DFS Alerts

The Best Combination of Circumstances

I do not love Trae Young as an NBA player, but there are times when we have to put our biases aside. Tonight is one of those nights. The Hawks have reached a buyout agreement with Jeremy Lin, and Jaylen Adams might not play tonight. That leaves the team without a true backup point guard, which should leave tons of minutes available for Young. This is also the ideal matchup for his skill set, as two fast paced teams are matching up as the Hawks battle the Lakers. For one night only, I’m comfortable with Young’s upside as a GPP option.

Intriguing Value

Reggie Bullock is certainly not a sexy option from a DFS perspective, but he carries weight as a value option on tonight’s short five game slate. He started and played 31 minutes in his Lakers debut, and tonight’s matchup against the Hawks features two of the fastest paced teams in the NBA. We will want to target this game heavily, and Bullock should be able to get some open three point looks in this game. Give him a peek as a way to get affordable exposure to a high scoring contest.

NBA Injury Rundown - Tuesday, 2/12

Los Angeles Lakers – LeBron James (P), Josh Hart (O), Lonzo Ball (O)

Atlanta Hawks – Jaylen Adams (Q), Miles Plumlee (O)

Boston Celtics – Kyrie Irving (O), Aron Baynes (O)

San Antonio Spurs – Rudy Gay (P), Lonnie Walker (O), Derrick White (O), Dejounte Murray (O)

Memphis Grizzlies – Kyle Anderson (O), Dillon Brooks (O), Chandler Parsons (O)

Orlando Magic – Wes Iwundu (Q), Mohamed Bamba (O), Markelle Fultz (O), Timofey Mozgov (O)

New Orleans Pelicans – Elfrid Payton (Q), Trevon Bluiett (O)

Golden State Warriors – Andre Iguodala (Q), Jacob Evans (O), Damian Jones (O)

Paul Millsap (ankle) available to play Monday

Millsap has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Miami Heat after missing three consecutive games due to a sore right ankle, while Gary Harris will miss a sixth consecutive game with a strained right adductor that could keep him sidelined until after the All-Star break. The return of Millsap will likely send Mason Plumlee back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a stretch of solid fantasy performances in an average of 32.5 minutes over the Nuggets previous three games. Additionally, Trey Lyles will see his role in the second unit diminished after he logged a minimum of 22 minutes over the aforementioned time span. Other than Malik Beasley, it’s actually been Nikola Jokic that continues to thrive with Harris off the court, as he owns a 30.7% usage rate (+2.2%) and is averaging 1.61 DraftKings and 1.60 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.

Jeff Teague (foot) and Jerryd Bayless (toe) available to play Monday

Teague and Bayless have both officially had their status upgraded and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers despite dealing with their respective ailments, while Jones will join Andrew Wiggins on the Timberwolves’ inactive list for tonight’s contest. Even with Teague returning for Friday’s loss, Isaiah Canaan drew the start at point guard and was solid from a fantasy perspective in 31 minutes of action in his spot start, but he’ll more than likely head back to the bench and possibly out of the rotation with Teague and Derrick Rose, who has missed six of the last seven games with a sore right ankle, active this evening. Luol Deng has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Wiggins in the starting lineup, and Deng logged 31 minutes off the bench in the Timberwolves previous game, putting him in consideration as a punt option in tournaments. Other than Rose, who could be limited, Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson have been the main beneficiaries with Wiggins off the court, as they each own at least a +6.6% usage rate differential and experience a +0.22 increase to their per minute production in this scenario.

Dennis Schroder (personal) out Monday

Schroder is a late addition to the Thunder’s injury report and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers due to personal reasons, while Jerami Grant was already ruled out with a sprained right ankle. In Grant’s absence, head coach Billy Donovan will likely fill his role in the rotation by some type of committee, but Patrick Patterson should start at power forward and absorb the largest portion of those vacated minutes. As for Schroders’ unavailability, Raymond Felton will likely serve as the backup behind Russell Westbrook at point guard, and Deonte Burton or even Hamidou Diallo should help fill out the rotation on the wing and the forward positions sans Schroder and Grant this evening. Other than members of the second unit, Russell Westbrook has been the main beneficiary with Schroder and Grant off the court, as he owns a 35.4% usage rate (+3.4%) and is averaging 1.68 DraftKings and 1.67 FanDuel points per minute in a 90.0 minutes sample size.

Andrew Wiggins (illness) out Monday

Wiggins has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers due to an illness, while Jerryd Bayless remains questionable and Tyus Jones is doubtful with their respective ailments. Even with Jeff Teague returning for Friday’s loss, Isaiah Canaan drew the start at point guard and was solid from a fantasy perspective in 31 minutes of action in his spot start, but he’ll more than likely head back to the bench and possibly out of the rotation with Teague and Derrick Rose, who has missed six of the last seven games with a sore right ankle, expected to be active this evening. Luol Deng has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Wiggins in the starting lineup, and Deng logged 31 minutes off the bench in the Timberwolves previous game, putting him in consideration as a punt option in tournaments. Other than Rose, who could be limited, Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson have been the main beneficiaries with Wiggins off the court, as they each own at least a +6.6% usage rate differential and experience a +0.22 increase to their per minute production in this scenario.

Ante Zizic (back) out Monday

Zizic has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to a sore lower back, while Cedi Osman was also already ruled out with a sprained right ankle that’s now forced him to miss four consecutive games. Zizic’s minute floor is a lot less stable with Kevin Love back in the fold, and he’s been limited to fewer than 17 minutes in each of the previous two games despite Love totaling just seven minutes over that span, signaling that he may find himself out of the rotation entirely once Love is able to handle more playing time. Larry Nance has been the main beneficiary in the last two contests with Osman sidelined and Zizic taking on a lesser role in the rotation, as he’s easily exceeded his salary-based expectations and averaged 36 minutes as the Cavaliers starting center.

Jeff Green (hip) available to play Monday

Green has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons despite dealing with left hip tightness, while Tomas Satoransky was already ruled out for personal reasons and is currently away from the team. If Green is limited in any way, Jabari Parker appears to be the likeliest candidate to see increased playing time since Parker started the second half of the previous contest and ended up logging 35 minutes in relief. As for Satoransky’s absence, Chasson Randle will draw the start at point guard, and he’s coming off of a solid fantasy performance in 25 minutes of action off the bench his last time out. The sample size for this new-look Wizards squad with Satoransky off the court is still tremendously small, but in that time, Randle, Parker, Trevor Ariza, and Bradley Beal have all experienced significant increases to their per minute fantasy production.

Devonte’ Graham (illness) out Monday

Graham is a late addition to the Hornets’ injury report and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to an illness, while Tony Parker will remain sidelined for a third consecutive game with a strained back. Parker has been unavailable for nine games to this point in the season, and in those contests, Graham has typically stepped into the backup role behind Kemba Walker at point guard. Unfortunately, with Graham largely out of the rotation most nights, Shelvin Mack should absorb most, if not, all of Parker’s vacated minutes in the second unit in his Hornets debut, which leaves very little else for anyone else in the rotation to benefit. To make matters worse, Mack can’t be realistically considered in any daily fantasy formats on a nine-game slate considering his capped minutes ceilings in the high-teens or low-20s in a mostly healthy Hornets rotation outside of point guard.

Myles Turner (knee) listed as available Monday

Turner has had his status upgraded on the most recent version of the Pacers’ injury report and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets despite dealing with a sore right knee, while Doug McDermott is also available to play after missing five consecutive games with bruised ribs. McDermott wasn’t able to participate in Sunday’s practice, so it remains to be seen how much he’s actually able to play this evening. That issue will be mitigated by the debut of Wesley Matthews, who is expected to start alongside Bojan Bogdanovic on the wing, and will send Tyreke Evans to the bench to assume a reserve role after he logged 17 or fewer minutes as a starter in three of the last five games. Even so, Matthews will be difficult to trust in daily fantasy formats in his first game as a member of the Pacers, especially with their current depth in Aaron Holiday and Edmond Sumner at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.

DeMarre Carroll (knee) out Monday

Carroll has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors due to a sore left knee, while Jared Dudley and Spencer Dinwiddie remain sidelined with their respective ailments. In Carroll’s absence, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Allen Crabbe, and Caris LeVert should form a committee to absorb the vacated playing time in the second unit, though the Nets will be careful with LeVert as he works his way back from a gruesome ankle injury and he’s unlikely to see much more than the 15 minutes he logged in Friday’s loss. Since Carroll isn’t a high usage player, his absence doesn’t open up a ton of extra usage in either the first or second units, but D’Angelo Russell does average 1.42 DraftKings and 1.36 FanDuel points per minute with Carroll, Dudley, and Dinwiddie off the court this season.

Doug McDermott (ribs) available to play Monday

McDermott has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets after missing five consecutive games due to bruised ribs, while Myles Turner remains questionable with a sore right knee. McDermott wasn’t able to participate in Sunday’s practice, so it remains to be seen how much he’s actually able to play this evening. That issue will be mitigated by the debut of Wesley Matthews, who is expected to start alongside Bojan Bogdanovic on the wing, which will send Tyreke Evans to the bench to assume a reserve role after he logged 17 or fewer minutes in three of the last five games. Even so, Matthews will be difficult to trust in daily fantasy formats in his first game as a member of the Pacers, especially with their current depth in Aaron Holiday and Edmond Sumner at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.

Fred VanVleet (thumb) out at least three weeks

VanVleet has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets due to a partially torn ligament in his left thumb that is expected to keep him sidelined for at least three weeks. VanVleet saw his playing time drastically reduced in the Raptors new-look second unit in Saturday’s win, as he was limited to just 20 minutes with Patrick McCaw receiving significant run for a second straight contest. As of yesterday Jordan Loyd and Chris Boucher were in the G-League, but Loyd appears extremely likely to be recalled for tonight’s contest since Toronto has no other natural point guards on their active roster following the departure of Delon Wright to Memphis via trade. However, if he’s unable to join the big club in time, McCaw could be in line for an uptick in minutes as the de facto point guard in the second unit, as Jeremy Lin isn’t expected to clear waivers for another 48 hours, clearing the way for him to officially sign a contract with the Raptors for the remainder of the season.

My Night Depends On This Team

Nwaba is always a risk, and that goes for anyone when it comes to Cleveland. With that said, he played 29 minutes against Washington on Friday, and they said they would monitor his minutes in the back-to-back against the Pacers. I’m hoping we see him play around 30 minutes tonight against New York, and I’m hoping we get him at lower ownership. New York allows the most fantasy points to opposing wing players.