DFS Alerts
Andrew Bogut is expected to play
We get some clarity from coach Kerr on who the Warriors will be starting, as Andrew Bogut will enter the starting 5. This will likely mean that Bogut will do his best, conditioning allowing, to match minutes with Clint Capela and protect the rim on drives. This will also mean that Kevon Looney will come off the bench and match minutes with the Rockets unit that has PJ Tucker at the 5, meaning both Bogut and Looney are strong values on this slate. If Bogut gets anywhere close to 20 minutes and is involved while avoiding foul trouble, he could be the best point per dollar play on the entire slate. This also enhances the value of Clint Capela, who will not draw as much of Draymond Green as he has thus far in the series.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen
Expanded Role Upcoming?
It’s unclear who replaces Kevin Durant in the starting lineup for today’s game. Jonas Jerebko was the first one off the bench in Game 5 after Durant got hurt, but only played five minutes. Instead it was Kevon Looney playing 4th quarter crunch time minute. With no Cousins or Durant, and the team seemingly unwilling to give Jordan Bell time in the rotation, I’d think Looney has a good shot to see an expanded role moving forward. He’s not an elite per minute fantasy player but if he somehow gets 30+ minutes, he’s going to be the best salary saver on this Showdown slate.
Usage Bump For Struggling Star
You can make a case that Stephen Curry doesn’t deserve core status given his current shooting woes, but the numbers suggest he’s in for a larger role with Kevin Durant now out. Per CourtIQ, when Durant and Cousins have been out his season, Curry sees a +10% usage increase, putting him at a 39% usage rate. This is simply an elite rate. Yes, he may struggle, but the minutes and usage will be there, and if he catches fire and regains his old form, the Warriors likely win this game.
Danuel House Jr. is expected to play
While House is available, he may or may not actually see the rotation with the emergence of Iman Shumpert this series. Neither is a particularly interesting DFS consideration, but House being available probably decreases what little interest you might have had in Shumpert.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen Aron Baynes will start ahead of Marcus Morris tonight
Baynes will allow Morris to get some more production with the 2nd unit, so you can look for him to be the leader there, while providing Baynes an opportunity to grab some boards and peripherals in whatever run he does get, if effective, with the starting unit.
As reported by: Matt Velasquez Marcus Smart is expected to play
Smart and Brogdon will be the “Short Stints” twins, with their minutes likely matching up somewhat evenly, but the two are obviously going to be used on their opponent’s best scorer, so they shouldn’t match up individually. Neither are DFS considerations due to their limited minutes and playing style that doesn’t always generate many fantasy points, but Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Bucks wings yet to be determined will see fewer minutes due to the return of the short stints twins.
As reported by: Boston Celtics D.J. Wilson has been ruled out
Wilson wasn’t a key piece in the rotation by any means, but if you were projecting a blowout, he can sometimes be a very efficient point per minute producer in garbage time, and provide salary relief for his trouble. With him ruled out, Ersan Ilyasova might get these minutes instead, but would likely not produce quite as efficiently. Either way, this is digging pretty deep to find a blowout driven punt play on this otherwise full strength Bucks sqaud.
As reported by: NBA Injury Report Malcolm Brogdon is expected to play
The Bucks are getting one of their key pieces back tonight in Brogdon, but he will be on a minutes limit and coming off the bench, so we should not expect him to be back at 100% efficiency just yet. Similar to the Celtics bringing back Marcus Smart last game, Brogdon will likely work in short stints as he gets integrated into the rotation. Unlike the Celtics, who are facing elimination, the Bucks have the luxury of easing their key defender back in with the series lead that they have. Nikola Mirotic will remain in the starting lineup, and it will be interesting to see who Brogdon takes the most playing time away from in this new version of the Bucks rotation.
As reported by: Katie George Joel Embiid is expected to play
Joel Embiid will play tonight- this was probably never truly in doubt, but a number of beat writers mentioned that he didn’t look particularly good in warmups, so it is nice to get this confirmation. He obviously still has a tough matchup with Marc Gasol, especially not at 100%, but he will play.
As reported by: Serena Winters Danuel House Jr. has been ruled out
There isn’t any major impact here, as Iman Shumpert’s emergence had made House somewhat of an afterthought in the Rockets rotation, but this was the only questionable player on the Rockets roster so it is worth mentioning that House has in fact been ruled out, so you don’t want him in your lineups (but you didn’t anyway)
As reported by: Ben DuBose Marcus Smart is expected to play
Well, this changes things. We obviously don’t know yet how he will be deployed by Coach Stevens or how many minutes he will get, but this will no doubt impact the Celtics rotations and also the effectiveness of whomever draws him as a defender. We may want to take a wait and see approach before actually rostering Smart himself, but he will almost certainly take at least some minutes away from Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward or possibly even Terry Rozier depending on how the Celtics utilize him.
Stevens also said that Smart won’t have a minutes restriction, but will play in short stints. Also, as expected, Smart will be coming off the bench, not starting.
As reported by: Tim Bontemps Pascal Siakam (calf) will play Sunday
Siakam has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play Sunday’s Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 4 matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers despite dealing with a right calf contusion he presumably sustained tripping Joel Embiid in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s loss. As expected, this was essentially a gamesmanship ploy by the Raptors, albeit an ineffective one. There’s been no word of a potential minute restriction for Siakam, but if he’s a full go, he’ll clearly be an intriguing tournament target at likely suppressed ownership considering he owns a 28.3% usage rate and is averaging 1.05 fantasy points per minute through the first three contests of this series.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter
Pascal Siakam (calf) upgraded to questionable Sunday
Siakam has officially been upgraded from doubtful to questionable for Sunday’s Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 4 matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a right calf contusion he presumably sustained tripping Joel Embiid in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s loss. At this point, it feels as if the Raptors are attempting to deploy a gamesmanship move on the Sixers, albeit an underwhelming one, making it appear more likely than not that Siakam will play in Game 4 this afternoon. There’s been no word of a potential minute restriction for Siakam, but if he’s deemed good to go, he’ll clearly be an intriguing tournament target at likely suppressed ownership considering he owns a 28.3% usage rate and is averaging 1.05 fantasy points per minute through the first three contests of this series.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter No Explaination Really Needed
This is a situation where everyone in the dfs community knows to just play Kawhi Leonard. Yes, he will still have help in the form of Lowry, Green, Ibaka, Gasol, etc., but the bottom line is he’s the #1 option on a team that will most likely be without the #2 option. They need this game and it will fall on his shoulders to get the job done. Just play the man.
Torrey Craig is expected to play
Importantly for the Nuggets guard depth and defense, Craig will be masked tonight, but won’t have any sort of minutes restriction. You won’t want to expect much scoring out of Craig, but you can expect energy and peripherals with a full complement of minutes. You also may want to take expectations somewhat for the Blazers scorers with the hard nosed Craig swarming.
As reported by: Adam Mares