DFS Alerts
Moritz Wagner (ankle) out Sunday
Wagner has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a sprained left ankle. Wagner has a wide range of outcomes when it comes to his playing time on a nightly basis, but he typically caps out at about 25 minutes in games that feature an excessive amount of garbage time. As of their earlier injury report, the Wizards hadn’t recalled Admiral Schofield from the G-League, so Thomas Bryant and Davis Bertan are poised to absorb all of the available playing time at center with Ian Mahinmi still sidelined a strained right Achilles tendon. Both will be viable options on tonight’s single-game slate, but Bryant will be particularly interesting since he averages 1.15 DraftKings and 1.13 FanDuel points per minute with Bertans off the court this season.
As reported by: the Washington Wizards via Twitter
Derrick Favors (personal) and Kenrich Williams (ankle) out Sunday; Lonzo Ball (illness) will start
Favors and Williams have officially been ruled out of Sunday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Ball will start alongside Jrue Holiday in the backcourt after missing two games due to an illness. With Favors still unavailable, Jahlil Okafor will receive the start at the center position instead of Jaxson Hayes, who has seen 21 minutes or fewer in each of the Pelicans’ previous two games. Okafor ended up replacing Hayes in the starting lineup to begin the second half of Friday’s loss, and he was stellar from a fantasy perspective in 27 minutes of action. Okafor would make for an intriguing daily fantasy option if he’s able to come anywhere close to that amount of playing time this afternoon, as he is averaging 1.11 DraftKings and 1.12 FanDuel points per minute on the season.
As reported by: Will Guillory via Twitter Other tagged players: Kenrich Williams, Lonzo Ball Shabazz Napier (hamstring) available to play Sunday
Napier has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Sunday’s matchup against Memphis Grizzlies after missing 12 games due to a strained right hamstring, while Treveon Graham and Josh Okogie are also available, as expected, despite nursing their respective ailments. Head coach Ryan Saunders’ rotation is quite different since the last time Napier was able to suit up, so his role moving forward is still to be determined, especially since Andrew Wiggins has taken on a much larger facilitator role in the starting unit of late, so much so the Jeff Teague has been relegated to the bench in order to stagger their time on the court more effectively.
As reported by: the Minnesota Timberwolves via Twitter Kyle Kuzma (ankle) will play Sunday
Head coach Frank Vogel confirmed to reporters during his pregame media availability that Kuzma will play in Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks despite dealing with a sprained left ankle. There haven’t been any reports of a potential minute restriction for Kuzma, so he’ll likely resume the typical sixth-man role that usually allots him minutes in the mid-20s on a nightly basis. The minute upside of Kuzma obviously remains limited while Anthony Davis continues to absorb power forward minutes, but Kuzma still has the ability to pay off his price tag across the industry, as he owns a 23.0% usage rate and is averaging 0.82 DraftKings and 0.72 FanDuel points per minute on the season.
As reported by: Harrison Faigen via Twitter Brandon Clarke (hip) available to play Sunday
Clarke has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves despite dealing with a sore left hip, while Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Anderson were previously ruled out with their respective ailments. Now that Clarke’s been cleared to play, he will be a strong candidate to replace Valanciunas in the starting lineup and typically sees between 18-25 minutes off the bench in his normal reserve role. Memphis is also slated to be without Ja Morant in today’s contest, and he is considered week-to-week because of recurring back spasms, which should enable Tyus Jones to draw the start at point guard this afternoon. Other than Jones’ clear playing time increase, Dillon Brooks has actually been the main beneficiary with Morant and Kyle Anderson off the court this season, as he owns a 29.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.10 Fandeul points per minute in an 83.5 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Jonas Valanciunas (illness) out Sunday
Valanciunas is a new addition to the Grizzlies’ injury report and is questionable for Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to an illness, while Brandon Clarke will be a game-time decision because of a sore left hip. If he’s cleared to play, Clarke will be a strong candidate to replace Valanciunas in the starting lineup and typically sees between 18-25 minutes off the bench in his normal reserve role. Memphis has already ruled out Ja Morant for today’s contest, and he is considered week-to-week because of recurring back spasms, which should enable Tyus Jones to draw the start at point guard this afternoon. Other than Jones’ clear playing time increase, Dillon Brooks has actually been the main beneficiary with Morant and Kyle Anderson off the court this season, as he owns a 29.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.10 Fandeul points per minute in an 83.5 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Michael Wallace via Twitter The Scrub in the Stars & Scrubs
Ja Morant is out and that should pave the way for Tyus Jones to start. Jones is not a big point-per-minute producer but the minutes should be there for him. His cheap salary paved the way for a stars and scrub lineup construction today where I’m doing everything I can to jam in Luka Doncic and one of LeBron James or Anthony Davis in my lineups with the savings Jones provides (for early slates at least).
Jonas Valanciunas (illness) questionable Sunday
Valanciunas is a new addition to the Grizzlies’ injury report and is questionable for Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to an illness, while Brandon Clarke remains questionable with a sore left hip. Memphis has already ruled out Ja Morant for today’s contest, and he is considered week-to-week because of recurring back spasms, which should enable Tyus Jones to draw the start at point guard this afternoon. Other than Jones’ clear playing time increase, Dillon Brooks has actually been the main beneficiary with Morant and Kyle Anderson off the court this season, as he owns a 29.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.10 Fandeul points per minute in an 83.5 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Highest Floor at PG
VanVleet is the guy I find myself having the heaviest exposure to across multiple main slates despite a difficult home matchup against the Jazz. While Kyle Lowry is nearing a return, he remains doubtful for Sunday’s game and which means FVV will continue to run the offense for the Raptors. VanVleet’s offensive aggression from last year’s playoffs has carried over to this season and his strong usage combined with solid assist rate and heavy minutes gives him the highest floor on the slate at the PG position.
Giannis Antetokonmpo (back) and Eric Bledsoe (knee) will start Saturday
As expected, Antetokounmpo and Bledsoe will start in Saturday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, while Brook Lopez and Sterling Brown were previously ruled out due to their respective ailments. This is the first game Lopez has missed this season, so there hasn’t been preexisting evidence on how head coach Mike Budenholzer will deploy his rotation in Lopez’s absence, but Robin Lopez will step into the starting lineup in place of his brother for tonight’s contest. However, it’d be ill-advised to expect Robin to just step directly into Brooks’ vacated role of 26-32 minutes per night, and his fantasy viability likely depends on how often this game goes small, as both teams are unafraid to play without a traditional center on the floor. If that’s the case, Ersan Ilyasova or D.J. Wilson could be in line for extended workloads this evening.
As reported by: Matt Velazquez via Twitter Other tagged players: Eric Bledsoe Cam Reddish (wrist) officially out Saturday
As expected, Reddish won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to sprained left wrist. Even though he carried an injury designation in the Hawks’ three prior contests, Reddish continued to be cleared to play and start alongside Trae Young in the backcourt. However, he saw his lowest minute total of the season in Friday’s overtime loss, and DeAndre’ Bembry logged a whopping 41 minutes off the bench and was phenomenal for fantasy purposes relative to his price tag across the industry. With Reddish now officially unavailable, Bembry is underpriced for his current role in the Hawks rotation, especially since he is averaging 0.82 DraftKings and 0.84 FanDuel points per minute thus far on the year.
As reported by: Sarah K. Spence via Twitter Cody Zeller (hip) available to play Saturday
As expected, Zeller will be available to play in Saturday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks after missing two games due to a left hip contusion. With Zeller sidelined, Bismack Biyombo had managed to log 34 minutes as the starting center in each of the previous two contests, and he was been exceptional for fantasy performances, which has limited Willy Hernangomez to just six minutes of action in a reserve role over this span. In fact, head coach James Borrego has decided to roll with Biyombo as the starter for at least one more time while Zeller eases himself back into game action. As seen by his stellar play in Friday’s win, P.J. Washington has been the primary beneficiary with Zeller off the court this season, as he owns a 22.5% usage rate and is averaging 1.13 DraftKings and 1.14 FanDuel points per minute in a 257.7 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Cam Reddish (wrist) downgraded to doubtful Saturday
Reddish has been downgraded from questionable and is now doubtful for Saturday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to sprained left wrist. Even though he carried an injury designation in the three prior contests, Reddish continued to be cleared to play and start alongside Trae Young in the backcourt. However, he saw his lowest minute total of the season in Friday’s overtime loss, and DeAndre’ Bembry logged a whopping 41 minutes off the bench and was phenomenal for fantasy purposes relative to his price tag across the industry. With Reddish now trending towards being unavailable, Bembry is underpriced for his current role in the Hawks rotation since he is averaging 0.82 DraftKings and 0.84 FanDuel points per minute thus far on the year.
As reported by: Chris Kirschner via Twitter Josh Richardson (hamstring) officially out Saturday
As expected, Richardson won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to a tight right hamstring that’s now forced him to miss two games, while Kyle O’Quinn is a game-time decision with a strained left calf. However, O’Quinn’s availability becomes irrelevant with Joel Embiid slated to play in his second back-to-back of the season and Al Horford returning from a one-game absence for rest purposes. This means one of Matisse Thybulle or Furkan Korkmaz will be relegated back to the bench with Horford available, and Thybulle appears to be the likely candidate to head to the second unit since Korkmaz managed to outproduce him in 31 minutes as a starter in Friday’s win.
As reported by: Jon Johnson via Twitter Clint Capela (illness) and Danuel House (illness) officially out Saturday
As expected, Capela and House Jr. won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to an illness. In their absences, Tyson Chandler and Ben McLemore are expected to join the Rockets’ starting lineup, but Chandler was limited to fewer than 18 minutes in two of his three previous spot starts earlier in the season. McLemore has experienced more fantasy success as the starting small forward when House and Eric Gordon are sidelined, as he is averaging 0.85 DraftKings and 0.78 FanDuel points with them and Capela off the court in a 132.4 minutes sample size. Additionally, James Harden unsurprisingly leads Houston with a 46.1% usage rate and a 31.4% assist rate in this scenario, leading to a +7.17 point increase in his fantasy output per 36 minutes.
As reported by: Mark Berman via Twitter Other tagged players: Danuel House Jr.