DFS Alerts
Michael Carter-Williams (hip) out Friday
Carter-Williams has been added to the Magic’s injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a left hip contusion. Prior to his injury, Carter-Williams had seen between 13-17 minutes in each of the first three games of the season, so there will definitely be a noteworthy amount of playing time available in the second unit if head coach Steve Clifford doesn’t just allocate those minutes to Wes Iwundu, who’s been a DNP-CD in four straight contests. If Clifford opts to just condense his rotation to nine players, then look for Terrence Ross and Markelle Fultz to be the beneficiaries of additional playing time.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter
Bounce Back Candidate
It hasn’t been the smoothest start to the year for Caris LeVert, but this is an intriguing spot to buy low in GPP formats. The Rockets are playing at a very fast pace to start the season, and their defensive metrics have been abysmal. We saw Bradley Beal go nuts in the shootout between the Wizards and Rockets the other night, and this could be LeVert’s time to shine. Despite his underwhelming numbers to start the year, the good news is that he has attempted 40 shots over the last two games. The minutes should be secure in the mid-30’s if this game is close, and there’s massive upside at the current affordable price tags.
The Do It All Big Man
It has been a great start to the 2019-2020 season for Andre Drummond, who appears to be thriving with Blake Griffin on the sidelines. Drummond is averaging 21 points and 17 rebounds per game in the early going, and he has double-doubled in every contest. His worst game was a 12 point, 12 rebound performance in a game where he only played 25 minutes due to foul trouble. This is a great matchup against a mediocre Chicago front line, putting a 20/20 game firmly within reach for Drummond. He is right there with James Harden as one of the top spend up plays of the day.
Opportunity Knocks
The Spurs are going to rest Dejounte Murray tonight on the tail end of a back to back set, so this is the perfect opportunity to grab White as a DFS value play. He’s not the highest usage player, but he is averaging a fantasy point per minute with Murray off the floor, and White should approach 30-33 minutes in tonight’s game. That would put him in the vicinity of 30 fantasy points, which is right in line with our early projections. However you slice it, there’s opportunity-related value at the point guard spot based on Murray’s absence.
Will Barton (toe) out Thursday
Barton had started at small forward in each of the Nuggets first four games of the season and is typically locked into a minimum of 30 minutes in competitive contests, so now that he won’t suit up for Thursday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, head coach Mike Malone already confirmed that Torrey Craig will enter the starting lineup, while Michael Porter Jr. and Juancho Hernangomez should receive a crack at some of the reserve forward minutes as well. However, Craig owns just a 13.7% usage rate on the season, which is comparable to his career numbers, making him a fringe option, at best, for daily fantasy formats this evening.
As reported by: the Denver Nuggets via Twitter Derrick Favors (knee) officially out Thursday; Jrue Holiday (knee) will play
As expected, Favors won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a sore right knee, but the Pelicans will receive some reinforcements with Holiday returning from a two-game absence because of a sprained left knee. He won’t be subject to a minute restriction, according to head coach Alvin Gentry, but his return will send Josh Hart back to the bench to resume a reserve role. With Favors still unavailable, Jahlil Okafor is expected to draw a second straight start at center, but he was limited to just 12 minutes in Monday’s loss, giving way to Nicolo Melli and rookie Jaxson Hayes for extended stretches of the game and a majority of the second half. Hayes did most of his damage in the fourth quarter of that contest, but he’ll still be an intriguing tournament flier on tonight’s three-game slate.
As reported by: Andrew Lopez via Twitter Other tagged players: Jrue Holiday Duncan Robinson will start for Justise Winslow (back) on Thursday
The Heat is without Winslow, Derrick Jones Jr., Dion Waiters, and KZ Okpala, so head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation will likely become much more concentrated after he was noncommittal with reporters about James Johnson getting minutes in his first game back following the passing of his conditioning tests. Goran Dragic has served as the backup point guard to begin the season, but Kendrick Nunn and Jimmy Butler will share the primary ball-handling responsibilities in the first unit, allowing Spoelstra to keep Dragic and Tyler Herro in their normal roles while enabling Duncan Robinson to draw the start on the wing. Robinson had been consistently seeing minutes in the low-20s while Butler was sidelined, so he could certainly be worth a flier in tournament formats as a starter this evening.
As reported by: the Miami Heat via Twitter Justise Winslow (back) out Thursday
Winslow has been downgraded from questionable and won’t play Thursday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to a stiff lower back. The Heat is also without Derrick Jones Jr., Dion Waiters, KZ Okpala, so head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation will likely become much more concentrated after he was noncommittal with reporters about James Johnson getting minutes in his first game back following the passing of his conditioning tests. Goran Dragic has served as the backup point guard to begin the season, and he certainly could join the starting lineup, but more than likely, Kendrick Nunn and Jimmy Butler would handle the playmaking responsibilities in the first unit, allowing Spoelstra to keep Dragic in his normal role while enabling either Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson to draw the start on the wing.
As reported by: the Miami Heat via Twitter Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter are off minutes restrictions, can handle 35 if necessary; Kevin Huerter to be limited to about 25 minutes
Both Reddish and De’Andre Hunter, who were both on minutes restrictions during the first few games, will now be able to handle 35 if necessary. Kevin Huerter is expected to be limited to about 25 minutes of floor time. Without a true PG on the active roster, Reddish’s assist share should rise with Bembry and Huerter also likely to take on some extra playmaking. Jabari Parker may also be leaned on a little more heavily to provide offense.
As reported by: Zach Hood Other tagged players: Cam Reddish, Kevin Huerter
Cam Reddish will start at PG against Miami
Cam Reddish will start at PG against Miami, with the starting SG still to be determined. It seems likely that DeAndre Bembry will find his way into the first unit, especially with Kevin Huerter expected to be limited to about 25 minutes. Both Reddish and De’Andre Hunter, who were both on minutes restrictions during the first few games, will now be able to handle 35 if necessary. Without a true PG on the active roster, Reddish’s assist share should rise with Bembry and Huerter also likely to take on some extra playmaking. Jabari Parker may also be leaned on a little more heavily to provide offense.
As reported by: Kevin Chouinard Guards Still Underpriced In Great Matchup
All the primary guards for the Nuggets are in a great spot against the fast-paced Pelicans. They’re still too underpriced on DraftKings for their projected median production, while on FanDuel they’re more secondary plays. Barton popped up on the injury report today as questionable, though. If he happens to sit, Murray & Harris become priority cash pieces in lineups, and it even boosts Jokic a bit also. Torrey Craig may draw the start in this scenario, but he has little usage regardless, and would not be much of a consideration to me.
Other tagged players: Jamal Murray, Gary Harris
Will Barton (toe) questionable Thursday
Barton has officially been listed as questionable for Thursday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to left toe inflammation. Barton has started at small forward in each of the Nuggets first four games of the season and is typically locked into a minimum of 30 minutes in competitive contests, so if he’s unable to suit up, Torrey Craig would more than likely enter the starting lineup since he’s been the direct backup behind Barton in the early going and even received a couple of starts in the preseason as head coach Mike Malone made a decision on who’d win the starting small forward role. However, Craig owns just a 13.7% usage rate on the season, which is comparable to his career numbers, making him a fringe option, at best, for daily fantasy formats this evening.
As reported by: Mike Singer via Twitter Evan Turner (Achilles) officially out Thursday
As expected, Turner will miss a second straight contest and won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to left Achilles soreness. Prior to his injury, Turner had recorded fewer than 11 minutes in both of the Hawks’ previous two games, which uncoincidentally aligns with an increase in playing time for Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter, and Cam Reddish, all of whom were on minute restrictions to begin the season. With Trae Young possibly sidelined for the next two weeks, the Hawks are suddenly much thinner at the guard and wing positions, which should enable DeAndre Bembry to draw the start at point guard, making him one of the better value options on tonight’s three-game slate.
As reported by: Kevin Chouinard via Twitter Justise Winslow (back) questionable Thursday
Winslow has been downgraded to questionable for Thursday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to a stiff lower back. The Heat is already without Derrick Jones Jr., Dion Waiters, KZ Okpala, so head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation would likely become much more concentrated after he was noncommittal with reporters about James Johnson getting minutes in his first game back following the passing of his conditioning tests. Goran Dragic has served as the backup point guard to begin the season, and he certainly could join the starting lineup if Winslow is ruled out, but more than likely, Kendrick Nunn and Jimmy Butler would handle the ball-handling responsibilities in the second unit, allowing Spoelstra to keep Dragic in his normal role while also enabling Tyler Herro to draw the start on the wing.
As reported by: Anthony Chiang via Twitter Rookie Could Take Advantage of Injury and Matchup
If you are looking for an off-the-board value play tonight on the short slate, don’t overlook rookie Jaxson Hayes who made his NBA debut last game for the Pelicans. The 8th pick in the 2019 draft, Hayes got 24 minutes against the Warriors on Monday with Derrick Favors sitting, and made the most of it with 19 points, 3 rebounds, a steal and a block. Hayes averaged 2.2 blocks last season as a freshman at Texas, and the Pelicans will likely need his size tonight against Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap.
