DFS Alerts
Stud Coming Alive
Julius Randle has started to thrive in December under new coach Mike Miller. Randle has now seen between 32-37 minutes in his last three games, and he gets a smash spot tonight against a Wizards team that ranks 3rd in pace and dead last in defensive rating. Randle just recently dropped 50 fantasy points against the Wizards a few games ago, and it’s possible we see him have similar success here against a Washington team that continues to be without Thomas Bryant, Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans. We previously had to walk on egg shells with Randle and any Knicks player under David Fizdale as minutes were never secure, but that seems to be changing under the new regime.
Holmes Sweet Holmes
I’ve tagged multiple Kings and as mentioned in my writeup for Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings are short-handed with no De’Aaron Fox or Marvin Bagley. With Dewayne Dedmon wanting out of Sacramento, the Kings used an eight-man rotation last game, which forced Richaun Holmes to play 45 minutes in a double-overtime loss. I’m not expecting Holmes to continue seeing this massive of a workload, but the Kings are going to need someone like Holmes to help against Aron Baynes, Dario Saric and Frank Kaminsky. I love the price tag on Holmes, his secure role now with Bagley out, and this is also a #revenge game for him.
Filling The Void
De’Aaron Fox got hurt last game and that led to Bogdan Bogdanovic playing 43 minutes. With De;Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley out for this game and Dewayne Dedmon out of the rotation begging for a trade, the Kings are going to need Bogdanovic to pick up the slack. I expect Cory Joseph to start, but Bogdanovic has acted as the backup point guard at times and should soak up a ton of usage as CourtIQ shows he has a team-high 28.9% usage rate when both are off the court. The Kings used a tight eight-man rotation last game and we could see something similar here as the 12-19 Kings try to right the ship.
Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring) out Friday
Brogdon has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to a sore left hamstring that has now forced him to miss two games. In his absence, Aaron Holiday will receive the start at point guard alongside Jeremy Lamb in the backcourt once again, and he was phenomenal for fantasy purposes in 31 minutes of action in Monday’s win. Other than Holiday’s increased playing time, Myles Turner has been an indirect beneficiary with Brogdon off the court this season, as he owns a 19.9% usage rate, a 12.1% rebound rate, and is averaging 1.06 DraftKings and 1.08 FanDuel points per minute in a 218.8 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Jeremiah Johnson via Twitter
Giannis Antetokounmpo (back) officially out Friday
As expected, Antetokounmpo has been ruled out and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to a sore back. Antetokounmpo has only missed one game prior to tonight’s contest, and Ersan Ilyasova ended up receiving the start at power forward on the previous occasion and was phenomenal for fantasy purposes in 27 minutes of action, making him the most logical candidate to enter the starting lineup this evening. While Ilyasova, Brook Lopez, and Donte DiVincenzo all benefit with Antetokounmpo sidelined, Khris Middleton has been the largest beneficiary, by far, with Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe off the court, as he owns a 37.4% usage rate (+11.4%), a 30.0% assist rate (+11.2%), and is averaging 1.59 DraftKings and 1.50 FanDuel points per minute in a 146.8 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Matt Velazquez via Twitter Jabari Parker (shoulder) and Alex Len (ankle) out Friday
Parker has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks due to right shoulder impingement, while Alex Len is also unavailable, as expected, and Evan Turner remains probable with a strained right hamstring. With John Collins returning from his 25-game suspension in Monday’s loss, Parker saw his playing time plummet and was limited to just 15 minutes off the bench as head coach Lloyd Pierce opted to tighten his rotation a bit, allocating at least 32 minutes to every starter other than Bruno Fernando in the aforementioned contest. Any playing time that would have been allocated to Parker and Len is likely to be absorbed by Vince Carter and Damian Jones this evening. Additionally, Collins has only played 195.7 minutes this season, but in that time, he has a 20.9% usage rate and is averaging 1.20 DraftKings and 1.22 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: Brad Rowland via Twitter Other tagged players: Alex Len Dennis Schroder (ankle) available to play Friday
Schroder has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets despite dealing with a sore right ankle, while Danilo Gallinari will miss a third straight game with a sore left ankle. With Gallinari sidelined, Darius Bazley has received the starting nod at power forward on each occasion, but he’s logged fewer than 19 minutes twice over that span, making him difficult to trust for daily fantasy formats, even at his cheap price tag. Other than the increase in playing time for Bazley and the Thunder reserves, Schroder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the clear beneficiaries with Gallinari and Hamidou Diallo off the court, as they each see a minimum of a +4.3% increase in usage rate and average at least +0.11 more fantasy points per minute over their usual season-long numbers.
As reported by: Steve McGehee via Twitter Eric Paschall (hip) listed out Friday; Ky Bowman listed available
Paschall has officially been downgraded from questionable on the latest Warriors’ injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a right hip contusion he sustained during Wednesday’s win. Paschall only managed to log seven minutes in that contest, so Marquese Chriss and Omari Spellman should be expected to handle a majority of the backup frontcourt minutes, which has become much more scarce of late with Draymond Green and Willie Cauley-Stein each logging over 30 minutes in recent games. Additionally, Ky Bowman was recalled from the G-League and has logged at least 22 minutes off the bench in each of the Warriors’ previous two contests, which has cut into the playing time of Alec Burks and essentially relegated Jacob Evans to the fringe of head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Ky Bowman PJ Washington (finger) will start Friday
As expected, head coach James Borrego confirmed with reporters that Washington will start in Friday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing five games due to a fractured right finger. Borrego wouldn’t disclose if Washington would be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back, but he did say that he’ll monitor how Washington is feeling throughout the game. Either way, Washington’s return will more than likely send Nicolas Batum back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a couple of disappointing fantasy performances in an average of 25.7 minutes over the previous two contests. Washington isn’t priced at a discount by any means, but he still remains in consideration for tournament formats, especially on FanDuel, as he continues to average 0.86 DraftKings and 0.87 FanDuel points per minute on the season.
As reported by: the Charlotte Hornets via Twitter Larry Nance Jr. (knee) will play Friday
Nance Jr. has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against Boston Celtics after missing one game due to a sore left knee. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Nance, so he’ll presumably be fine to assume his usual reserve role off the bench in tonight’s contest. The trade of Jordan Clarkson to the Utah Jazz could open up some playing time for Nance, but he’s still logged fewer than 20 minutes in six of the Cavaliers’ previous eight games and it remains possible that some combination of Kevin Porter Jr., Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, or Brandon Knight combine a committee to absorb Clarkson’s vacated playing time instead. If that’s the case, Nance is a difficult player to target in daily fantasy formats unless one of Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson is unavailable on a given night.
As reported by: Chris Fedor via Twitter Marcus Smart (eye) out Friday
Smart has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a left eye infection. Head coach Brad Stevens did confirm with reporters that Smart did full on-court work in Thursday’s practice, and he left open the possibility of Smart making his return in the second leg of the Celtics’ upcoming back-to-back set on Saturday evening. With Smart still unavailable, Gordon Hayward should receive a second straight start at one of the forward positions alongside Jayson Tatum following his solid fantasy performance in just 26 minutes in Wednesday’s win. If Hayward is able to see closer to his normal minute workload in tonight’s contest, he’ll be a viable tournament target since he has a 22.3% usage rate and is averaging 1.10 DraftKings and 1.07 FanDuel points per minute on the year thus far.
As reported by: Brian Robb via Twitter Giannis Antetokounmpo (back) listed doubtful Friday
Antetokounmpo has been listed as doubtful on the updated Bucks’ injury report for Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to a sore back. Antetokounmpo has only missed one game so far this season, and Ersan Ilyasova ended up receiving the start at power forward in that contest and was phenomenal for fantasy purposes in 27 minutes of action, making him the most logical candidate to enter the starting lineup this evening. While Ilyasova, Brook Lopez, and Donte DiVincenzo all benefit with Antetokounmpo sidelined, Khris Middleton has been the largest beneficiary, by far, with Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe off the court, as he owns a 37.4% usage rate (+11.4%), a 30.0% assist rate (+11.2%), and is averaging 1.59 DraftKings and 1.50 FanDuel points per minute in a 146.8 minutes sample size.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Cheap Minutes At A Thin Position
Outside of Joel Embiid and Nikola Vucevic squaring off in a tough matchup, the center position is extremely weak on Friday’s 5-game slate. Enter Aron Baynes who has been starting in Deandre Ayton’s absence and has seen his minutes increase into the 30’s over his last two starts. Baynes isn’t going to set the world on fire offensively but he’ll see solid minutes in a favorable matchup which is basically all you need at his price tag.
Jabari Parker (shoulder) downgraded to questionable Friday
Parker has been downgraded from probable to questionable for Friday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks due to right shoulder impingement, while Alex Len remains doubtful and Evan Turner is still probable with their respective ailments. With John Collins returning from his 25-game suspension in Monday’s loss, Parker saw his playing time plummet and was limited to just 15 minutes off the bench as head coach Lloyd Pierce opted to tighten his rotation a bit, allocating at least 32 minutes to every starter other than Bruno Fernando in the aforementioned contest. Collin has only played 195.7 minutes this season, but in that time, he has a 20.9% usage rate and is averaging 1.20 DraftKings and 1.22 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: Kevin Chouinard via Twitter Mohamed Bamba (ankle) out Friday
Bamba is a new addition to the Magic’s injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a sprained right ankle he sustained during Thursday’s practice. 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, which leaves him out of consideration for daily fantasy formats on tonight’s five-game main slate.
As reported by: John Denton via Twitter