DFS Alerts
Chandler Hutchison (illness) available to play Saturday
Hutchison has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Saturday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs after missing one game with an illness, while Zach LaVine is traveling back to Chicago to receive further testing on his injured left ankle and has been ruled out for at least the next two games. In his absence, head coach Jim Boylen confirmed at shootaround that Kris Dunn will start alongside Ryan Arcidiacano as part of a two-point guard starting backcourt, though Antonio Blakeney will likely still be in line for a significant bump in minutes regardless of role after logging 33 minutes the last time LaVine was sidelined. Meanwhile, Hutchison will take over the backup small forward role from Jabari Parker, who will be out of the rotation entirely with Bobby Portis soaking up all of the backup power forward minutes behind Lauri Markkenan.
As reported by: K.C. Johnson via Twitter
Kyle Anderson (ankle) questionable Saturday; Mike Conley (hamstring) probable
Anderson has officially been listed as questionable for Saturday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a sprained left ankle, while Conley has been listed as probable once again with a sore left hamstring. Anderson was limited to just 16 minutes of action in Friday’s loss, but it remains unclear if that was directly injury related or a decision made by head coach JB Bickerstaff to monitor his minutes on the first night of a back-to-back set. With Dillon Brooks and Chandler Parson still sidelined, Omri Casspi would be one of the first in line to receive extended minutes, outside JaMychal Green, who already typically sees between 23-25 minutes a night off the bench. Anderson is a low-usage player, so his potential unavailability won’t open up many additional opportunities on the offensive end of the floor, but Conley does own a 31.5% usage rate (+2.1%) with an average of 1.16 DraftKings and 1.15 FanDuel points per minute with Anderson off the court this season.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Mike Conley Increased Role
Brandon Ingram’s absence has led to an increased role and increased minutes for Lonzo Ball who is averaging 34.6 minutes per game over his last five games – up significantly from his season average of ~ 28 minutes per game. Ball remains a low usage player playing alongside LeBron James but he’s shown some decent upside scoring 35+ fantasy points in three of the five games where Ingram has been absent or limited.
Zach LaVine (ankle) officially out Saturday
LaVine is traveling back to Chicago to receive further testing on his injured left ankle, and he’s officially been ruled out of Saturday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs in addition to the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday evening. In his absence, Antonio Blakeney is a candidate to start at shooting guard if head coach Jim Boylen doesn’t decide to start Kris Dunn alongside Ryan Arcidiacano as part of a two-point guard starting backcourt, though Blakeney will be in line for a significant bump in minutes regardless of role after logging 33 minutes the last time LaVine was sidelined. Meanwhile, Chandler Hutchison remains questionable with an illness, and if he’s cleared to play, he’ll take over the backup small forward role from Jabari Parker, who will be out of the rotation entirely with Bobby Portis soaking up all of the backup power forward minutes behind Lauri Markkenan.
As reported by: K.C. Johnson via Twitter JaVale McGee (illness) questionable Saturday
McGee missed shootaround and is officially questionable for Saturday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets due to an illness. If he is unable to suit up, Tyson Chandler would almost certainly enter the starting lineup at center and would become one of the top value options on tonight’s slate with his likelihood of approaching 30 minutes with McGee sidelined. The rest of the remaining center minutes would likely be absorbed by Kyle Kuzma, who played a decent amount of backup center prior to the Lakers acquisition of Chandler, though it’s certainly possible Moritz Wagner or Ivica Zubac enter the rotation and receive some run at the five this evening.
As reported by: Dave McMenamin via Twitter Trevor Ariza traded to the Wizards for Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers
The Phoenix Suns have finally reached an agreement to send Trevor Ariza to the Washington Wizards for Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers in a three-player trade with no draft compensation exchanging sides. The official trade call with the NBA league offices is expected to take place this afternoon, but Oubre and Rivers are longshots to make their Suns debut in Saturday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, even if the deal is completed prior to tonight’s contest.
As reported by: Shams Charania via Twitter Other tagged players: Kelly Oubre, Austin Rivers Top Cash Value
Everything I said about Karl-Anthony Town’s perfect matchup translates over to Dario Saric as well. In short, the Suns allow a ton of shot attempts at the rim and are allowing the fifth highest field goal percentage at the rim. Saric has been splitting minutes at the four pretty much exactly down the middle with Taj Gibson so Gibson’s absence on Saturday should allow Saric to approach mid-30’s in an ideal matchup.
Ideal Matchup
Towns can’t ask for a much better matchup as the Timberwolves travel to Phoenix on Saturday night. On top of the Suns just being a terrible defensive team overall (28th in defensive rating, 27th in effective field goal percentage allowed), they specifically struggle against opposing big men. Phoenix is allowing the highest frequency of shot attempts at the rim (41%) in the league and they are allowing the fifth highest field goal percentage at the rim (66.5%). Towns should eat in this matchup and gets some added rebound equity with Taj Gibson sidelined for the game.
A Fine Mid-Range Play
I’m toying with the idea of adding Jeremy Lamb as a fourth core play, but I don’t think he’s a 100% requirement for roster building tonight. However, I do think he is a very solid mid-range option. It’s a favorable matchup against an up tempo Lakers team, and Lamb is averaging a steady 14 points and seven boards per game here in the month of December. I have him tagged in LineupHQ as a core option… and let’s consider him core play “three and a half” right now.
Ready To Thrive In A Great Matchup
I feel like Aldridge might get forgotten on this slate, but he is one of my favorite options. The Bulls have struggled mightily against athletic big men all year long, and any time I can target a big man with some scoring ability in a matchup with the Bulls, I’ll happily give it a shot. In addition, the Spurs have quietly been a lot better on the offensive end of late. That increased efficiency hasn’t shown up with massive games for Aldridge, but it feels like one is coming. Aldridge is still holding a solid 28% usage rate while averaging 1.11 FPPM this year, which should put him at a 40+ game if he gets his normal allotment of minutes. If the game stays close, the upside is even greater against a poor interior defense. There’s enough value on the slate to make it work, and Aldridge is a fine power forward piece on this slate. Expect him to have one of his better games of the season tonight.
Play Him.
On a points per dollar basis, this is your no brainer selection of the night. Taj Gibson is going to miss today’s game because of a personal issue, which should open up tons of minutes for Saric. Even with Gibson active and starting over the last few games, Saric has played 30+ minutes off the bench, while Gibson has been in the teens. Saric should push for 34-36 tonight in a favorable matchup against the Suns given the absence of Gibson. It’s also not like Saric is an unknown fantasy commodity; we know he is capable of putting up numbers when the court time is there, and it will be there tonight. There’s plenty of upside here for a dirt cheap price tag, and Saric is a core piece for me in all formats. The only real risk is a potential blowout where the Wolves are able to put in the bench players for the fourth quarter, but that would likely mean that Saric has put up some numbers to help the game get to that point. Given the role, the price tag is simply too cheap. Play him.
The Top Spend Up Option
The Hornets and Lakers both rank in the top ten in the NBA in tempo this year, and they both sit in the middle of the pack in terms of defensive efficiency. The Hornets could also be dealing with some tired legs on the tail end of a back-to-back set following a difficult overtime loss to the Knicks on Friday. Don’t be afraid to target some Lakers players tonight, as these are the types of situations where you will often see a team come out flat, particularly on the defensive end. The Hornets had a 20 point second half lead at home against the woeful Knicks, and they lost the game. Given those circumstances, LeBron James is one of my favorite “spend up” options on this slate. It’s remarkable that he continues his steady top-end production in his 16th NBA season, but his numbers with the Lakers are basically right in line with his career averages, and his scoring is actually up a bit. He’s rocking 28/8/7 averages this year and basically has a 40+ fantasy point floor on a nightly basis. Fire him up with confidence as a core play against a tired Hornets squad.
Kyle Lowry (thigh) out Friday; Kawhi Leonard (hip) will play
Lowry has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors due to a left thigh contusion, while head coach Nick Nurse confirmed that Leonard has been cleared to return from a two-game absence that stemmed from a bruised right hip. The absence of Lowry will enable Fred VanVleet to remain in the starting lineup at point guard following a couple of serviceable fantasy performances in an average of 28.5 minutes in place of Leonard the last two games. There isn’t really an actionable sample size with Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas off the court together this season, but in that limited time, Leonard owns a 41.9% usage rate and is averaging 1.59 DraftKings and 1.60 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.
As reported by: Eric Smith via Twitter Other tagged players: Kawhi Leonard Andre Iguodala (hip) out Friday
Iguodala has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings due to right hip tightness that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games. In his absence, both Jonas Jerebko and Alfonzo McKinnie have seen a significant increase in playing time even with Draymond Green logging at least 25 minutes in each game since returning from an 11-game injury hiatus, and they’ll likely be the main minute beneficiaries once again, along with Quinn Cook, with Shaun Livingston unavailable. Green will likely continue to be eased back into the rotation by head coach Steve Kerr, so that makes him difficult to target in daily fantasy formats if he’s going to see a full five-to-10 fewer minutes than the other members of the starting lineup, excluding Kevon Looney of course.
As reported by: Nick Friedell via Twitter Otto Porter (knee) out Friday; Jeff Green will start
Porter has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets due to a right knee contusion that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while John Wall was no longer listed on the Wizards’ injury after dealing with a variety of ailments. In Porter’s absence, Jeff Green started at power forward and logged a team-high 45 minutes en route to a stellar fantasy performance. 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 Sam Dekker as the only other power forward on the active roster.
As reported by: the Washington Wizards via Twitter