DFS Alerts

Iman Shumpert (rest) out Tuesday; Nene (rest) out two games

Shumpert has been added to the Rockets’ injury report and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to rest purposes on the front end of a back-to-back set, while Nene will sit both of the upcoming contests despite totaling just 18 minutes over the previous four games. Shumpert did end up playing 31 minutes in Sunday’s win with both Austin Rivers and Kenneth Faried picking up DNP-CDs as part of a pre-planned rest day, but he typically only sees minutes in the upper teens on a nightly basis.

Monitor The News For This Team

Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable for tonight’s game, and the team is already playing without Malcolm Brogdon. Should Giannis also be sidelined tonight, both Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton enter the core play discussion. Both see massive usage bumps and score 10+ additional fantasy points per 36 minutes with Giannis and Brogdon off the floor. Mirotic would also be looking at a bump in minutes and becomes an interesting GPP target.

Parsing Out The Wing Mess

It’s always tough to figure out how Brooklyn will split minutes among their wing players, but we have some important news with Allen Crabbe out tonight. Crabbe had worked his way up to the mid-30’s in minutes over the past few games, so there is a large void to fill. I would expect LeVert to benefit the most from this, and he should be looking at a very prominent role tonight. With his price tag still very palatable on all the DFS sites, give LeVert a long look today as a GPP option.

NBA Injury Rundown - Tuesday, 3/19

Philadelphia 76ers – Joel Embiid (O), Furkan Korkmaz (O)

Charlotte Hornets – Cody Zeller (O), Tony Parker (O)

Los Angeles Lakers – Josh Hart (Q), Tyson Chandler (Q), Tyson Chandler (Q), Brandon Ingram (O), Lonzo Ball (O)

Milwaukee Bucks – Ersan Ilyasova (P), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Q), Donte DiVincenzo (D), Malcolm Brogdon (O)

Golden State Warriors – Andre Iguodala (TBD), Jacob Evans (TBD), DeMarcus Cousins (D), Damian Jones (O)

Minnesota Timberwolves – Derrick Rose (D), Luol Deng (D), Jeff Teague (O), Robert Covington (O)

Brooklyn Nets – Allen Crabbe (O)

Luka Doncic (knee) will play Monday

Doncic has officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Monday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans after missing one game due to a right knee contusion, marking the third time he’s been unable to suit up since the All-Star break with lingering knee issues. In his absence, Dorian Finney-Smith received that starting nod alongside Tim Hardaway Jr. on the wing, and he phenomenal from a fantasy perspective relative to his price tag in 35 minutes of action in Saturday’s win. As for Doncic, there’s yet to be any report of a potential minute restriction, and he has averaged 34.9 minutes over his previous five games, flashing significant upside in three of the aforementioned contests, making him an intriguing tournament target if he’s a full-go this evening. Doncic has continued to thrive for fantasy purposes following the slew of moves the Mavericks made at the trade deadline, as he has recorded a 34.2% usage rate and is averaging 1.38 DraftKings and 1.31 FanDuel points per minute in a 427.4 minutes sample size over that span

David Nwaba will start in place of Kevin Love (back) on Monday

Love was ruled out and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to a bruised lower back, while Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., and Matthew Dellavedova all remain sidelined with their respective ailments. The last time both Love and Nance were unavailable in the same game, head coach Larry Drew opted to start David Nwaba at small forward, which slid Cedi Osman down to power forward, and he will go this route once again since the Pistons have already ruled out Blake Griffin for rest purposes this evening. Ante Zizic has continued to start at center with how depleted the Cavaliers frontcourt is at the present time, and he remains priced as a value across the industry, making him an intriguing option on a nine-game slate since he’s averaged 30.5 minutes over the previous four games. The main beneficiaries with Love, Nance, and Dellavedova off the court since the trade deadline have been Osman and Collin Sexton, as they each own at least a +2.8% usage rate differential and experience a minimum of a +0.15 increase to their per minute production in this scenario.

Dwyane Wade (hip) available to play Monday

Wade has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder despite dealing with a bruised right hip and still managed to log nearly 29 minutes in Sunday’s win, while, Justise Winslow and Rodney McGruder were already ruled out with their respective ailments. In Winslow’s absence, Derrick Jones Jr. ended up receiving the starting nod at small forward and was serviceable from a fantasy perspective in 24 minutes of action in the aforementioned contest, while Josh Richardson slid over to the point guard position and absorbed a massive 38 minutes with Goran Dragic still partially limited. However, with Winslow off the court since the trade deadline, Dion Waiters actually owns a 22.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.02 DraftKings and 0.94 FanDuel points per minute in a 97.7 minutes sample size.

Kyle Lowry (ankle) will play Monday

Lowry has officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Monday’s matchup against the New York Knicks after missing two consecutive games due to a sprained left ankle, while Kawhi Leonard (rest) and Serge Ibaka (suspension) were already ruled out earlier in the day. In Lowry’s absence, Jeremy Lin had started the previous two games at point guard, but he was relatively underwhelming from a fantasy perspective and failed to play more than 21 minutes in either of his spot starts. In fact, Fred VanVleet even replaced Lin in the starting unit to begin the second half of Sunday’s loss, and VanVleet will start in Leonard’s place on the second leg of a back-to-back set after logging 31 minutes in his return in Sunday’s loss. An interesting tournament flyer in this depleted Raptors frontcourt could be Norman Powell, as he owns a 25.6% usage rate (+3.1%) and is averaging 0.94 DraftKings and 0.83 FanDuel points per minute with Leonard and Ibaka off the court since the trade deadline.

Otto Porter (shoulder) listed out Monday

Porter has been listed out on the most recent version of the Bulls’ injury report and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a strained right rotator cuff. Porter has missed two games as a member of the Bulls, and on both occasions, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot ended up drawing the start at small forward and averaged 23.8 minutes despite being extremely inconsistent from a fantasy perspective in those contests. Luwawu-Cabarrot is a low-usage player with an unreliable minutes floor competing for playing time with Wayne Selden and Shaquille Harrison the wing, so he can be easily avoided in daily formats this evening. Unsurprisingly, Kris Dunn has been the primary beneficiary with Porter off the court since the trade deadline, as he owns a 22.3% usage rate (+4.9%) and is averaging 1.02 DraftKings and 0.98 FanDuel points per minute in a 112.6 minutes sample size.

Justise Winslow (thigh) and Rodney McGruder (knee) listed out Monday; Dwyane Wade (hip) listed as probable

Winslow and McGruder have both been listed out on the most recent version of the Heat’s injury report and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a right thigh contusion and a sore left knee, respectively, while Wade is listed as probable with a bruised right hip and still managed to log nearly 29 minutes in Sunday’s win. In Winslow’s absence, Derrick Jones Jr. ended up receiving the starting nod at small forward and was serviceable from a fantasy perspective in 24 minutes of action in that contest, while Josh Richardson slid over to the point guard position and absorbed massive 38 minutes with Goran Dragic still partially limited. However, with Winslow off the court since the trade deadline, Dion Waiters actually owns a 22.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.02 DraftKings and 0.94 FanDuel points per minute in a 97.7 minutes sample size.

Gordon Hayward (concussion) and Robert Williams (illness) out Monday; Al Horford (knee) available to play

Hayward and Williams III have officially been ruled out and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a concussion and an illness, respectively, while Horford has been cleared to play despite dealing with a sore left knee. In Hayward’s absence, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier should see additional run with the second unit, and Brown has already played at least 31 minutes in two of the Celtics previous three games, giving him a solid minute floor in tonight’s contest. Since Hayward has come off the bench for a majority of the season, there’s no one individual that’s substantially benefitted with him off the court, but both Horford and Kyrie Irving see small increases to their overall usage rates, and Irving continues to lead the team with a 29.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.36 DraftKings and 1.33 FanDuel points per minute on the year.

Kevin Love (back) out Monday

Love has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to a bruised lower back, while Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., and Matthew Dellavedova all remain sidelined with their respective ailments. The last time both Love and Nance were unavailable in the same game, head coach Larry Drew opted to start David Nwaba at small forward, which slid Cedi Osman down to power forward, and he may choose to go this route once again since the Pistons have already ruled out Blake Griffin for rest purposes this evening. Ante Zizic has continued to start at center with how depleted the Cavaliers frontcourt is at the present time, and he remains priced as a value across the industry, making him an intriguing option on a nine-game slate since he’s averaged 30.5 minutes over the previous four games. The main beneficiaries with Love, Nance, and Dellavedova off the court since the trade deadline have been Osman and Collin Sexton, as they each own at least a +2.8% usage rate differential and experience a minimum of a +0.15 increase to their per minute production in this scenario.

Kyle Lowry (ankle) upgraded to probable Monday

Lowry has officially had his status upgraded and is probable for Monday’s matchup against the New York Knicks after missing two consecutive games due to a sprained left ankle, while Kawhi Leonard (rest) and Serge Ibaka (suspension) were already ruled out earlier in the day. In Lowry’s absence, Jeremy Lin has started the previous two games at point guard, but he was relatively underwhelming from a fantasy perspective and failed to play more than 21 minutes in either of his spot starts. In fact, Fred VanVleet even replaced Lin in the starting unit to begin the second half of Sunday’s loss, and VanVleet will be a strong candidate to start in Leonard’s place in tonight’s contest as long as he isn’t subject to some sort of minute restriction on the second leg of a back-to-back set after logging 31 minutes in his return yesterday afternoon. An interesting tournament flyer in this depleted Raptors frontcourt could be Norman Powell, as he owns a 25.6% usage rate (+3.1%) and is averaging 0.94 DraftKings and 0.83 FanDuel points per minute with Leonard and Ibaka off the court since the trade deadline.

Kelly Oubre (thumb) and Tyler Johnson (knee) out Monday

Oubre has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls due to a sprained left thumb, while Johnson will join Richaun Holmes on the Suns’ inactive list and will sit for a third straight contest with a sore right knee. In Johnson’s absence, De’Anthony Melton and Troy Daniels have alternated starts alongside Devin Booker in the backcourt, though Melton may have the upper hand to start once again since he logged 29 minutes in Saturday’s win, while Daniels was limited to just eight off the bench. Even with Mikal Bridges likely starting at small forward, Josh Jackson will continue to be in line for a bump in playing time after seeing 33 minutes in the Suns previous game. However, Deandre Ayton may actually be the best tournament target of them all, as he draws an elite matchup with the Bulls frontcourt and owns a 27.8% usage rate (+7.1%) while averaging 1.19 DraftKings and 1.18 FanDuel points per minute with Oubre, Johnson, and T.J. Warren off the court this season.

Dennis Smith Jr. (back) and Noah Vonleh (ankle) listed out Monday

Smith Jr. has been listed as out on the most recent version of the Knicks’ injury report and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors due to a sore lower back that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games, while Vonleh will sit for a second straight contest with a sprained right ankle. In Vonleh’s absence, Mario Hezonja surprisingly received the starting nod alongside Kevin Knox in the frontcourt and was tremendous from a fantasy perspective in nearly 37 minutes of action in Sunday’s win. Emmanuel Mudiay should also draw another start at point guard, and he’s been extremely hit or miss in his two latest spot starts in an average of 34.3 minutes per game over that span.