DFS Alerts
JaMychal Green (tailbone) out Tuesday
Green has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers due to a tailbone contusion. Green exited towards the end of the second quarter of Sunday’s blowout win and was replaced by Paul George, so it’s a bit difficult which bench player, if any, will benefit from his absence. The most likely scenario is that Patrick Patterson rejoins the rotation to absorb a majority of Green’s vacated minutes, but he has historically been such a poor per-minute fantasy producer that it may be better to take a shot on Maurice Harkless in hopes he receives close to a typical starters’ workload opposed to the usual 22-24 minutes he’s usually allotted on a nightly basis.
As reported by: Tomer Azarly via Twitter
Danuel House Jr. (illness) out Tuesday
House Jr. has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs due to an illness that has now forced him to miss two games. This will allow Ben McLemore to remain in the starting lineup following his massive fantasy performance in 34 minutes of action in Saturday’s blowout win. McLemore has experienced more fantasy success as the starting small forward when House and Eric Gordon are sidelined, as he is averaging 0.84 DraftKings and 0.79 FanDuel points with them off the court in a 250.2 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen via Twitter Kyle Lowry (thumb) will start Tuesday
Lowry went from doubtful to questionable and now will start in Tuesday’s matchup against the Miami Heat after missing nearly a month due to a fractured left thumb. Head coach Nick Nurse didn’t confirm who Lowry would replace in the starting lineup, but Norman Powell is the likeliest candidate, and he should have a significantly lower minute floor moving forward if Nurse chooses to keep Terence Davis in the rotation. Lowry won’t have a minute restriction, but he isn’t exactly priced at a discount around the industry, which makes him and this Raptors squad as a whole an easy situation to avoid on a slate that has a plethora of value options at several positions.
As reported by: Eric Koreen via Twitter Moritz Wagner (ankle) out Tuesday
Wagner has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic due to a sprained left ankle that has now forced him to miss two games, while Thomas Bryant has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right foot and is slated to miss a minimum of three weeks. With Ian Mahinmi also still sidelined, these injuries will leave the Wizards ridiculously thin at the frontcourt positions, which will force head coach Scott Brooks to start Davis Bertans and Rui Hachimura at power forward and center, respectively, this evening. There’s almost no sample size with both Wagner and Bryant off the court together this season, but Bertans and Hachimura should be locked into massive minute floors, making them each fantastic options for daily fantasy formats on tonight’s seven-game slate.
As reported by: Fred Katz via Twitter Cedi Osman (back) will play Tuesday
Osman has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers despite dealing with a sore back. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Osman, so he’ll presumably resume his typical role as the starting small forward this evening. John Henson disclosed to reporters at Cavaliers’ shootaround that the coaching staff will be monitoring his minutes in his return to live game action but considering Ante Zizic and Alfonzo McKinnie have barely been cracking the rotation of late, there doesn’t appear to be many available minutes in a frontcourt that is largely occupied by Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, and Larry Nance Jr. when all three are healthy.
As reported by: Spencer Davies via Twitter Thomas Bryant (foot) out Tuesday
Bryant has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right foot and won’t be re-evaluated for three weeks, effectively ruling him out of Tuesday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic due to a sprained left ankle, while Moritz Wagner also won’t be available because of a sprained left ankle that has now forced him to miss two games. With Ian Mahinmi also still sidelined, these injuries will leave the Wizards ridiculously thin at the frontcourt positions, which will force head coach Scott Brooks to start Davis Bertans and Rui Hachimura at power forward and center, respectively, this evening. There’s almost no sample size with both Wagner and Bryant off the court together this season, but Bertans and Hachimura should be locked into massive minute floors, making them each fantastic options for daily fantasy formats on tonight’s seven-game slate.
As reported by: Chase Hughes via Twitter Should Draw Another Start Tonight
With LaMarcus Aldridge ruled out for tonight’s game, Jakob Poeltl should draw another start. He played 26 minutes in his start against the Pistons on Sunday and filled up the stat sheet. He has at least 20 fantasy points in nine of the last ten games. With the uptick in minutes, he’s one of my favorite value options on this slate. Houston is allowing the 11th most fantasy points per game to opposing centers.
Minimum Salary On Yahoo
I really like the Orlando Magic tonight, but if you’re playing on Yahoo, it’s hard not to like Ross and Birch at $10 each. With Vuc out, Birch should continue to start for the Magic, and Ross should continue to play 25+ minutes off the bench. Washington ranks 1st in pace of play, but they rank 30th in defensive efficiency. This is a great matchup for the Magic, and I want to take advantage of this pricing.
Minimum Salary On Yahoo
I really like the Orlando Magic tonight, but if you’re playing on Yahoo, it’s hard not to like Ross and Birch at $10 each. With Vuc out, Birch should continue to start for the Magic, and Ross should continue to play 25+ minutes off the bench. Washington ranks 1st in pace of play, but they rank 30th in defensive efficiency. This is a great matchup for the Magic, and I want to take advantage of this pricing.
LaMarcus Aldridge (thigh) officially out Tuesday
Aldridge was able to participate in shootaround, but he still won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a sore right thigh that has now forced him to miss two games. In his absence, Jakob Poeltl ended up receiving the start at the center position in Sunday’s loss, but he was limited to just 26 minutes, just like the other Spurs starters, because of a blowout. Poeltl was pulled with three minutes remaining in the third quarter of that contest, so he could have possibly seen between 32-34 minutes in a more competitive game script. Poeltl and Aldridge have only been on the floor together for 69.5 minutes this season, so Poeltl isn’t a huge beneficiary in terms of usage or fantasy production with Aldridge sidelined, but he is averaging 1.07 DraftKings and 1.12 FanDuel points per minute in a 313.3 minutes sample size with Aldridge off the court.
As reported by: Jeff McDonald via Twitter If You Only Play One Stud
If you find a lack of value tonight and can only play one superstar on your team, my suggestion is Luka Doncic. His leap this season has been ridiculous. He averages over 30 points per game to go along with 9.9 rebounds and 9.6 assists. Let those numbers really sink in: He’s averaging nearly a triple double with 30+ points per game. Luka also comes in significantly cheaper than James Harden on DraftKings and is comparable to Harden on FanDuel.
Michael Carter-Williams (hip) available to play Tuesday
Carter-Williams has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards after missing six games due to left hip irritation. The Magic are still without Al-Farouq Aminu and Nikola Vucevic, so Carter-Williams may be able to carve out a relatively consistent role in the second unit for while they are sidelined, but he has eclipsed the 15-minute mark just four times this entire season. Carter-Williams has been a solid fantasy producer on a per-minute basis thus far on the year, but given the uncertainty surrounding his playing time, his presence likely hurts the ceilings of D.J. Augustin and Terrence Ross more than he actually provides fantasy value himself.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter John Henson (hamstring) available to play Tuesday
Henson has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons after missing all but one game this season due to a strained right hamstring. Henson disclosed to reporters at Cavaliers’ shootaround that the coaching staff will be monitoring his minutes in his return to live game action but considering Ante Zizic and Alfonzo McKinnie have barely been cracking the rotation of late, there doesn’t appear to be many available minutes in a frontcourt that is largely occupied by Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, and Larry Nance Jr. when all three are healthy.
As reported by: James Rapien via Twitter Jonas Valanciunas (illness) out Monday
Valanciunas has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to an illness that has now forced him to miss two games, while Brandon Clarke and Kyle Anderson were already ruled out with their respective ailments. Clarke started at power forward in Sunday’s win with Valanciunas unavailable, but he was forced to leave the game towards the end of the second quarter with a sore left hip. Solomon Hill started the second half in his place, but Bruno Caboclo still saw the most minutes of the two, logging 29 minutes en route to easily exceeding his salary-based expectations for fantasy purposes on the night. Dillon Brooks has actually been the main beneficiary with Anderson and Ja Morant off the court this season, as he owns a 28.6% usage rate and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.07 Fandeul points per minute in a 115.4 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Cameron Johnson (ankle) and Ty Jerome (ankle) available to play Monday
Johnson, Jerome, and Mikal Bridges have all officially been cleared and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets despite dealing with their respective ailments, while Aron Baynes was previously ruled out due to a strained left calf. Baynes managed to see 25 minutes in his return from a five-game absence in Friday’s loss, which limited Frank Kaminsky to just 16 minutes for a second straight game. Kaminsky’s recent dip in playing time was directly correlated to an increase in minutes for Cheick Diallo, but Diallo has already been ruled out of tonight’s contest with an illness, so with Baynes also unable suit up, Kaminsky should be locked into a stable minute floor and becomes a stellar fantasy option for his price tag across the industry.
As reported by: Kellan Olson via Twitter Other tagged players: Ty Jerome