DFS Alerts
Zach LaVine (ankle) and Lauri Markkanen (hip) will play Sunday
LaVine and Markkanen have both officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers despite dealing with a sore left foot and a sore left hip, respectively, while Chandler Hutchison was diagnosed with a fractured right toe and won’t be re-evaluated until after the All-Star break. In Hutchison’s absence, Wayne Selden will slot into the starting lineup at small forward, but he’s been mostly unusable for daily fantasy formats even though he’s logged at least 18 minutes off the bench in six of the Bulls last eight games. Since Hutchison is a relatively low-usage player, his unavailability won’t have too much of an impact on the usage dispersion in the starting unit, but with him and Wendell Carter Jr. off the court, Bobby Portis owns a 27.4% usage rate and is averaging 1.20 DraftKings and 1.18 FanDuel points per minute and could demand even more usage off the bench in today’s contest.
As reported by: K.C. Johnson via Twitter Other tagged players: Lauri Markkanen
Chris Paul (hamstring) intends to play Sunday
Paul is still technically listed as questionable the Rockets’ injury report, but he reportedly plans to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic after missing 17 consecutive games due to a strained left hamstring. There hasn’t been any confirmation from the team or head coach Mike D’Antoni, but Paul will likely be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back, though he is still expected to reclaim his spot in the starting lineup from either Austin Rivers or Eric Gordon this evening. While Paul won’t be in consideration for daily fantasy formats himself, his presence in the rotation still could be a bit of a hindrance to the potential fantasy value of James Harden, who has seen his usage rate dip to 36.7% (-6.6%) with an average of 1.31 DraftKings and 1.28 FanDuel points per minute with Paul on the court the season.
As reported by: Tim MacMahon via Twitter Far From Favorable
The matchup is far from favorable for Karl-Anthony Towns but the matchup matters a bit less when you are your entire team’s offense. Towns only played 29 minutes against the Jazz due to foul trouble on Friday but was still able to put up 60+ fantasy points on the back of a 33/10 game. As Chris Paul is expected back for the Rockets you could make the argument that KAT is the top spend of the slate. However, if Paul ends up being a surprise inactive I would be interested in finding the salary to play Harden over KAT.
Other tagged players: James Harden
Ironman
LaMarcus Aldridge is an ironman. LMA has yet to miss a game for the Spurs this season and has done the heavy lifting when one of the other starters has sat with an injury. Aldridge may have a chance to put the team on his back once again in a favorable matchup against the Wizards as DeMar DeRozan is once again questionable with a knee injury. Aldridge has been a usage beast with DDR off the court this year as he’s posted a 36.2% usage rate without DDR and is averaging 11 more fantasy points per 36 minutes. Aldridge is a strong play if DDR is active but becomes a core play if DDR is unable to suit up.
His Old Self
I’m typically a bit skeptical when coaches say there won’t be a minutes restriction when a player returns from injury but there was certainly no restriction on Rondo who saw 37 minutes of court time and topped 48 fantasy points in his first game back from injury. Rondo looked like his old self, stuffing the stat sheet and he gets an even better matchup his second game back against a Phoenix defense that rank third to last in points per 100 possessions allowed (114.2) and second to last in effective field goal percentage allowed (54.7%). Rondo may be forced to carry an even heavier burden on Sunday night as Kyle Kuzma is listed as questionable.
The Punt Play
I really want to list Jerryd Bayless here. If both Teague and Rose are out for the Wolves, we are looking at a very thin backcourt and likely 40 minutes of court time for Bayless for the second straight game. He remains dirt cheap on every site and would be the first value play in my lineups this evening. We already have confirmed news on Teague, so it’s just Rose that we are waiting on. If Rose is out, switch this play to Jerryd Bayless in a heartbeat. But… for now… I shall list Okobo as a core value play. Clearly, you can see that I am not thrilled about this, but there are some positives. We know the minutes will be there for Okobo with Melton confirmed out for the Suns. The Suns draw a matchup in an up tempo game against the Lakers. Okobo is basically minimum priced on every site and only needs to give us around 20 points to be viable. He also may grab a few more rebounds with Phoenix rolling smaller lineups these days, and he does have 10 rebounds over the last two games. It’s not sexy, but I think he can get to 20-25 fantasy points here.
Still Rolling
While we have a bit of a hiccup in the plans if Chris Paul returns tonight, I still think Harden is viable in any case. We would obviously prefer to play him if Paul is out, though. Keep an eye on this as we get closer to lineup lock. Harden’s price somehow went down a few dollars on all the sites compared to where he was at in the last game, and this is a fine matchup against the Magic. Harden’s numbers with Chris Paul sidelined this month have been absurd — he is averaging 44.4 points and 30 shot attempts per game, showing off a fantasy floor of around 60 points and a near triple-digit ceiling. There will be enough value on the slate to where we can comfortably fit Harden into our lineups, and there’s no reason to fade him in cash games if Paul is out. Should Paul return, we have a few more decisions to make. Do we elect to save a little bit and go with the likes of a Karl-Anthony Towns as the stud to play? That would seem to make the most sense to me, as Towns has shown a ridiculous floor of his own of late. While the matchup is difficult against the Jazz, Towns is fresh off a 33/10/4 game against this same Utah squad the other night. Keep an eye on the Chris Paul news, and adapt from there. Again, I still think Harden is viable even if Paul plays — but it’s not a slam dunk, obvious necessity.
The Top Point Per Dollar Option
After playing at a much slower pace at the start of the season, the Suns have started to pick things up with their tempo. They rank 7th in the NBA in pace over the last ten games and 3rd over the last five games, which has brought their season rank up to 13th. This is after they were comfortably in the bottom half for the better part of the first two months of the year. They also rank third from the bottom in defensive efficiency, meaning we can target opposing players against the Suns with reckless abandon once again. Enter Rajon Rondo. The upside for the price is simply too good to ignore with Rondo in this spot. I mentioned above how the Suns are now playing at a faster pace, and we should be looking at a close, high-scoring game in this one. Rondo returned the other night without any minutes limitation, playing 37 minutes against the Wolves. His presence leading the offense is much needed with both Ball and James sidelined, and he will get all the run he can handle at the point. Rondo posted a 15/6/13 line in his return, and this is a better matchup than what we saw the other night. There is triple-double upside here, and Rondo will be the first player in my cash game lineups tonight.
Sixers to start T.J. McConnell, Corey Brewer and Jonah Bolden
Already down Joel Embid, and Jimmy Butler the 76’s will roll out a different looking starting lineup tonight. Corey Brewer will start his 3rd straight game and will be joined by T.J. McConnell and Jonah Bolden. Speculation earlier today had Mike Muscala perhaps getting the start, but the team decided to give Bolden the look vs The Nuggets. While J.J Reddick should see a bump in usage with two of the three starts off the court, Ben Simmions will be the biggest benefactor in terms of available opportunity. In games where both Butler and Embid have missed Simmons has seen his usage jump almost 7% this season. Despite not starting Muscala still has value as he should see a decent amount of minutes even off the bench.
As reported by: Keith Pompey Twitter Other tagged players: Corey Brewer, Jonah Bolden
Jamal Murray out Saturday
Jamal Murray will miss the second game of his career tonight. Murry will rest his sprained left ankle that he hurt in last nights game. The Nuggets will start Torrey Craig in place of Murray, leaving Monte Morris to play back up PG minutes. Over the last few games, the Nuggets are closer to full strength at the guard position so the loss of Murray should have less of an impact on the team. With a few extra healthy bodies in the Denver backcourt, it’s a little more guesswork to figure out the clear cut benefactor of Murray’s absence.
As reported by: Christian Clark Twitter Damian Lillard will not play Saturday
After some speculation that Damian Lillard might indeed try to play tonight, Coach Terry Slots confirmed that Lillard will indeed sit vs The Hawks. At this time there has not been a starting lineup revealed. Regardless who starts at PG tonight, we can expect the bulk of the offense to move through C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. Seth Curry could start in the absence of Lillard and would also be a great value option across the industry. If Curry starts Evan Turner would lead the second unit with a chance to play extra PG minutes as needed.
As reported by: Casey Holdahl Twitter Omri Casspi has been ruled out
Omri Casspi will not suit up on Saturday. Extremely thin due to injury The Grizzlies will start Jevon Carter tonight. Justin Holiday will soak up a ton of minutes tonight, and depending on matchup you can expect to see JaMychal Green and or Shelvin Mack receive a small bump in minutes due to injury.
As reported by: David Cobb Twitter Spurs officially have listed Aldridge as a starter tonight
LaMarcus Aldridge looks ready to play tonight after testing his injured wrist. For a Spurs team without DeMar DeRozan, the addition of Aldridge is a welcomed sight in a plus matchup vs The Pelicans.
As reported by: Mike Finger Twitter Other tagged players: DeMar DeRozan Julius Randle is out today vs. San Antonio
Julis Randle will not play tonight. Randle will miss his third straight game putting more stress on a team without Anthony Davis and Nikola Mirotic. Jahlil Okafor will have to man the middle against the Spurs and has been solid since joining the starting lineup. Jure Holiday will continue to carry the offensive load in the absence Randle, Davis, and Mirotic. If Randle sits, Holliday becomes a great cash game option on any slate including this game.
As reported by: Pelicans PR Twitter Julius Randle is unlikely to play
According to coach Alvin Gentry, Julius Randle is a game-time decision but is unlikely to play. If Randle sits it will be his third straight missed game a team without Anthony Davis and Nikola Mirotic would have to lean on Jahlil Okafor to man the middle against the Spurs. Jure Holiday will continue to carry the offensive load in the absence Randle, Davis, and Mirotic. If Randle sits, Holliday becomes a great cash game option on any slate including this game.
As reported by: Scott Kushner Twitter Other tagged players: Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotic, Jahlil Okafor