DFS Alerts
Underperforming Trio
This trio has largely been underperforming for a thinned out Lakers rotation which has led to exploitable price tags across the industry. The Lakers draw a favorable home matchup against a Cavaliers team that ranks dead last in the league in points per 100 possessions allowed (118.4) and effective field goal percentage allowed (56.1%). Early lineup construction has me penciling in all three of these guys alongside James Harden in cash games and building out from there.
Other tagged players: Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball
Just Play Him
You guys, just play James Harden in cash games. Harden topped 80 fantasy points in just 30 minutes of action last game against the Cavaliers as his usage rate and per minute production continues to be outrageous as he’s no longer sharing the court with Chris Paul or Eric Gordon. Decreasing price tags on a thinned out Lakers rotation in a favorable home matchup at home against the Cavs make fitting Harden into your lineup negligible.
Fred VanVleet (thigh) and C.J. Miles (hip) out Sunday
VanVleet has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a bruised left thigh, while Miles will be inactive with a hip ailment, though he’s largely been out of the main rotation since Norman Powell returned in mid-December from a lengthy injury absence. With them sidelined, it’s possible that newly-signed Patrick McCaw could join the rotation and make his official Raptors debut in this afternoon’s contest. Still, even if McCaw sees the court, he’ll only play a complementary role, and Delon Wright remains the clear beneficiary in terms of playing time with VanVleet unavailable. Wright isn’t a high usage player by any means, but he does average 0.84 DraftKings and 0.86 FanDuel points per minute on the year, keeping him in consideration for all formats on today’s early slates.
As reported by: Eric Smith via Twitter Other tagged players: C.J. Miles
Enes Kanter (illness) out Sunday; Damyean Dotson (calf) and Frank Ntilikina (ankle) available to play
Kanter has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to an illness that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Dotson and Ntilikina have both been cleared to play despite dealing with their respective ailments. Additionally, Tim Hardaway Jr. is slated to be a game-time decision but remains listed as probable on the Knicks’ injury report because of a left hamstring injury, so he should be good to go barring any setbacks during pregame warmups. Even with Kanter and Mitchell Robinson sidelined for Friday’s loss, Luke Kornet was still limited to only 21 minutes, and Mario Hezonja shockingly led the Knicks with 30 minutes off the bench as head coach David Fizdale continues to utilize inconsistent rotations on a game-to-game basis. Noah Vonleh logged just 19 minutes in that contest as well, but he does still lead the Knicks with an average 1.24 DraftKings and 1.27 FanDuel points per minute with Kanter off the court this season.
As reported by: Chris Iseman via Twitter Other tagged players: Damyean Dotson, Frank Ntilikina Rookie Of The Year
Can we just hand him the Rookie of the Year award right now? Doncic has quickly established him as a force in the NBA, and he does not shy away from big moments in close games. He was dynamic against the Wolves on Friday night, piling up a 29/8/12 line with just one turnover in 35 minutes of court time. He has simply been incredible, and he will continue to be a key ball-handler for the team with Dennis Smith banged up. Even though there is a chance Smith returns tonight, Doncic has become the man in this offense. The FanDuel price is very affordable at $8,400, and he fills one of two needed shooting guard spots — which are very hard to fill if you aren’t starting with James Harden. His usage has been at a mark of 27% or above in 15 straight games, and I think Doncic shows out for a big game against the Warriors, and he will need to have a big game if the Mavericks want to pull the upset.
Reasonable Price on DK/FDRAFT
The DK/FDRAFT price tag on Vucevic is simply too cheap. Our early morning ownership projections have him pegged at 35% ownership on DraftKings, and that’s probably about right. He needs to be a part of your cash game core on these two sites. In also helps that you can play multiple centers on DK/FDRAFT, as there are a ton of great center plays on this four game slate. Vucevic has topped 39 fantasy points in the DK/FDRAFT scoring format in nine of his last ten contests, and that’s an incredible floor for a player of his salary. The FanDuel tag is a bit too steep for me to call him a core play there given that you can only play one center, but I certainly don’t mind him on that site, either. Vucevic will need to have a big game on the interior if the Magic want to knock off Houston, and I think he’ll be up to the task.
A Safe Mid-Range Play
The matter of what to do with the Nuggets is the biggest question mark of the night, and it somewhat depends on the status of Harris and Barton. As I wrote above, that will determine whether or not we can use Beasley as a core play. For now, I’ll stick with Murray, as I think his minutes this evening are secure no matter what happens with the other wing players. Even if the other players are active, it’s not like Murray is toast. He is averaging a solid 18/5/5 line for the year, and his minutes are steady in the mid-30’s. He put up 35 fantasy points despite shooting just 4-for-17 from the floor in his last game against the Suns, and the role in the offense is not going to change. Tonight’s matchup against the Blazers isn’t the most ideal from a matchup perspective, but this should be a close, relatively high-scoring game, and I think Murray is a fine point per dollar play. The floor is solid, and there is 50 point upside.
A Great Matchup To Find His Shot
For the season as a whole, Kyle Kuzma is averaging 15 shot attempts per game. In the six full games he has played since LeBron James got injured, Kuzma is averaging nearly 21 shot attempts per game. His overall usage is up by 4% with LeBron James off the floor this season. The nightly potential puts him in the category of an $8,000 – $9,000 priced player on FD/DK and a $16,000 – $18,000 priced player on FDRAFT. The good news is that he is priced significantly cheaper than that. He should be able to thrive in a matchup at home against a poor Cleveland team that doesn’t really excel at anything, and I expect more of his shots to fall this evening. That is the big key with Kuzma. He simply needs some shots to fall. Over his last three games, he has had one dominant performance (where he made a ton of shots), and two poor performances where he made a combined 8-for-38 from the floor. That has been the contributing factor to his DFS price tag still being affordable, and I think he will snap out of his shooting funk tonight.
Bobby Portis (elbow) out Saturday
Portis has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to a right elbow injury. There wasn’t any indication that Portis was dealing with an elbow ailment following Friday’s loss, so his late inclusion on the injury report dis raise some red flags on his potential availability since the Bulls may opt to rest him on on the second leg of a back-to-back after his lengthy injury absence because of a sprained right ankle. However, Portis has averaged just 18.5 minutes in his first three games back, so his absence won’t have too significant of an impact on the remainder of the frontcourt rotation, though Jabari Parker could rejoin the rotation in this scenario and absorb a majority of the vacated minutes at power forward in the second unit.
As reported by: Andy Larsen via Twitter Jamal Crawford (personal) listed out Saturday
Crawford has been listed out on the most recent version of the Suns’ injury report and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to personal reasons, and he’ll join Devin Booker, who will miss his third straight game with back spasms, on the inactive list for tonight’s contest. Josh Jackson has received the starting nod alongside Mikal Bridges on the wing in each of the last two contests and has been more than solid from a fantasy perspective in an average of 30.5 minutes over that span, marking three consecutive contests he’s logged at least 30 minutes and exceeded salary-based expectations. On top of that, Jackson has consistently been one of the primary beneficiaries with Booker off the court this season, as he owns a 26.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.10 DraftKings and 1.12 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario. Another player in position to benefit from Booker’s absence is De’Anthony Melton since he’s averaged of 1.13 DraftKings and 1.19 FanDuel points per minute in a 197.3 minutes sample size.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Devin Booker (back) officially out Saturday
Booker has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to back spasms that have now forced him to miss three consecutive games. Josh Jackson has received the starting nod alongside Mikal Bridges on the wing in each of the last two contests and has been more than solid from a fantasy perspective in an average of 30.5 minutes over that span, marking three consecutive contests he’s logged at least 30 minutes and exceeded salary-based expectations. On top of that, Jackson has consistently been one of the primary beneficiaries with Booker off the court this season, as he owns a 26.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.10 DraftKings and 1.12 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario. Another player in position to benefit from Booker’s absence is De’Anthony Melton since he’s averaged of 1.13 DraftKings and 1.19 FanDuel points per minute in a 197.3 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Kellan Olson via Twitter Gary Harris (hamstring) and Trey Lyles (wrist) out Saturday; Will Barton (core, hip) available to play
Harris and Lyles have both been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to their respective ailments, while Will Barton has been cleared to play following a lengthy absence stemming from a strained right hip and core injury. Head coach Michael Malone already confirmed with reporters that Barton will be subject to a minute restriction and will come off the bench in his first game back, which means Malik Beasley should draw a third consecutive start at shooting guard after a couple of inconsistent fantasy outings through his first two spot starts.
As reported by: the Denver Nuggets via Twitter Other tagged players: Trey Lyles, Will Barton E’Twaun Moore (quad) will play Saturday
Moore has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Saturday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing two consecutive games due to a bruised left quad. Head coach Alvin Gentry already confirmed that Moore won’t be subject to a minute restriction in his return to the starting lineup, but Nikola Mirotic will be limited to around 25 minutes off the bench following a solid fantasy performance in just 22 minutes of action in Wednesday’s win. Mirotic’s presence in the rotation will likely continue to have the largest impact on Julius Randle, who saw his playing time dip to just 27 minutes in the Pelicans previous contest. Additionally, the return of Moore will send Darius Miller back to the bench after a couple of disappointing fantasy outings in an average of 33.3 minutes over his two spot starts.
As reported by: Andrew Lopez via Twitter Derrick Rose (ankle) out Saturday
Rose has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a sprained right ankle that recently forced him to miss six consecutive games, while Karl-Anthony Towns wasn’t included on the injury despite rolling his ankle in Friday’s loss and will be good to go this evening. Rose was limited to 28 minutes in his first game under interim head coach Ryan Sauders, as he opted to utilize a 10-man rotation in yesterday’s contest, something former head coach Tom Thibodeau rarely did. Because of this, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if some of the starters’ minutes are scaled back on the second leg of a back-to-back set, which would allow Anthony Tolliver to take on a slightly larger role in the rotation after recording just five minutes in the previous game.
As reported by: Jon Krawczynski via Twitter Grayson Allen (ankle) available to play Saturday
Allen has officially been cleared to play and will be available for Saturday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls after missing nine consecutive games due to a sprained right ankle. Prior to that, most of Allen’s playing had come in the G-League, but with Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto all still sidelined, he may be forced to give the Jazz meaningful rotation minutes on the second night of a back-to-back set. Since Utah’s top three point guards were all unavailable, Royce O’Neale received the starting nod alongside Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt in Friday’s win, and he was solid from a fantasy perspective in 40 minutes of action. He’ll likely draw the start at shooting guard once again but could be an interesting fade candidate in tournaments given his projected ownership and minuscule 13.9% usage rate on the season. On the other hand, Mitchell owns a massive 37.2% usage rate (+5.0%) and is averaging 1.34 DraftKings and 1.29 FanDuel points per minute with the aforementioned players off the court, keeping him as an elite option for all formats.
As reported by: David Locke via Twitter