DFS Alerts
Otto Porter (knee) out Sunday; Jeff Green will start
Porter has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets due to a right knee contusion that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games, while Trevor Ariza won’t be available to make his Wizards debut as the trade has yet to be finalized with the NBA league offices. In Porter’s absence, Jeff Green will start at power forward once again but has been sporadic from a fantasy perspective despite averaging 35.5 minutes in the previous two games. Markieff Morris is seeing nearly all of his minutes as the “backup” center, so Green should remain firmly in play as a value option on tonight’s slate with both Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers no longer on the team, in addition to Sam Dekker as the only other power forward on the active roster
As reported by: Ben Standig via Twitter
Time to put on a show
I don’t have to tell you that Kawhi Leonard is a great player. I also don’t have to tell you that he is the most dominant force on his team, and with the absence of several bodies for the Raptors tonight he will be involved in seemingly every possession. I am looking for Leonard to totally dominate and put on a show here, and you don’t want to miss it.
Ante Zizic will start ahead of Channing Frye on Sunday
Head coach Larry Drew has opted to make a change to his starting lineup and will insert Ante Zizic at center for Sunday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, which will send Channing Frye to the bench to resume a reserve role. Drew mentioned during his pregame media availability that he was mulling over a change at center due to the matchup with Joel Embiid on the defensive end of the floor, so it remains unclear if Zizic will be a long-term solution at the five while Tristan Thompson remains sidelined. Frye only averaged 14 minutes in his first two starts since rejoining the rotation, making it unlikely that Zizic automatically steps into a significant minute workload despite the matchup.
As reported by: Spencer Davies via Twitter Tyreke Evans (knee) out Sunday
Evans has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to a bruised right knee. His absence actually shouldn’t have too much of an effect on the remaining members of the wing rotation, as Aaron Holiday is expected to absorb Evans’ entire minute allotment off the bench after being a DNP-CD in both of the Pacers’ previous two games. Evans has only averaged 17 minutes in the two games since Victor Oladipo returned from a knee injury that kept him sidelined for 11 consecutive games, so Holiday shouldn’t be expected to take over some extravagant reserve role despite his brief stretch of success during Oladipo’s aforementioned injury hiatus.
As reported by: J. Michael via Twitter Jimmy Butler (groin) listed as starter Sunday
Butler is listed in the Sixers’ starting lineup and appears set to make his return in Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing two consecutive games due to a strained groin. In his absence, Furkan Korkmaz entered the starting lineup at small forward and was sporadic from a fantasy perspective despite averaging 32 minutes in his two spot starts. There’s been no word of a minute restriction for Butler, so he could be an interesting tournament target on the early slate since he’s third on the Sixers with a 25.4% usage rate and is averaging 1.12 DraftKings and 1.15 FanDuel points per minute in 13 games with Philadelphia following the early-November trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
As reported by: Keith Pompey via Twitter Other tagged players: Mike Muscala Kyle Lowry (thigh) and Pascal Siakam (back) out Sunday; Fred VanVleet (back) doubtful
Lowry and Siakam have both officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to their respective ailments, while VanVleet has been added to the Raptors’ injury report and is now doubtful because of a sore back. With Jonas Valanciunas and Norman Powell also sidelined, the Raptors are on track to have just 10 available players, which makes Delon Wright and OG Anunoby the likeliest candidates to start at point guard and power forward, respectively. C.J. Miles will still be in line an increase in playing time on the wing regardless of the starting lineup, though Wright is the clear minutes beneficiary with both Lowry and VanVleet likely unavailable. There isn’t an actionable sample size with all of the aforementioned players off the court this season, but Kawhi Leonard should thrive in this situation and already owns a 32.1% usage rate with an average of 1.33 DraftKings and 1.35 FanDuel points per minute on the year.
As reported by: Eric Koreen via Twitter Other tagged players: Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet The Joke's on You
I don’t think enough can be said about Nikola Jokic’s performance with the absence of Paul Milsap. He has been playing extraordinary basketball and has had 3 consecutive 50+ point performances. Every thing is clicking on all cylinders for him right now and I expect that to continue tonight against the Toronto Raptors. With a 28.5% usage rate and an average of 1.56 fpts per minute he should continue to dominate. Fire him up with confidence in all formats.
JaVale McGee (illness) listed probable Sunday
McGee has been listed as probable on the most recent version of the Lakers’ injury report for Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to an illness. He ended up playing through flu-like symptoms in Saturday’s win but logged just 18 minutes despite the solid performance from a fantasy perspective. McGee owns a respectable 19.2% usage rate for a big man and is averaging 1.16 DraftKings and 1.26 FanDuel points per minute on the season, which keeps him in consideration for tournament formats on most slates, including tonight’s, assuming he’s cleared to play.
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report Allen Crabbe (knee) officially out Sunday
Crabbe has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks due to a sore right knee that’s now forced him to miss two 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 started at small forward in Friday’s win and was solid from a fantasy perspective in 30 minutes of action, and he’ll likely do so once again after seeing his playing time increase gradually over each of the Nets last four games. Dinwiddie usually thrives without Crabbe on the court this season, and he is averaging 1.20 DraftKings and 1.18 FanDuel points per minute with a 32.9% usage rate (+6.9%) in this scenario.
As reported by: Brian Lewis via Twitter Ball Handling Duties
Josh Richardson is looking at an increased role handling the ball on Sunday as Goran Dragic is out once again and Dwyane Wade is currently questionable with “general soreness”. Richardson performed well in this role earlier in the season and this is a good matchup for him as the Pelicans are the third fastest paced team in the league. Perhaps Richardson’s most valuable asset is his positional eligibility as he allows you to fill out a thin SF position on a short slate.
Practical Spend
James and the Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back but I’m not too worried about tired legs here as the Lakers blew out Charlotte and LeBron was only needed for 30 minutes of action. Washington remains one of the worst defensive teams in the league as they allow the third most points per 100 possessions (113.6) and the fourth highest effective field goal percentage (54.4%). You want as much exposure to this game as possible and Bron is a practical spend if you’re fading Anthony Davis.
Minutes, Lots of Them
A thinned out rotation can only mean good things for Bradley Beal who is already averaging north of 35 minutes this season. Beal should be in line for close to 40 high usage minutes as the Wizards host the Lakers in the highest totaled game of the slate.
Too Cheap on DK/FDRAFT
For whatever reason, we have massive pricing discrepancies with the Nuggets this evening. They are noticeably under-priced on DraftKings and FantasyDraft, while they seem a bit over-priced on FanDuel. In that case, we can get some value on DK/FDRAFT with this team. Mason Plumlee double-doubled earlier this week in a difficult matchup against Memphis, and it looked like his fantasy prospects were definitely pointing higher. However, Plumlee cratered on Friday in a matchup against the Thunder, fouling out in just 20 minutes of court time. The positive news is that he did manage over 20 fantasy points in those 20 minutes, so the playing time was still there. The price tag is still dirt cheap on DK/FDRAFT, and as of now, we desperately need value on this slate. The minutes should be secure with all of Denver’s injuries, particularly with Millsap being sidelined. At this stage of the day, I’ll consider Plumlee an elite value.
Exposure To A High Total
We have a mammoth Vegas total in Washington this evening, as Lakers/Wizards has a one point spread and a 232 total. This is a tricky slate because there are four games and seemingly 100 injuries to keep an eye on, but we do need to make sure we get plenty of exposure to this game in some capacity. While I obviously like LeBron James and John Wall, I’m not sure we will have quite enough salary relief available in order to lock them into cash game lineups. For that reason, I’ll opt for Beal as the cash game starting point for now. Beal has gone over 30 FPTS in six consecutive games and over 38 FPTS in five of those six (40+ if you use DK scoring). His 28% usage rate will keep him involved, and the matchup is obviously fine. Beal averages just over a fantasy point per minute and should push for a 35 point floor in this one. That makes him a fine cash game play.
Elite Option If Mirotic Is Out
For now, I am assuming that Nikola Mirotic is not going to play tonight (he is listed as doubtful). Presuming that is correct, we can lock and load Randle as an elite play. Randle doesn’t get the national attention because he gets over-shadowed by Anthony Davis on his own team, but Randle been hyper-efficient, particularly of late. For the season, he is averaging about 1.40 fantasy points per minute on the floor. That’s an absurd number in its own right, and the minutes are much more secure when Mirotic is sidelined. Randle is averaging 25 and 11 per game so far this month, and he’s a great option here.