DFS Alerts

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (knee) officially out Monday

Kidd-Gilchrist has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a strained left knee that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller were previously ruled out with their respective ailments. Jeremy Lamb remains listed as probable because of a sore left hamstring, so he’ll more than likely rejoin the starting lineup alongside Nicolas Batum on the wing and he’s already managed to log at least 31 minutes off the bench in five of the previous seven games. Frank Kaminsky has also taken on a larger role in the frontcourt rotation over the last five contests, and while he’ll certainly be in line for an increase in playing time with Williams and Zeller sidelined, Bismack Biyombo is still the leading candidate to draw the start at center in Zeller’s place this evening.

Dante Exum (ankle) will play Monday

Exum has officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Monday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing two months due to a sprained left ankle, while Ricky Rubio and Raul Neto remain sidelined with their respective ailments despite partially participating in Sunday’s practice. There’s yet to be any confirmation of a potential minute restriction for Exum, but given the length of his absence, it seems unlikely that head coach Quin Snyder will allow him to play extended minutes right out of the gate. This will likely allow Royce O’Neale to remain in the starting lineup for at least one additional game, but he was rather underwhelming from a fantasy perspective in 29 minutes of action in Friday’s loss. Unsurprisingly, Donovan Mitchell continues to thrive with Rubio unavailable, and he owns a 37.5% usage rate (+3.6%) while averaging 1.27 DraftKings and 1.25 FanDuel points per minute with him and Raul Neto off the court this season.

Point Donovan

Potentially lost in the mix Monday night is that the Jazz will once again be without Ricky Rubio. Dante Exum is expected to be available but likely limited which means Donovan Mitchell should still handle the ball plenty. Mitchell owns a massive 37.7% usage rate with Rubio off the court this season. The Thunder are one of the better defenses in the league on a point per possession basis but play at the second fastest pace in the league which leads to a lot of fantasy points for the opposition.

Streaky Player

Portis has been a streaky player during his tenure with Washington and currently things are trending upwards as he’s topped 36-fantasy points in three of his last four games. SAC @ WAS is the premier game to target on Monday night from a pace perspective as the game has a monster total currently sitting at 240. Portis is an active rebounder and can look to take advantage of the Kings’ fifth highest offensive rebounding rate allowed (27.8%) in the league.

Bruce Brown (ankle) listed as questionable Monday

Brown has been listed as questionable on the most recent version of the Pistons’ injury report for Monday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets due to a sprained right ankle that has already forced him to miss one game. In his absence, Glenn Robinson III received the starting nod at small forward but was irrelevant from a fantasy perspective in just 13 minutes of action, while Luke Kennard and Langston Galloway were the true beneficiaries with Brown sidelined, logging 31 and 29 minutes off the bench, respectively. Brown has been relegated to just a nominal starter by head coach Dwane Casey on a relatively consistent basis, so his pending status won’t have too much of an impact on the Pistons wing rotation other than providing Kennard and Galloway slightly higher minute floors than they would have if Brown is active this evening.

Jayson Tatum (shoulder) out Monday

Tatum has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a sore right shoulder. This will be the first game Tatum has missed all season, so there is a bit of uncertainty on who will replace him in the starting lineup at small forward, but Gordon Hayward figures to be the likeliest candidate as long as head coach Brad Stevens doesn’t prefer him to remain in his typical sixth-man role off the bench. If it isn’t Hayward that receives the starting nod, it will likely be Jaylen Brown but both players can be projected to see a substantial increase in playing time regardless of Stevens’ decision on the starting unit. With Tatum off the court, Marcus Morris and Al Horford each own at least a +1.7% usage rate differential and experience a minimum of a +0.08 increase to their per minute fantasy production in this scenario.

Low Floor, Volatile Minutes

The Hornets will be extremely thin in the front court with both Cody Zeller and Marvin Williams expected to miss Monday’s game. Frank Kaminsky and Miles Bridges seem to be the likeliest candidates to fill in at PF minutes (and some C minutes for Frank) while Bismack Biyombo and Guillermo Hernangomez split the remaining minutes at Center like they did earlier this season with Zeller out. Biyombo drew the majority of starts in Zeller’s previous absence but the minutes were split closely and mostly unpredictable on a game-by-game basis. Enter Hernangomez who has been a strong fantasy producer this season when given minutes, averaging 1.23 DK points per minute and 1.18 FD points per minute. 10 minutes seems like a steady baseline for Hernangomez with upside into the mid-20’s if he’s running well, which would make him the highest point per dollar play on the slate. Hernangomez has a very low floor, and could be squeezed out of the rotation if Frank takes on the majority of his minutes at the 5, but is one of the few players that could realistically 10-15x his price tag.

Elite Play in All Formats

Tomas Satoransky has been a player that I’ve written up over his last few games, but then an injury will break later in the day and I won’t end up playing him. I will not be making that same mistake tonight. Over his last four games, Satoransky has averaged 37 minutes and 33 fantasy points. He draws a favorable matchup against the Kings, he is playing at home, and he is priced below $6,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings. He’s a strong play for both cash games and tournaments.

Increased Role Thanks to Injuries

Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller have already been ruled out of tonight’s game, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is listed as doubtful. While the Hornets are large underdogs on the road, the injuries open up a ton of minutes in the rotation and usage in the offense. Frank Kaminsky will likely draw the start at power forward and should immediately push for 30+ minutes. He has played well over his last four games and has averaged close to a fantasy point per minute on the season.

High Floor, High Ceiling, Great Matchup

The last time Bradley Beal scored fewer than 40 fantasy points was more than five weeks ago. He offers one of the highest floor of any player in tonight’s slate and he’s considerably cheaper than the likes of Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The kicker here is that he has the best matchup of the three. The Kings play at one of the fastest paces of any team in basketball and the Wizards get to face them at home in a game that features a low spread and a high total.

Marvin Williams (illness) and Cody Zeller (knee) out Monday; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (knee) now doubtful

Williams and Zeller have both been added to the Hornets’ injury report and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to an illness and a sore left knee, respectively, while Kidd-Gilchrist has been downgraded to doubtful with a strained left knee that’s already forced him to miss one game. Jeremy Lamb remains listed as probable because of a sore left hamstring, so he’ll more than likely rejoin the starting lineup alongside Nicolas Batum on the wing and he’s already managed to log at least 31 minutes off the bench in five of the previous seven games. Frank Kaminsky has also taken on a larger role in the frontcourt rotation over the last five contests, and while he’ll certainly be in line for an increase in playing time with Williams and Zeller sidelined, Bismack Biyombo is still the leading candidate to draw the start at center in Zeller’s place this evening.

NBA Injury Rundown - Monday, 3/11

Cleveland Cavaliers – Larry Nance Jr. (O), Matthew Dellavedova (O), Tristan Thompson (O), John Henson (O)

Detroit Pistons – Bruce Brown (TBD)

Brooklyn Nets – Treveon Graham (O)

Charlotte Hornets – Jeremy Lamb (P), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (P)

Houston Rockets – Nene Hilario (O)

Utah Jazz – Dante Exum (P), Ekpe Udoh (P), Ricky Rubio (O), Raul Neto (O), Tony Bradley (O)

Boston Celtics – Jayson Tatum (Q)

Noah Vonleh (hip) will play Sunday

Vonleh has officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing one game due to a right hip contusion, while Mario Hezonja was already ruled out and will sit for a 10th straight contest with a left leg contusion. In Vonleh’s absence, Lance Thomas received the starting nod at power forward but was underwhelming from a fantasy perspective, per usual, in 25 minutes of action in Saturday’s loss. However, he’ll likely head to the bench to resume a reserve role in favor of Vonleh in tonight’s contest, though he could still absorb meaningful minutes in the second unit. Still, Thomas doesn’t possess a reliable minute floor or ceiling, especially with Vonleh back in the fold, so he can be pretty easily ignored for daily fantasy formats considering he owns just 13.5% usage rate and is averaging only 0.59 DraftKings and 0.60 FanDuel points per minute on the year.

Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) and Luol Deng (Achilles) out Sunday

Towns has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to right knee inflammation, while Deng remains sidelined with a sore left Achilles and Andrew Wiggins will miss a second straight contest because of a bruised left quad. Without Wiggins and Deng available for Saturday’s win, Keita Bates-Diop ended up receiving the starting nod at small forward, but he was relatively underwhelming from a fantasy perspective considering he managed to record 37 minutes of action in his spot start, and he’ll be joined in the starting lineup by Taj Gibson, who will start at center in place of Towns in tonight’s contest. Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a tremendous sample size with Towns, Wiggins, Deng, and Robert Covington all off the court together, but Gibson, Derrick Rose, and Josh Okogie have seen the most playing time in this scenario and own at least a +7.1% usage rate differential while experiencing a minimum of a +0.21 increase to their per minute fantasy production.

Andrew Wiggins (quad) out Sunday

Wiggins has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to a bruised left quad that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Karl-Anthony Towns remains a game-time decision with a right knee injury. Without Wiggins and Luol Deng available for Saturday’s win, Keita Bates-Diop ended up receiving the starting nod at small forward, but he was relatively underwhelming from a fantasy perspective considering he managed to record 37 minutes of action in his spot start. Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a tremendous sample size with Towns, Wiggins, Deng, and Robert Covington all off the court together, but Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, and Josh Okogie have seen the most playing time in this scenario and own at least a +7.1% usage rate differential while experiencing a minimum of a +0.21 increase to their per minute fantasy production.