DFS Alerts
Cheap Across The Industry
The Hawks will start Cameron Reddish at shooting guard tonight, and they want to limit him around 25 minutes. Kevin Huerter will come off the bench and is to be limited to around 15 minutes. This opens up minutes for DeAndre’ Bembry and he’s really cheap across the industry. Bembry should play 24-27 minutes off the bench and makes for an interesting tournament play in this spot. Atlanta should really try to push the pace this season.
Reserve Big Man Should See Big Minutes Off the Bench at Center Position
The not-Andre-Drummond pickings are rather slim tonight at the center position, but with the Detroit big man playing 41 minutes and likely to garner huge ownership tonight coming off a monster performance, Montrezl Harrell is worth a look in GPPs. Harrell scored 24 or more points in 3 of the 6 games in last year’s playoff series against the Warriors, and he has the athleticism to keep pace with Golden State’s smaller lineup.
Veteran Guard Could See Increased Minutes with Second Unit
George Hill is near minimum price across DFS sites tonight, but with Eric Bledsoe just coming back from a rib injury he could play increased minutes tonight in Houston. Hill is already a major part of the rotation coming off the bench, and with Malcolm Brogdon moving on the Indiana he should see increased usage with the second unit. The Milwaukee – Houston game has the highest over/under of the night and with a tight 1.5 point spread the Bucks have the second-highest implied point total on the slate.
Markieff Morris (back, hand) listed questionable Thursday; Reggie Jackson (back) listed probable
Morris has drawn a questionable designation for a second straight game and his status remains uncertain for Thursday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to lower back tightness and a right-hand contusion. Despite the aforementioned questionable tag, Morris received the starting nod at power forward in Wednesday’s win, but he was limited to just 23 minutes of action, giving way to Thon Maker and Luke Kennard for extended stretches in the second half. As for Reggie Jackson, he was also a starter in name only for the Pistons season opener with Derrick Rose logging 27 minutes off the bench at point guard, which may become a trend for this team moving forward since Jackson and Rose didn’t share a single second on the court together in last night’s contest.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Reggie Jackson
Just Pay Up At The Weakest Position
On a small 3-game slate, it’s important to weight the opportunity cost when choosing players for your lineup. Center is a very thin spot tonight, so it makes sense to pay up there, especially when Andre Drummond is still vastly underpriced on DK for his role now without Blake Griffin. I wouldn’t be too concerned with back-to-backs this early in the season, the Pistons have shown they have little confidence in giving Christian Wood significant minutes, so fire up the best center on the slate with confidence of a high floor-ceiling combination for his salary.
NBA Injury Rundown - Thursday, 10/24
Atlanta Hawks – Kevin Huerter (P), Allen Crabbe (O), Chandler Parsons (O)
Houston Rockets – Gerald Green (O), Nene (O), Michael Frazier (O)
Golden State Warriors – Marquese Chriss (P), Alec Burks (O), Alen Smailagic (O), Willie Cauley-Stein (O), Klay Thompson (O)
Los Angeles Clippers – Rodney McGruder (O), Paul George (O), Amir Coffey (O)
Trey Lyles will start ahead of Jakob Poeltl on Wednesday
Lyles will move into the Spurs starting lineup in place of Jakob Poeltl, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, however, this report appears to be largely based on a statement from head coach Gregg Popovich, so it would be far from surprising if it ends up being false come tip-off. However, if accurate, this means that Lyles would start alongside LaMarcus Aldridge in the frontcourt, moving the tenured veteran to center in a matchup with Bobby Portis on the offensive end of the floor and should theoretically increase his rebounding and block opportunities, increasing his projected fantasy value for all daily fantasy formats this evening.
As reported by: Jeff McDonald via Twitter Other tagged players: Jakob Poeltl Jimmy Butler (personal) out Wednesday
During his pregame media availability, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra disclosed to reporters that Butler is not currently with the team and will miss Wednesday’s season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies due to personal reasons. Butler’s absence should almost guarantee rookie Tyler Herro a spot in the starting lineup for his NBA debut, and he projects as a spectacular option on FanDuel, specifically, where he is significantly underpriced. Obviously, there’s no regular-season sample size with Butler on the court with his new Heat teammates, but Duncan Robinson could be an interesting tournament pivot away from Herro, if he draws the start, since he averaged an additional +0.18 fantasy points per minute with the departed duo of Josh Richardson and Hassan Whiteside off the court last season.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter Shaquille Harrison (hamstring) now listed probable Wednesday
Harrison has been upgraded from questionable to probable on the latest version of the Bulls’ injury report for Wednesday’s season opener against the Charlotte Hornets with a strained left hamstring. However, Harrison is currently buried on the depth chart, and even if he’s available, he will be hard-pressed to find consistent playing time in a backcourt rotation that is comprised of Tomas Satoransky, Zach LaVine, Coby White, Kris Dunn, and possibly even Ryan Arcidiacono.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Wendall Carter Jr. (thumb) will play Wednesday
During a radio interview, Bulls Vice President John Paxson confirmed that Carter Jr. will play in Wednesday’s season opener against the Charlotte Hornets despite dealing with a sprained left thumb. There has been no indication of a potential minute restriction for Carter, but he did fail to eclipse the 24-minute mark in any of the Bulls preseason contest, which could be something to keep in mind if considering him as a roster option for daily fantasy formats this evening. Additionally, Shaquille Harrison still remains questionable with a strained left hamstring, but he is currently buried on the depth chart and will be hard-pressed to find consistent playing time in a backcourt rotation that is comprised of Tomas Satoransky, Zach LaVine, Coby White, Kris Dunn, and possibly even Ryan Arcidiacono.
As reported by: Daniel Greenberg via Twitter Markieff Morris (back) will start in place of Blake Griffin (hamstring, knee) on Wednesday
During his media availability following shootaround Pistons head coach Dwane Casey confirmed with reporters that Morris will indeed start at power forward in Wednesday’s season opener against the Indiana Pacers in place of the ailing Blake Griffin, who will remain sidelined through at least the first week of November with a sore hamstring and knee. Casey also acknowledged during his interview that Luke Kennard would remain in a bench role in favor of Bruce Brown and Tony Snell to begin the year, which isn’t necessarily a hindrance to his projected fantasy value since he should see increased usage and still has the opportunity to be a member of the lineup that closes games for the Pistons in the early portion of the season.
As reported by: James Edwards III via Twitter Mitchell Robinson (ankle) out Wednesday; Taj Gibson (calf) available
Robinson has been downgraded from questionable and will be held out of Wednesday’s season opener against the San Antonio Spurs due to a sprained right ankle he sustained during the preseason. Meanwhile, Taj Gibson will be available to play despite dealing with a sore right calf, but his role in head coach David Fizdale’s everchanging rotation is yet to be known, and Bobby Portis currently projects to receive the starting nod alongside Julius Randle in the frontcourt. To the surprise of no one, Fizdale declined to reveal his starting lineup for tonight’s contest, but according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, one of the lineup combinations under serious consideration would include Portis, Randle, Marcus Morris, Allonzo Trier, and RJ Barrett.
As reported by: NY_KnicksPR via Twitter Other tagged players: Taj Gibson Veteran Point Guard with New Surroundings
Napier is in Minnesota this season as the primary backup to Jeff Teague. He has shown to be a solid fantasy producer when on the court. Teague only played 30 minutes per game last season, and a healthy Napier could eat into that even more, so I like him as a salary saver on this huge slate.
This Kid is Electric
At certain points last season, Christian Wood got solid run due to injuries, and when he did, he was dynamic in terms of fantasy production — he can really stuff the stats. Now Wood latches on with Detroit and should be the primary back-up to Andre Drummond, and he could also see some time at power forward with Blake Griffin out and Markieff Morris questionable. For this price tag, this is well worth the risk due to the upside.
Embarking on a Breakout Season
We saw flashes of potential from Bagley last year, and his playing time rose toward the end of the season. He finishes with averages of 18 points and 10 rebounds per game over the final month of the year, and another step forward is possible in 2019-2020. He showed more blocked shot ability and even drained threes during the preseason, which is an element he started to add toward the end of last season. This is a fine matchup in what could be one of the higher scoring games of the night between the Kings and Suns, and we all know that the Suns are a mess defensively. I like Bagley a lot this evening.
