DFS Alerts

John Collins (illness) listed as doubtful Monday

Collins has been listed as doubtful on the latest version of the Hawks’ injury report for Monday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to flu-like symptoms that have already forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Taurean Prince remains away from the team and will miss a second straight contest for personal reasons. The Hawks will be without Omari Spellman for at least the next four weeks because of a sprained right ankle, so with Collins unlikely to suit up, Alex Len should receive the starting nod alongside Dewayne Dedmon in the frontcourt once again, and he obliterated his salary-based expectations in 27 minutes of action in his spot start in Sunday’s win. The sample size with Prince, Collins, and all of the departed former Hawks off the court is still relatively limited, but in that time, both Dedmon and Kent Bazemore experience a minimum of a +0.14 increase to their per minute fantasy production, though Dedmon sees the largest usage boost at +3.7% that equates to a 22.0% usage rate overall in this scenario.

Taurean Prince (personal) remains out Monday

Prince has officially been ruled out of Monday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to a personal matter that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while there has yet to be an update on John Collins, who was sidelined for the previous two contests with flu-like symptoms. The Hawks will be without Omari Spellman for at least the next four weeks because of a sprained right ankle, so if Collins is unable to suit up, Alex Len would likely receive the starting nod alongside Dewayne Dedmon in the frontcourt once again, and he obliterated his salary-based expectations in 27 minutes of action in his spot start in Sunday’s win. The sample size with Prince, Collins, and all of the departed former Hawks off the court is still relatively limited, but in that time, both Dedmon and Kent Bazemore experience a minimum of a +0.14 increase to their per minute fantasy production, though Dedmon sees the largest usage boost at +3.7% that equates to a 22.0% usage rate overall in this scenario.

Bounce-Back Performance

If you played DFS on Saturday night, odds are that you had some exposure to Rondo. He was one of the highest owned players of the slate and he put up a dud against the Suns. He struggled from the field and ended up sitting out the entire fourth quarter after the Lakers went on a run without him on the floor. I’m not overly concerned, as Rondo scored 48 and 49 fantasy points in his previous two games. For whatever reason, Rondo loves playing in nationally-televised games. While I’m not 100% positive that NBATV counts, I’ll throw that narrative in as another reason to play Rondo tonight at home against the Clippers.

Sneaky Upside at Point Guard

When a player comes back from an injury, the natural reaction is to fade him in DFS, especially when he’s on a minute restriction. White has been off of the collective DFS radar for quite some time now, so he could slip through the cracks in terms of ownership. He has logged 29 minutes in back-to-back games, scoring 35 fantasy points in each. He can fill up all areas of the stat sheet and his salary has yet to catch up with his recent production.

Increased Role with an Elite Matchup

WCS was very productive early in the season, but eventually Marvin Bagley started cutting into his playing time and his fantasy production. With Bagley set to miss the next couple of weeks, WCS should be back on our radar for DFS. In Saturday’s game against the Clippers, WCS logged 31 minutes and scored 42 fantasy points. Tonight he is playing at home against the Knicks, who are ranked 25th in DvA against post bigs. New York does not rebound well and they are a team that gives up a lot of blocks and steals.

NBA Injury Rundown - Monday, 3/4

Atlanta Hawks – John Collins (TBD), Taurean Prince (TBD), Omari Spellman (O), Miles Plumlee (O)

Miami Heat – Hassan Whiteside (Q), Goran Dragic (Q)

Brooklyn Nets – Treveon Graham (D)

Denver Nuggets – Trey Lyles (O), Michael Porter Jr. (O)

San Antonio Spurs – Bryn Forbes (P), Dejounte Murray (O)

New Orleans Pelicans – Anthony Davis (Q), Dairis Bertans (O), Trevon Bluiett (O)

Utah Jazz – Raul Neto (O), Dante Exum (O), Tony Bradley (O)

Milwaukee Bucks – Ersan Ilyasova (P), George Hill (O), Sterling Brown (O), Donte DiVincenzo (O)

New York Knicks – DeAndre Jordan (Q), Mario Hezonja (O), Frank Ntilikina (O)

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

Los Angeles Lakers – Lance Stephenson (Q), Lonzo Ball (O)

Justin Holiday (knee) and Avery Bradley (knee, wrist) available to play Sunday

Holiday and Bradley have officially had their statuses upgraded and will be available to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder despite dealing with their respective ailments, while Mike Conley was already ruled out with general soreness. Bradley has continued to play through a sore right knee and sore right wrist, but he still managed to log 32 minutes in Saturday’s win, so he’ll more than likely be joined by Delon Wright in the Grizzlies’ starting backcourt this evening. The last time Conley was sidelined, Wright ended up receiving the starting nod at point guard and was serviceable from a fantasy perspective in 35 minutes of action in that contest. Other than Wright, it’s actually been Bradley that’s benefitted the most with Conley and all of the departed former Grizzlies off the court, as he owns a 27.1% usage rate (+3.9%) and is averaging 1.08 DraftKings and 1.06 FanDuel points per minute in a limited sample size.

Mike Conley (soreness) officialy out Sunday

Conley has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to general soreness, while Justin Holiday remains listed as questionable with a sore right knee. Avery Bradley is still listed as probable because of a sore right knee and sore right wrist, but he managed to log 32 minutes in Saturday’s win despite dealing with the aforementioned ailments, so he’ll more than likely be joined by Delon Wright in the Grizzlies’ starting backcourt this evening. The last time Conley was sidelined, Wright ended up receiving the starting nod at point guard and was serviceable from a fantasy perspective in 35 minutes of action in that contest. Other than Wright, it’s actually been Bradley that’s benefitted the most with Conley and all of the departed former Grizzlies off the court, as he owns a 27.1% usage rate (+3.9%) and is averaging 1.08 DraftKings and 1.06 FanDuel points per minute in a limited sample size.

D.J. Augustin (ankle) will start Sunday

Augustin has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers despite dealing with a sprained right ankle he sustained during the first half of Saturday’s win. Augustin confirmed with reporter’s following that game that he was going to do everything he could to play in tonight’s second leg of a back-to-back set, and he’s done just that, as he will start at his customary point guard position this evening. There’s been no report of a minute restriction for Augustin, but if he suffers an in-game setback or is hampered by the ankle, Isaiah Briscoe and Jerian Grant would be next in line for additional playing time, though Briscoe is the one that’s consistently seen over 20 minutes off the bench in recent weeks, making him the preferred target of the two in tournaments on tonight’s four-game slate.

Jeremy Lin will start in place of Kawhi Leonard (rest) on Sunday

Leonard has been added to the Raptors’ injury report and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to rest purposes, the third time he’s done so in the previous eight games, as Toronto is attempting to manage his minute workload as they gear up for a potentially deep run in the playoffs. With Fred VanVleet still sidelined because of left thumb surgery, head coach Nick Nurse has opted to start three different players in Leonard’s place in those contests, and OG Anunoby was the lastest to draw the start at small forward, but Jeremy Lin will start alongside Kyle Lowry in the backcourt instead. Given the current state of the starting lineup and rotation overall, Pascal Siakam appears to be the main beneficiary with Leonard and all of the departed former Raptors off the court, as he owns a 28.6% usage rate (+7.6%) and is averaging 1.35 DraftKings and 1.36 FanDuel points per minute, though Lowry does average 1.30 DraftKings and 1.31 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario as well.

Luol Deng (Achilles) out Sunday

Deng has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a sore right Achilles that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Even with Deng unavailable for Thursday’s loss, Gorgui Dieng continued a stretch of three straight DNP-CDs, 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 both saw playing time ahead of Dieng in the aforementioned contest. Tolliver hasn’t been particularly effective from a fantasy perspective, but he has logged at least 19 minutes in each of the Timberwolves’ previous two games and figures to be a mainstay in the rotation for as long as Deng is sidelined.

Aron Baynes (foot) available to play Sunday

Baynes has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets after missing 11 consecutive games due to a left foot contusion. Head coach Brad Stevens already confirmed that Baynes will be subject to a minute restriction of 12-15 minutes in his first game back, but his return will still limit the upside of Daniel Theis in the Celtics second unit, and Theis could realistically be removed from the rotation entirely with Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward playing much better off the bench in recent games.

Kenneth Faried (hip) will try to play Sunday; Iman Shumpert (calf) officially out

Faried has officially been upgraded from probable and will try to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics after missing one game due to a sore left hip flexor, while Shumpert will miss yet another game with a sore right calf. Eric Gordon and Gerald Green have also been cleared to play, and head coach Mike D’Antoni already confirmed that Gordon will rejoin the starting lineup for today’s contest, which will send Gary Clark back to the bench to resume a reserve role and possibly out of the rotation entirely considering he had accrued five consecutive DNP-CDs prior to logging 32 minutes in his spot start.

Eric Gordon (knee) and Gerald Green (illness) will play Sunday

Gordon and Green have both had their statuses upgraded and will play in Sunday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics after missing one with their respective ailments, while Kenneth Faried remains listed as probable and will be a game-time decision because of a sore left hip flexor. Head coach Mike D’Antoni already confirmed that Gordon will rejoin the starting lineup for today’s contest regardless of Faried’s availability, which will send Gary Clark back to the bench to resume a reserve role and possibly out of the rotation entirely considering he had accrued five consecutive DNP-CDs prior to logging 32 minutes in his spot start.

John Collins (illness) out Sunday; Kevin Huerter (back), Alex Len (knee), and Vince Carter (knee) available to play

Collins has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls due to flu-like symptoms that have now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Huerter, Len, and Carter have all been cleared and will be available to play despite dealing with their respective ailments. With Omari Spellman already ruled out, head coach Lloyd Pierce already confirmed that Alex Len will start alongside Dewayne Dedmon in the frontcourt, and he is coming off of a phenomenal fantasy performance relative to his price tag in 36 minutes of action in Friday’s four-overtime thriller.