina is coming off an impressive 10 assist performance in 23 minutes last game against Portland and seemed to be playing with a lot of confidence. Ntilikina could be in line for even more run if Dennis Smith Jr (also questionable) misses as well.
James Ennis III (illness) out Friday
As expected, Ennis III won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a stomach illness that held him out of Thursday’s practice, while Matisse Thybulle remains sidelined with a sprained right knee and bone bruise. With these two players unavailable, the Sixers will be without two of their main rotational pieces off the bench, which should thrust Furkan Korkmaz, Mike Scott, and Trey Burke into expanded roles with the second unit and one or both of Shake Milton and Zhaire Smith could see minutes in a fringe reserve role. If Burke gets extended run as a secondary ballhandler alongside Ben Simmons, he’d be the most intriguing tournament flier of the bunch since he has a 19.9% usage rate, a 23.8% assist rate, and is averaging 0.91 DraftKings and 0.88 FanDuel points per minute thus far on the year.
Kemba Walker (illness) out Friday
Walker has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to an illness, while Jaylen Brown remains probable and Javonte Green is questionable with an illness as well. In Walker’s absence, Marcus Smart is the leading candidate to join the starting lineup, but his minutes have been slightly limited ever since returning from a left eye infection, potentially opening the door for Brad Wanamaker or Gordon Hayward to take on more of the playmaking responsibilities. However, if Smart is a full-go, both he and Jayson Tatum will be the top players to target from this Celtics squad in all daily fantasy formats, as they each own a minimum of a +4.3% increase in usage rate and are averaging at least +0.14 more fantasy points per minute over their normal season-long statistics.
As reported by: Chris Forsberg via Twitter Blake Griffin (knee) out Thursday; Bruce Brown (illness) active
As expected, Griffin won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a sore left knee that has now forced him to miss two games, while Brown is active following his previous probable designation but no official confirmation of his status has been disclosed by the Pistons or the coaching staff. In Griffin’s absence, Brown rejoined the starting lineup alongside Tim Frazier in the backcourt and logged nearly 37 minutes of action in Monday’s loss, but head coach Dwane Casey has opted go in a different direction by giving rookie Sekou Doumbouya the start at power forward this evening. In the limited time with Griffin, Luke Kennard, and Markieff Morris off the court, Derrick Rose leads the way with a massive 36.1% usage rate and 55.9% assist rate while he, Galloway, and Tim Frazier all average at least +0.13 more fantasy points per minute over their normal season-long statistics.
As reported by: Rod Beard via Twitter Other tagged players: Bruce Brown, Sekou Doumbouya Bruce Brown (illness) upraded to probable Thursday
Brown has been upgraded from questionable to probable but will be a game-time decision for Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to an illness, while Blake Griffin remains doubtful with a sore left knee that has already forced him to miss one game. In his absence, Brown rejoined the starting lineup alongside Tim Frazier and logged nearly 37 minutes of action in Monday’s loss, so if he’s limited in any way, Langston Galloway would likely be called upon to absorb a sizable minute workload with how thin the Pistons are at the forward and wing positions. In the limited time with Griffin, Luke Kennard, and Markieff Morris off the court, Derrick Rose leads the way with a massive 36.1% usage rate and 55.9% assist rate while he, Galloway, and Tim Frazier all average at least +0.13 more fantasy points per minute over their normal season-long statistics.
As reported by: Matt Schoch via Twiiter J.J. Barea will start ahead of Jalen Brunson on Thursday
Head coach Rick Carlisle has opted to shake up his starting lineup for Thursday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets by starting Barea alongside Luka Doncic in the backcourt and Justin Jackson at one of the forward positions, sending Brunson and Maxi Kleber to the bench, though it’d be difficult to imagine Kleber taking a significant hit to his playing time. With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined, Kleber ended up receiving the start at power forward last time out, and he was phenomenal from a fantasy perspective in 35 minutes of action but the drastic price increase on DraftKings keeps him from being a must-play in all formats. Unsurprisingly, Doncic has thrived with Porzingis off the court, as he owns a 40.4% usage rate, a 50.7% assist rate, and is averaging 1.98 DraftKings and 1.86 FanDuel points per minute in a 144.1 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Brad Townsend via Twitter Other tagged players: Jalen Brunson Luka Doncic (thigh) available to play Thursday
As expected, Doncic will be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets despite dealing with a right thigh contusion, while Kristaps Porzingis was already ruled out due to a sore right knee that forced him to be a late scratch from Tuesday’s loss. Doncic was still able to record over 40 minutes in that contest, so he should be fully expected to assume a normal minute workload barring any later news suggesting otherwise. With Porzingis sidelined, Maxi Kleber ended up receiving the start at power forward, and he was phenomenal from a fantasy perspective in 35 minutes of action but the drastic price increase on DraftKings keeps him from being a must-play in all formats. Unsurprisingly, Doncic has thrived with Porzingis off the court, as he owns a 40.4% usage rate, a 50.7% assist rate, and is averaging 1.98 DraftKings and 1.86 FanDuel points per minute in a 144.1 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Mavs PR via Twitter Garrett Temple (knee) out Thursday
Temple has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks due to a right knee contusion. With Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert still sidelined with their respective ailments, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Wilson Chandler become the most likely candidates to join the starting lineup as both have assumed a similar high-teens or low-20s minutes role off the bench in recent games. Luwawu-Cabarrot and Chandler have both been low-usage players with subpar per-minute fantasy production, so Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen may be the preferred way to target this Nets squad in tournament formats since they each see a small bump in usage and average at least +0.06 more fantasy points per minute with Temple, Irving, and LeVert off the court this season.
As reported by: Alex Schiffer via Twitter Andrew Wiggins (illness), Karl-Anthony Towns (knee), Jeff Teague (knee), Treveon Graham (illness), and Noah Vonleh (glute) out Thursday
Wiggins, Towns, Teague, Graham, and Vonleh have all officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Thursday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Golden State Warriors, while Josh Okogie remains probable due to right elbow bursitis. With all of the aforementioned players sidelined for Wednesday’s loss, head coach Ryan Saunders started, Shabazz Napier, Jarrett Culver, Kelan Martin, Robert Covington, and Gorgui Dieng, but Napier, Culver, and Covington were the only three to log north of 30 minutes, indicating just how deep into his bench Saunders is willing to go with so many regulars unavailable to play the previous few games. The sample size with Teague, Wiggins, and Towns all off the court remains relatively limited, but in that time, Napier leads the Timberwolves with a 29.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.02 DraftKings and 0.93 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: Danny Cunningham via Twitter Other tagged players: Karl-Anthony Towns, Jeff Teague, Treveon Graham, Noah Vonleh Gary Harris (shin) will play Thursday
Harris has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Thursday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers after missing two games due to a left shin contusion. In his absence, Michael Porter Jr. and Torrey Craig alternated starts on the wing alongside Will Barton, and Craig was pretty irrelevant for fantasy purposes in 21 minutes of action in his lone spot start in Tuesday’s blowout loss. The backup minutes at the small forward continues to be inconsistent when the Nuggets are at full strength, which makes Craig and Porter easy to avoid on tonight’s nine-game slate. As for Harris, he continues to struggle offensively and has just a 15.6% usage rate to go along with a lowly average of 0.65 DraftKings and 0.65 FanDuel points per minute thus far on the season.
As reported by: Katy Winge via Twitter