DFS Alerts
Jaren Jackson Jr. (quad) out Friday
Jackson Jr. has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a sore right quad, Meanwhile, Joakim Noah, Jevon Carter, and Tyler Dorsey all remain probable with their respective ailments, though Carter and Corsey don’t project to have significant, if any, roles in the rotation even if they’re active with Chandler Parsons and Mike Conley making their returns to the lineup this evening. In Jackson’s absence, Bruno Caboclo will receive the starting nod at power forward, and his playing time had been sporadic of late, as he logged 10 minutes or fewer in two of the previous three games prior to the All-Star break. However, with Jonas Valanciunas also unavailable, Caboclo, Noah, and Ivan Rabb all project to have substantial minute floors in a depleted Grizzlies frontcourt, while Parsons should see nominal minutes at the forward positions in what will be just his fourth game of the season.
As reported by: Rob Fischer via Twitter
Karl-Anthony Towns (concussion) out Friday
Towns has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to a concussion he sustained in a car accident on the way to the airport on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, Gorgui Dieng is currently away from the team and was previously ruled out of tonight’s contest, so with Towns unable to suit up, Taj Gibson and Dario Saric will likely be tasked with absorbing all of the vacated center minutes and Gibson will almost certainly rejoin the starting lineup at the five-spot this evening. Towns hasn’t missed a game this season and has been extremely durable throughout his career, so there isn’t a tremendous sample size with him off the court. However, in that time, Derrick Rose and Andrew Wiggins have been the clear beneficiaries, as they each own at least a +6.7% usage rate differential and experience a minimum of a +0.27 increase to their per minute fantasy production in the aforementioned scenario.
As reported by: Chris Hine via Twitter LaMarcus Aldridge (illness) available to play Friday
Aldridge has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors despite dealing with an illness, while Derrick White has also been cleared to play after missing five consecutive games with a sore right heel. Head coach Gregg Popovich did confirm that White will be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back, but he failed to mention if White would reclaim his customary spot in the starting lineup following a stretch of 23 straight starts prior to his injury. If White does start alongside Bryn Forbes in the backcourt, Davis Bertans would almost certainly head back to the bench to resume a reserve role and Forbes and Patty Mills would possess far less upside with an extra body in the rotation.
As reported by: JeffGSpursZone via Twitter Darius Miller (ankle) officially out Friday
Miller has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to a sprained right ankle. In his absence, Elfrid Payton will likely slot next to Jrue Holiday in the backcourt, which would enable Kenrich Williams to start at small forward alongside Julius Randle and Anthony Davis in the frontcourt. Head coach Alvin Gentry already confirmed that Payton will be on a restriction of 20-25 minutes in his first game back, joining Davis and Holiday among the Pelicans players that will be subject to some typr of minute limitation this evening.
As reported by: Andrew Lopez via Twitter Derrick White (heel) will play with a minute restriction Friday
White has officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors after missing five consecutive games due to a sore right heel, while LaMarcus Aldridge has also been cleared to play despite dealing with an illness. Head coach Gregg Popovich did confirm that White will be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back, but he failed to mention if White would reclaim his customary spot in the starting lineup following a stretch of 23 straight starts prior to his injury. If White does start alongside Bryn Forbes in the backcourt, Davis Bertans would almost certainly head back to the bench to resume a reserve role and Forbes and Patty Mills would possess far less upside with an extra body in the rotation.
As reported by: Michael C. Wright via Twitter Kevin Huerter (ankle) officially out Friday
Huerter has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to a sprained right ankle. In his absence, Kent Bazemore will receive the starting nod at the shooting guard position alongside Taurean Prince on the wing, and he managed to log 27 minutes in relief of Huerter in the Hawks final game before the All-Star break, giving him a solid minute floor and vaulting him into consideration as a value option for all daily fantasy formats on tonight’s nine-game slate.
As reported by: Brad Rowland via Twitter Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (oblique) available to play Friday
Luwawu-Cabarrot has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic despite dealing with a right oblique contusion. There have been no reports of a potential minute restriction for Luwawu-Cabarrot, so he’ll presumably resume his typical role off the bench that has enabled him to average 16.7 minutes as a member of the Bulls over his previous five games.
As reported by: K.C. Johnson via Twitter Myles Turner (hip) out Friday; Tyreke Evans (ankle) will play
Turner has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a bruised left hip, while Evans has been cleared and will play despite dealing with a sore left ankle. In Turner’s absence, head coach Nate McMillan plans to start Kyle O’Quinn at center in order to keep the rotation intact and allow Domantas Sabonis to continue coming off the bench in his typical sixth-man role. However, Sabonis will still be an excellent option for all daily fantasy formats on tonight’s nine-game slate, as he’s been stellar from a fantasy perspective in the five games Turner has been sidelined this season.
As reported by: Jeremiah Johnson via Twitter Other tagged players: Tyreke Evans Minutes + Matchup
Wes Matthews has never been a strong per minute fantasy producer but is a guy that can fill up the stat sheet if given minutes. Matthews immediately jumped into a starting role and 30+ minutes with his new team and could see both an expanded role and usage on Friday night depending on how injury news breaks – both Myles Turner (usage) and Tyreke Evans (minutes) are currently listed as questionable. The matchup for the Pacers is a good one as New Orleans plays at the sixth fastest pace in the league and ranks bottom third in the league in most defensive categories. Matthews doesn’t have a lot of sex appeal but is set up to surprise with a big game if things break his way.
Turn Back the Clock
It’s turn back the clock night as Joakim Noah rates as the top value play on Friday’s slate. With Marc Gasol out of town, and his replacement Jonas Valanciunas not in the lineup, Noah should see his role expand into mid-20’s minutes. Not only should Noah see an expanded role, but the matchup is a good one against the Clippers. Per the RotoGrinders Defense vs Archetype Matchup Tool, the Clippers allow the second most fantasy points per game to opposing ‘Post Bigs’.
Potential Expanded Role
Three players have logged minutes at the Center position for the Timberwolves this year – Karl-Anthony Towns (Questionable), Gorgui Dieng (Out) and Taj Gibson. Gibson’s recent move to the bench has solidified his minutes in the low-20’s but he could be looking at an expanded role on Friday night. Gibson will become chalk if KAT is announced out (keep an eye on our alerts!) but I still think he is an upside value play (with a low floor) if KAT is able to suit up.
The Grizzles' Only Hope
Conley has struggled in his last three matchups before the All-Star break, especially from the field after shooting 3-for-11 in two games and 4-for-15 in the third. But if you look at this team, he really is the only guy who can create his own shot. I think Conley will look to be aggressive after getting some much-needed rest from the break. He should be able to come out and have a strong showing against a team that has struggled to defend the point guard position. At $7,600 on DraftKings, he could out-perform that price tag in a big way.
Luka Doncic (ankle) listed as questionable Friday
Doncic has been included on the most recent version of the Mavericks’ injury report and is listed as questionable for Friday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a sore right ankle, while J.J. Barea and Kristaps Porzingis remain sidelined with their respective ailments and neither are expected to be available for the remainder of the season. Doncic has been an excellent source of fantasy value following the departure of Dennis Smith Jr. to the New York Knicks via trade, as he’s exceeded his salary-based expectations in five of the previous six games while averaging 33.5 minutes per contest over that span. If Doncic is unable to suit up, Jalen Brunson would be the likeliest candidate to draw the start at point guard, and he’d certainly be in play as a viable punt option in all fantasy formats in this scenario. In fact, Brunson owns a 25.6% usage rate (+6.2%) and is averaging 1.10 DraftKings and 1.08 FanDuel points per minute with Doncic and all of the departed Mavericks off the court this season.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report This MVP Candidate Make For a Nice Pivot
George has played some of the best basketball of his career in the first half of the season. His price tag across all sites definitely reflects that, but I do still think he is a great pivot off of Westbrook tonight. I feel like PG13’s ownership will be very low because people are still afraid of taking players against this Jazz team. The Thunder are one of the teams with the fastest pace of play in the league, and when you couple that with the fact that George has taken 22 or more shots in his last three games while playing over 40 minutes, that tells me that the opportunity will be there.
Paying Up at Center
Jokic goes up against a Dallas team that is really weak at the center spot after the trade of DeAndre Jordan. His size and versatility is going to make things tough on the bigs for Dallas. In his last four games, Jokic has recorded a triple double three times, and he has scored over 60 fantasy points in each contest. He has already dominated this Mavs team once, and I think tonight could be more of the same.