DFS Alerts
Big Man Set to do Damage
Aldridge has had a slow week, but that should change against the defensive interior of Alex Len and company tonight. John Collins is out, so more minutes will be given top players who have been known to struggle on the defensive end of the court for Atlanta. In addition, LMA knocks out one of those dreaded PF spots on FanDuel.
John Collins (suspension) out Tuesday; Trae Young (ankle) will play
Collins has been suspended 25 games for violating NBA’s Anti-Drug policy and will not play in Tuesday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs barring a remarkedly expedited appeals process, though the suspension seems unlikely to be repealed regardless. While the suspension of Collins is a devastating blow to the Hawks playoff chances in a wide-open Eastern Conference, they did at least receive some good news, as Trae Young will make his return from a two-game absence due to a sprained right ankle. There’s been no word of a potential minute restriction for Young, but it’d be far from surprising if he’s eased back into action with Atlanta beginning the first leg of a back-to-back this evening.
As reported by: Chris Haynes via Twitter
Hassan Whiteside (knee) available to play Monday
As expected, Whiteside will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors after missing one game with a left knee bone bruise, while Rodney is also available despite dealing with a left quad contusion. Hood was phenomenal from a fantasy standpoint in 31 minutes of action in Saturday’s loss, but he could end being a viable fade candidate on tonight’s six-game slate since the availability of Whiteside will constrict the unclaimed playing time at the forward positions with Anthony Tolliver and Marion Hezonja seeing fewer minutes at the five. There’s been no word on a potential minute restriction for Whiteside, but he’s logged between 24-27 minutes in all four games he’s been active and should approach that range barring an unknown limitation or in-game setback.
As reported by: Joe Freeman via Twitter Derrick Favors (knee) available to play Monday; Brandon Ingram (head) will start
Favors has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets after missing three straight games due to a sore right knee, Meanwhile, Ingram will start, as expected, even though head coach Alvin Gentry referred to him as a game-time decision with a head injury he sustained during the second quarter of Saturday’s loss. Despite being available, Favors will come off the bench in his return in favor of Jahlil Okafor, who has been fantastic in the Pelicans previous two games, exceeding his salary-based expectations and logging at least 29 minutes in both contests. Assuming Favors actually sees the court, Okafor won’t have as substantial of a minute floor but remains in play a salary-saving option for all formats this evening.
As reported by: Pelicans PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Brandon Ingram Tim Frazier (shoulder) listed out Monday
Frazier has been listed out on the Pistons’ inactive list for Monday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a strained right shoulder. With Derrick Rose also still sidelined, Bruce Brown will draw another start at point guard, and he was fantastic for fantasy purposes in a whopping 40 minutes of action in Saturday’s win. Brown was clearly extremely efficient in that contest, but even if he regresses, he still owns a 26.4% usage rate and a 19.4% assist rate with Frazier, Rose, and Reggie Jackson off the court this season, leaving him plenty of room to achieve a ceiling across the daily fantasy industry this evening.
As reported by: Keith Langlois via Twitter Brandon Clarke (back) will start Monday
As expected, Clarke has been upgraded from probable and will play in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets despite dealing with a sore back. With Jaren Jackson Jr. unavailable, Clarke will draw the start at power forward, and he should have a fairly substantial minute floor as a member of the starting unit, as he’s logged at least 22 minutes off the bench in four of the Grizzlies first five games of the season. The other members of the starting lineup that have benefitted with Jackson Jr. off the court have been Jae Crowder and Ja Morant, as each own at least own a +3.0% usage rate differential over their season averages.
As reported by: Omari Sankofa II via Twitter Rodney Hood (quad) available to play Monday
As expected, Hood will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors despite dealing with a left quad contusion, while Hassan Whiteside remains probable but is ultimately expected to make a return from a one-game absence due to a left knee bone bruise. Hood was phenomenal from a fantasy standpoint in 31 minutes of action in Saturday’s loss, but he could end being a viable fade candidate on tonight’s six-game slate since the likely availability of will constrict the available playing time at the forward positions with Anthony Tolliver and Marion Hezonja seeing fewer minutes at the five.
As reported by: Jason Quick via Twitter C.J. Miles (foot) will play Monday; Jordan McRae (finger) listed out
Miles has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play off the bench in Monday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons after recovering from left foot surgery. With McCrae still sidelined, Miles will assume a role in the second unit, which will more than likely relegate rookie Admiral Schofield and Justin Robinson from the rotation entirely. Additionally, head coach Scott Brooks did confirm that Isaiah Thomas will replace Ish Smith as the Wizards starting point guard, and even though Thomas won’t be subject to a minute restriction, Brooks did say that he’s going to be “wise” with Thomas’ workload going further.
As reported by: Chris Miller via Twitter Other tagged players: Jordan McRae A Value Play that Stands Above the Rest
Tonight’s slate is loaded with value options. The Pistons are missing their three point guards and the Warriors are without four of their starters. My favorite play isn’t from either team, it’s Gorgui Dieng. He played great in a spot start on Saturday, scoring 40 fantasy points in only 23 minutes of action. He sat the last five minutes of the game due to a blowout, so we should expect him to creep above 25 minutes tonight against the Bucks. He’s always been a great per-minute producer and this is his last chance to shine before Karl-Anthony Towns returns from his suspension.
Westbrook and Harden will be Auto-Plays when One is Out
The Rockets were run off the floor last night against the Heat, but we shouldn’t be overly concerned. They are a new team that is still trying to gel and figure out how to complement each other. Russell Westbrook is not going to start the season playing back-to-backs, which means Harden will have all of the usage for himself tonight. When Chris Paul was out last season, Harden was an auto play at over $12,000 on FanDuel and DraftKings. He’s considerably cheaper than that tonight and he draws a tremendous matchup against the Grizzlies, who are one of the fastest-paced teams in the NBA this season.
Value Point Guards are the Best Kind of Value Plays
If you have played NBA DFS for more than a week, then you know the importance of monitoring injuries. When a player goes down, his backup and the rest of the team is forced to pick up the slack. It’s a completely different situation with the Warriors, as they are playing without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and D’Angelo Russell. Ky Bowman should draw another spot start and he fared well in the same situation on Saturday, scoring 35 fantasy points in 38 minutes of action. I tend to trust fill-in point guards over other positions because they have the ball in their hands more often. Often times, that’s half the battle when it comes to fantasy production in the NBA.
D’Angelo Russell (ankle) listed out Monday
Russell has been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers due to a sprained right ankle. To say the Golden State roster is depleted by injuries would be an understatement, and with Russell unable to suit up, it leaves them with just nine available players. It’s pretty easy to project that the starting frontcourt will be Willie Cauley-Stein, Eric Paschall, and Glenn Robinson III sans Draymond Green, but Ky Bowman seemed to grab hold of the reigns of the available playing time at point guard, and he logged nearly 39 minutes while recording a respectable rate of 0.89 FanDuel and 0.90 DraftKings per minute in Saturday’s loss as the only true point guard left on the Warriors active roster.
As reported by: Jamie Hudson via Twitter Expanded Role for Stat Filler
Joel Embiid is set to serve the second game of his suspension which should once again open the door for the likes of Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Al Horford to take on bigger roles offensively and defensively. Historically, Simmons hasn’t seen quite the fantasy bump you would expect with Embiid off the floor but both his usage and rebounding rate jumped a bit on Saturday night and it’s safe to expect at least some sort of increase in fantasy production for a player that already has massive triple-double upside on a nightly basis.
Russell Westbrook (rest) officially out Monday
According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, the Rockets will sit Westbrook in Monday’s second leg of a back-to-back set against the Memphis Grizzlies due to rest purposes. Westbrook only logged 26 minutes in Sunday’s blowout loss, so head coach Mike D’Antoni was reportedly considering nixing his original plans. However, now that Westbrook will officially be unavailable, it should be expected for Danuel House Jr. to rejoin the starting lineup alongside Eric Gordon, and he should be in line for more playing time than the 19 minutes he recorded off the bench in last night’s contest. Unsurprisingly, in Harden’s limited time with Westbrook off the court this season, he owns a massive 48.9% usage rate (+8.7%) and is averaging 1.63 FanDuel and 1.79 DraftKings points per minute, making him as close as possible to a must-play for all formats on a six-game main slate.
As reported by: Tim MacMahon via Twitter Maxi Kleber (knee) out Sunday
Kleber has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a sore right knee. Kleber has come off the bench in each of the Mavericks’ previous two games in favor of Dwight Powell, but he still managed to log 31 minutes of action in Friday’s overtime loss. With Powell still working his way back to full-strength, it’s unlikely he’d see much more than the 25 minutes he recorded in the aforementioned contest, so it appears that Justin Jackson and Boban Marjanovic are the most logical candidates to absorb a large portion of the available playing time in Dallas frontcourt this evening.
As reported by: Brad Townsend via Twitter