DFS Alerts
Daniel Theis (finger) and Robert Williams (ankle) out Wednesday; Javonte Green (hip) available
While Theis was never expected to play, Williams is a surprise addition to Celtics’ injury report for Wednesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a sore right ankle. This leaves Boston extremely thin in the frontcourt with essentially just Enes Kanter, Grant Williams, and Semi Ojeleye available to absorb playing time at the five as head coach Brad Stevens has been extremely hesitant to give either Vincent Poirer or Tacko Fall meaningful NBA minutes. Kanter is theoretically a great option at his price tag across the industry, but following his season debut in Monday’s win, he admitted to reporters that he was still extremely out of game shape, so his minute floor would appear to be much lower than ideally preferred.
As reported by: Chris Forsberg via Twitter Other tagged players: Robert Williams III, Javonte Green
Dwayne Bacon (knee) officially out Wednesday
As expected, Bacon won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a sore right knee. Bacon has been the Hornets starting shooting guard in name only for most of the season, as 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. Assuming Borrego wants to keep his rotations somewhat inline sans Bacon, it appears as if Malik Monk would be the likeliest candidate to start at the two-spot, and he is already averaging 19.4 minutes per game off the bench this season.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Joel Embiid (rest) out Wednesday; Trey Burke (calf) questionable
As expected, Embiid will be held out of Wednesday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Orlando Magic due to injury maintenance, essentially the NBA’s newly accepted for rest and load management, while Trey Burke is questionable with left calf tightness. The absence of Embiid will enable Furkan Korkmaz to remain in the starting lineup for at least one additional contest, and he’s had a solid minute floor of late regardless of role, logging a minimum of 25 minutes in each of the previous five games. The other main beneficiary with Embiid off the court has been Al Horford, as he has a 24.1% usage rate, 22.1% assist rate, and is averaging 1.37 DraftKings and 1.37 FanDuel points per minute in a 194.9 minutes sample size thus far this season.
As reported by: Rich Hofmann via Twitter Other tagged players: Trey Burke Anthony Davis (shoulder, rib) out Wednesday
As expected, Davis has officially been ruled out of Wednesday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors due to a sore right shoulder and sore ribs. There’s been no inclination from the Lakers or head coach Frank Vogel on who will replace Davis in the starting lineup, but with Rajon Rondo already ruled out for rest purposes, it seems likely that Kyle Kuzma will receive the starting nod at power forward. Kuzma has still played fewer than 26 minutes in all six of his appearances this season, so it’ll be interesting to see how long of a leash the Lakers medical staff is willing to give Vogel with Davis sidelined this evening. Unsurprisingly, LeBron James has seen a massive uptick in production with Davis and Rondo off the court, as he owns a 38.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.78 DraftKings and 1.74 FanDuel points per minute in a 98.3 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Chris Haynes via Twitter Dwayne Bacon (knee) doubtful Wednesday
Bacon has been added to the Hornets’ injury report and is doubtful for Wednesday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a sore right knee. Bacon has been the Hornets starting shooting guard in name only for most of the season, as 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. Assuming Borrego wants to keep his rotations somewhat inline sans Bacon, it appears as if Malik Monk would be the likeliest candidate to start at the two-spot, and he is already averaging 19.4 minutes per game off the bench this season.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Rocket Ready to Take Flight
Ben McLemore is not an exciting fantasy player, but we could be dealing with an ample number of minutes tonight at a minimum price around the industry. Eric Gordon is going to miss 6+ weeks with a knee injury and SF Danuel House is listed as “doubtful” tonight. Those injuries will open up nearly 60 minutes of playing time at the SG/SF positions for the Rockets. It won’t take much for McLemore to meet value, and if he drains a few 3-pointers, he could exceed his salary expectations in a big way.
This Raptor Set to Blaze a Trail
After sitting out 5 games, RHJ returned this week and had a mediocre first game vs the Lakers. Then, in his second game back, he exploded for 9 points and 9 rebounds in a whopping 29 minutes. If we get 29 minutes tonight in this matchup, at this low price tag, we are going to have a solid value play on our hands.
Opportunity Knocks
Anthony Davis is currently listed as doubtful, and it seems unlikely that he plays tonight. Three players get big bumps with Davis off the floor. Bradley’s usage is up by 11%, Kuzma by 7%, and James by 7% when Davis is on the bench this year. James would become a priority in all formats for me, as he has scored over 60 fantasy points per 36 minutes with Davis off the floor. Kuzma is an intriguing play given the fact that he no longer has a minutes cap, and I would expect him to start. Both are elite options.
Other tagged players: LeBron James
Expect A Bounce Back Game
Hayward is out and Theis is doubtful for tonight. Marcus Smart should continue to start for Hayward, and he is worth a look at a mid-range price point despite his relatively limited ceiling. Tatum has the higher ceiling, and we can hopefully count on him to do better than 1-for-18 from the floor. Tatum has seen a 6% usage bump and has scored 12 additional fantasy points per 36 minutes sans Hayward, and he is one of my favorite GPP options of the night.
Rodney Hood (back) listed out Tuesday
Despite being listed as probable on the Blazers’ injury report, Hood is listed out for Tuesday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to back spasms that have now forced him to miss two games. This means Kent Bazemore will receive the starting nod at small forward once again following a solid fantasy performance in 34 minutes of action in Monday’s win.
As reported by: Jason Jones via Twitter Malik Beasley (illness) out Tuesday
Beasley has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to an illness. Beasley has played seven or fewer minutes in each of the Nuggets’ previous two games, so his absence won’t have too much of an effect 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.
As reported by: Mike Singer via Twitter Emmanuel Mudiay (hamstring) available to play Tuesday
Mudiay has been upgraded from probable and is available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets after returning from a three-game absence due to left hamstring in Monday’s win. Mudiay has logged greater than 17 minutes in just two of his seven games, so his return to the rotation won’t have too much of an impact on the remaining members of the backcourt. However, his presence did relegate Georges Niang from the rotation and possibly even could continue siphoning away a few minutes from Royce O’Neale and Joe Ingles as secondary ball-handlers when Mike Conley is on the bench.
As reported by: Andy Larsen via Twitter Alex Len (ankle) available to play Tuesday
Len has been upgraded from probable and is available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets despite dealing with a sprained left ankle, while Cam Reddish and Allen Crabbe are also active, though Crabbe will only play in the event of an emergency. Head coach Lloyd Pierce did confirm with reporters at shootaround this morning that Damian Jones will replace Len as the starting center, and he managed to log 24 minutes in Monday’s overtime loss. Only two of those minutes came in overtime, so it’d be realistic to expect Jones to be allotted around 20-24 minutes as a starter in tonight’s contest.
As reported by: Brad Rowland via Twitter Rajon Rondo (calf) and Troy Daniels (knee) available to play Tuesday
Rondo has officially been upgraded probable and will make his season debut in Tuesday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns after missing all nine games with a strained right calf. There’s been no word from head coach Frank Vogel on how he plans to utilize Rondo in the rotation right out of the gate, but with Troy Daniels also ailing, Rondo should absorb his minutes at the very least, even with the Lakers bringing him along slowly. There were rumors a couple of weeks back that Rondo would start over either Avery Bradley or JaVale McGee once healthy, but those notions have appeared to die down for the time being.
As reported by: Kyle Goon via Twitter Other tagged players: Troy Daniels Bruce Brown (knee) will start Tuesday
Brown has officially been upgraded from questionable and will start in Tuesday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons despite dealing with a right knee contusion. Meanwhile, Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose will sit out the second leg of a back-to-back set due to injury recovery, the NBA’s new accepted terminology for load management and rest. The news of Brown starting is s significant detriment to the projected fantasy value of Tim Frazier, who will now be relegated to the backup point guard role and was limited to just 10 minutes in Monday’s loss. As for Brown, he’s been much more efficient with Rose, Griffin, and Reggie Jackson sidelined this season, as he owns a 19.6% usage rate, 18.5% assist rate, and is averaging 0.76 DraftKings and 0.76 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: James Edwards III via Twitter