DFS Alerts

John Wall (heel) officially out Monday

Wall has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to a sore left heel. This is the second time in the previous three games that Wall has been unavailable, and Austin Rivers received the starting nod at point guard in last Wednesday’s win while logging 34 minutes. Head coach Scott Brooks wouldn’t confirm his starting lineup for tonight’s contest, but Rivers or Tomas Satoransky are his only two realistic options to use at point guard. Given how much usage Wall absorbs on the offensive end of the floor, there’s obviously a ton of opportunity available for additional fantasy production from the remaining Wizards starters. However, outside of Beal, it’s actually been Kelly Oubre that’s benefited the most with Wall and Dwight Howard off the court, as he owns a 29.1% usage rate (+6.8%) and is averaging 1.08 fantasy points per minute in this scenario.

NBA Injury Rundown - Monday, 12/10

Detroit Pistons – Reggie Bullock (TBD), Stanley Johnson (TBD), Ish Smith (Out)

Philadelphia 76ers – Landry Shamet (Questionable), Markelle Fultz (Out)

Washington Wizards – John Wall (Doubtful), Dwight Howard (Out)

New Orleans Pelicans – Anthony Davis (TBD), Elfrid Payton (Out)

Boston Celtics- Al Horford (Questionable), Aron Baynes (Questionable), Guerschon Yabusele (Out)

Cleveland Cavaliers – Rodney Hood (Questionable), David Nwaba (Out), John Henson (Out), J.R. Smith (Out)

Chicago Bulls – Bobby Portis (Questionable), Kris Dunn (Out), Denzel Valentine (Out)

Dallas Mavericks – Maxi Kleber (Questionable), Dennis Smith Jr. (Out), Dirk Nowitzki (Out)

Phoenix Suns – T.J. Warren (Questionable), Devin Booker (Out)

Memphis Grizzlies – Mike Conley (Probable), Garrett Temple (Probable), Joakim Noah (Probable)

Denver Nuggets – Jamal Murray (Questionable), Paul Millsap (Out), Gary Harris (Out), Will Barton (Out)

Minnesota Timberwolves – Robert Covington (Probable), Jerryd Bayless (Out)

Miami Heat – Wayne Ellington (Probable), Josh Richardson (Questionable), Tyler Johnson (Questionable), Hassan Whiteside (Out), Dion Waiters (Out)

Allonzo Trier (hamstring) out Sunday

Trier is an extremely late addition to the Knicks’ injury report and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets due to a strained left hamstring he sustained during pregame warmups. Trier’s role in the rotation has been sporadic of late, as he’s played as little as 15 minutes and as many as many as 31 minutes in the Knicks last six games, but there will certainly be some available playing time on the wing and in the backcourt with Trey Burke also unavailable. His absence will allow Damyean Dotson and Courtney Lee to take on a larger role with the second unit, while Frank Ntilikina could reenter the backcourt rotation.

Davis Bertans (personal) out Sunday; Derrick White will start

Bertans is a late addition to the Spurs’ injury report and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to personal reasons, while Dante Cunningham has also been ruled out with an abdominal injury. In their absences, Derrick White will draw the start at point guard, which will shift Bryn Forbes, DeMar DeRozan, and Rudy Gay all down one position in the starting unit. Cunningham is never in consideration for daily fantasy formats given his low 8.5% usage rate, but he has averaged 27 minutes in the Spurs in last three games, so his and Bertans unavailability will certainly have an effect on the remainder of the rotation. Even with their low usage, Forbes still owns a 23.2% usage rate (+2.8%) and is averaging 0.84 DraftKings and 0.78 FanDuel points per minute with Bertans and Cunningham off the court this season.

All That Jazz

On a slate where there isn’t a lot of value the midrange seems to be very appealing. One of those players is Mr. Donavan Mitchell. Despite not putting up the type of consistent performances that we were accustomed to during his rookie season, the peripheral stats are still there. Usage above 30…. check! Fpts per minute above 1… check! Price fair across the industry… check! Let’s expect a big performance from him today against a Spurs defense that has been less than stellar this season.

E'Twaun Moore (leg) a late scratch Sunday

Moore was originally listed as probable, but he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to lingering effects from a strained lower leg. Moore managed to play at least 25 minutes in each of the Pelicans last two games, so his status didn’t appear to be in any doubt, and beat reporters were not made aware of his unavailability until it was too late to adjust daily fantasy lineups accordingly. Moore had recently been supplanted from the starting lineup by Solomon Hill, but he obviously is still playing a significant role in head coach Alvin Gentry’s rotation when healthy.

Reggie Bullock (ankle) officially out Sunday; Blake Griffin (knee) will play

Bullock has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a sprained left ankle that’s now forced him to miss three consecutive games, while Stanley Johnson remains sidelined and Blake Griffin will play through a knee issue, as expected. Bruce Brown and Langston Galloway have alternated starts at the shooting guard position with Bullock unavailable and both logged at least 31 minutes in the previous contest when Johnson was a late scratch with his knee injury, though Brown has been confirmed as the starter once again this afternoon. Neither Bullock or Johnson are prototypical high usage players, but Andre Drummond still owns a 28.0% usage rate (+2.3%) and is averaging 1.47 DraftKings and 1.50 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.

The New Balance of Power

As the power rankings continue to be refined in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors continue to lead the charge at #1. You can attribute this success directly to the acquisition of Kawhi Leonard. He is looking to lead this team to an NBA championship and it shows in the stats. His usage is sitting at an extraordinary 32.4% and averaging 1.35 fpts per minute. Oh, did I mention that as an industry we just don’t play him enough! Well, here’s you chance to plug him in today on a very small slate with projected lower ownership than another stud in the same game.

Dante Cunningham (abdominal) out Sunday

Cunningham has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to a sore abdominal. Cunningham is never in consideration for daily fantasy formats given his low 8.5% usage rate, but he has averaged 27 minutes in the Spurs in last three games, so his absence certainly has an effect on the remainder of the rotation. Davis Bertans will likely draw the start at power forward in his place, and while he also owns an unimpressive 16.4% usage rate with Cunningham and Pau Gasol off the court this season, he does enough in the peripheral stat categories to be viable as a punt option in tournaments and is averaging 0.87 DraftKings and 0.84 FanDuel points per minute.

Stanley Johnson (knee) officially out Sunday; Reggie Bullock (ankle) doubtful

Johnson has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a sore left knee that’s now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Bullock is a game-time decision but considered doubtful despite originally being listed out on the Pistons’ injury report. Bruce Brown and Langston Galloway have alternated starts at the shooting guard position with Bullock unavailable and both logged at least 31 minutes in the previous contest when Johnson was a late scratch with his aforementioned knee injury. Neither Bullock or Johnson are prototypical high usage players, but Andre Drummond still owns a 28.0% usage rate (+2.3%) and is averaging 1.47 DraftKings and 1.50 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.

Pat Connaughton (knee), Geogre Hill, and Jason Smith listed available to play Sunday

Connaughton has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors despite dealing with a knee injury, while both Hill and Smith will be available to make their Bucks debut following a three-team trade that sent Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson to the Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively. Unfortunately, for the remaining members of the Bucks bench, neither Dellavedova or Henson were integral parts of the rotation due to injury or coach’s decision. This means that Hill and possibly even Smith will begin to siphon playing time away from the likes of Tony Snell, Donte DiVincenzo, and Sterling Brown, the latter likely being relegated from the rotation entirely once Hill is up to speed with his new team.

A Fine Core Play on FD

I’ll gladly opt for Kemba Walker for a reasonable $8,900 salary on FanDuel today. His play has dipped a bit since his early season hot stretch, but that was to be expected. He still ranks among the NBA leaders in usage rate, in the same vicinity as players like Curry, Lillard, Leonard, and Griffin. That’s pretty good company, and he has maintained season averages of 26/4/6 per game. That’s a sturdy line. His recent dip has largely been because of struggles with his shot, as he has shot just 35% from the floor over his last seven games. Well, what can cure those shooting woes? A matchup against the Knicks awaits! Relative to the general salaries, Walker’s FanDuel tag is very palatable, and he makes the cut as a fine core play over there. While I like Antetokounmpo and Leonard just fine, we might need the salary savings down to Walker given the lack of reliable value on the slate.

Too Cheap on DK/FDRAFT

On DK/FDRAFT, Gobert is simply too cheap. Perhaps the algorithms are valuing the Spurs too much. Perhaps the algorithms have been thrown off by his ejection early in the last game. Whatever the case may be, we can take advantage. After thriving for years as a great defensive team, more difficult times have arrived for the San Antonio Spurs. They rank second to last in the NBA in both defensive efficiency and opponent field goal percentage for the year. They are allowing opponents to make 55% of their shots from the floor this season, and their defensive metrics largely rank only better than the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers. Don’t be afraid to target some players against the 2018-2019 version of the Spurs. Prior to the game where he got ejected, Gobert was thriving with four straight 40+ fantasy point games, including one against these same Spurs. San Antonio doesn’t have a player capable of hanging with Gobert on the glass, and there’s a nice combination of floor and upside here.

A Nice Source of Value On A Short Slate

Zeller isn’t a high usage player, doesn’t do anything that makes him stand out in a crowd, and won’t be the guy who is grabbing headlines in the media. The good news is that he seems healthy again, and he has played over 30 minutes in each of the two games since he returned from injury. If you exclude the game where he got injured, he has hit 20+ fantasy points in 11 of his last 12 contests. There is literally nothing out there today in the realm of “safe” value plays, and that gives Zeller an even bigger bump. It’s a no brainer for me at the DK/FDRAFT salary tag, but I think he’s still cheap enough to roll out on FanDuel, too. It also doesn’t hurt that Zeller draws a matchup against whatever big men the Knicks decide to throw out there. Enes Kanter is downright abysmal on the defensive end of the floor, and the Knicks don’t have an elite player on the roster when it comes to defending in the paint. If Zeller can grab a couple of easy putbacks or a few extra rebounds today, that helps the cause even more.

Steady Performer

People continue to sleep on Siakam, and I’m not sure why. He is playing over 30 minutes per game on the year, and he is putting up solid averages of 14.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Siakam has quickly become the most trustworthy of the Toronto big men, and he’s only been held under 25 fantasy points ONCE over his last EIGHTEEN games. Yes, you’re reading that correctly. He may not have the highest ceiling, but we are looking for safe floors as the start of our cash game core, and Siakam provides it. I like the TOR/MIL game to be a close, high-scoring affair, and I expect the regular players to get an extra helping of minutes in this game given its importance to the overall landscape of the Eastern Conference standings. It’s not sexy, but Siakam is a fine selection on a shorter slate where safe plays are at a premium. On a points per dollar basis, I like Siakam a lot today, and he will be a centerpiece of all my cash game builds.