DFS Alerts
On The Rise
Damion Lee made a statement in a huge way with a massive game on Christmas Day in Golden State’s upset win over Houston. He posted a 22/15/4 line over 31 minutes of court time, and he has been playing much better of late. The Warriors are starved for options on the wing, and Lee could be playing his way into a much bigger role. The price bump will likely scare some people away, making this a fine spot to continue to target Lee in tournaments. This is another winnable game for the Warriors, and the Suns are not a great defensive squad.
Time for a Breakout Game
I know that he has been bad of late, but one of the first things that sticks out like a sore thumb on this slate is the mega cheap price tag for Devin Booker. He is all the way down to $6,900 on both FanDuel and DraftKings, and a favorable matchup awaits today against the Warriors. Given his ability to put up massive points in bunches, this is a fantastic breakout spot for him. On a five game slate, he is arguably the top point per dollar play on the docket. In tournaments, he is my favorite play of the night.
Shabazz Napier (illness) now starting ahead of Jarrett Culver on Thursday
Despite previously announcing that Culver would start, the Timberwolves have now confirmed that Napier will get the start at point guard for Thursday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings after missing one game with an illness. The recent emergence of Napier as Minnesota’s starting point guard has really hindered the playing time of Culver and Josh Okogie the last two games he was active, so with Napier returning for tonight’s contest, they shouldn’t be expected to handle a significant minute workload, especially after both logged fewer than 15 minutes in Monday’s loss when Napier wasn’t even available to play.
As reported by: Dane Moore via Twitter Other tagged players: Jarrett Culver
Bogdan Bogdanovic (ankle) will play Thursday
Bogdanovic confirmed with reporters that he will play in Thursday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing three games due to a sore right ankle. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Bogdanovic, but if he is limited in any way, Trevor Ariza would likely continue handling an increased minute workload following a couple of stellar fantasy performances in an average of 31.5 minutes over the previous two contests. However, if he isn’t hampered by the injury, Bogdanovic could be a viable tournament target since he has a 24.4% usage rate, a 23.7% assist rate, and is averaging 0.96 DraftKings and 0.91 FanDuel points per minute on the year thus far.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) officially out Thursday
As expected, Towns won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to a sprained left knee that has now forced him to miss five games, while Shabazz Napier has been cleared to play following a brief one-game absence because of an illness. With Towns sidelined, Gorgui Dieng should start at the center position once again, and he has finally seen a normal starters’ workload in two straight contests, recording at least 30 minutes on both occasions. The recent emergence of Napier as Minnesota’s starting point guard has really hindered the playing time of Jarrett Culver and Josh Okogie, so with Napier returning, they shouldn’t be expected to handle a significant minute workload, especially after both logged fewer than 15 minutes in Monday’s loss when Napier wasn’t even available to play.
As reported by: Alan Horton via Twitter Shabazz Napier (illness) available to play Thursday
Napier has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings after missing one game due to an illness, while Karl-Anthony Towns is unlikely to play and is on track to miss his fifth straight game with a sprained left knee With Towns sidelined, Gorgui Dieng should start at center once again, and he has finally seen a normal starters’ workload in two straight contests, recording at least 30 minutes on both occasions. The recent emergence of Napier as Minnesota’s starting point guard has really hindered the playing time of Jarrett Culver and Josh Okogie, so with Napier returning, they shouldn’t be expected to handle a significant minute workload, especially after both logged fewer than 15 minutes in Monday’s loss.
As reported by: Chris Hine via Twitter Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) unlikely to play Thursday
Towns remains listed as questionable but is unlikely to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to a sprained left knee that has already forced him to miss four games, while Shabazz Napier is still questionable with an illness that kept him sidelined for Monday’s loss. The recent emergence of Napier as Minnesota’s starting point guard has really hindered the playing time of Jarrett Culver and Josh Okogie, so if Napier is unable to suit up, they will likely see an increase in playing time, and Culver would likely remain in the starting unit despite logging just 14 minutes last time out. Additionally, with Towns sidelined, Gorgui Dieng has finally seen a normal starters’ workload in two straight contests, recording at least 30 minutes on both occasions.
As reported by: Chris Hine via Twitter Bruce Brown (calves) available to play Thursday; Blake Griffin (illness) will start
Head coach Dwane Casey confirmed with reporters that Brown will “give it a go” and try to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards after missing one game due to soreness in both calves, while Blake Griffin will start, as expected, and Christian Wood remains probable with a left knee bone bruise. There haven’t been any official reports of a minute restriction Brown or Griffin, but the context to Casey’s answers about Brown at his pregame media availability and the fact he’s coming off the bench does make it seem like the team is concerned about his ability to handle a full minute workload this evening. However, if Brown can battle through his injury, he has actually been rather productive with Luke Kennard off the court and is averaging 0.97 DraftKings and 0.95 FanDuel points per minute in a 228.8 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Keith Langlois via Twitter Other tagged players: Blake Griffin Marcus Morris (Achilles) and Mitchell Robinson (illness) listed available Thursday
Morris and Robinson have both been cleared and are listed as available for Thursday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, while Dennis Smith Jr. was already ruled out with a strained left oblique and Wayne Ellington remains sidelined with a sore left Achilles. The absence of Smith won’t have too much of an impact on the overall rotation, but it will give interim head coach Mike Miller one less option to potentially siphon playing time from Elfrid Payton, who has now logged at least 27 minutes in both games as the starting point guard. With Taj Gibson available, Mitchell Robinson will head back to the bench following one spot start, but even in a starting role, he was limited to just 23 minutes in Monday’s loss despite a relatively solid fantasy performance and keeps him as a volatile option for daily fantasy formats moving forward.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Mitchell Robinson Bruce Brown (calves) will try to play Thursday
Head coach Dwane Casey confirmed with reporters that Brown will “give it a go” and try to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards after missing one game due to soreness in both calves, while Blake Griffin and Christian Wood remain probable with their respective ailments. There haven’t been any official reports of a minute restriction Brown, but the context to Casey’s answers at his pregame media availability does make it seem like the team is concerned about his ability to handle a full minute workload this evening. If Brown can battle through his injury, he has actually been rather productive with Luke Kennard off the court and is averaging 0.97 DraftKings and 0.95 FanDuel points per minute in a 228.8 minutes sample size.
As reported by: James Edwards III via Twitter Young Guard Should Be Nearing Full Strength
De’Aaron Fox has now played four games since missing a month due to an ankle injury, and despite returning to the starting lineup two games ago and averaging 26.5 points, 5 assists and 2 steals in those starts, he is still priced way down from his pre-injury level. Tonight Fox plays as a 5-point favorite at home against a Minnesota team that has the fifth-worst scoring defense in the league. Fox played 36 minutes in his last game, so he should be nearing full strength despite his discounted price.
Reserve Forward Should Play Major Role Off Bench
The Wizards have a number of players expected to miss tonight’s game, and one scenario that has a major impact is Isaiah Thomas finishing his two-game suspension tonight. Forward Troy Brown plays more of a point-forward role off the bench with Thomas off the court, and in 347 minutes playing without Thomas on the floor this season, Brown sees a 0.13 increase in his fantasy points per minute production. The Washington – Detroit game has the highest Vegas point total on the slate at 229, and Brown could be a major point producer off the bench.
Luka Doncic (ankle) will play Thursday
Head coach Rick Carlisle confirmed on a Dallas radio station that Doncic will play in Thursday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs after missing four games due to a sprained right ankle. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction, so he’ll presumably be ready to handle at least close to his normal allotment of minutes in tonight’s contest. However, his mere return to the starting lineup will be enough to send Jalen Brunson back to the bench to resume a diminished reserve role following a string of stellar fantasy performances in an average of 31.4 minutes over the last five games. If Doncic isn’t limited, he’ll clearly be in consideration for tournament formats since he leads the Mavericks with a 37.1% usage rate, 48.4% assist rate, and is averaging 1.75 DraftKings and 1.66 FanDuel points per minute thus far on the year.
As reported by: Mark Followill via Twitter Danilo Gallinari (ankle) out Thursday
Gallinari is a new addition to the Thunder’s injury report and won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a sore left ankle that has now forced him to miss two games. Gallinari was a late scratch prior to tipoff of Sunday’s win, which allowed Darius Bazley to receive the start at power forward, and he was solid from a fantasy perspective in just under 25 minutes of action. Other than the increase in playing time for Bazley at the four-spot, Dennis 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 +4.8% increase in usage rate and average at least +0.13 more fantasy points per minute over their usual season-long numbers.
As reported by: Brady Trantham via Twitter Jordan McRae (finger) will play Thursday
McRae has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Thursday’s matchup against Detroit Pistons after missing eight games while recovering from surgery on his right ring finger. Even with McRae slated to be on a minute restriction in his first game back, the Wizards still will receive a bit of depth in both areas of their rotation following the signing of Johnathan Williams this afternoon. There hasn’t been any clarification on how much Williams will play, but with Gary Payton II logging a massive 34 minutes in his Wizards debut in Monday’s win, it appears there’s a wide range of outcomes for Williams’ role in tonight’s contest.
As reported by: the Washington Wizards via Twitter Other tagged players: Johnathan Williams