DFS Alerts
LeBron James (rest) officially out Wednesday
James has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to rest purposes on the second leg of a back-to-back set, while there’s still yet to be an official update on Reggie Bullock, Josh Hart, Tyson Chandler, and Mike Muscala, all of whom missed Tuesday’s win. However, both Chandler and Muscala have had inconsistent roles in the rotation over the last several weeks, though Chandler has managed to log at least 13 minutes off the bench in each of his previous two contests. In Bullock and Hart’s absences, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is essentially the last man standing to start on the wing, and he’s recorded at least 33 minutes in each of the last four games in both starting and reserve roles. Head coach Luke Walton has essentially utilized just an eight-man rotation of late, but he’s been extremely unpredictable with the backup two-guard and small forward minutes, as Lance Stephenson rejoined the rotation on Sunday and has siphoned away a large portion of Alex Caruso’s previously-stable minute floor.
As reported by: the Los Angeles Lakers via Twitter
Lauri Markkanen (illness), Kris Dunn (back), Zach LaVine (thigh, knee), and Otto Porter (shoulder) out Wednesday
Markkanen has been officially ruled out and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers due to an illness, while Dunn, LaVine, and Porter all remain sidelined with their respective ailments, though head coach Jim Boylen continues to reiterate there are no immediate plans to shut them down for the remainder of the season. In Dunn’s absence, Ryan Arcidiacano will likely start at point guard once again alongside Shaquille Harrison in the backcourt, and Arcidiacono was extremely effective from a fantasy perspective in 30 minutes of action in Tuesday’s loss. Wayne Selden also started ahead of Antonio Blakeney in that contest, and considering the depleted Bulls roster, he could realistically approach the 40 minutes he logged on the front end of their current back-to-back set. The main beneficiary with the aforementioned players off the court since the trade deadline has been Arcidiacono, as he owns a 21.7% usage rate (+8.7%) and is averaging 1.18 DraftKings and 1.15 FanDuel points in a 104.3 minutes sample size over this span.
As reported by: Jamie Hudson via Twitter Other tagged players: Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, Otto Porter Jr. Big Men on Injury-Plagued Teams in Position to Put Up Points Tonight
Injury situations in the Memphis and Chicago backcourts have created value tonight, but we shouldn’t overlook the big men on those teams either. Taking on an increased offensive workload in Memphis, Jonas Valanciunas has averaged 23.2 points and 15 rebounds over his last five games, and his increased share should continue tonight if Mike Conley misses the game against Golden State. In Chicago, Robin Lopez could see increased shots as well – and the Bulls will be facing a Portland team that just lost Jusuf Nurkic to injury, and will be starting Enes Kanter (68th out of 69 centers in DRPM according to ESPN).
Other tagged players: Robin Lopez
Josh Jackson (ankle) listed out Wednesday
Jackson has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a sprained right ankle that’s now forced him to miss three consecutive games, while Tyler Johnson will sit for a seventh straight contest because of a sore right knee. The Suns are also still without T.J. Warren and Kelly Oubre, so Mikal Bridges should be a lock to stick in the starting lineup for the duration of their absences, but Bridges has still been largely ineffective for fantasy purposes despite averaging 36.6 minutes over the previous seven games. With Johnson still sidelined, De’Anthony Melton will presumably remain in the starting lineup alongside Devin Booker in the backcourt considering he’s managed to log at least 21 minutes in each of the last five contests regardless of reserve or starting role. There’s still a minimal sample size with Jackson, Johnson, and Oubre off the court since the trade deadline, but in that time, Booker owns a 42.6% usage rate (+8.5%) and is averaging 1.50 DraftKings and 1.42 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Trevor Ariza (groin) listed out Wednesday
Ariza has been listed out on the most recent version of the Wizards’ injury report and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a strained left groin that has now forced him to miss three of the previous four games. In his absence, Troy Brown Jr. will receive the starting nod at small forward once again, and he has been a bit inconsistent from a fantasy perspective relative to his salary in an average of 27.8 minutes of action over the previous five contests. Considering the Wizards have been well out of the playoff picture for a while now, it seems likely that Brown will continue to be given all the minutes he can handle for at least as long as Ariza is sidelined, while Bobby Portis should return to the starting lineup following a brief one-game reprieve. However, the main beneficiary with Ariza off the court since the trade deadline has been Jabari Parker, who owns a 25.4% usage rate and is averaging 1.18 DraftKings and 1.15 FanDuel points per minute, making him a viable midrange tournament option on tonight’s five-game slate.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Don't Overlook What Could Be The Highest-Scoring Game of the Night
With so much attention going to injury replacements and shifting lineups at this time of year, it’s easy to forget important factors like which games will be close and which games will be high-scoring. The Washington – Phoenix matchup tonight is the only game on the slate with a line under 6 points and at 230 points has the highest Vegas point total by 10 points. The targets that make sense here are the team’s two leading scorers – Bradley Beal for Washington and Devin Booker for Phoenix. Both players have increased their scoring since the All-Star Break with Beal averaging 28.8 ppg since the Break (compared to 25.1 ppg before) and Booker averaging 30.5 ppg since the Break (compared to 24.6 ppg before).
Other tagged players: Jed Bradley Low Owned Value Play
Right now, we have Harrison (43.5%) and Arcidiacono (33.5%) projected as two of the highest owned value options tonight. With everyone potentially out again tonight, Blakeney and Selden should be the two higher usage guys with the second unit. Selden started last night and played 40 minutes, which makes me like Blakeney to see some extra minutes tonight. He had a 30% usage rate last night and only shot 33% from the field. If he hits a few extra shots, he could be one of the best point per dollar plays on the slate.
Highest Projected Player of the Slate
It’s strange to see Damian Lillard with a higher projection than Russell Westbrook, but that’s the case in my model tonight. Lillard sees a massive boost with C.J. McCollum off the floor and now the Blazers are going to be without Jusuf Nurkic. The Bulls are one of the worst defensive teams in basketball and are ranked 23rd in DvsA against combo guards. Lillard comes into the game in great form, averaging 57 fantasy points over his last four games.
Free Square of the Slate
It was sad to see Jusuf Nurkic break his leg the other night, but the Blazers have no choice but to move forward. Luckily, they picked up Enes Kanter, who should step into the starting lineup. He’s not nearly good as of a defender as Nurkic, but he’s still very capable on the offensive end of the floor. He has averaged 1.17 FP/min on the season and gets a dream matchup in his first spot start. The Bulls are ranked 26th in efficiency against centers and 28th in DvsA against versatile bigs.
NBA Injury Rundown - Wednesday, 3/27
Indiana Pacers – Darren Collison (Q), Victor Oladipo (O)
Memphis Grizzlies – Mike Conley (Q), Joakim Noah (O), Avery Bradley (O), CJ Miles (O), Jaren Jackson Jr. (O)
Portland Trail Blazers – Jusuf Nurkic (O), C.J. McCollum (O)
Chicago Bulls – Kris Dunn (D), Zach LaVine (D), Otto Porter (D), Wendell Carter Jr. (O), Chandler Hutchison (O)
Los Angeles Lakers – Reggie Bullock (TBD), Tyson Chandler (TBD), Josh Hart (D), Brandon Ingram (O), Lonzo Ball (O)
Trevor Ariza (groin) will start Tuesday
Despite being listed as doubtful, Ariza has officially been cleared and will start in Tuesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing two consecutive games due to a strained left groin. In his absence, Troy Brown Jr. has started the previous two games at small forward, and he has mostly been serviceable from a fantasy perspective in an average of 29.4 minutes in relief of Ariza over the last three contests. However, even with Ariza returning to the lineup, Brown will remain a member of the starting unit for at least one additional game, while Bobby Portis will be the one to head back to the bench to resume a reserve role, even if it doesn’t result in a severe reduction in playing time. Additionally, Thomas Bryant logged at least 35 minutes of action as the starting center in both games while Ariza was sidelined, and he could still be a nice source of value for his price point if he continues to absorb a similar minute allotment moving forward.
As reported by: the Washington Wizards via Twitter Tyson Chandler (illness) out Tuesday
Chandler has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to an illness, while Reggie Bullock and Josh Hart remain sidelined with their respective ailments. Mike Muscala is still questionable with tibialis posterior tendinitis, and even though both he and Chandler have had inconsistent roles in the rotation over the last several weeks, Chandler has managed to log at least 13 minutes off the bench in each of the previous two contests. In Bullock and Hart’s absences, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is essentially the last man standing to start alongside James on the wing, and he’s recorded at least 33 minutes in each of the last three games in both starting and reserve roles. Head coach Luke Walton essentially utilized just an eight-man rotation once again in Sunday’s win, but he’s been extremely unpredictable with the backup two-guard and small forward minutes, as Lance Stephenson rejoined the rotation in that matchup and siphoned away a large portion of Alex Caruso’s previously-stable minute floor.
As reported by: Tania Ganguli via Twitter Malik Beasley (personal) out Tuesday
Beasley is a late addition to the Nuggets’ injury report and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to personal reasons. Beasly has seen his role in the backcourt rotation diminish of late with head coach Michael Malone gearing his team up for the playoff push, and Beasley has been limited to fewer than 20 minutes in three of the previous five games. In his absence, Malone will likely extend Gary Harris and Will Barton a few extra minutes of playing time, while Torrey Craig and Juancho Hernangomez should absorb the remaining allotment of Beasley’s vacated minutes, though neither will see enough game action to become viable in daily fantasy formats on tonight’s slate.
As reported by: the Denver Nuggets via Twitter Eric Gordon (ankle) available to play Tuesday
Gordon has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks despite dealing with a sprained right ankle he sustained during Sunday’s win, while Kenneth Faried was already ruled out with a sore left knee. The Rockets are also expected to be without Gerald Green for the next 7-10 days because of a strained left adductor, so his and Faried’s absences, should up a plethora of playing time for Danuel House Jr., who has already logged at least 30 minutes in four of the previous six games in both reserve and starting roles. However, as usual, James Harden is the catalyst of this Houston team, and even though he is coming off of an uncharacteristic fantasy performance last time out, he still owns a 42.5% usage rate and is averaging 1.61 DraftKings and 1.56 FanDuel points per minute since the conclusion of the All-Star break.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen via Twitter Elfrid Payton (ankle) will start Tuesday
Payton has officially been upgraded from probable and will start in Tuesday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks despite dealing with a bruised right wrist, while Anthony Davis has already been ruled out with lower back spasms. The Pelicans’ front office has stayed true to their word in regards to limiting Davis’ playing time, and he’s consistently been held to around 20-22 minutes per game when active. This does minimalize the impact of his absence, but now that he’s unavailable, Cheick Diallo will start at center and will be the main beneficiary in terms of minutes in tonight’s contest, likely forcing Jahlil Okafor into a minimal role with the second unit. However, unsurprisingly, Julius Randle has benefitted the most with Davis, Jrue Holiday, and E’Twaun Moore off the court since the All-Star break, as he owns a 33.2% (+4.7%) usage rate and is averaging 1.32 DraftKings and 1.26 FanDuel points per minute in a 184.6 minutes sample size over that time period.
As reported by: Andrew Lopez via Twitter