DFS Alerts

NBA Injury Rundown - Wednesday, 12/19

Orlando Magic – Isaiah Briscoe (D), Timofey Mozgov (O)

Cleveland Cavaliers – Jordan Clarkson (TBD), Tristan Thompson (O), Kevin Love (O), John Henson (O), J.R. Smith (O)

New York Knicks – Tim Hardaway Jr. (Q), Damyean Dotson (D), Mitchell Robinson (O), Allonzo Trier (O)

Toronto Raptors – Kyle Lowry (Q), Serge Ibaka (Q), Pascal Siakam (P), Fred VanVleet (P), Norman Powell (P)

Boston Celtics – Jaylen Brown (Q), Al Horford (O), Guerschon Yabusele (O)

Minnesota Timberwolves – Jeff Teague (O), Jerryd Bayless (O)

Brooklyn Nets – Allen Crabbe (TBD), Dzanan Musa (O), Caris LeVert (O), Treveon Graham (O)

Chicago Bulls – Jabari Parker (Q), Zach LaVine (O)

New Orleans Pelicans – Ian Clark (Q), Julius Randle (O), Nikola Mirotic (O), Elfrid Payton (O)

Milwaukee Bucks – Malcolm Brogdon (Q), Ersan Ilyasova (O)

Memphis Grizzlies – Kyle Anderson (P), Mike Conley (Q), Joakim Noah (Q), Dillon Brooks (O), Chandler Parsons (O)

Sacramento Kings – Bogdan Bogdanovic (Q), Iman Shumpert (Q), Marvin Bagley III (O)

Juan Hernangomez (abdominal) available to play Tuesday

Hernangomez has officially been upgraded from questionable and is available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks despite dealing with a strained abdominal. Head coach confirmed with reporters during his pregame media availability that Hernangomez went through portions of shootaround this morning, and the team is reportedly likely to monitor his minutes in tonight’s contest. Hernangomez has continued to log heavy minutes as the starting small forward with Gary Harris sidelined, so if he’s limited at all, there could be a substantial amount of playing time available for the other members of the wing rotation. If that scenario comes to fruition, Malik Beasley could be the main beneficiary of additional playing time and would make sense as a contrarian tournament punt on an abbreviated four-game slate.

Maxi Kleber (toe) out Tuesday

Kleber has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a sprained left great toe, while Dennis Smith Jr. will remain sidelined for the sixth time in the previous seven games with a sprained right wrist, and J.J. Barea will make his return from a two-game absence. Jalen Brunson has started at point guard in four of the last five games for Dallas, and he’s played fewer than 30 minutes on just one occasion in those contests, making him an intriguing value option for cash games at his price tag. Dirk Nowitzki is still listed as probable on the Mavericks injury report, but neither he or Kleber have logged more than 11 minutes off the bench in either of the past two games, meaning Kleber’s unavailability is mostly irrelevant to the remainder of the frontcourt rotation, though Dorian Finney-Smith could benefit slightly from a few extra minutes that may funnel his way.

Juan Hernangomez (abdominal) "optimistic" to play Tuesday, likely will have minutes monitored if he plays

Hernangomez is still technically questionable, but head coach Mike Malone confirmed with reporters that he’s optimistic Hernagomez will play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks despite dealing with a strained abdominal. Hernangomez went through portions of shootaround, and the team is reportedly likely to monitor his minutes if he’s cleared to play in tonight’s contest. Hernangomez has continued to log heavy minutes as the starting small forward with Gary Harris sidelined, so if he’s limited at all, there could be a substantial amount of playing time available for the other members of the wing rotation. If that scenario comes to fruition, Malik Beasley could be the main beneficiary of additional playing time and would make sense as a contrarian tournament punt on an abbreviated four-game slate.

Increased Minutes Because Of Injury

This is a late add for me, but Rodions Kurucs is one of my favorite value plays with Allen Crabbe out again. He’s played 28 and 29 minutes in the last two games and has at least 20 fantasy points in three straight games. He’s going to see increased minutes yet again with Crabbe out, and draws an excellent matchup against the Lakers. This game has the second highest total on the slate, and at his price, he’s a top option for me.

Jordan Clarkson (back, rest) out Tuesday

Clarkson is a surprise late addition to the Cavaliers’ injury report and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers in order to rest an ailing lower back. Head coach Larry Drew already confirmed that Larry Nance will replace Ante Zizic in the starting lineup at center in tonight’s contest, while Drew is also mulling a change to start David Nwaba on the wing instead of Alec Burks, a move that appears to be all but confirmed with the news of Clarkson’s unavailability. Nwaba has been subject to a strict minute restriction in his first three games since returning from a nine-game absence due to a knee injury, and he’s yet to play more than 15 minutes, though he reportedly will see that restriction increased to the 15-20 minutes range this evening. However, Burks should be the clear beneficiary of Clarkson’s absence in terms of usage and minutes, and he already owns a 23.0% usage rate with an average of 0.82 DraftKings and 0.81 FanDuel points per minute in a 282.8 minutes sample size as a member of the Cavaliers.

Allen Crabbe (knee) out Tuesday

Crabbe has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a sore right knee that’s now forced him to miss three consecutive games. Spencer Dinwiddie has typically started alongside D’Angelo Russell in the backcourt when the Nets are down a starting wing and did so when Joe Harris was sidelined for a stretch of games earlier in the year. However, Rodions Kurucs has started at small forward in the past two contests and has been solid from a fantasy perspective in an average of 29 minutes per start, and he’ll likely do so once again after seeing his playing time gradually increase over each of the Nets previous three games prior to Crabbe’s injury. Dinwiddie usually thrives without Crabbe on the court this season, and he is averaging 1.19 DraftKings and 1.17 FanDuel points per minute with a 31.8% usage rate (+6.0%) in this scenario.

Tyreke Evans (knee) will try to play Tuesday

Head coach Nate McMillan confirmed with reporters at his pregame media availability that Evans will try to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing one game due to a bruised right knee. For what it’s worth, Evans is also listed as available to play on the Pacers’ injury report, but the tone McMillan’s response makes it seem that there’s a decent chance Evans could be limited by his injury in tonight’s contest. With Evans sidelined, Aaron Holiday rejoined the rotation and logged 14 minutes, while Cory Joseph picked up the remaining available playing time and recorded 30 minutes off the bench en route to meeting salary-based expectations for daily fantasy formats. Both guards should see their roles return to normal levels with Evans active, but if he’s limited in any way, Joseph could be an intriguing tournament punt option on an abbreviated four-game slate.

JaVale McGee (illness) out Tuesday

McGee has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets due to an illness that’s now forced him to miss two consecutive games. In his absence, Tyson Chandler will likely draw another start at center, but he logged just 20 minutes in Sunday’s loss and didn’t see a significant increase in playing time despite the theoretical role change. Instead, Moritz Wagner recorded 17 minutes off the bench, while Ivica Zubac played seven minutes of his own in what turned out to be a center-by-committee with McGee sidelined. This odd minute distribution by head coach Luke Walton could partly be attributed to the slightly lopsided loss, which would make Chandler an intriguing tournament target if he’s able to creep into the mid or upper-20s in terms of minutes this evening.

Standout Play in a Slow-Paced Game

I’m not a huge fan of the Mavericks/Nuggets game tonight, but there is one player in particular that stands out. If we run CourtIQ with Paul Millsap, Gary Harris, and Will Barton off the floor, we can see that Nikola Jokic has averaged 1.61 FP/min. Not only does he see a massive boost in production, but his playing time goes up as well (averaging 35 minutes in his last four games). He should see minutes in the mid 30s again tonight, as this game features a 4.5-point spread.

Lock and Load Power Forward

The Hawks have finally started to tighten their rotation, especially in the frontcourt. With Omari Spellman out, John Collins has averaged over 33 minutes in his last four games. During that stretch, he has averaged 41 fantasy points. Tonight he gets to square off against a Wizards’ team that is ranked 26th in efficiency against power forwards and dead last in rebounding differential. We should love his chances of posting a double-double at home in a game that has the highest total on the board.

It's All Green Baby

Jeff Green has been a thorn in the side of DFS players for many years, but he’s been surprisingly productive over the last couple of weeks. The Wizards traded away Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers and have already ruled out Otto Porter. While Trevor Ariza is set to make his Wizards’ debut tonight, Green is still a good bet play 30+ minutes against the Hawks, who are one of the fastest-paced teams in the NBA. Green is cheap and he offers much needed upside in a slate that features two lackluster games.

Larger Role Because Of Injuries

With all the injuries to the Denver Nuggets, Monte Morris has really stepped into a larger role. He’s attempted double-digit shots in five straight games and has at least 28 fantasy points in four of those five games. He’s played at least 26 minutes in four of the last five games. Dallas has struggled with two guards all season, and even though Torrey Craig starts, Morris is still the better option for Denver.

Willing To Take The Shot At This Price

With Otto Porter Jr. ruled out for tonight’s game, Trevor Ariza will move into the starting lineup in his first game with the Wizards. It’s really tough to project minutes for Ariza with a new team, but his price makes him an excellent play in this matchup. Washington has the highest implied team total on the slate, and they receive the biggest pace bump. This is a very stackable game, and Ariza is a cheaper option that frees up some of the studs.

Dennis Smith Jr. (wrist) officially out Tuesday; J.J. Barea (ankle) will play

Smith Jr. has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a sprained right wrist that’s now forced him to miss six of the previous seven games, while Barea has been upgraded from questionable and will make his return from a two-game absence. Jalen Brunson has started at point guard in four of the last five games for Dallas, and he’s played fewer than 30 minutes on just one occasion in those contests, making him an intriguing value option for cash games at his price tag. Dirk Nowitzki and Maxi Kleber both remain listed on the Mavericks injury report with their respective ailments, but neither has logged more than 11 minutes off the bench in either of the past two games, meaning their availability is mostly irrelevant to the remainder of the frontcourt rotation, though Dorian Finney-Smith could benefit slightly if either is deemed unable to suit up closer to tipoff.