DFS Alerts

Take Advantage Of The Discount

The injury concerns appear to be a thing of the past at this point, as George returned from a four game absence the other night and played his usual 38 minutes, taking 25 shot attempts against Minnesota. It’s not a major surprise that he struggled in that game, and I expect him to bounce back tonight in a nationally televised game. He’s the obvious stud that we want to pay up for on this slate, as the price tag is depressed as a result of his injury absence. This is as cheap as we have seen him in quite a while, and he should get back to his elite scoring ways tonight. He’s a great option in all formats.

Necessary Salary Relief

It’s not sexy, but this two game slate is going to require us to take some “unsexy” value if you want to get the likes of Lillard, George, and Westbrook into your lineups. I’m most intrigued by Aminu, who should be a lock for around 30 minutes and remains with a sub-$5,000 price tag on both major sites. His last few games have not been glamorous, but all we need is for him to give us 25 or so in the fantasy point department, and I feel better about his odds than the likes of, say, Terrance Ferguson. It is what it is on a two game slate.

NBA Injury Rundown - Thursday, 3/7

Indiana Pacers – Domantas Sabonis (O), Alize Johnson (O), Victor Oladipo (O)

Milwaukee Bucks – George Hill (O), Sterling Brown (O)

Portland Trail Blazers – Evan Turner (O)

Brandon Ingram (shoulder) out Wednesday; Lance Stephenson (toe) will try to play

Ingram has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a sore right shoulder that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, and he’ll join Tyson Chandler and Kyle Kuzma, who could miss at least a week a sprained right ankle, on the Lakers’ inactive list this evening. This means that the Lakers will be down two starters for tonight’s contest, which will enable Josh Hart to enter the starting lineup alongside Reggie Bullock on the wing, and he’s been solid from a fantasy perspective of late, recording at least 26 minutes of action off the bench in each of the previous two games. There hasn’t been a huge beneficiary with Ingram, Kuzma, and Lonzo Ball off the court this season, but in that time, LeBron James owns a 37.4% usage rate (+5.2%) and is averaging 1.51 DraftKings and 1.48 FanDuel points per minute in a 136.5 minutes sample size.

Jahlil Okafor (ankle) available to play Wednesday

Okafor has officially bee upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz after missing one game due to a sprained left ankle. When Anthony Davis has been active, Okafor has assumed a diminished role in the frontcourt rotation and has recorded single-digit minutes in two of his previous healthy contests. The primary reasoning for this reduction in playing time is head coach Alvin Gentry making a conscious effort to get the younger players as many minutes as possible down the stretch, which has led to Cheick Diallo, Kenrich Williams, and Frank Jackson all receiving extended run with both the first and second units.

Zaza Pachulia (Achilles) out Wednesday

Pachulia has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to right Achilles inflammation, while Jon Leuer remains listed as questionable with a right knee injury, though he’s totaled just under 13 minutes over the span of the Pistons previous 15 games. Following the arrival of Thon Maker at the trade deadline, Pachulia has assumed a minimal role in the frontcourt rotation, and he’s been limited to 10 or fewer minutes in seven of the last eight contests. So, clearly, his absence won’t have too much of an impact on the other Detroit big men, but Andre Drummond could have a slightly higher minute floor and ceiling, and he’s averaged 1.35 DraftKings and 1.41 FanDuel points per minute with a 23.7% usage rate to this point in the season.

Maxi Kleber (knee) unlikely to play Wednesday

Kleber is still technically listed as questionable on the Mavericks’ injury report, but head coach Rick Carlisle did confirm that Kleber is unlikely to play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a left knee effusion, while Dirk Nowitzki was listed as available to play despite rumblings that he could be rested for load management. Kleber has assumed a slightly diminished role in his move to the bench, but he has logged at least 18 minutes in each of the previous four games, though the extent of his playing time is largely based on the opposing frontcourt matchup in a particular contest. Nowitzki has absorbed most of Kleber’s vacated playing time and has played at least 20 minutes in each of the last five contests, but Dwight Powell has actually been the one to take a stranglehold on a large portion of the frontcourt minutes, and he’ll draw a tremendous matchup with a Wizards squad that ranks 26th in defensive rating and second-worst in rebounding rate on the year.

John Collins (illness) available to play Wednesday; Dewayne Dedmon (knee) out

Collins has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Wednesday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs after missing three consecutive games due to flu-like symptoms, while Dewayne Dedmon has been ruled out with a right knee contusion. There’s been no reported minutes restriction for Taurean Prince, but Collins will be limited to 25 minutes at his typical starting power forward position, which will send Kent Bazemore back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a couple of solid fantasy performances in an average of 27.6 minutes in his two latest spot starts. In Dedmon’s absence, Alex Len will remain in the starting lineup for at least one additional game, and even though he’s been inconsistent from a fantasy perspective in his previous two spot starts, he’ll still be worth a look in tournament formats since he’s averaging 1.13 DraftKings and 1.15 FanDuel points per minute with Dedmon and Omari Spellman off the court this season.

Treveon Graham (back) officially out Wednesday

Graham has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks due to a sore back that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Graham had started each of his previous six games at power forward, but he’s been a nominal starter, at best, since he’s failed to eclipse the 20-minute mark in any of these contests. In his absence, Rodions Kurucs will more than likely receive the starting nod at power forward once again, and he was extremely effective from a fantasy standpoint in 24 minutes of action in Monday’s win. However, head coach Kenny Atkinson is notorious for utilizing a deep rotation, so Kurucs will remain nothing more than a punt option in tournaments since no Nets player has averaged north of 30 minutes per game over the last five contests.

Kyrie Irving (thigh) out Wednesday

Irving is a surprise late addition to the Celtics’ injury report and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to a left thigh contusion. In his absence, Terry Rozier will almost certainly receive the starting nod at point guard, and he’ll immediately become a fine value option on tonight’s 10-game slate, even though his price tag is still slightly elevated from the brief stretch of games Irving missed prior to the All-Star break. The unavailability of Irving also sends repercussions throughout the remainder of the backcourt and wing rotations, as Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward will be relied upon to absorb more minutes with Rozier and Marcus Smart having their playing time staggered as the primary ballhandlers in the first and second units. On top of that, Brown, Hayward, and Marcus Morris all own at least a +2.5% usage rate differential and experience a minimum of a +0.08 increase to their per minute production with Irving off the court this season.

Target Leading 3-Point Shooter On This Team Tonight

Minnesota allows the second-most 3PM in the league and ranks 21st in overall scoring defense, and tonight they have to travel to Detroit on the second leg of a back-to-back. Blake Griffin has seen his price dip a bit after a recent slump, but he’ll draw my interest in GPPs with potentially low ownership as he leads all current Pistons this season in 3PM and 3PA.

Jonah Bolden (illness) available to play Wednesday

Bolden has officially been cleared by the Sixers medical staff and will be available to play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls after missing one game due to sinusitis, while Joel Embiid and Boban Marjanovic each remain sidelined with their respective ailments. In Bolden’s absence, Amir Johnson ended up receiving the starting nod in Tuesday’s win, and he provided extensive fantasy value relative to his price tag in 20 minutes of action in his spot start. However, he’ll more than likely head back to the bench to resume a reserve role, while Mike Scott and Ben Simmons will also certainly see their fair share of minutes at the five in smaller lineup combinations as well. Scott has been extremely effective as the sixth-man in each of the previous two games, and he’ll likely be needed to handle a similar minute allotment in a matchup with a lengthy Bulls frontcourt that consists of Robin Lopez and Lauri Markkenen, keeping him firmly in consideration for tournament formats this evening

Tyson Chandler (neck) out Wednesday

Chandler has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a stiff neck that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Brandon Ingram and Lance Stephenson remain questionable with their respective ailments. Kyle Kuzma could miss at least a week of game action with a sprained right ankle, so the Lakers will already be shorthanded in the frontcourt even before Ingram and Stephenson’s statuses have been determined. If Ingram is cleared to return, he would presumably take over Kuzma’s spot in the starting lineup, which would slide LeBron James down to the power forward position and enable JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo to draw yet another start at their respective positions.

DeAndre Jordan (ankle) will start Wednesday

Jordan has officially been upgraded from questionable and will start in Wednesday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns after missing five consecutive games due to a sprained left ankle, while Mario Hezonja and Frank Ntilikina remain sidelined with their respective ailments. There’s been no report of a potential minute restriction for Jordan, so he’ll presumably be able to play his typical 24-28 minutes as the starting center, which will send Luke Kornet back to the bench to resume a reserve role following his disappointing fantasy performance in 26 minutes of action in Monday’s loss.

Jakob Poeltl (hamstring) listed out Wednesday

Poeltl has been downgraded from questionable and is listed as out on the most recent version of the Spurs’ injury report for Wednesday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to a sore left hamstring. Poeltl has started alongside LaMarcus Aldridge in the frontcourt in each of the previous three games, and he’s averaged 26.1 minutes over that span, which will open up a significant amount of minutes in the Spurs frontcourt and likely enable Rudy Gay to rejoin the starting lineup at power forward. Aldridge has already averaged 36.5 minutes over the last four contests, and he could be in line for a similar minute allotment once again with inexperienced rookies Drew Eubanks and Chimezie Metu as the only active players with the size to serve as a traditional backup center when he is off the floor.