DFS Alerts
Kyle Anderson (knee) available to play Sunday
Anderson has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Sunday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Charlotte Hornets despite dealing with a sore right heel, while Jae Crowder was already ruled out with a sore left ankle. Now that Anderson is cleared to play, he’ll likely receive the starting nod at small forward as he did the last time Crowder was sidelined, but he was rather disappointing for fantasy purposes and only logged 26 minutes of action in that contest. Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke weren’t included on the injury report, and Clarke may be an interesting option in tournament formats, even with a capped minute ceiling, since he and Dillon Brooks each own a minimum of a +4.1% increase in usage rate and are averaging at least +0.10 more fantasy points per minute with Crowder off the court this season
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter
De’Aaron Fox (back) will play Sunday
Fox has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Sunday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Denver Nuggets after missing one game due to a sore back, while Marvin Bagley III remains sidelined with a left foot sprain that is supposed to keep him out for at least a couple more games. With Fox and Bagley unavailable last time out, Cory Joseph and Nemanja Bjelica started at their respective positions in Saturday’s loss, and they both managed to log at least 30 minutes en route to serviceable fantasy performances for their price tags across the industry. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minutes restriction for Fox, so Joseph will likely assume a diminished role off the bench, and Fox becomes an intriguing tournament option, as he owns a 29.6% usage rate, a 31.1% assist rate, and is averaging 1.17 DraftKings and 1.12 FanDuel points per minute with Bagley off the court this season.
As reported by: Jason Anderson via Twitter James Harden (toe) out Sunday; Austin Rivers will start
Harden has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a sprained right toe, while Russell Westbrook was already ruled out for rest purposes on the second leg of a back-to-back set. The Rockets will also be without Clint Capela for a second straight game, but they will receive some reinforcements with Eric Gordon slated to return from a lengthy injury layoff, though head coach Mike D’Antoni already disclosed that Gordon will be limited to 25 minutes in tonight’s contest. Gordon will start at the shooting guard position, but Ben McLemore will still be tasked with picking up the slack at the wing positions with Harden and Westbrook unavailable.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen via Twitter Other tagged players: Austin Rivers Anthony Davis (shoulder) questionable Sunday; LeBron James (groin) and Kyle Kuzma (ankle) probable
Davis is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks due to right shoulder soreness, while James and Kuzma are listed is probable with their respective ailments. Both Davis and James told reporters following Saturday’s win that they planned to play in tonight’s second leg of a back-to-back set, so unless Davis suffered some sort of setback in that timespan, he should be fully expected to suit up this evening. There haven’t been any reports of a minute restriction for James, but it would seem unlikely the medical staff would allow him to suit up if he weren’t going to be able to handle his usual minute allotment. James continues to have the better price tag of the two Lakers stars on most daily fantasy sites, and he still leads the team with a 32.2% usage rate, a 48.8% assist rate, and is averaging 1.54 DraftKings and 1.50 FanDuel points per minute thus far on the season.
As reported by: Mike Bresnahan via Twitter Other tagged players: LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma De'Aaron Fox (back) questionable Sunday
Fox has officially been listed as questionable for Sunday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Denver Nuggets due to a sore back that has already forced him to miss one game, while Marvin Bagley III remains sidelined with a left foot sprain that is supposed to keep him out for at least a couple more games. With Fox and Bagley unavailable, Cory Joseph and Nemanja Bjelica started at their respective positions in Saturday’s loss, and they both managed to log at least 30 minutes en route to serviceable fantasy performances for their price tags across the industry.
As reported by: the Sacramento Kings via Twitter Jae Crowder (ankle) out Sunday; Kyle Anderson (heel) questionable
Crowder has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Sunday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Charlotte Hornets due to a sore left ankle, while Anderson is questionable with a sore right heel. If Anderson is cleared to play, he’ll likely receive the starting nod at small forward as he did the last time Crowder was sidelined, but he was rather disappointing for fantasy purposes and only logged 26 minutes of action in that contest. Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke weren’t included on the injury report, and Clarke may be an interesting option in tournament formats, despite a capped minute ceiling, since he and Dillon Brooks each own a minimum of a +4.1% increase in usage rate and are averaging at least +0.10 more fantasy points per minute with Crowder off the court this season
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Kyle Anderson James Harden (toe) listed questionable Sunday
Harden is listed as questionable on the Rockets’ initial injury report for Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a sprained right toe, while Russell Westbrook was already ruled out for rest purposes on the second leg of a back-to-back set. The Rockets will be without Clint Capela for a second straight game as well, but they will receive some reinforcements with Eric Gordon slated to return from a lengthy injury layoff, though head coach Mike D’Antoni already disclosed that Gordon will be limited to 25 minutes in tonight’s contest. Gordon may start, but either way, Ben McLemore will be tasked with picking up the slack at the wing positions with Westbrook unavailable. If Harden is cleared, he becomes virtually a must-play in all formats at his price, as he owns a 51.7% usage rate (+13.5%), a 41.2% assist rate, and is averaging 1.98 DraftKings and 1.86 FanDuel points per minute in 206.1 minutes with Westbrook and Capela off the court this season.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Otherworldly Usage
This one isn’t difficult. James Harden, who is already a usage monster, has seen his usage rate jump to an otherworldly 47.3% with Russell Westbrook off the court this season. Harden also averages another 8+ fantasy points per 36 minutes with Westbrook off the court, good for 66+ (!!) fantasy points per 36. Harden’s upside is unrivaled on this slate and it’s tough to envision fading him in any formats.
Value Option
I may remove this tag later in the day but I wanted to tag Plumlee at the start and explain my thought process. Plumlee started for an injured Paul Millsap yesterday and played well in just 20 mins. The move was mostly to help against the twin towers of Jaren Jackson and Jonas Valanciunas, so his size may not be needed as a starter against the Kings. Still, this slate is setting up to be stars and scrubs, where you’ll want James Harden and at least one of LeBron James or Luka Doncic as well. I suspect people will gravitate towards the cheap chalk of Eric Gordon, and that’s fine for cash games, but he’s expected to be capped at 25 minutes and averages just 0.5 fantasy points per minute even with Westbrook and Capela out. In GPPS, it’s guys like Plumlee I’m wanting to punt with as I’m still chasing a ceiling with my punts.
Just Play The Man
Yes he’s going to be a core play. And yes this is obvious. But I have no problems lock button James Harden across all formats today. Russell Westbrook is out and Clint Capela is likely out too. Per CourtIQ, Harden has seen a crazy 52% usage rate and averages nearly 1.96 fantasy points per minute in these situations. The crazy thing is his price went down on some sites despite his monster game last night and the usage he’s going to soak up here. I would be over the field on Harden today and would play him in every lineup if possible.
Montrezl Harrell (illness) out Saturday
Despite never being listed on the Clippers’ injury report, Harrell won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to an illness. Harrell doesn’t usually start, so his absence is unlikely to alter head coach Doc Rivers’ starting lineup, but it should theoretically open up additional playing time in the frontcourt like Ivica Zubac, JaMychal Green, and Patrick Patterson this evening. If Green can see a sizable increase in minutes in tonight’s contest, he’ll be an intriguing punt option in tournament formats since he has a 20.8% usage rate, a 14.7% rebound rate, and is averaging 1.03 DraftKings and 0.92 FanDuel points per minute in a 64.1 minutes sample size with Harrell off the court this season.
As reported by: Ohm Youngmisuk via Twitter LeBron James (groin) will play Saturday
As expected, James will play in Saturday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, while Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma remain listed as probable on the Lakers’ injury report but are still fully expected to play. There haven’t been any reports of a minute restriction for James, but it would seem unlikely the medical staff would allow him to suit up if weren’t going to be able to handle his usual minute allotment in tonight’s contest. James continues to have the better price tag of the two Lakers stars on most daily fantasy sites, and he still leads the team with a 32.5% usage rate, a 48.8% assist rate, and is averaging 1.54 DraftKings and 1.49 FanDuel points per minute thus far on the season.
As reported by: Chris Haynes via Twitter Andrew Wiggins (illness) officially out Saturday
As expected, Wiggins won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to flu-like symptoms, while Karl-Anthony Towns will miss a sixth straight game and has shown no signs of returning anytime soon. This means Gorgui Dieng will almost certainly start at the center position once again, and he has finally seen a normal starters’ workload in three straight contests, recording at least 30 minutes on all three occasions. The recent emergence of Shabazz Napier as Minnesota’s starting point guard has really hindered the playing time of Jarrett Culver and Josh Okogie in the second unit, but with Wiggins officially unavailable, they should see an increase in minutes and one of them should even draw the start on the wing alongside Treveon Graham, despite both logging fewer than 18 minutes in Thursday’s double-overtime win
As reported by: Timberwolves PR via Twitter Mohamed Bamba (ankle) out Saturday
Bamba has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a sprained right ankle that has now forced him to miss two games. Bamba has continued to serve solely as the backup center behind Nikola Vucevic, and he’s only averaged 15.6 minutes per game to this point in the season. So, obviously, his absence won’t have much of an impact on the remaining members of the frontcourt rotation, but Khem Birch should at least assume Bamba’s vacated role while he remains sidelined, but still leaves him out of consideration for daily fantasy formats on tonight’s 13-game main slate.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Tobias Harris (hip) will play Saturday
Harris has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Saturday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Miami Heat despite dealing with a sore right hip. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Harris, but considering he was able to log 36 minutes and closeout Friday’s loss, he appears more than likely to handle his normal minute allotment in tonight’s contest. If for some reason Harris is limited, it would open up additional playing time for Furkan Korkmaz and James Ennis on the wing and at the forward positions. Harris has been phenomenal for fantasy purposes of late, firmly cementing himself as the Sixers number two option on offense, and he only trails Joel Embiid with a 24.4% usage rate while averaging 1.04 DraftKings and 1.03 FanDuel points per minute thus far on the season.
As reported by: Keith Pompey via Twitter