DFS Alerts
Andre Iguodala (toe) listed out Thursday
After head coach Steve Kerr originally told reporters that Iguodala would play, he has been listed out on the most recent version of the Warriors’ injury report for Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a sore left toe, joining Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut, who are being rested, on the inactive this evening. Considering Iguodala is nursing an injury, it’d be far from surprising if he’s also held out of tomorrow’s second leg of a back-to-back set, and Kerr already confirmed that DeMarcus Cousins will be rested in the aforementioned contest. However, with all five of the Warriors starters available for tonight’s game, it’d be difficult to confidently target any of the reserves like Alfonzo McKinnie or Quinn Cook that should theoretically see a noteworthy uptick in playing time with Iguodala and Livingston unavailable.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report
Joel Embiid is expected to play
Joel Embiid is playing tonight. Get him in your lineups.
As reported by: Jon Johnson
Mike Scott is expected to play
With Jimmy Butler out, the Sixers had to start someone in his place. It turns out that someone was Mike Scott. Scott is still likely not going to have much DFS impact, but this does mean TJ McConnell would maintain his bench role.
As reported by: Kevin Kinkead Jimmy Butler has been ruled out
Butler has a major impact on the Sixers rotations and usage, but his absence also opens things up for Khris Middleton to have a big game offensively. We’ll still need to hear about the Embiid news, but if he is also ruled out, it could get ugly for Philly. If Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris do somehow manage to keep it close with Butler and Embiid out, it would take monster games from both of them. If Embiid plays, he would be one of the best plays on the slate and is well rested, not having played since March 28th.
As reported by: NBA Injury Report Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut have been ruled out
Not a ton of DFS impact here, but with this game likely to be well in hand, there could be significant run for Warriors backups, which would now mean Quinn Cook instead of Livingston, and Kevon Looney instead of Bogut. We’re digging pretty deep here, but these are potentially fringe options to save salary if you are expecting the game to blow out.
As reported by: Nick Friedell Other tagged players: Andrew Bogut Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson have been ruled out
The Cavs will be short on large bodies for tonight’s game against the Kings, which should mean plenty of run for Larry Nance and perhaps increased run for Ante Zizic. It also means that Sacramento bigs Willie Cauley-Stein and Marvin Bagley should be able to operate with little resistance from their Cleveland counterparts, setting them up for solid games.
As reported by: Cleveland Cavaliers Other tagged players: Tristan Thompson DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Iguodala are expected to play
While Iguodala likely won’t have much of a DFS impact, DeMarcus Cousins has been on a tear lately and seems to be hitting his stride. With a Lakers team that is ill-equipped to contain him, and the added boost of knowing that he will be resting tomorrow night, we could see a very strong performance from Cousins who looks like he may be his dominant self come playoff time. The Warriors have also been making a conscious effort to get him involved in the flow of the offense, including an abundance of open 3 point opportunities.
As reported by: Mark Medina Other tagged players: Andre Iguodala Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, and J.J. Redick are listed as questionable
Plenty to pay attention to here, not just because Embiid and Butler have major impact on the Sixers rotations and usage, but also because if all of them miss, this game will likely not stay competitive, affecting not just the Sixers but also any Bucks players you might be considering. If Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris do somehow manage to keep it close with all of these guys out, it would take monster games from both of them. If Embiid plays, he would be one of the best plays on the slate and is well rested, not having played since March 28th.
As reported by: NBA Injury Report Other tagged players: Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick Tyson Chandler and Kyle Kuzma are listed as questionable
Both of these are important to pay attention to, as Chandler being back might make us a bit more hesitant to pay the king’s ransom that is required to roster Javale McGee. Kuzma being out would lead to an increase in opportunity for Moritz Wagner and potentially Mike Muscala, although neither played more than 26 minutes in Kuzma’s absence against the Thunder earlier this week. We’ll want to monitor the status of both quite closely until lock.
As reported by: NBA Injury Report Other tagged players: Kyle Kuzma Elite Point Per Dollar Upside
Rondo is one of the last men standing out of the Lakers’ original starters, and CourtIQ tells us that he gets a 3% usage bump with reasonable production increases sans LeBron. Those bumps get even larger if Kuzma remains out, too. While the Lakers are playing a lost season, I do expect them to play for some pride tonight in a nationally televised game against the best team in the league. I think Rondo shows up for this one in a big way and helps the Lakers stay competitive in the game.
Contrarian GPP Option
Bogdanovic’s minutes have been all over the place as the Kings have gotten healthier in the second half of the season, but he is still capable of being an offensive force for this team. His minutes have been up a bit of late, and the matchup is a good one tonight against a bad Cavs team. He’s been better this month, and on a short three game slate, this is about as good as we can do for contrarian options.
The Spot For Value
Even though they are trying to lose at this point, the Lakers are still rolling a short rotation, as just eight players saw double digit minutes in the last game. With all their injuries, there’s still value to be had here. We need to keep an eye on the status of Kyle Kuzma. If he is out, Wagner gets a big bump. Stephenson and Caldwell-Pope are locked into wing minutes with LeBron James sitting the rest of the regular season out, so they are also fine values on a three game slate.
Other tagged players: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Moe Wagner Marvin Williams has been ruled out
Marvin Williams is now officially out- there is minimal impact here since we were mainly expecting this already, but does strengthen the case somewhat for Willy Hernangomez or potentially Frank Kaminsky if you wanted a very low owned play.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR Anthony Davis has been ruled out
In a not at all surprising yet still very late in the day reversal from the earlier “probable” tag, Anthony Davis was ruled out. This means plenty of room to maneuver for Julius Randle and Christian Wood, but also for Willy Hernangomez on the Charlotte side. Frank Jackson is also out but this has less DFS impact obviously.
As reported by: Will Guillory Jimmy Butler is expected to play
In a reversal of course from this morning’s indication from coach Brown, Jimmy Butler will play against the Hawks today. While you can target Butler himself or still possibly target Ben Simmons, the additional usage soaked up by Butler may not help Simmons stand out, but could improve his efficiency since the Hawks “defense” can’t focus quite as much on stopping just Simmons and Tobias Harris. Ultimately though, Butler’s unexpected return may result in too many mouths to feed on the 76ers.
As reported by: Keith Pompey