DFS Alerts

Load Management

Kawhi Leonard hasn’t played a game since January 16th and it sounds like he’ll be out once again on Tuesday night as the Raptors are heavy favorites on a front leg of a back-to-back against the Kings. No Leonard would likely mean a continued spot in the starting lineup for Fred VanVleet and an increased workload for Kyle Lowry. Both of these guys remain a bit underpriced for life without Kawhi, especially in a favorable matchup against a Sacramento team that own a bottom third defense in the league and plays at the second fastest pace.

Kawhi Leonard (load management) could remain out Tuesday

Leonard wasn’t included on the Raptors’ injury report, but he reportedly might not play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings as part of his typical load management plan on the first leg of a back-to-back set. In this scenario, Leonard would instead return to the lineup for Wednesday’s pivotal matchup with the Indiana Pacers after potentially missing a third consecutive game due to rest purposes. The Raptors are still without OG Anunoby and Jonas Valanciunas, so if Leonard is held out again, Fred VanVleet would likely start alongside Kyle Lowry in the backcourt once again following a couple of respectable fantasy outings in an average of 28.7 minutes over his previous two spot starts. Unsurprisingly, Lowry and Serge Ibaka have been the main beneficiaries with Leonard, Anunoby, and Jonas Valanciunas off the court this season, as they each own at least a +3.2% usage rate differential and see a minimum of a +0.20 increase in their per minute fantasy production.

Lou Williams (hamstring) likely to play Tuesday

Williams is still technically listed as questionable, but head coach Doc Rivers classified him as probable to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks despite Williams calling himself a game-time decision with a sore right hamstring that forced him to miss two games. Meanwhile, the Clippers are expected to be without Danilo Gallinari for the remainder of their road trip, which should allow Patrick Beverley to draw another start alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the backcourt after Beverley obliterated his salary-based expectations in 42 minutes of action in Sunday’s win. This lineup combination will enable Tobias Harris to slide down to power forward, and he’s thrived with Gallinari off the court this season, as he owns a 25.4% usage rate and is averaging 1.31 DraftKings and 1.30 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.

Opportunity Abounds

Beverley, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Bradley have all been starting together in what seems like it would be a horrendous offensive lineup. However, all have stepped up in various ways. Beverley is coming off an impressive 18/12/5 game against the Spurs, while Gilgeous-Alexander followed up a great game against the Warriors with a woeful 3-for-15 shooting performance in the last one. Their inconsistent usage rates will make them all volatile options on a nightly basis, even if Williams remains sidelined. That said, I’m encouraged by the last game from Bradley, and we know he can make things happen defensively. He’s my preferred pick out of this risk/reward value bunch.

Upside In The Mid-Range

On a small slate, sometimes we can find some intriguing mid-range plays, and that is definitely the case tonight. DeAndre Jordan continues to feast on the glass, as he is now averaging 14 rebounds per game on the year. He also has the good ole’ revenge narrative in his favor tonight, as he faces off against his former team in the Clippers. He tallied a whopping 22 rebounds in the last head-to-head meeting between these teams, and the DFS price is not outrageous for his healthy double-double upside. Give Jordan a look in all formats this evening.

Top Play Because Of Current Injuries

We have very limited value options on this slate, and with the news already out for the Clippers, SGA becomes one of the top plays on the slate. He’s played 37 and 42 minutes in the last two games with the current injuries. He shot 3 for 15 from the field last game against the Spurs, but it was the second straight game with 15+ shot attempts. I’m hoping he shoots the ball better tonight, and his DvA matchup is one of the best on the slate.

NBA Injury Rundown - Tuesday, 1/22

Toronto Raptors – OG Anunoby (O), Jonas Valanciunas (O)

Los Angeles Clippers – Lou Williams (Q), Danilo Gallinari (O), Luc Mbah a Moute (O)

Dallas Mavericks – Dennis Smith Jr. (P), J.J. Barea (O)

Minnesota Timberwolves – Tyus Jones (O), Robert Covington (O)

Phoenix Suns – Richaun Holmes (Q), Deandre Ayton (D)

Joel Embiid (back) will play Monday

Embiid has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets despite continuing to deal with lingering back tightness, while Jimmy Butler was already ruled out with a sore right wrist that began bothering him following Saturday’s loss. Butler has missed four games as a member of the Sixers this season, and on each occasion, Furkan Korkmaz ended up drawing the start at small forward in place, averaging 30.4 minutes, but Corey Brewer is currently in the midst of a 10-day contract with the team and will receive the starting nod given Korkmaz’s deficiencies on the defensive end of the floor. With Embiid cleared to play, both he and Ben Simmons will be elite options for all formats, as they each own at least a +2.4% usage rate differential and average a minimum of an additional +0.11 fantasy points per minute with Butler off the court this season.

Ricky Rubio (hamstring) will play Monday

Rubio has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Monday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers after missing six consecutive games due to a strained right hamstring. Rubio went through a full practice on Sunday, but head coach Quin Snyder already confirmed that Rubio will be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back. Even so, Rubio should still reclaim his spot in the starting lineup from Royce O’Neale, who had been largely effective from a fantasy perspective in an average of 34.9 minutes over the Jazz last five games. With Dante Exum and Raul Neto still sidelined, Donovan Mitchell could still see plenty of run as the de facto backup point guard since Rubio will be limited, and he owns a 37.4% usage rate (+4.8%) while averaging 1.30 DraftKings and 1.28 FanDuel points per minute with Rubio, Exum, and Neto off the court this season.

Corey Brewer confirmed as starter in place of Jimmy Butler (wrist) on Monday

Butler was already downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a sore right wrist that began bothering him following Saturday’s loss, while Joel Embiid is still a game-time decision with lingering back tightness that’s hampered him over the last couple of contests. Butler has missed four games as a member of the Sixers this season, and on each occasion, Furkan Korkmaz ended up drawing the start at small forward in place, averaging 30.4 minutes, but Corey Brewer is currently in the midst of a 10-day contract with the team and will receive the starting nod given Korkmaz’s deficiencies on the defensive end of the floor. If Embiid is able to suit up, both he and Ben Simmons will be elite options for all formats, as they each own at least a +2.4% usage rate differential and average a minimum of an additional +0.11 fantasy points per minute with Butler off the court this season.

Jimmy Butler (wrist) out Monday

Butler has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a sore right wrist that began bothering him following Saturday’s loss, while Joel Embiid remains questionable with lingering back tightness that’s hampered him over the last couple of contests. Butler has missed four games as a member of the Sixers this season, and on each occasion, Furkan Korkmaz ended up drawing the start at small forward in place, averaging 30.4 minutes, but Corey Brewer is currently in the midst of a 10-day contract with the team and could be in consideration to start given Korkmaz’s deficiencies on the defensive end of the floor. If Embiid is able to suit up, both he and Ben Simmons will be elite options for all formats, as they each own at least a +2.4% usage rate differential and average a minimum of an additional +0.11 fantasy points per minute with Butler off the court this season.

Marc Gasol (back) will try to play Monday

Gasol has officially been upgraded from probable and will try to play in Monday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans after missing one game due to a sore back. However, Gasol admitted to reporters that he is far from 100 percent and may not be able to be effective when on the court in live game action. Meanwhile, Joakim Noah will miss a second straight game dealing with a personal matter, but he hasn’t carved out much of a role in the Grizzlies rotation to this point in this season, logging between 11-14 minutes in each of the last six games, so his absence won’t have too much of an impact on the remaining members in the frontcourt. However, JaMychal Green and Jaren Jackson Jr. could see an uptick in playing time as the preferred frontcourt duo by head coach JB Bickerstaff when Gasol is off the floor this evening. Since Ivan Rabb has mostly been relegated to garbage time minutes when he’s been active this season, Green and Jackson Jr. shouldn’t have much competition for those aforementioned backup center minutes, and each of them is currently averaging more than a fantasy point per minute on the year, while Jackson Jr. leads the pair with a 23.6% usage rate.

Aaron Gordon (back) out Monday

Gordon has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to lower back tightness that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Gordon has only missed three games all season, and in those contests, Jarell Martin and Jonathon Simmons have alternated starts in the frontcourt with Simmons getting the latest nod. However, the Magic’s rotation looks quite a bit different of late with Simmons seemingly out of the main rotation after being on the receiving end of five consecutive DNP-CDs prior to Saturday’s spot start where he logged 19 minutes of action. Another beneficiary of Gordon’s absence is Terrance Ross, who recorded 30 minutes off the bench in the previous game, as he should continue seeing more time with the starting unit sans Gordon and owns a 27.2% usage rate (+2.8%) with an average of 0.98 DraftKings and 0.97 FanDuel points per minute with him off the court this season.

Dewayne Dedmon (ankle) and Alex Len (Achilles) available to play Monday

Dedmon and Len have both officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic despite dealing with their respective ailments. Meanwhile, the Hawks did recall Jaylen Adams and Alex Poythress from the G-League, but there hasn’t been any confirmation from the team or head coach Lloyd Pierce if they’ll be active for today’s contest. Taurean Prince finally had his initial minute restriction lifted in Saturday’s loss, as he logged 23 minutes and exceeded his salary-based expectations, which puts him in tremendous position as a potential value option on FanDuel this afternoon since they actually decreased his price tag since the Hawks previous games. On top of that, Prince owns a 25.2% usage rate and is averaging 1.11 DraftKings and 1.08 FanDuel points per minute with Kent Bazemore and Miles Plumlee off the court, adding to his appeal if he manages to have his minutes increased for a third straight contest.

Ish Smith (groin) out Monday

Smith has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a tight right adductor, while Andre Drummond remains in the concussion protocol and will also miss a second consecutive game. Pachulia ended up replacing Drummond in the starting lineup for Saturday’s loss and crushed his salary-based expectations in 35 minutes of action in his first spot start. Jon Leuer was still limited to 13 minutes off the bench by head coach Dwane Casey in that contest, so Pachulia seems locked into a starting role and a significant minute floor for the duration of Drummond’s absence. Unsurprisingly, Griffin has thrived with Drummond off the court this season, as he owns a 36.8% usage rate (+5.4%) and is averaging 1.44 DraftKings and 1.40 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.