DFS Alerts

Terrence Ross (Achilles) out Tuesday

After briefly being considered a game-time decision, Ross has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a sore left Achilles. Ross has essentially been Orlando’s sixth-man for a majority of the season, and he’s logged at least 26 minutes in five of the previous six games, so now that it’s been confirmed he’s unable to suit up, his absence will open up a significant amount of playing time for Evan Fournier, Wesley Iwundu, and Isaiah Briscoe on the wing in both the first and second units and possibly even enable Jerian Grant to rejoin the rotation in nominal fashion following a DNP-CD in Sunday’s loss. However, Nikola Vucevic remains the clear Magic player to target in all formats, as he draws an otherworldly matchup with a depleted Sixers frontcourt and owns a 28.6% usage rate while averaging 1.48 DraftKings and 1.50 FanDuel points per minute on the year.

Jonah Bolden (illness) out Tuesday; Amir Johnson (back) will play

Bolden has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic due to sinusitis, while Johnson has been cleared to return from a one-game absence stemming from a tight upper back. The Sixers are still without Joel Embiid and Boban Marjanovic, so Johnson can be pretty safely projected for a decent workload as the starting center in tonight’s contest, though Mike Scott and Ben Simmons will also certainly see their fair share of minutes at the five in smaller lineup combinations and an appearance from Justin Patton, who’s yet to play a minute in the NBA this year, is possible as well. Scott was extremely valuable from a fantasy perspective in 32 minutes of action as the sixth-man in Saturday’s loss, and he’ll likely be needed to handle a similar minute allotment in a matchup with a lengthy Magic frontcourt that consists of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Jonathan Isaac, keeping him firmly in consideration for tournament formats this evening.

Klay Thompson (knee) out Tuesday; Andre Iguodala (back) will play

Thompson has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics due to a sore right knee that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Iguodala will play despite dealing with a tight lower back. Additionally, Alfonzo McKinnie remains listed as probable, and he ended up drawing the start alongside Kevin Durant on the wing in Saturday’s win before exiting during the first half with a left hip contusion. In his stead, Damion Lee started at shooting guard to begin the second half of that contest and was relatively effective from a fantasy standpoint in 26 minutes of action, shedding some doubt on who will receive the starting nod at the two-guard position if McKinnie is good to go this evening. Unsurprisingly, both Durant and Stephen Curry have been the largest beneficiaries with Thompson off the court this season, as they each own at least a +7.1% usage rate differential and experience a minimum of a +0.12 increase to their per minute fantasy production, though Curry does lead the way with a massive 41.2% usage rate overall in this scenario.

Cash Game Lock

The Magic have been the number one defense in basketball over the last 10 games, which limits my interest in a full Sixers’ stack. With that said, it’s hard not to like Tobias Harris here. He has averaged 42 fantasy points over his last four games and should push for 38-40 minutes tonight. He’s filling up all areas of the stat sheet and his price is more than fair on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Harris offers a high floor and a high ceiling, which is exactly what I look for in cash games.

Finding Form or a Flash in the Pan?

I had to do a double-take when I pulled up Avery Bradley’s game log. Over his last four games, he has scored 30, 45, 30, and 47 fantasy points. He has played at least 32 minutes in each of those games and has averaged well over a fantasy point per minute during that stretch. This is a far stretch from the Bradley that we’ve seen over the last couple of seasons, but it looks a lot like the Bradley that we saw in Boston. I’m willing to ride the hot streak tonight at a price of only $4,400 on DraftKings.

High Floor at this Price Point

Al-Farouq Aminu rarely cracks the 30 minute mark, but that doesn’t he doesn’t offer a high floor. He has scored at least 20 fantasy points in nine of his last 10 games. At a price of only $4,000 on DraftKings, he only needs 20 fantasy points to reach value. This makes him a strong play in cash games and in tournaments, given the fact that his ownership will be reasonable. He draws an exploitable matchup against the Grizzlies, who are ranked 29th in efficiency against power forwards over the last 10 games.

Paul George (shoulder) listed as questionable Tuesday

George has been listed as questionable on the most recent version of the Thunder’s injury report for Tuesday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a sore right shoulder that has already forced him to miss three consecutive games. In his absence, Dennis Schroder has started each of the previous two games alongside Russell Westbrook in the backcourt, and as usual, he’s been a phenomenal source of fantasy value as a member of the starting unit and has averaged 35.1 minutes per game during George’s latest injury hiatus. There’s been no report of a potential minute restriction for George if he’s able to return for tonight’s contest, and head coach Billy Donovan even stated that George was able to do a lot more work at shootaround this morning, signaling he may be ready to go this evening. If George is cleared to play, it would be a knock to the projected values of Schroder and Terrance Ferguson, but especially Ferguson, who would likely see his minutes plummet with George present in the starting lineup.

Plays Well Against His Former Team

I don’t like playing the whole narrative card, but J.J. Redick has always played well against the Orlando Magic. J.J. Redick has played over 30 minutes in four of the last six games he’s played against the Orlando Magic. He has at least 35 fantasy points in those four games and has over 40 fantasy points in three of those games. With Embiid out and Butler banged up, look for Redick to take some extra shots tonight.

Luol Deng (Achilles) out Tuesday

Deng has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a sore right Achilles that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games. Even with Deng unavailable for the previous two contests, Gorgui Dieng has totaled just two minutes in garbage time, and head coach Ryan Saunders seems to prefer going smaller at the power forward position than his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, as Anthony Tolliver and Keita Bates-Diop have both seen playing time ahead of Dieng over this span. Tolliver hasn’t been particularly effective from a fantasy perspective, but he has logged at least 19 minutes in two of the Timberwolves’ last three games and figures to be a mainstay in the rotation for as long as Deng is sidelined.

The Forgotten Man

Adams gets lost in the shuffle thanks to the presence of two big names in Westbrook and George, but he has been a steady performer for the Thunder this year. He has also shown more upside of late, grabbing at least 13 rebounds in each of the three games that Paul George missed last week. Expect him to be able to continue that trend, and the DFS price still seems very affordable. Give him a look as a mid-range play tonight.

Monitor The News!

This team is very banged up on the interior right now. Embiid and Boban remain sidelined, and both Jonah Bolden and Amir Johnson are questionable for tonight’s game. If all of these players are out, we could be staring at massive minutes for Mike Scott. He has been solid over the last two games and would be an obvious value on this slate if he is one of the only healthy big men. He’s playing with confidence right now, and we need to give him a look, especially if he ends up grabbing a starting role.

Searching For GPP Upside

LaVine’s performances have been a little hit or miss of late, but he certainly brings upside to the table. He has gone for 30+ actual points in three of his last five games, but the other two have been duds. This is the perfect example of a player that we like to target in tournaments, and he will get ignored tonight with a difficult matchup against the Pacers. LaVine is not afraid to look for his shot, and he’s a worthwhile target at the shooting guard spot this evening.

Still Too Cheap

Paul George has been ruled out for the fourth straight game. Russell Westbrook will continue to thrive as long as George is sidelined, though it’s worth noting that Westbrook has struggled a bit over the past two games. Dennis Schroder is the big winner as long as George is sidelined, and he dominated with a 17/12/6 line on Sunday against the Grizzlies. As long as Schroder’s DFS price tag remains reasonable, he will be a fine mid-range option.

NBA Injury Rundown - Tuesday, 3/5

Philadelphia 76ers – Jonah Bolden (Q), Amir Johnson (Q), Joel Embiid (O), Boban Marjanovic (O), Furkan Korkmaz (O)

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

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

Memphis Grizzlies – Avery Bradley (P), Ivan Rabb (Q), Jaren Jackson Jr. (O), Kyle Anderson (O), Dillon Brooks (O)

Oklahoma City Thunder – Paul George (O), Andre Roberson (O)

Minnesota Timberwolves – Luol Deng (Q), Robert Covington (O)

Golden State Warriors – Alfonzo McKinnie (P), Klay Thompson (Q), Andre Iguodala (Q), Kevon Looney (O), Damian Jones (O)

Brandon Ingram (shoulder) out Monday

Ingram 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, while Tyson Chandler and Lance Stephenson have already been ruled out with their respective ailments. In Ingram’s absence, JaVale McGee will more than likely rejoin the starting lineup, which will slide Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James up to the power forward and small forward positions, respectively. Head coach Luke Walton has been adamant recently that he wants to shorten his rotation for the final playoff push and it’s unlikely that Stephenson would have made the cut with Reggie Bullock now in the fold on the wing and Josh Hart assuming the backup point guard responsibilities. As for Chandler, he’s either been a DNP-CD or played fewer than six minutes in all but one game since the All-Star break, so clearly his unavailability is irrelevant to the projections of the remaining frontcourt members and allows McGee, Kuzma, James, and Mike Muscala to continue absorbing all of the available minutes at the five-spot in tonight’s contest and for the foreseeable future.