DFS Alerts
Rodney Hood (Achilles) available to play Wednesday
Hood has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Miami Heat after missing four consecutive games due to a sore left Achilles tendon, while Tristan Thompson is also available to play following a 10-game absence because of a sprained left foot. There’s been no word if Thompson or Hood will start or be subject to a minute restriction in their first game back, but with Ante Zizic unavailable, it appears likely Thompson receive the starting nod against Hassan Whiteside considering head coach Larry Drew’s propensity to bring Larry Nance off the bench. Additionally, Patrick McCaw is available to make his Cavaliers debut after signing an offer sheet earlier in the week, which does throw quite a wrench into the wing rotation, so players like Hood and Alec Burks should be avoided in daily fantasy formats until there’s more clarity on their roles moving forward.
As reported by: Spencer Davies via Twitter
Cheap Option with an Uptick in Minutes
Ed Davis’ minutes have been all over the map this season, but in a matchup against the Pelicans with both Randle and Davis, Ed Davis could be in for an uptick in minutes. RHJ has already been ruled out for this game, so Davis should be in for 20+ minutes in the game with the possibility of more. On the season, Davis is averaging over a point per minute on both FD and DK and is priced near the Minimum on both. If Davis can stay out of foul trouble in this high paced matchup, he could be in for a huge game.
Near Min-Priced Guard
While I’m not sure who between Monk and Graham will end up getting the start or, getting more playing time, both players should end up with a significant increase in playing time with Lamb ruled out. While Monk has been the better fantasy producer this year, Graham did receive the start in the second half of the last game, and both him and Monk played the same amount of minutes (24). Without Lamb on the floor, Graham is averaging .87 pts/min while Monk is averaging 1.01. Overall, both options are viable, with Monk being the better option on DK and Graham being a good “funt” on FD.
Flying Under the Radar
This is one of the toughest slates of the season. We have too many value plays to choose from. While that makes it difficult to narrow down our player pool, it creates opportunities for players to get overlooked. D.J. Augustin has been in tremendous form over his last four games, averaging 35 minutes and 39 fantasy points per contest. He’s still only $5,000 on FanDuel and $4,300 on DraftKings. He’s one of my favorite tournament plays tonight, as the Bulls are ranked 26th in efficiency against point guards this season.
One of the Best Spends of the Slate
The Wizards will be without John Wall for the rest of the season, which opens up minutes in the rotation and a ton of usage in the offense. On the season, Bradley Beal sees a 0.18 FP/min boost with Wall off the floor. Add in a matchup against the Hawks, who are a fast-paced team that is missing its best defender in Kent Bazemore and Beal becomes one of the best players to spend up on tonight. He could easily push for 40 minutes in an elite matchup with increased usage.
Making the Most of an Opportunity
Strangely enough, the Hornets are one of my favorite teams to target tonight. They draw a mediocre matchup against the Mavericks, but they are facing them at home. Jeremy Lamb has already been ruled out of tonight’s game and on the season, Walker sees a 0.08 FP/min boost. He’s been solid at home throughout his career and he gets to face a Mavericks’ team that is ranked 29th in DvA against combo guards. You can pair Walker with Willy Hernangomez, who is expected to draw the start for Cody Zeller. On the season, Hernangomez has averaged 1.21 FP/min.
Great Matchup and a FP/Min Boost
Strangely enough, the Hornets are one of my favorite teams to target tonight. They draw a mediocre matchup against the Mavericks, but they are facing them at home. Jeremy Lamb has already been ruled out of tonight’s game and on the season, Walker sees a 0.08 FP/min boost. He’s been solid at home throughout his career and he gets to face a Mavericks’ team that is ranked 29th in DvA against combo guards. You can pair Walker with Willy Hernangomez, who is expected to draw the start for Cody Zeller. On the season, Hernangomez has averaged 1.21 FP/min.
Stanley Johnson (quad) questionable Wednesday; Zaza Pachulia (leg) listed out
Johnson has been listed as questionable on the most recent version of the Pistons’ injury report for Wednesday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a bruised left quad that forced him to be an active scratch in Tuesday’s loss, while Pachulia will miss a second straight game, as expected, because of a bruised right lower leg. Pachulia typically ends up playing anywhere from the low to high-teens in terms of minutes depending on the matchup and Andre Drummond’s foul situation, so with Pachulia unavailable, there will certainly be available playing time for Jon Leuer and Blake Griffin to absorb as the pseudo backups to Drummond at center. This sets up Griffin as an intriguing, possibly contrarian, tournament option on tonight’s abbreviated five-game slate if the Pistons can keep the game close, as he continues to lead the Pistons with a 31.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.27 DraftKings and 1.22 FanDuel points per minute on the season.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Other tagged players: Zaza Pachulia Jonathon Simmons (ankle) officially out Wednesday
Simmons has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls due to a sprained left ankle that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, D.J. Augustin managed to participate fully in shootaround and is expected to return from a one-game absence because of a sprained right ankle. With Augustin sidelined, Jerian Grant drew the start at point guard and was serviceable from a fantasy perspective in 26 minutes of action, but since Augustin is trending towards returning to the starting lineup, Grant will head back to the bench to resume a reserve role. Grant had recently been relegated from the rotation in favor of Wesley Iwundu, but he’ll likely take over Simmons vacated minutes as the backup point guard for at least one additional game. There hasn’t been a significant beneficiary from a usage standpoint with both Simmons off the court this season, but Terrance Ross figures to take on an expanded role off the bench and is averaging 0.87 DraftKings points and 0.86 FanDuel points per minute with a 24.2% usage rate on the season.
As reported by: John Denton via Twitter One of the Top Cheapies on the Slate
While Hernangomez may have been priced up a little over on FD, he actually got a price decrease over on DK and is priced at $3.8K. In nearly 400 minutes on the court this year, Hernangomez has averaged 1.23 points per minute and with Zeller already ruled out for this game, Hernangomez could be in for a big uptick in playing time. He draws a tough matchup vs. DeAndre Jordan, but the Mavericks rank just middle of the pack this year in terms of defensive efficiency against the center position. Pretty much the only way that Hernangomez doesn’t hit value on today’s slate is if he gets into foul trouble here.
Lots of Minutes for Little Salary
Overall, Okogie has not been a great point per minute player, averaging just .74 points per minute on the season, but Rose Teague and Covington have all been ruled out for tonight’s game, so Okogie could be in for a boatload of minutes today. Okogie sits at under $4K on both FD and DK and could be in for 30+ minutes. While this is more of a viable option over on FD where your lowest score is dropped, at just $3.7K on DK, Okogie could easily end up with 25+ points and is a viable punt to pay up for some of the superstars on today’s slate.
Kyrie Irving (eye) out Wednesday
Irving has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to right eye irritation stemming from a scratched cornea he sustained in Monday’s loss. Irving has only been unavailable for two games this season, and Terry Rozier has started at point guard on both occasions while averaging 33.8 minutes in his spot starts. This will elevate him to an elite value option on FanDuel and keep him firmly in the conversation on DraftKings, as he’s exceeded salary-based expectations whenever given the opportunity this season. With Irving off the court, Marcus Morris has been the main beneficiary from a usage standpoint and owns a 27.2% usage rate (+4.3%) with an average of 1.18 DraftKings and 1.12 FanDuel points per minute in a 316.4 minutes sample size on the year.
As reported by: Chris Forsberg via Twitter D.J. Augustin (ankle) expected to play Wednesday
Augustin managed to participate fully in shootaround Wednesday morning and is expected to play in tonight’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls after missing one game due to a sprained right ankle, while Jonathon Simmons is still listed as doubtful and is on track to miss a second straight game because of a sprained left ankle. With Augustin sidelined, Jerian Grant drew the start at point guard and was serviceable from a fantasy perspective in 26 minutes of action, but since Augustin is trending towards returning to the starting lineup, Grant will head back to the bench to resume a reserve role. Grant had recently been relegated from the rotation in favor of Wesley Iwundu, but he’ll likely take over Simmons vacated minutes as the backup point guard for at least one additional game. There hasn’t been a significant beneficiary from a usage standpoint with both Simmons off the court this season, but Terrance Ross figures to take on an expanded role off the bench and is averaging 0.87 DraftKings points and 0.86 FanDuel points per minute with a 24.2% usage rate on the season.
As reported by: John Denton via Twitter Robert Covington (knee), Jeff Teague (ankle), and Derrick Rose (ankle) officially out Wednesday
Covington has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics due to a right knee injury, while Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague will remain sidelined with their respective ankle ailments. Tyus Jones has started the last two games at point guard with Rose unavailable, and he’s averaged 37.4 minutes en route to exceeding salary-based expectations on both occasions, keeping him in consideration for all formats on tonight’s 10-game slate. Josh Okogie has already logged at least 19 minutes in each the aforementioned contests sans Rose, but with Covington already ruled out, he’ll be locked into a sizable minute floor at a cheap price tag and will likely draw the start at shooting guard alongside Andrew Wiggins on the wing. There’s not a huge sample size with Covington, Rose, and Teague off the court together this season, but in that limited time, Wiggins owns a 32.5% usage rate (+7.1%) and is averaging 1.20 DraftKings and 1.17 FanDuel points per minute.
As reported by: Chris Hine via Twitter Other tagged players: Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose John Collins (illness) available to play Wednesday; Dewayne Dedmon (knee) upgraded to probable
Collins has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards despite dealing with flu-like symptoms, while Dedmon has been upgraded to probable after missing two consecutive games due to a sore left knee. Alex Len has started the last two games at center and is coming off of a stellar fantasy performance for his price tag in 25 minutes of action in Monday’s loss, but he’ll head back to the bench to resume his normal backup center role with Dedmon on track to make his return to the starting lineup this evening. With Kent Bazemore likely to miss at least two more weeks, Daniel Hamilton is expected to draw another start alongside Kevin Huerter on the wing, but he was limited to 16 minutes in his first spot start, limiting his overall viability for daily fantasy formats. Trae Young has thrived offensively with Bazemore and Taurean Prince off the court this season, as he owns a 33.7% usage rate (+4.9%) and is averaging 1.18 DraftKings and 1.11 FanDuel points per minute in a 216.4 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Brad Rowland via Twitter Other tagged players: Dewayne Dedmon