DFS Alerts
Anthony Davis (rib, shoulder) will play without a minute restriction Friday
As expected, Davis will play without any minute limitations in Friday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings after missing one game due to due to a sore right shoulder and rib injury. There haven’t been any reports on who will replace Avery Bradley in the starting lineup, but Rajon Rondo or Quinn Cook appears to be the likeliest candidates and all depends on what type of player head coach Frank Vogel prefers to complement Davis and LeBron James in the starting unit. Rondo only saw 14 minutes in his season debut on Tuesday evening, so there are some valid concerns about his 20-minute restirction in tonight’s contest, even if he ends up drawing the start over the other Lakers reserve guards.
As reported by: Dan Woike via Twitter
Goga Bitadze (concussion) available to play Friday
Bitadze has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets after missing three games due to a concussion. The Pacers are still without Myles Turner and Jeremy Lamb, so Bitadze should still be allotted a majority of the reserve center minutes behind Domantas Sabonis, and head coach Nate McMillan hasn’t been shy about playing the two big men on the court together for extended stretches. However, the Rockets will be without Clint Capela and already like to utilize small lineup combinations to begin with, which may make it tough for Bitadze to see extended run in tonight’s contest.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Hamidou Diallo (knee) out Friday
Diallo has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a sprained left knee. Diallo ended up drawing the start at small forward in Tuesday’s loss with Terrance Ferguson unavailable, but he was mostly ineffective from a fantasy perspective in 22 minutes of action. Head coach Billy Donovan already confirmed that Ferguson will make his return to the starting lineup in tonight’s contest, so he should resume his normal role in the rotation, while Abel Nader and Deonte Burton will pick up the slack on the wing with Diallo missing from the second unit.
As reported by: Steve McGehee via Twitter Danuel House Jr. (back) officially out Friday
As expected, House won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to a sacral contusion that’s now forced him to miss two games. In his absence, Ben McLemore will receive the starting nod at small forward once again, but he only managed to log 23 minutes in Wednesday’s win despite being serviceable for fantasy purposes. With Clint Capela and Eric Gordon also unavailable, Houston is extremely thin in the frontcourt and at the wing positions, which should allow McLemore the opportunity to play all the minutes he can handle, while Gary Clark and Isiah Hartenstein will see some reserve minutes at the five behind Tyson Chandler this evening.
As reported by: Cayleigh Griffin via Twitter Dwayne Bacon (knee) out Friday
Despite being listed as probable, Bacon won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the CharlotteHornets due to a sore right knee that’s now forced him to miss two games. Bacon had been the Hornets starting shooting guard in name only for most of the season, but the emergence of Devonte’ Graham has lead head coach James Borrego to utilize the backcourt combination of Graham and Terry Rozier for a large portion of his rotational minutes. Graham will draw his second straight start in tonight’s contest and is an intriguing bounce-back candidate following an underwhelming performance in Wednesday’s loss.
As reported by: Rod Boone via Twitter Jonathan Isaac (ankle) out Friday
Isaac is a late addition to the Magic’s injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs due to a sprained right ankle. Head coach Steve Clifford already confirmed during his pregame media availability that Al-Farouq Aminu will receive the starting nod alongside Aaron Gordon in the frontcourt, but he’s seen his playing time drastically decrease over the last four games, logging fewer than 15 minutes on three occasions. Every remaining member of the Magic starting unit should benefit from an increase in usage with Isaac, but Evan Fournier has easily seen the biggest boost of the four, as he owns a 27.8% usage rate and is averaging 1.16 DraftKings and 1.12 FanDuel points per minute in a 46.5 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Josh Robbins via Twitter Andrew Wiggins (personal) out Friday
Wiggins is a surprise late addition to the Timberwolves’injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to personal reasons. The Wolves are still likely without Shabazz Napier, so his absence should push Josh Okogie and Jarret Culver into more prominent ball-handling roles when Jeff Teague is off the floor regardless of who ends up replacing Wiggins in the starting lineup. There is not a large 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 +2.9% or greater increase in usage rate while averaging at least +0.51 more DraftKings and FanDuel points per minute over their season-long numbers.
As reported by: Chris Hine via Twitter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ankle) available to play Friday
As expected, Caldwell-Pope will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings despite dealing with a left ankle injury, while Anthony Davis is fully expected to be available after missing one game with a sore right shoulder and rib ailment. There haven’t been any reports on who will replace Avery Bradley in the starting lineup, but Rajon Rondo or Quinn Cook appears to be the likeliest candidates and all depends on what type of player head coach Frank Vogel prefers to complement Davis and LeBron James in the starting unit. Rondo only saw 14 minutes in his season debut on Tuesday evening, so there are some valid concerns about his 20-minute limit, even if he ends up drawing the start over the other Lakers reserve guards.
As reported by: Kyle Other tagged players: Rajon Rondo Daniel Theis (finger) and Robert Williams (ankle) upgraded to probable Friday
Theis and Williams both participated in Celtics shootaround and have been upgraded to probable for Friday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors after missing one game with their respective injuries. In their absences, Enes Kanter ended up receiving the starting nod, and he was relatively solid from a fantasy perspective in 25 minutes of action. It’ll be interesting to see how head coach Brad Stevens decides to distribute the available center minutes with all three big men trending towards being active for the second time all season, but it appears more likely to be a timeshare than one player seeing a majority of the playing time, making Theis, Williams, and Kanter easy to avoid in all formats this evening.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter Other tagged players: Robert Williams III Avery Bradley (leg) out Friday, will be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks
Bradley suffered a hairline fracture in his right leg during the third quarter of Wednesday’s win and will be re-evaluated in one-to-two weeks, meaning he won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings, while Anthony Davis is probable and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is questionable. There haven’t been any reports on who will replace Bradley in the starting lineup, but Rajon Rondo or Quinn Cook appears to be the likeliest candidates and all depends on what type of player head coach Frank Vogel prefers to complement Davis and LeBron James in the starting unit. Rondo only saw 14 minutes in his season debut on Tuesday evening, so there are some valid concerns about his playing time, even if he ends up drawing the start over the other Lakers reserve guards.
As reported by: Tania Ganguli via Twitter A Fine Bounce Back Spot
We haven’t seen the monster games of late for Karl-Anthony Towns, but that just goes to show just how high our expectations are for him at this stage. Towns has scored 20+ points in five straight games despite a relative slump, and he has a massive ceiling each time he takes the floor. We could see a ceiling game tonight in an intriguing matchup against the Wizards, and this game has a healthy Vegas total of 237 points as of the early morning hours. The return of Jeff Teague should help take some pressure off Towns, and I’m willing to buy into the GPP upside in this game.
Thriving As A Budding Star
Domantas Sabonis is taking full advantage of the fact that Myles Turner has been sidelined for the Pacers. While he dealt with an injury scare of his own earlier in the year, Sabonis is past that and is now fully healthy — and it shows in his results. Sabonis is averaging 17 points and 16 rebounds per game in the month of November, and he is playing over 34 minutes per contest. He should thrive against Houston’s smaller lineups, and a 20/20 game is not out of the question in this one. He is one of my favorite GPP options on this entire slate.
The Clear Value Choice
P.J. Tucker is never a glamorous DFS option, but he has to be considered as an elite point per dollar option in all formats tonight. Houston’s depth in the frontcourt has taken a massive hit now that Gordon, House, and Capela are all injured. Expect Houston to go with a lot of small ball lineups, and that means Tucker will likely see plenty of time at the center spot. He played 39 minutes in the last game and could approach that level again tonight in a high total game. It feels like 20 is about his floor here, and there’s a decent 34-38 point ceiling where he would smash for his cheap price tag. Fire him up on a slate that is somewhat starved for obvious value.
Malik Beasley (illness) available to play Thursday
Beasley has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets after missing one game due to an illness. Beasley has played seven or fewer minutes in each of his previous two games, so his availability may not have too much of an impact on the remaining members of the guard and wing rotations. With head coach Mike Malone looking for a spark in the second unit and trying to get Michael Porter Jr. meaningful minutes whenever possible, Beasley has taken a backseat to him and Torrey Craig in the pecking order for minutes on the wing. On top of that, there have been rumblings that Juancho Hernangomez may get a crack at reserve minutes in the near future, making this Denver second unit an easy avoid in fantasy formats for the time being.
As reported by: Harrison Wind via Twitter Kyrie Irving (shouler) available to play Thursday
Irving has been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Thursday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets despite dealing with a right shoulder impingement. With Caris LeVert expected to miss four-to-six weeks after undergoing thumb surgery, Garrett Temple will more than likely draw a second straight start at shooting guard following his mediocre fantasy performance in 30 minutes of action in Tuesday’s loss. As for Irving, he’s seen a slight uptick in production with LeVert off the court this season, as he owns a 35.0% usage rate and a 38.0% assist rate while averaging 1.55 DraftKings and 1.48 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: the Brooklyn Nets via Twitter