DFS Alerts

Isaiah Briscoe (knee) out Friday

Briscoe has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks after previously being listed as questionable, while Terrence Ross was removed from the injury report and is set to make his return from a sore left Achilles that forced him to miss one game. Briscoe managed to record 26 minutes off the bench in Tuesday’s loss with Ross sidelined, but he typically sees around 18-22 minutes when the Magic are at full strength at the wing and guard positions. So, now that he’s unavailable, Jerian Grant will likely rejoin the rotation as the backup point guard, while Ross and Wes Iwundu will be tasked with absorbing any vacated minutes at two-guard position in the second unit. Theoretically, D.J. Augustin should also see an uptick in playing time, but he will likely need to approach or surpass the 30-minute mark to provide value on tonight’s nine-game slate, as he owns just an 18.4% usage rate and is averaging 0.87 DraftKings and 0.84 FanDuel points per minute on the season.

Klay Thompson (knee) will play Friday

Thompson is still technically listed as probable on the Warriors’ injury report, but he confirmed with reporters at shootaround that he will play in Friday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets after missing two consecutive games due to a sore right knee, while Kevon Looney and Shaun Livingston remain listed as probable with their respective ailments. There’s been no report of a potential minute restriction for Thompson, so he’ll presumably absorb his typical playing time allotment as the starting shooting guard, which will send Alfonzo McKinnie back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a couple of dismal fantasy performances in an average of just 12.2 minutes per spot start. McKinnie did exit one of those contests early because of an injury, but Damion Lee still logged at least 26 minutes off the bench on both occasions, so it’ll be interesting to see if he remains in the rotation ahead of McKinnie with the Warriors now back at full strength.

Isaiah Briscoe (knee) listed as questionable Friday

Briscoe has been added to the most recent version of the Magic’s injury report and is listed as questionable for Friday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks due to a sore right knee, while Terrence Ross was removed from the injury report and is set to make his return from a sore left Achilles that forced him to miss one game. Briscoe managed to record 26 minutes off the bench in Tuesday’s loss with Ross sidelined, but he typically sees around 18-22 minutes when the Magic are at full strength at the wing and guard positions. So, if he’s unable to suit up, Jerian Grant would likely rejoin the rotation as the backup point guard, while Ross and Wes Iwundu would be tasked with absorbing any vacated minutes at two-guard position in the second unit. Theoretically, D.J. Augustin should also see an uptick in playing time, but he will likely need to approach or surpass the 30-minute mark to provide value on tonight’s nine-game slate, as he owns just an 18.4% usage rate and is averaging 0.87 DraftKings and 0.84 FanDuel points per minute on the season.

Room For Value

Jrue Holiday has been declared out for the foreseeable future which opens up minutes in the Pelicans backcourt. Enter Frank Jackson who should approach 30 minutes of court time against the Raptors on Friday night. It’s a tough matchup for Jackson and the Pelicans but he’s cheap enough where he has plenty of room to return value on his price. Jackson is unnecessary in cash games if Ben Simmons is declared out (sup, TJ McConnel?) but makes for an interesting leverage play off the chalky Elfrid Payton in GPPs.

This Team Could Be Overlooked Despite Having the Highest Projected Point Total

Denver at Golden State currently has the second-highest Vegas point total on the night, and with so many other big names on the board this game could be overlooked. These teams have the two best records in the Western Conference, and with Golden State only favored by 6 points this game could be close throughout the contest. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry are the two names from Golden State I would be looking at if the Warriors try to neutralize Nikola Jokic by running Denver off the court, with Curry ranking 3rd in the league in fast-break points per game, and Durant ranking 4th in the league.

Upside on Price Tag

I have a soft spot for the former Wisconsin Badger but the reality is Kaminsky is underpriced for his newly found role under James Borrego. Kaminsky is back in the Hornets rotation and has logged 23+ minutes of court time in each of the last three games. He’s produced fantasy wise as well, scoring at least 21 fantasy points in each game. Kaminsky is still tough to trust in cash as Borrego could change his rotation in the blink of an eye but is a strong value play in GPPs as he’s proven plenty of upside at his current price tags.

Potential Expanded Role

Ben Simmons is currently listed as questionable for Friday night’s game with an illness. If Simmons is unable to suit up, that will open up a ton of minutes for the remaining 76ers roster as the Aussie has been averaging over 38 minutes of court time over the last five games. T.J. McConnell seems like the favorite to replace Simmons in the starting lineup and is min-priced across the industry. TJM would be Friday’s top value play by a wide margin if Simmons is unable to suit up.

Ben Simmons (illness) listed as questionable Friday

Simmons didn’t participate in shootaround and has been listed as questionable in the Sixers’ game notes for Friday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a bout of gastroenteritis, while Joel Embiid and Boban Marjanovic were already ruled out again with their respective ailments. If Simmons is unable to suit up, T.J. McConnell would almost certainly receive the starting nod at point guard, and he’s managed to record no fewer than 17 minutes off the bench in five of the previous six games. In Embiid’s absence, Amir Johnson has started and logged 20 minutes in two straight contests, but given the matchup with Clint Capela, it’s certainly plausible that Jonah Bolden and Mike Scott take on a larger portion of the available center minutes this evening. Simmons has been a constant in the Sixers lineup since the trade deadline, so there isn’t much of a sample size with him, Embiid, Marjanovic, and all of the departed former Sixers off the court, but Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick do each own at least a +7.5% usage rate differential and experience a minimum of a +0.29 increase to their per minute fantasy production in this scenario.

Injuries Opening Up Opportunity On This Team

Elfrid Payton is rightfully drawing a lot of attention today, with Jrue Holiday out and Payton being underpriced across sites given the situation. Some other Pelicans players could benefit as well, however. Frank Jackson actually leads New Orleans in minutes when Jrue Holiday is off the court over the last four weeks, and would be the main candidate to step in should Payton be playing poorly. Darius Miller has been working his way back from an ankle injury recently, but his minutes have increased and he could move into the starting lineup with Holiday out. Finally Julius Randle could benefit, seeing a 4.2% usage bump with Holiday off the court over the last four weeks.

NBA Injury Rundown - Friday, 3/8

Dallas Mavericks – Maxi Kleber (Q), Kristaps Porzingis (O), J.J. Barea (O)

Charlotte Hornets – Bismack Biyombo (P)

Detroit Pistons – Luke Kennard (P), Zaza Pachulia (Q)

Utah Jazz – Ricky Rubio (D), Ekpe Udoh (D), Raul Neto (O), Dante Exum (O)

Memphis Grizzlies – Justin Holiday (P), Avery Bradley (P), Jaren Jackson Jr. (O), Kyle Anderson (O), Dillon Brooks (O)

New Orleans Pelicans – Jahlil Okafor (Q), Jrue Holiday (O), E’Twaun Moore (O), Dairis Bertans (O), Trevon Bluiett (O)

Cleveland Cavaliers – Ante Zizic (Q), Matthew Dellavedova (O), Tristan Thompson (O), John Henson (O)

Miami Heat – Goran Dragic (Q)

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

Houston Rockets – Iman Shumpert (Q), Kenneth Faried (O)

Los Angeles Clippers – Wilson Chandler (Q), Luc Mbah a Moute (O)

Take the Value Where we Can Find it

Tonight marks the smallest slate that we have seen in quite some time. Pricing is fairly efficient with the exception of the Blazers. On DraftKings, they are priced down for a matchup against the Thunder, who have been elite on the defensive end of the floor this season. The Blazers are playing at home and see a significant pace boost in this matchup. Al-Farouq Aminu stands out as a great value at $3,900.

Talented Center Priced at a Discount

Tonight marks the smallest slate that we have seen in quite some time. Pricing is fairly efficient with the exception of the Blazers. On DraftKings, they are priced down for a matchup against the Thunder, who have been elite on the defensive end of the floor this season. The Blazers are playing at home and see a significant pace boost in this matchup. Jusuf Nurkic stands out as an elite play at $6,700.

Load Up on the Blazers on DraftKings

Tonight marks the smallest slate that we have seen in quite some time. Pricing is fairly efficient with the exception of the Blazers. On DraftKings, they are priced down for a matchup against the Thunder, who have been elite on the defensive end of the floor this season. The Blazers are playing at home and see a significant pace boost in this matchup. Maurice Harkless stands out as a great value at $4,200.

Always Shows Up in Big Games

Damian Lillard is one of the best in the NBA at creating his own shot. He’s also one of the best when it comes to stepping up in big moments. Even though the Thunder have been tough on point guards and have an elite defense as a whole, the Blazers see a pace boost in this matchup. Lillard is affordable across the industry and we are dealing with limited options in a two-game slate. In his last two meetings against OKC, Lillard has put up 54 and 61 fantasy points.

Risk/Reward Value

If you want a scary GPP punt that could provide intriguing upside on a two game slate, I present to you Enes Kanter. Most people will go for the safety of Nurkic or Adams at center tonight, but let’s theorize a little bit. What if Nurkic gets into some foul trouble at high ownership? That would directly lead to more minutes for Kanter, and we know that Kanter has per-minute fantasy ability when he is on the floor. Even if he only gets 17-20 minutes, Kanter could still put up a 30 fantasy point performance. If Nurkic happens to struggle tonight, you get even more leverage with Kanter’s upside combined with the chalky Nurkic struggling. It’s a bit of a reach, but sometimes you need to reach on a two game slate to win a GPP. Hmmm….