DFS Alerts

Dewayne Dedmon (ankle) available to play Tuesday; Kevin Huerter (back) downgraded to questionable

Dedmon has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors despite dealing with a sprained left ankle, while Kevin Huerter has been downgraded from probable to questionable with a strained left calf and appears to be in jeopardy of joining Miles Plumlee, Kent Bazemore, and Taurean Prince on the Hawks’ inactive list for tonight’s contest. DeAndre Bembry replaced Daniel Hamilton in the starting lineup for Sunday’s loss, but he didn’t necessarily see an increase in playing time, as he logged just 27 minutes compared to Hamilton’s 23 minutes off the bench. However, if Huerter is unavailable, that would open up a significant amount minutes for both Bembry and Hamilton on the wing. There’s not a tremendous sample size with Huerter, Bazemore, and Prince off the court together this season, but in that limited time, Trae Young owns a 34.3% usage rate and is averaging 1.31 DraftKings and 1.22 FanDuel points per minute.

An Intriguing Option

Teague hasn’t really been on the fantasy radar this year thanks to his own injuries combined with the re-emergence of Derrick Rose. However, Teague is now fully healthy, and Rose is going to be sidelined for tonight’s game. Teague checks in with a reasonable price tag and should play 30+ minutes. When you combine that with likely low ownership, he makes a lot of sense as a GPP option. I think he will play well given the circumstances, and that is enough for me to target him in GPP formats despite a tough matchup against an efficient Thunder defense. The good news is that we should have a relatively up tempo, high scoring game here.

An Affordable Price and Solid Upside

The Knicks have been a disaster this year, but we do have some clarity at the point with Frank Ntilikina sidelined. Mudiay and Burke have a clear path to splitting the point guard minutes, with Mudiay clearly having the upper hand. Mudiay is averaging 15/4/7 in three January games to date, and he does have some sneaky upside. He will need to play well if the Knicks want to hang with Golden State, and Mudiay is squarely on my GPP radar as a fine mid-range option on this Tuesday slate.

Fire Up Some Suns

A lot of DFS players are likely having nightmares from the last time the Suns were chalky plays against the Kings. That night was an absolute disaster, as the Suns fell behind by more than 20 points in the first half. However, there is a reason that the Suns were popular that night. They were dealing with a lot of injuries, and the pace bump against the Kings cannot be ignored. Keep an eye on the status of Devin Booker for tonight. If he is out, the likes of Jackson and Melton get a bump. For now, I’m just targeting a safer pick in T.J. Warren. His shot has come around over the last few games, and he is guaranteed 30+ minutes on the wing. He can be deployed with confidence in a favorable matchup.

An Intriguing Risk/Reward Value

The Hornets are essentially splitting center minutes now and rolling with the hot hand between Biyombo and Hernangomez. Both have been chalky once since Cody Zeller went down, and it has been the opposite player that has gone off in both of those games. Now, neither player will be highly owned. The higher DFS ceiling belongs to Hernangomez, who is a little more polished as an all-around player. The Hornets/Clippers game tonight profiles as an intriguing potential shootout, and I’ll definitely target Hernangomez as a risk/reward GPP value now that he is 5% owned instead of 50% owned.

NBA Injury Rundown - Tuesday, 1/8

Indiana Pacers – Myles Turner (Q), Darren Collison (Q), Cory Joseph (Q)

Cleveland Cavaliers – Matthew Dellavedova (Q), Ante Zizic (Q), Rodney Hood (O), David Nwaba (O)

Washington Wizards – Markieff Morris (O), John Wall (O), Dwight Howard (O)

Atlanta Hawks – Kevin Huerter (P), Dewayne Dedmon (P), Kent Bazemore (O), Miles Plumlee (O), Taurean Prince (O)

Minnesota Timberwolves – Derrick Rose (O), Robert Covington (O)

Sacramento Kings – Iman Shumpert (TBD)

Phoenix Suns – Devin Booker (Q)

New York Knicks – Frank Ntilikina (O), Mitchell Robinson (O), Kristaps Porzingis (O)

Golden State Warriors – Shaun Livingston (O), DeMarcus Cousins (O), Damian Jones (O)

Charlotte Hornets – Jeremy Lamb (Q), Cody Zeller (O)

Maurice Harkless (knee) and Evan Turner (ankle) available to play Monday

Harkless has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the New York Knicks after missing one game due to a sore left knee that’s continued to hamper him throughout this season, while Turner has also been cleared to play despite dealing with a left ankle injury. With Harkless sidelined, Turner ended up receiving the starting nod at small forward and was great from a fantasy perspective in 31 minutes of action, while Jake Layman absorbed 22 minutes off the bench and appears to have passed Nik Stauskas in the Trail Blazers’ wing rotation. Jusuf Nurkic is in a phenomenal spot versus this exploitable Knicks frontcourt, and he’s been on a tear of late, recording a 28.7% usage rate with an average of 1.56 DraftKings and 1.59 FanDuel points per minute over the last six games.

Kyle Kuzma (back) available to play Monday

Kuzma has officially upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks after missing two consecutive games with a lower back contusion. While he was sidelined, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ivica Zubac alternated starts in his absence, though Caldwell-Pope had the more impactful role of the two when he started, logging 36 minutes and greatly exceeding his salary-based expectations. Michael Beasley has also begun the second half with the starting unit in each of the last two contests, which allowed him to average 16 minutes per game over that span with Kuzma, LeBron James, and Rajon Rondo sidelined. There’s been no indication that Kuzma will be subject to a minute restriction in his return, so he’ll be an intriguing tournament target for this shorthanded Lakers squad, as he owns a 30.3% usage rate and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.08 FanDuel points per minute with James and Rondo off the court this season.

E’Twaun Moore (quad) officially out Monday

Moore has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a left quad contusion, while Nikola Mirotic remains sidelined with a nagging right ankle injury. In Moore’s absence, Darius Miller appears to be the most logical candidate to enter the starting lineup at small forward with Solomon Hill amassing just 11 minutes off the bench in Pelicans last two games. Unsurprisingly, Anthony Davis has led the Pelicans with an average of 1.60 DraftKings and 1.68 FanDuel points per minute with Moore and Mirotic off the court this season, but Elfrid Payton has actually seen the largest increase in usage on offense and owns a 31.5% usage rate (+10.7%) in a limited 32.6 minutes sample size.

Jevon Carter (knee) available to play Monday

Carter has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans despite dealing with a sore right knee, while Dillon Brooks was already ruled out with a sore right toe and Mike Conley and Marc Gasol are no longer listed on the Grizzlies’ injury report. Following Brooks’ first-half exit in Saturday’s loss, Carter logged 23 minutes as the primary backup behind Conley at point guard, and he figures to have a prominent role in the rotation with Brooks sidelined. Head coach JB Bickerstaff confirmed with reporters at Sunday’s practice that Carter will remain ahead of Shelvin Mack in the pecking order for minutes for the time being, which explains the four total minutes and DNP-CD that Mack has accrued over the Grizzlies last two games. However, with Brooks unavailable, Mack has a chance to return to the rotation and see nominal playing time for at least one more game.

E'Twaun Moore (quad) not expected to play Monday

Moore still remains questionable and a game-time decision, but head coach Alvin Gentry admitted to reporters that he probably won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a left quad contusion, while Nikola Mirotic remains sidelined with a nagging right ankle injury. In Moore’s likely absence, Darius Miller appears to be the most logical candidate to enter the starting lineup at small forward with Solomon Hill amassing just 11 minutes off the bench in Pelicans last two games. Unsurprisingly, Anthony Davis has led the Pelicans with an average of 1.60 DraftKings and 1.68 FanDuel points per minute with Moore and Mirotic off the court this season, but Elfrid Payton has actually seen the largest increase in usage and owns a 31.5% usage rate (+10.7%) in a limited 32.6 minutes sample size.

D.J. Wilson (hip) listed out Monday

Wilson has been downgraded from doubtful and is listed out on the most recent version of the Bucks’ injury report for Monday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to a left hip pointer that forced him to exit Saturday’s loss early, while Donte DiVincenzo is also unavailable with a sore right ankle. Wilson had settled into a high-teens or low-20s minutes role off the bench with Ersan Ilyasova sidelined, so Ilyasova will likely step directly into Wilson’s playing time with the second unit and Thon Maker could rejoin the rotation in a minimal role. The Jazz isn’t an ideal matchup for Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but he still has a 31.2% usage rate and is averaging 1.68 DraftKings and 1.70 FanDuel points per minute on the season, which keeps him in consideration for tournament formats regardless of the matchup on a nightly basis.

Marcus Morris (neck) and Robert Williams (groin) available to play Monday

Morris has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against Brooklyn Nets after missing one game due to a strained neck, while Robert Williams will be available off the bench for the first time in the last six games due to a groin injury. There’s been no confirmation of a minute restriction for Morris in his first game back, so he’ll likely displace Jaylen Brown from the starting lineup following his mediocre fantasy performance in 27 minutes of action in Friday’s win. Additionally, Kyrie Irving has been cleared to return from a two-game injury hiatus, so he’ll reclaim his spot in the starting lineup from Terry Rozier after he posted a couple of sporadic fantasy outputs in an average of 30 minutes per start.

Marvin Bagley III (knee) available to play Monday

Bagley has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic after missing 11 consecutive games with a bone bruise in his right knee. Bagley’s return shouldn’t affect the Kings starting lineup, but his presence in the rotation is enough to lower the minute floors of Nemanja Bjelica and Justin Jackson, barring a strict minute restriction, even with Iman Shumpert unavailable for a second straight game with a sprained right index finger. Bogdan Bogdanovic will likely start at small forward once again, and he logged 35 minutes in that same role in Saturday’s loss despite the disappointing fantasy outing. Bogdanovic still owns a 26.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.05 DraftKings and 1.03 FanDuel points per minute with Shumpert off the court, which keeps him in play on DraftKings at a significantly discounted price tag compared to FanDuel.

Spot Start

Rudy Gay has been announced out for Monday’s contest against the Pistons and I wouldn’t be surprised if Jakob Poeltl were to draw a spot start provided the matchup. Even if he does draw the start, Poeltl doesn’t offer a ton of minutes upside but there’s still plenty of value on his near minimum price tag as he’s producing over a fantasy point per minute this season. Interestingly, despite a night with fairly strong Center options, Poeltl does rate out as one of the better point per dollar plays at the position if you give him minutes in the low-to-mid 20’s.