DFS Alerts
Guard Primed for Bigger Role
VanVleet should draw the starting shooting guard gig with Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard no longer in Toronto. He is also the backup point guard for this team, so VanVleet should see plenty of court time and has a great chance of paying off his reasonable price tag.
Superstar with Fresh Legs
LeBron and Anthony Davis should carry the load for the Lakers this season, and LBJ comes in at a cheaper price tag. He also should be as fresh as ever after not making the playoffs and generally missing more games than he normally does last year. In a good matchup, and with his team having a massive 115 team total, I think LeBron is the anchor of cash teams for opening night.
Kevon Looney is expected to play
Looney, he of the fractured collarbone, will tough it out and play tonight. It is as of yet unclear whether he or DeMarcus Cousins will get the start, but Looney can be expected to get a decent amount of run regardless of who actually starts, as the Warriors are in need of his toughness and size against the Gasol/Ibaka duo from Toronto. His presence will allow Cousins to be used in shorter bursts, which may actually make Cousins more effective. Both Looney and Cousins can be considered salary saving options for tonight’s game.
As reported by: Anthony Slater
Kevin Durant (calf) will start Monday, as expected
As expected, Durant has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Monday’s Finals Game 5 matchup against the Toronto Raptors after missing each of the previous four games of the series with a strained right calf. Head coach Steve Kerr did confirm with reporters at shootaround this morning that Durant will be a “full-go” and not be subject to any specific minute restriction, but he did express concern that Durant could be limited by a lack of conditioning as a side effect of the aforementioned injury and plans to play the forward in shorter stints than normal. However, any amount of minutes Durant is able to absorb for this Warriors team is a significant boon to their chances of avoiding elimination and should hopefully reduce, if not, eliminate the need to bring Alfonzo McKinnie and Jonas Jerebko off the bench and see meaningful playing time.
As reported by: Logan Murdock via Twitter
Kevin Durant (calf) expected to play and be a "full-go" on Monday
Durant is still technically listed as questionable on the injury report while the Warriors make a final decision on his status, but he is expected to play in Monday’s Finals Game 5 matchup against the Toronto Raptors after missing each of the previous four games of the series with a strained right calf. Head coach Steve Kerr did confirm with reporters at shootaround that Durant will be a “full-go” and not be subject to any specific minute restriction, but he did express concern that the forward could be limited by a lack of conditioning as a side effect of the aforementioned injury. However, any amount of minutes Durant is able to absorb for this Warriors team is a significant boon to their chances of avoiding elimination and should hopefully reduce, if not, eliminate the need to bring Alfonzo McKinnie and Jonas Jerebko off the bench and see meaningful playing time.
As reported by: Connor Letourneau via Twitter Kevon Looney is expected to play
Despite previously being ruled out for the rest of the series, the Warriors medical staff has determined that Kevon Looney will be able to suit up tonight. It’s not clear just how much action he’ll see, but his mere availability as an interior presence should shake things up a bit in the Warriors front court. Andrew Bogut will still likely be the primary backup to DeMarcus Cousins, but Looney should get some time at both the 4 and 5 if he’s able to tough it out.
As reported by: Anthony Slater Triple-Double Upside With A Secure Role
Several Warriors players enter Game 4 with some question marks. How healthy is Klay Thompson. Will DeMarcus Cousins see just 19 minutes again? How does Stephen Curry handle the return of Thompson and the swarming defense of Fred VanVleet? The one player I have the fewer concerns about is Draymond Green. He should push for 40+ minutes once again if this game stays close, and his triple-double upside is enticing. Curry and Green are the two Warriors players I have the most interest in for the Captain spot. Curry saw a 39% usage last game but that was with Thompson out, so expect that regress.
Expanded Role For Bench Player
It’s been quite the playoffs for Fred VanVleet. After suffering from a shooting slump last series, VanVleet has now become the primary defender on Stephen Curry and even drew the second half start over Danny Green in Game 3. It’s unclear if that change sticks for Game 4, but the Raptors have shown a willingness to play him alongside Kyle Lowry, meaning he’s no longer seeing just backup point guard minutes. He should be in for a boatload of minutes, making him a core play for me at his salary.
Klay Thompson has been ruled out
Klay is finally ruled out after being considered both questionable and active earlier in the day, which will open up minutes for Quinn Cook who will need to play a much bigger role as the only other shooting threat on the Warriors besides Steph Curry. The Raptors guards and wings will also find more room to operate without Klay’s defense, as Andre Iguodala is only one man and will be fixated on Kawhi Leonard most of the time. The Warriors may also need to give some extra run to Shaun Livingston, who will start for Klay, and possibly Alfonzo McKinnie, just for the need to have healthy bodies on the floor.
As reported by: Ramona Shelburne Go Go Gadget Draymond
Draymond Green is just the swiss army knife of this team. He fills up the box score in every category which always has him squarely in play. He put up a triple double in a pretty rough outing for him and i’m expecting him to do some serious damage today yet again. I think he scores more points and picks up a few blocks and steals as well which will put him in the top 3 for me in terms of fantasy scoring. Fire up Draymond with confidence today.
The #1 Option
I think people will start to get cute in the showdown today because of Kawhi’s seemingly bad game a few days ago. I want to encourage you to stay the course with him. We saw just how good of a play he can be in that 2nd half and I think he puts together 2 complete halves today. As a result I have him ranked as my #1 option across the board on both sites.
Jordan Bell will start at Center for the Warriors
Jordan Bell will start at Center for the Warriors tonight, pairing him up with Marc Gasol, but more importantly meaning DeMarcus Cousins is NOT starting, adding to the increasing murkiness of his viability as a DFS play for tonight’s game. Kevon Looney will maintain his familiar bench role, although it’s unclear how well and Cousins will fare when used on the floor at the same time.
As reported by: Blake Murphy OG Anunoby has been ruled out
Anunoby has not been a part of the rotation at all during the playoffs, so this doesn’t change much for the Raptors, but he was notably listed as Questionable heading into tonight’s game, which could have potentially siphoned some minutes from either Serge Ibaka or Pascal Siakam depending on match-ups. We won’t have to worry about that tonight, as the Raptors rotation will feature the same players it has in the previous series.
As reported by: Blake Murphy DeMarcus Cousins is expected to play
Although this was somewhat expected, Cousins has not seen any action since the first quarter of game 2 of the Warriors first round series against the Clippers, so we should definitely temper our expectations in terms of both his workload and effectiveness. When Cousins was first introduced into the Warriors lineup during the regular season after returning from injury, he would be available to play 5-6 minute spurts at the beginning of each quarter, and was generally not a part of the lineup used to close out games. This is the NBA finals, not the regular season, and Cousins, if effective, would be a huge asset to an otherwise undersized Warriors lineup, but we will have to keep an eye on exactly how coach Kerr deploys him going forward. We also may see how Cousins is deployed somewhat affect how Marc Gasol is used for the Raptors, as he would provide an effective defensive counter to Cousins interior presence.
As reported by: Blake Murphy Lives for the Big Moment
Kawhi Leonard might not be the most marketable superstar in basketball, but he’s built for the big stage. He outplayed the league’s MVP (Giannis Antetokounmpo) and has hit big shot after big shot in the playoffs. He’s going to play 40+ minutes tonight against the Warriors and he sees a massive matchup boost with Kevin Durant out. Andre Iguodala is a good defender, but not quite as agile or long as Durant. Leonard should have another stat-filled fantasy outing and he’s right there with Stephen Curry as the top overall play of the slate.
