DFS Alerts

Gary Harris (groin) unlikely to play Friday

Harris is still technically listed as questionable on the Nuggets’ injury report, but head coach Mike Malone confirmed with reporters that Harris is “highly, highly” unlikely to play in Friday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a sore right groin, while Jamal Murray will miss a fourth consecutive game with a sprained left ankle. In Harris’ absence, either Torrey Craig or Malik Beasley will enter the starting lineup alongside Will Barton on the wing, though Beasley is the preferred option of the two in daily fantasy formats regardless of starting lineup. In fact, Beasley and Nikola Jokic have actually been the main beneficiaries with Harris and Murray off the court this season, as they each own at least a +5.0% usage rate differential and experience a minimum increase of +0.11 to their per minute fantasy production.

Jaren Jackson Jr. (quad) and Garrett Temple (shoulder) officially out Friday

Jackson Jr. has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets due to a sore right quad, while Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson were already previously ruled out with their respective ailments. The Grizzlies are still without Garrett Temple as well, which means that they will be without four of their regular starters for tonight’s contest and will allow Shelvin Mack, Jevon Carter, and JaMychal Green to enter the starting lineup this evening. Given the rash of injuries, there obviously isn’t a significant sample size with all of the unavailable players off the court together this season, but Mack will assume a large portion of the ballhandling and playmaking responsibilities at a bargain price tag across the industry. Additionally, Marc Gasol figures to shoulder a majority of the load offensively and makes him an intriguing tournament target on tonight’s five-game slate.

Steven Adams (ankle) and Terrance Ferguson (back) will start Friday

Adams has officially been upgraded from questionable and will start in Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat after missing one game due to a sprained right ankle, while Ferguson will also return from a one-game absence because of back spasms. Their return to the starting lineup will send Nerlens Noel and Hamidou Diallo back to the bench to resume their normal reserve roles, and Noel was phenomenal from a fantasy perspective in 34 minutes of action in Tuesday’s win. Diallo was far less impressive in his 17 minutes and remains a candidate to rack up another DNP-CD in tonight’s contest, something he’s done in three of the Thunder’s last four games.

Dwyane Wade (knee) available to play Friday

Wade has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing one game due to a sore right knee. Meanwhile, head coach Erik Spoelstra already confirmed that Tyler Johnson will replace Wayne Ellington in the starting lineup following Ellington’s serviceable two-game stretch as a starter in an average of 31.8 minutes per contest. There are a few extra available minutes in the second unit with Derrick Jones Jr. still sidelined, which should be distributed in some combination to Ellington and Kelly Olynyk, both of whom have accrued a plethora of DNP-CDs in recent weeks with the Heat largely at full strength.

Tony Parker (ankle) available to play Friday

Parker has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies after missing one game due to a sore right ankle. His return will demote Devonte’ Graham from the regular rotation following his underwhelming fantasy outing in 19 minutes of action off the bench, despite there being a plethora of garbage time minutes available in a blowout loss.

Luke Kornet (ankle) listed as available Friday

Kornet has been listed as available on the most recent version of the Knicks’ injury report for Friday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics after missing five consecutive games due to a sprained left ankle. There’s been no word if Kornet will reclaim his spot in the starting lineup from Lance Thomas, who has started the past five games at power forward and averaged 19.3 minutes over that span, but either way, Kornet figures to have a significant role in the rotation and limits the upside of Noah Vonleh and the remaining members of the frontcourt. None of the players acquired in the Kristaps Porzingis trade will be available to play in tonight’s contest, which led to the Knicks recalling Isaiah Hicks from the G-League and gives them 11 active players, though most of that depth is at the frontcourt positions. This will leave Damyean Dotson, Allonzo Trier, and Kadeem Allen vying for essentially all of the vacated playing time at the point guard and shooting guard positions and should provide each of them a healthy minutes floor for daily fantasy formats this evening.

Inconsistent Production, Low Price Tag

Somewhat surprisingly, Paul Millsap is the guy that has seen the biggest increase in fantasy production with Jamal Murray off the court this season as the Nuggets’ forward sees increased productivity across the stat sheet with no Murray. Millsap has seen his price lower due to inconsistent production and now stands out as one of the better point-per-dollar plays at the forward position on Friday’s 5-game slate.

Thin Guard Rotation

It’s safe to say that yesterday’s trade combined with injuries to Emmanuel Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina has left the Knicks guard rotation extremely thin. Enter Kadeem Allen who will likely draw the start at PG for the Knicks on Friday night and has produced when given the minutes. Allen has posted strong per game totals in the GLeague this season (14.7 ppg, 6.3 apg, 5.3 rpg, 1.6 spg) and while it’s unrealistic to expect that production to transfer to the NBA level the Knicks guard only needs about 20 fantasy points fo pay of his dirt cheap price tag.

Chris Paul (back) will play Friday

Paul has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets despite dealing with a sore lower back, while Nene’s status has yet to be determined and is a candidate to be rested on the front end of the Rockets’ current back-to-back set. Nene was supposed to serve as the primary center in the absence of Clint Capela, but the emergence of Kenneth Faried has limited him to 12 minutes or fewer in each of his last four games. As for Paul, he’s been limited to roughly 25 minutes per game in his first two contests since returning from a lengthy injury hiatus due to a strained left hamstring, though head coach Mike D’Antoni did state that Paul would see his minutes increased this evening. The presence of Paul hasn’t managed to slow down James Harden, as he’s still recorded a 44.1% usage rate and is averaging 1.85 DraftKings and 1.83 FanDuel points per minute over the previous two games.

This Reserve Guard is Flourishing With Additional Minutes

Denver guard Monte Morris was outstanding filling in for Jamal Murray on Wednesday, putting up 20 points with 7 rebounds and 7assists, and Morris should see minutes again tonight with guard Gary Harris questionable. Morris has been excellent from distance this season ranking 7th in the league in 3P% (.444%) while averaging 10.2 ppg mostly in a reserve role. The Nuggets play Houston tonight and are 4.5 point favorites at home in a game with the second-highest over/under on the night.

Target This Team's Guards Against a Weak Perimeter Defense

Atlanta has had defensive issues all season, ranking last in the league in points per game allowed and 26th in the league in 3-pointers allowed per game. That could spell big nights for Utah’s backcourt, Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio. Mitchell leads the team in scoring with 22.5 ppg, and had an outstanding January averaging 27.7 ppg and 5.1 apg, while Rubio leads the team in assists with 6.1 apg. Joe Ingles could also be a beneficiary of the Hawks defense, with 4.9 apg and 2.0 3PM per game.

Breaking Rules

I typically have a pretty strict ‘don’t play Kyle Anderson’ rule that I live by but there’s a chance I break it tonight. Anderson rates as a neutral value as is and could find himself in an even more fantasy friendly scenario if Mike Conley is unable to play on Friday night. Conley didn’t participate in shootaround on Friday and seems to be trending more towards the ‘doubtful’ side of questionable. Conley is the Grizzlies’ highest usage player this season so his absence would mean more offensive responsibility for the remainder of the roster. Anderson isn’t a high usage player but a shortened guard rotation (Temple is also doubtful) means solidified minutes for a guy that is cheap and should see at least a small increase in workload.

NBA Injury Rundown - Friday, 2/1

Memphis Grizzlies – Mike Conley (Q), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Q), Garrett Temple (D), Omri Casspi (O), Dillon Brooks (O)

Charlotte Hornets – Tony Parker (P)

New York Knicks – Luke Kornet (P), Emmanuel Mudiay (O), Dennis Smith Jr. (O), DeAndre Jordan (O), Wesley Matthews (O)

Oklahoma City Thunder – Steven Adams (Q), Terrance Ferguson (Q), Andre Roberson (O)

Miami Heat – Dwyane Wade (P), Derrick Jones Jr. (O), Goran Dragic (O)

Atlanta Hawks – Tyler Dorsey (P), Miles Plumlee (O)

Houston Rockets – Chris Paul (Q), Clint Capela (O)

Denver Nuggets – Gary Harris (Q), Jamal Murray (O), Isaiah Thomas (O), Michael Porter Jr. (O)

Klay Thompson (illness) out Thursday

Thompson is an extremely late addition to the Warriors’ injury report and won’t play in Thursday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to an illness. In his absence, head coach Steve Kerr has opted to go big with his starting unit to match the Sixers length, and Alfonzo McKinnie will start at the shooting guard position, which should also allow Shaun Livingston to see a slight uptick in playing time off the bench and Quinn Cook could enter the rotation after being a DNP-CD in two of the last three games. DeMarcus Cousins has only played in five games since returning from a ruptured Achilles tendon, so the sample size with Thompson of the court may be a bit skewed for Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, but they each still own at least a 39.2% usage rate (+6.4%) and experience a minimum increase of +0.24 to their per minute fantasy production in this scenario.

Avery Bradley (knee) will play Thursday

Even though head coach Doc Rivers originally said he doubts Bradley would play, Bradley has confirmed with reporters himself that he will play in Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers despite dealing with a sore right knee. Meanwhile, Danilo Gallinari will remain sidelined because of lower back spasms, and the Clippers have continued to go small without him over the last six contests, as Patrick Beverley has been inserted into the starting lineup as the third guard and played at least 34 minutes in every game over that span. Beverley has certainly delivered as a starter by averaging 0.94 DraftKings and 0.96 FanDuel points per minute, but Lou Williams still leads the team with a 37.1% usage rate and is averaging 1.44 DraftKings and 1.42 FanDuel points per minute over that same timeframe.