DFS Alerts
Reasonable Value
There is an odd dearth of injury news on tonight’s slate, so value is going to be more difficult to come by than what we saw on Saturday. However, that doesn’t mean that there is no value out there to be had. For whatever odd reason, the Lakers seem content rolling Alex Caruso out there for massive minutes these days, and Caruso has actually been playing fairly well of late. Caruso is averaging 28 minutes and 28 fantasy points per game over the last five contests for the Lakers, and he should continue to get that kind of run with Josh Hart still on the shelf. If he can hit that baseline production of 25-28 fantasy points, that’s enough for him to pay off his current salary tag on every site.
Harry Giles (thigh) out Saturday
Giles has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a left thigh contusion that forced him to exit early from Thursday’s loss. Head coach Dave Joerger already confirmed during his pregame media availability that tests revealed that there is no structural damage to Giles’ leg, so it appears that he won’t be sidelined for a significant period of time. However, in his absence, Willie Cauley-Stein and Nemanja Bjelica figure to be the main beneficiaries in terms of playing time, while Marvin Bagley III could also see a few extra minutes but has already logged at least 28 minutes in each of the Kings previous two games, leaving little room for a substantial increase considering he’s just five games removed from an extended injury hiatus because of a sprained left knee.
As reported by: Jason Anderson via Twitter
Kris Dunn (back) will start Saturday
Dunn has officially been upgraded from probable and will start in Saturday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz despite dealing with a strained back, while Otto Porter and Zach LaVine were already ruled out with their respective ailments, the former missing a third consecutive game. In Porter’s absence, Shaquille Harrison will more than likely receive the starting nod alongside Antonio Blakeney on the wing once again, and he has been relatively solid from a fantasy perspective in an average of 35.8 minutes through his two previous spot starts. Unsurprisingly, Kris Dunn has been the primary beneficiary with Porter off the court since the trade deadline, as he owns a 24.0% usage rate (+5.3%) and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.09 FanDuel points per minute in a 179.0 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Chuck Swirsky via Twitter Salah Mejri (illness) out Saturday
Mejri is a late addition to the Mavericks’ injury report and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors due to an illness. With Maxi Kleber making his return from a one-game injury absence because of a sprained left wrist in Thursday’s loss, Mejri saw his role in the frontcourt rotation drastically diminished and managed to log just nine minutes behind Kleber, Dwight Powell, and Dirk Nowitzki as a nominal reserve. As for Kleber, he displaced Dirk Nowitzki from the starting lineup at power forward, and he was relatively serviceable from a fantasy perspective in 33 minutes of action in his first game back with the starting unit.
As reported by: Chuck Cooperstein via Twitter Zach LaVine (thigh, knee) out Saturday
Despite previously being upgraded to probable, LaVine has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to a bruised right thigh and right knee patellar tendinitis, and he’ll join Otto Porter, who will miss a third straight contest with a strained right rotator cuff, on the Bull’s inactive list, while Kris Dunn is expected to play despite dealing with a strained back. In Porter’s absence, Shaquille Harrison will more than likely receive the starting nod alongside Antonio Blakeney on the wing once again, and he has been relatively solid from a fantasy perspective in an average of 35.8 minutes through his two previous spot starts. Unsurprisingly, Dunn has been the primary beneficiary with Porter off the court since the trade deadline, as he owns a 24.0% usage rate (+5.3%) and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.09 FanDuel points per minute in a 179.0 minutes sample size, making him an intriguing tournament target if he isn’t limited this evening.
As reported by: Darnell Mayberry via Twitter Joakim Noah (knee) available to play Saturday
Noah has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Saturday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing one game due to a sore right knee, while Mike Conley wasn’t included on the Grizzlies’ injury report and is slated to return following a one-hiatus because of general soreness. In Conley’s absence, Tyler Dorsey joined the starting lineup alongside Delon Wright in the backcourt, and he was phenomenal from a fantasy perspective in a whopping 43 minutes of action in Friday’s loss. However, with no reports of a potential minute restriction for Conley, it’s almost a certainty that Dorsey will head back to the bench to resume a reserve role that’s enabled him to log at least 20 minutes in two of his last three games as a member of the second unit. Ever since the trade deadline, Conley has recorded a 28.7% usage rate and is averaging 1.41 DraftKings and 1.34 FanDuel points per minute with Bradley off the court, making him an intriguing tournament target on tonight’s slate considering he’s exceeded his salary-based expectations in five of his previous six games.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Taj Gibson (calf) out Saturday
Gibson has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a strained left calf that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Derrick Rose, Jeff Teague, and Robert Covington all remain sidelined with their respective ailments and have been shut down for the remainder of the season. Prior to his injury, Gibson had logged at least 21 minutes off the bench in four of his previous five games, so there will certainly continue to be a sizable amount of playing to be had in the second unit for Anthony Tolliver and Keita Bates-Diop, and even Gorgui Dieng managed to record 15 minutes as the backup behind Karl-Anthony Towns at center in Thursday’s loss.
As reported by: Timberwolves PR via Twitter Zach LaVine (thigh) and Kris Dunn (back) now probable Saturday
Lavine and Dunn are currently going through pregame warmups and have been upgraded to probable for Saturday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to their respective ailments, while Otto Porter was already ruled out with a strained right rotator cuff that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games. In Porter’s absence, Shaquille Harrison will more than likely receive the starting nod alongside LaVine on the wing once again, and he has been relatively solid from a fantasy perspective in an average of 35.8 minutes through his two previous spot starts. Unsurprisingly, Kris Dunn has been the primary beneficiary with Porter off the court since the trade deadline, as he owns a 24.0% usage rate (+5.3%) and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.09 FanDuel points per minute in a 179.0 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Darnell Mayberry via Twitter Other tagged players: Kris Dunn Otto Porter (shoulder) officially out Saturday
Porter has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to a strained right rotator cuff that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games, while both Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn have been upgraded to probable and are currently going through pregame warmups before a final decision is made on their status. In Porter’s absence, Shaquille Harrison will likely receive the starting nod alongside LaVine on the wing once again, and Harrison has been relatively solid from a fantasy perspective in an average of 35.8 minutes of action in his two previous spot starts. Unsurprisingly, Kris Dunn has been the primary beneficiary with Porter off the court since the trade deadline, as he owns a 24.0% usage rate (+5.3%) and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.09 FanDuel points per minute in a 179.0 minutes sample size.
As reported by: K.C. Johnson via Twitter Trevor Ariza (groin) officially out Saturday
Ariza has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to a strained left groin that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. In his absence, Troy Brown Jr. will receive the starting nod at small forward once again, and he has been more than serviceable from a fantasy perspective relative to his salary in an average of 31.3 minutes of action over the previous two 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. However, the main beneficiary with Ariza off the court since the trade deadline has been Jabari Parker, who owns a 26.1% (+2.5%) and is averaging 1.24 DraftKings and 1.20 FanDuel points per minute, making him an elite midrange tournament option on tonight’s seven-game slate.
As reported by: Fred Katz via Twitter Nicolas Batum (illness) officially out Saturday
Batum has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics due to an illness, while Cody Zeller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist remain sidelined with their respective ailments. Batum was moved to the bench in favor of Dwayne Bacon in Thursday’s win, but head coach James Borrego was noncommittal when asked by reporters about his plans for the rotation moving forward, and even though Bacon will start once again, it makes it difficult trust most Hornets players in any daily fantasy formats. However, Miles Bridges appears to be locked into a solid minute floor with Charlotte turning their attention to player development in the final stretch of the season, and he’s logged at least 29 minutes in each of the previous two contest while averaging 1.10 DraftKings and 1.11 FanDuel points per minute over this span, making him an appealing punt option on DraftKings, where he’s significantly less expensive than FanDuel, this evening.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Nicolas Batum (illness) downgraded to doubtful Saturday
Batum has officially been downgraded from questionable to doubtful for Saturday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics due to an illness, while Cody Zeller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist remain sidelined with their respective ailments. Batum was moved to the bench in favor of Dwayne Bacon in Thursday’s win, but head coach James Borrego was noncommittal when asked by reporters about his plans for the rotation moving forward, even though Bacon will start once again, which makes it difficult trust most Hornets players in any daily fantasy formats. However, Miles Bridges appears to be locked into a solid minute floor with Charlotte turning their attention to player development in the final stretch of the season, and he’s logged at least 29 minutes in each of the previous two contest while averaging 1.10 DraftKings and 1.11 FanDuel points per minute over this span, making him an appealing punt option on DraftKings, where he’s significantly less expensive than FanDuel, this evening.
As reported by: Rick Bonnell via Twitter Tyler Johnson (knee) out Saturday
Johnson has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to a sore right knee that has now forced him to miss five consecutive games, while Josh Jackson was already ruled out with a sprained right ankle. 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, but Bridges has still been largely ineffective for fantasy purposes despite averaging 38.2 minutes over the previous five games. However, with Johnson now unavailable, De’Anthony Melton will presumably rejoin the starting lineup alongside Devin Booker in the backcourt considering he’s managed to log at least 21 minutes in each of the last three 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, both Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton own at least a +8.1% usage rate differential and experience a minimum increase of +0.15 to their per minute fantasy production.
As reported by: Duane Rankin via Twitter Josh Jackson (ankle) out Saturday
Jackson has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to a sprained right ankle, while Tyler Johnson remains questionable with a sore right knee that has already forced him to miss four consecutive games. 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 if Johnson is cleared to play, but Bridges has still been largely ineffective for fantasy purposes despite averaging 38.2 minutes over the previous five games. However, if Johnson is ruled out, De’Anthony Melton would presumably rejoin the starting lineup alongside Devin Booker in the backcourt considering he’s managed to log at least 21 minutes in each of the last three 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, both Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton own at least a +8.1% usage rate differential and experience a minimum increase of +0.15 to their per minute fantasy production.
As reported by: Kellan Olson via Twitter Nicolas Batum (illness) questionable Saturday
Batum has been added to the Hornets’ injury report and is questionable for Saturday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics due to an illness, while Cody Zeller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist remain sidelined with their respective ailments. Batum was moved to the bench in favor of Dwayne Bacon in Thursday’s win, but head coach James Borrego was noncommittal when asked by reporters about his plans for the starting lineup and rotation moving forward, which makes it difficult trust most Hornets players in any daily fantasy formats. However, Miles Bridges appears to be locked into a solid minute floor with Charlotte turning their attention to player development in the final stretch of the season, and he’s logged at least 29 minutes in each of the previous two contest while averaging 1.10 DraftKings and 1.11 FanDuel points per minute over this span, making him an appealing punt option on DraftKings, where he’s significantly less expensive than FanDuel, this evening.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter