DFS Alerts
Thomas Bryant (hip) will play Sunday; Jordan McRae (illness) officially out
As expected, Bryant will play in Sunday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic despite dealing with a sore left hip, while Jordan McRae is officially out with an illness. Bryant’s minutes can be sporadic on a game-to-game basis, as he’s played as few as 20 minutes and as many as 34 minutes over the previous six games, but Wizards will have just 10 active players for tonight’s contest and that should raise every member of the rotation’s minute floor. Moritz Wagner may be a trendy option following his ridiculous fantasy performance in 25 minutes of action in Friday’s win, but he did nearly all of his damage in the fourth quarter during garbage time, making him worthy fade candidate on a four-game main slate.
As reported by: Fred Katz via Twitter Other tagged players: Jordan McRae
Jonathan Isaac (ankle) out Sunday
Isaac has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a sprained right ankle that’s now forced him to miss two games. Al-Farouq Aminu will more than likely receive another start alongside Aaron Gordon in the frontcourt, and he was phenomenal for fantasy purposes in 31 minutes of action in Friday’s win. Every remaining member of the Magic starting unit should benefit from an increase in usage with Isaac sidelined, but Evan Fournier has easily seen the biggest boost of the four, as he owns a 26.1% usage rate and is averaging 1.17 DraftKings and 1.11 FanDuel points per minute in a 78.8 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Josh Robbins via Twitter Trevor Ariza (groin) and Dewayne Dedmon (knee) will play Sunday
Ariza confirmed with reporters following his pregame warmups that he will play in Sunday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics after missing one game due to a sore right groin, while Dedmon will also be available despite dealing with a sprained right knee, but he’s played 15 minutes or fewer in four of the Kings previous four games. With Ariza sidelined fro Friday’s loss, head coach Luke Walton condensed his rotation significantly to compensate for his absence, as Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, and Bogdan Bogdanovic all logged at least 37 minutes, but they should see those totals regress closer to their season averages with Ariza back in the fold this afternoon.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter Other tagged players: Dewayne Dedmon Frank Jackson (neck) and J.J. Redick (toe) questionable Sunday
Jackson and Redick are questionable for Sunday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors, while Brandon Ingram and Derrick Favors are doubtful Sunday with their respective ailments. The Pelicans have already ruled out Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and Jahlil Okafor, so they’ll still be extremely shorthanded even if Jackson and Redick are able to suit up this evening. Head coach Alvin Gentry was essentially utilizing a seven-man rotation prior to Favors and Jackson exiting Friday’s loss early with injuries, which led to Josh Gray and Zylan Cheatham each logging at least 14 minutes off the bench. If Jackson and Redick and cleared to return, Gray and Cheatham would more than likely be relegated to the end of the rotation, and Gentry would roll with primarily eight players this evening.
As reported by: Pelicans PR via Twitter Other tagged players: J.J. Redick Thomas Bryant (hip) listed probable Sunday
Bryant was listed as probable on the latest versions of the Wizards’ injury report for Sunday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic due to a sore left hip, while Jordan McRae remains doubtful with an illness. Bryant’s minutes can be sporadic on a game-to-game basis, as he’s played as few as 20 minutes and as many as 34 minutes over the previous six games, but Wizards are trending towards having just 10 active players for tonight’s contest and should raise every member of the rotation’s minute floor. Moritz Wagner may be a trendy option following his ridiculous fantasy performance in 25 minutes of action in Friday’s win, but he did nearly all of his damage in the fourth quarter during garbage time, making him worthy fade candidate on tonight’s main slate.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Ante Zizic (foot) available to play Sunday; Larry Nance Jr. (thumb) listed out
As expected, Zizic will be available to make his season debut in Sunday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers after missing all 11 games thus far with left foot plantar fasciitis, while Nance Jr. will be sidelined due to a sprained left thumb. Zizic will be subject to a minute restriction of some kind, but the absence of Nance certainly does open up some available playing time in the frontcourt for Zizic and possibly even Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson this afternoon. Any other leftover minutes could trickle down to Alfonzo McKinnie at the forward positions, but both he and Zizic won’t be in consideration for daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Larry Nance Jr. Cheap PG in perfect spot
It’s really hard to ignore any of the Warriors value plays but with D Russ out, Bowman will take up a ton of ball handling duties and is way too cheap. We have already seen him destroy in this situation and it’s hard to argue with him once again. The Pelicans have a top 5 pace and bottom 5 defensive rating this season. Plain and simple load up on warriors.
Been There, Done That
We have already seen how capable of a fill-in Ky Bowman is earlier this season when D’Angelo Russell missed 3 consecutive games. During that 3-game stretch Bowman averaged over 37 minutes of playing time and 28.42 DK points / 27.1 FD points per game. Bowman’s price tag dropped back to minimum price with Russell active and the site’s failed to price him up after Russell’s most recent injury that will cause him to miss at least a couple of weeks. Bowman is the top point-per-dollar option on Sunday’s small 4-game slate and should be a building block of your lineups.
Evan Turner (Achilles) listed as probable Saturday
Turner has been upgraded to probable on the Hawks’ injury report for Saturday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing eight games with left Achilles pain. Turner averaged just 13.8 minutes in his only two healthy games of the young season, so his role in this Hawks rotation appears yet to be determined, especially with Allen Crabbe making his season debut in Thursday’s loss and logging 15 minutes of action. More than likely they’ll cannibalize each other’s playing time, especially once Kevin Huerter returns from his extended injury absence, and Tyrone Wallace should find himself outside of the rotation for the foreseeable future.
As reported by: Kevin Chouinard via Twitter Kawhi Leonard (knee) and Patrick Beverley (calf) out Saturday
Leonard and Beverley have officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to their respective ailments. There’s been no report of a specific minute restriction for Paul George, but he’ll continue to have his minutes monitored by head coach Doc Rivers and the Clippers coaching staff after logging 24 minutes in Thursday’s loss. Terrance Mann and Lou Williams will more than likely start at the guard positions in place of Leonard and Beverley once again, but Mann was limited to just 25 minutes and was benched for the entirety of the fourth quarter in favor of Rodney McGruder, who was stellar for fantasy purposes in 36 minutes of action.
As reported by: Andrew Greif via Twitter Other tagged players: Patrick Beverley Josh Okogie (knee) out Saturday
Okogie was a late addition to the Timberwolves injury report and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a sore left knee, and he’ll join Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Napier on the inactive list for tonight’s contest. With Wiggins unavailable for Friday’s loss, Jarret Culver ended up drawing the start alongside Teague in the backcourt, and he was serviceable for fantasy purposes in 30 minutes of action, but Jake Layman will receive the starting nod this time around despite his dismal performance in 27 minutes last time out. There is not a plentiful sample size among the regular starters with Wiggins off the court, but in that limited time, both Teague and Karl-Anthony Towns have seen a +3.7% or greater increase in usage rate while averaging at least +0.31 more DraftKings and FanDuel points per minute over their season-long numbers.
As reported by: Timberwolves PR via Twitter Jimmy Butler (illness) will start Saturday
As expected. Butler will start in Saturday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans despite dealing with an illness. The Heat is already without Justise Winslow and Derrick Jones Jr., so they are a bit thin at the point guard and wing positions with Goran Dragic also unable to suit up this evening. Tyler Herro won’t start with Butler giving it go, but he’s already secured a role in the mid-20s in terms of minutes off the bench even when Miami is at full strength. If Herro does see a sizable bump in playing time sans Dragic, he’ll be an intriguing tournament target on tonight’s slate considering he owns a 24.7% usage rate and is averaging 0.93 DraftKings and 0.91 FanDuel points per minute with Dragic and Winslow off the court this season.
As reported by: Anthony Chiang via Twitter Brandon Ingram (knee) out Saturday
Ingram has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to a sore right knee that’s now forced him to miss three games, while Lonzo Ball, J.J Redick, and Jahlil Okafor will all also be unavailable because of their respective ailments. Redick absorbed 34 minutes in Thursday’s win, so with Ingram now unable to suit up, the Pelicans will be even more shorthanded than they were in that contest when Gentry was forced to utilize a relatively tight nine-man rotation. It’d be interesting to see if Gentry is willing to give Josh Gray or Zylan Cheatham any run in his depleted rotation, but more than likely, he would just condense the rotation to eight players with Ingram sidelined this evening.
As reported by: Pelicans PR via Twitter Goran Dragic (illness) out Saturday; Jimmy Butler (illness) plans to play
Dragic has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to an illness, while Butler is currently at the arena preparing to play in tonight’s contest. The Heat is already without Justise Winslow and Derrick Jones Jr., so they are a bit thin at the point guard and wing positions with Dragic also unable to suit up this evening. Tyler Herro won’t start if Butler gives it a go, but he’s already secured a role in the mid-20s in terms of minutes off the bench even when Miami is at full strength. If Herro does see a sizable bump in playing time, he’ll be an intriguing tournament target on tonight’s slate considering he owns a 24.7% usage rate and is averaging 0.93 DraftKings and 0.91 FanDuel points per minute with Dragic and Winslow off the court this season.
As reported by: Anthony Chiang via Twitter Other tagged players: Jimmy Butler Dwayne Bacon (knee) and Nicolas Batum (finger) available to play Saturday
As expected, Bacon will be available to play in Saturday’s matchup against the New York Knicks after missing two games due to a sore right knee, while Batum is available to make his return from a fractured left middle finger he sustained in the season opener. With Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier absorbing most of the playing time in the backcourt of late, Bacon has seen his minutes decrease over his last several games, so he’ll more than likely resume a secondary reserve role off the bench. As for Batum, his role on this Hornets squad is still to be determined, but considering the full-on youth movement thus far in the young season, it’d be surprising if he siphoned any meaningful playing time from Bacon, Graham, Miles Bridges, or Malik Monk on the wing.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Nicolas Batum