DFS Alerts
Revenge!
This is the front end of a back-to-back for the Clippers, so there’s a chance Kawhi sits. But considering this is a revenge game for Kawhi against the Spurs in San Antonio and tomorrow is a revenge game for Paul George against the Thunder in OKC, my guess is Kawhi plays his normal minutes today and rests tomorrow. The Spurs have been horrible defensively this season, allowing the 6th most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season. Yes, there is a revenge factor here, but the more important factor for me is Kawhi’s reasonable price tag, the likelihood this game stays close enough for Leonard to play his normal minutes and the matchup.
Center In Smash Spot
There are genuine blowout concerns for Giannis and the Bucks versus the Knicks, as well as Joel Embiid and the 76ers versus the Wizards. If you’re someone who is more cautious and relies on Vegas lines, then Andre Drummond may be someone who pops. The Bulls/Pistons game has a three point spread, and the Pistons could be without Blake Griffin, Luke Kennard and Christian Wood once again on this back-end game of a back-to-back. CourtIQ actually shows Derrick Rose seeing the biggest usage bump here and I do like him in GPPs in a #revenge game, but Drummond should be the one feasting in the starting unit against a Bulls team allowing the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing centers.
Center In Smash Spot
There are genuine blowout concerns for Giannis and the Bucks versus the Knicks, as well as Joel Embiid and the 76ers versus the Wizards. If you’re someone who is more cautious and relies on Vegas lines, then Andre Drummond may be someone who pops. The Bulls/Pistons game has a three point spread, and the Pistons could be without Blake Griffin, Luke Kennard and Christian Wood once again on this back-end game of a back-to-back. CourtIQ actually shows Derrick Rose seeing the biggest usage bump here and I do like him in GPPs in a #revenge game, but Drummond should be the one feasting in the starting unit against a Bulls team allowing the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing centers.
The Value Needed
This slate is shaping up early to be ugly on the value front, which is why I’m tagging Danuel House. It’s not that I think House is an amazing point per dollar play or that I expect a ton of fantasy production from him, but he’s played at least 34 minutes in three of his last four games and the team continues to rely on him for his defensive prowess. He’s one route to help jam in the Harden/Westbrook/Giannis type plays today, and one of the value plays I’m most willing to bank on just based on his expected minutes.
Trae Young (illness) probable Saturday; Evan Turner (hamstring) questionable
Young has been added to the Hawks’ injury report and is probable for Saturday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets due to an illness. Meanwhile, Turner and Chandler Parsons are also on the injury report because of their respective ailments, but they remain firmly out of the rotation when Atlanta is at full strength. Given the nature of the injury designation and the fact Young played a whopping 41 minutes in Thursday’s loss, he seems almost fully guaranteed to be ready to suit up for tonight’s contest. Young has largely been fantastic for fantasy purposes this season, so he’ll remain in consideration for tournaments on most slates considering he has a 34.5% usage rate, a 39.9% assist rate, and is averaging 1.36 DraftKings and 1.28 FanDuel points per minute on the year thus far.
As reported by: Chris Kirschner via Twitter Other tagged players: Evan Turner
Rudy Gay (illness) questionable Saturday
Gay has been added to the Spurs’ injury report and is questionable for Saturday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to an illness. Head coach Gregg Popovich opted to shake up his starting lineup three games ago, which sent Gay back to the bench in favor of Trey Lyles, and Gay’s minutes have gradually decreased over this span even though he is usually allocated minutes in the low-20s on a nightly basis. Probably the most actionable change with this new first unit is that Dejounte Murray has now logged at least 27 minutes in three straight contests, and he’s been phenomenal for fantasy purposes at his price tag with an average of 1.25 DraftKings and 1.27 FanDuel points per minute in his last 86.7 minutes played.
As reported by: Matthew R Tynan via Twitter Nassir Little (back) out Friday
Little has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic due to back spasms, while Mario Hezonja is available to play, as expected, after missing one game with back spasms. In Hezonja’s absence, Little was a DNP-CD, as head coach Terry Stotts opted to roll with Gary Trent Jr. and Anthony Tolliver at the forwards position, and both logged at least 18 minutes of action off the bench in Wednesday’s win. Obviously, this news has minimal impact on the Blazers rotation and any playing time that might have been allocated to Little will trickle down to Trent Jr., Tolliver, or even Hezonja if he remains in the rotation.
As reported by: Jamie Goldberg via Twitter Jarrett Culver (illness) available to play Friday
Culver has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play against the Denver Nuggets after missing one game due to an illness while Karl-Anthony Towns was already ruled out with a sprained left knee that’s now kept him sidelined for two games. In Towns’ absence, Gorgui Dieng ended up receiving the start at the center position in Wednesday’s loss, and he was serviceable from a fantasy perspective in just 24 minutes of action. Without Towns, there’s obviously a plethora of usage and production to go around in the first unit, and Andrew Wiggins leads the way with a 29.8% usage rate while Robert Covington is averaging a whopping 1.17 DraftKings and 1.17 FanDuel points per minute in a 197.6 minutes sample size with Towns off the court this season.
As reported by: Timberwolves PR via Twitter Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) out Friday
Towns has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in against the Denver Nuggets due to a sprained left knee, while Jarrett Culver is a game-time decision because of an illness that already forced him to miss one game. In Towns’ absence, Gorgui Dieng ended up receiving the start at the center position in Wednesday’s loss, and he was serviceable from a fantasy perspective in just 24 minutes of action. Without Towns, there’s obviously a plethora of usage and production to go around in the first unit, and Andrew Wiggins leads the way with a 29.8% usage rate while Robert Covington is averaging a whopping 1.17 DraftKings and 1.17 FanDuel points per minute in a 197.6 minutes sample size with Towns off the court this season.
As reported by: Chris Hine via Twitter Devin Booker (forearm) and Cam Johnson (hip) will play Friday
Booker has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing two games due to a right forearm contusion, while Cam Johnson and Tyler Johnson are both available to play despite battling their respective ailments. In Booker’s absence, Mikal Bridges received the start at the shooting guard position in each of the previous two games, but he had some mixed results from a fantasy perspective even though he managed to log at least 26 minutes in each contest.
As reported by: Brady Trantham via Twitter Other tagged players: Cam Johnson Goran Dragic (groin) will play Friday
Dragic has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the New York Knicks after missing over two weeks due to a strained right groin, while Justise Winslow remains sidelined with a strained lower back. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Dragic, but his availability off the bench will at least cut into the playing time Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson in tonight’s contest and moving forward. Obviously, Dragic isn’t in consideration for any daily fantasy formats, but his mere presence is enough to make all Heat players other than Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo clear stay aways on a sizable 10-game main slate.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter Brad Wanamaker (ankle) will play Friday
As expected, Wannamaker will play in Friday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics despite dealing with a left ankle sprain, while Gordon Hayward has already been ruled out with left foot soreness. With Hayward and Marcus Smart unavailable for Wednesday’s win, Semi Ojeleye ended up receiving the start at power forward and logged 20 minutes, but he essentially split time with Grant Williams, who saw 24 minutes off the bench himself. Other than the increased playing time for Ojeleye, Williams, and Wannamaker, it’s been Kemba Walker that is the clear beneficiary with both Hayward and Smart off the court, as he owns a 36.2% usage, a 31.3% assist rate, and is averaging 1.57 DraftKings and 1.44 FanDuel points per minute in a 185.3 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter Fred VanVleet (knee) will play Friday
Head coach Nick Nurse confirmed that VanVleet will play in Friday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards after missing five games with a bruised knee. He didn’t disclose if VanVleet would be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back, but historically, Nurse and the Raptors organization as a whole haven’t been hesitant about throwing their injured players directly into a full minute workload upon their return. However, the Raptors will be without Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, and Norman Powell for an extended period of time, so Serge Ibaka and Patrick McCaw will join VanVleet and the other two usual starters in the first unit this evening. There’s almost no sample size with that trio off the court this season, but VanVleet, Ibaka, and Kyle Lowry figure to lead the starters in usage in their absences.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter Bogdan Bogdanovic (ankle) out Friday
Head coach Luke Walton confirmed Bogdanovic won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to a sore right ankle, and he’ll be considered day-to-day moving forward. Walton also disclosed that De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III will come off the bench once again in tonight’s contest, and Fox was still able to approach the 30-minute mark in his return from a lengthy injury absence in Tuesday’s loss. Fox is still appropriately priced across the daily fantasy industry, but he’s always in consideration for tournaments given his upside, as he a 28.4% usage rate, a 33.8% assist rate, and is averaging 1.11 DraftKings and 1.06 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter Jeremy Lamb (groin) out Friday; T.J. Warren (illness) available to play
Lamb has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to a sore right groin, while Warren has been cleared and will be available to play despite dealing with an illness. There hasn’t been any confirmation on who will replace Lamb in the starting lineup, but Aaron Holiday and Justin Holiday are the clear leading candidates and should be in line for increased playing time alongside Malcolm Brogdon in the backcourt. Somewhat surprisingly, Myles Turner has been an indirect beneficiary with Lamb off the court this season, as he owns a 20.5% usage rate, a 13.1% assist rate, and is averaging 1.03 DraftKings and 1.02 FanDuel points per minute in a 217.4 minutes sample size.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Other tagged players: TJ Warren