DFS Alerts
Aron Baynes (ankle) officially out Saturday
Baynes has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won’t play in Sunday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls due to a sprained left ankle that forced him to exit Thursday’s win after just two minutes of action. Prior to that, Baynes had played between 16-23 minutes in each of the Celtics previous five games, so there will certainly be a noteworthy amount of playing time available in the frontcourt rotation. In his absence, Daniel Theis should continue serving as the primary backup center behind Al Horford, but he’ll likely remain out of serious consideration for daily fantasy formats, despite averaging a respectable 0.88 DraftKings and 0.87 FanDuel points per minute on the season.
As reported by: Gary Washburn via Twitter
John Wall (illness) a game-time decision Saturday
Wall is back with the team after missing Wednesday’s win due to personal reasons, but he’s currently questionable and will be a game-time decision for Saturday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to an illness, while Jeff Green remains listed as probable with a sore back. In Wall’s absence, Austin Rivers started at point guard and was more than serviceable from a fantasy perspective in 34 minutes of action. The Wizards were forced to utilize a thin rotation in that contest, so Bradley Beal and Otto Porter both logged at least 42 minutes, but those numbers should be expected to regress closer to their mean regardless of Wall’s availability since Green is on track to return. 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 28.9% usage rate (+6.9%) and is averaging 1.08 DraftKings and 1.09 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.
As reported by: Candace Buckner via Twitter Big Boost
I am updating my tags to add Trey Lyles as a core play with the confirmed news that Millsap is out with a broken toe. He’s dirt cheap and should see a huge increase in minutes. That gives us FIVE core plays as of now, and three of them qualify as values. This is going to be a very high scoring DFS slate. Lyles has shown he can produce when given playing time in the past, and the price tag is too cheap to pass up.
No Prince, No Problem
Given the absence of Taurean Prince, Kent Bazemore took advantage of his renewed starting gig by taking 18 shots over 35 minutes against the Wizards the other night, and he hit the mid-40’s in fantasy points in that game. The DEN/ATL game has a nice Vegas total of 223 points tonight, and I think the Hawks will be able to keep it competitive on their home floor. While Bazemore isn’t the highest usage guy on the planet, CourtIQ does tell us that he sees a 2.3% usage boost and scores 2-3 additional fantasy points per 36 minutes with Prince off the floor this year. He tends to score around a fantasy point per minute in these situations, and he should play those 32-35 minutes tonight if the game stays close. As such, he should comfortably top 30+ fantasy points in this game. That’s enough to make him a cash game core play, and he has upside for more than that — as he showed in the last game.
Opportunity To Thrive
The Cavaliers just can’t catch a break this season. Not only did they lose LeBron James to the Lakers, but they simply can’t stay healthy. They’ve been missing multiple big men all year. George Hill got traded yesterday, and then Rodney Hood got hurt in the middle of last night’s game. Yikes. I would be surprised to see Hood return tonight, which should open up a lot of opportunity for Burks and Clarkson, both of whom topped 30 minutes last night. Burks played a team-high 38 minutes and nearly triple-doubled with a 22/7/9 line. While it would be foolish to expect that kind of production again, the fact of the matter is that Burks is simply too cheap if he is going to have a 30+ minute role. I see no way around that tonight, and Burks could get that type of run even if Hood plays. Burks looks like a good fit for his new team, and the price tag is only going to go up from here. Get the discount for the last time while you still can.
An Admirable Fill-In
We don’t have official news on the status of Hassan Whiteside just yet, but for now I am assuming that he won’t be back tonight. We have seen Adebayo fill in admirably for Whiteside in the past, and that continued last night. Adebayo posted a 22/10/2 line over 32 solid minutes against the Suns, and he would be in line for another strong performance if Whiteside doesn’t return this evening. Adebayo is posting higher rebound, usage, steal, and block rates this year, which equals fantastic news when he gets playing time. I do have a slight worry about this game going a bit smaller given that the Clippers don’t necessarily have to use a true center at times, but Adebayo has earned the minutes. In fact, given Whiteside’s antics with the team of late, I wouldn’t be surprise if he was shipped out sometime soon.
Pay Up For The Top Overall Play
Given the value that is out there, it makes sense to plug in the highest projected player on the board. LeBron James is clearly the top projected player on the board. Even in a difficult matchup against Memphis, I can’t advocate taking the likes of Towns or Lillard over him. Towns has a similarly difficult matchup, and James is simply the best fantasy option on this slate. He is averaging 33/6/8 over the last three contests, numbers that are even better than his career averages. You should have plenty of salary flexibility with which to jam him in, and I think all cash game lineups should start with The King tonight. In fact, you might be able to find enough value to where you can fit James AND Lillard in your cash games, and I’d be fine with that, too.
Draymond Green (toe) out Friday
Green has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a sprained right toe that’s now forced him to miss 11 consecutive games. This news was expected after head coach Steve Kerr confirmed with reporters that the plan was still for Green to return next week, even despite Green’s pleas to play in tonight’s contest. In his absence, Andre Iguodala will draw another start alongside Kevin Durant in the frontcourt, while Kevon Looney hopes to maintain his current stranglehold on the starting center role with Damian Jones now expected to miss at least the remainder of the regular season. In fact, Looney has logged at least 25 minutes in three of the last four games, but he may eventually see that minute floor diminish to some extent once Green is available to play and back up to normal game speed again.
As reported by: Malika Andrews via Twitter De'Anthony Melton will start ahead of Ellie Okobo on Friday
Melton has continued to outproduce Okobo off the bench, and head coach Igor Kokoskov has finally opted to make the inevitable change to his starting lineup for Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat by starting Melton at point guard. Melton has averaged 24.5 minutes over the last two games, mostly in garbage time, and he should still realistically threaten the 30-minute plateau as a member of the starting unit. Meanwhile, Trevor Ariza has been cleared to play despite battling a sore right ankle, but T.J. Warren will miss his fifth consecutive game due to a sore right knee. With Warren and Devin Booker sidelined, Josh Jackson will likely remain in the starting lineup and has averaged 30.2 minutes in his most recent starts without Warren available. Even though head coach Igor Kokoskov chose to start Richaun Holmes over Deandre Ayton at center in Thursday’s loss, neither big man saw a change in playing time and Ayton still recorded more minutes off the bench.
As reported by: the Phoenix Suns via Twitter Other tagged players: Elie Okobo Goran Dragic (knee) will start Friday
Dragic has officially been upgraded from probable and will start in Friday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns after missing eight consecutive games with a right knee injury. Miami is on the front end of a back-to-back set, and Dragic confirmed with reporters during shootaround that he expects to be subject to a minutes restriction in his first game back. Hassan Whiteside and Wayne Ellington both didn’t travel with the team to Phoenix, so Dragic will consequentially take Ellington’s spot in the starting lineup, which slides Josh Richardson back over to his natural shooting guard position on the wing. Either Bam Adebayo or Kelly Olynyk will start at center in Whiteside’s absence, and Adebayo lead’s the Heat with an average of 1.12 DraftKings and 1.18 FanDuel points per minute with Whiteside and Ellington off the court this season, making him a premier play on tonight’s 10-game slate.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter Trevor Ariza (knee) will play Friday; T.J. Warren (ankle) ruled out
Ariza has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat despite dealing with a sore right knee, while T.J. Warren will miss his fifth consecutive game due to a sore right knee. With Warren and Devin Booker sidelined, Josh Jackson will likely remain in the starting lineup and has averaged 30.2 minutes in his starts without Warren available. Even though head coach Igor Kokoskov opted to start Richaun Holmes over Deandre Ayton at center in Thursday’s loss, neither big man saw a change in playing time and Ayton still recorded more minutes off the bench. Speaking of lineup changes, De’Anthony Melton continues to outproduce Ellie Okobo off the bench, so it just seems like a matter of time until Kokoskov begins to give Melton more run with the starting unit before the game gets out of hand early as it has in the Suns previous two contests.
As reported by: Kellan Olson via Twitter Other tagged players: TJ Warren Andre Drummond (shoulder) will play Friday; Stanley Johnson starts ahead of Langston Galloway
Drummond has officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers despite dealing with a left shoulder contusion, while Reggie Bullock and Ish Smith have already been ruled out with their respective ailments. Langston Galloway started in place of Bullock and logged 23 minutes in Wednesday’s loss, but he was dismal from a fantasy perspective, which contributed to the decision of head coach Dwane Casey to start Stanley Johnson at shooting guard this evening. Blake Griffin has actually seen a noteworthy bump in usage with Bullock and Smith off the court this season, as he owns a 34.7% usage rate (+3.2%) and is averaging 1.41 DraftKings and 1.36 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.
As reported by: the Detroit Pistons via Twitter Other tagged players: Stanley Johnson, Langston Galloway Julius Randle will remain in starting lineup ahead of Nikola Mirotic on Friday
As expected, Mirotic will play in Friday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies after missing two consecutive games due to an illness, but head coach Alvin Gentry has opted to stick with Randle as the Pelicans starting power forward for likely the foreseeable future. Gentry cited his reason for the change as a hope that Mirotic can help with the team’s bench scoring and is also hopeful that Randle can provide some energy in the starting unit from the game’s outset. Randle logged at least 35 minutes in each of his previous two starts, and while that minute floor likely takes a slight hit with Mirotic available, he should still be a safe bet to see in the range of 28-32 minutes, which keeps him in consideration for tournaments at a price tag that has yet to fully account for his recent monster fantasy performances.
As reported by: Andrew Lopez via Twitter Other tagged players: Nikola Mirotic Marvin Williams (shoulder) available to play Friday
Williams has surprisingly been cleared by the Hornets’ medical staff and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets after missing one game due to a sprained right shoulder. His return to the starting lineup will send Michael Kidd-Gilchrist back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a middling fantasy performance in 23 minutes of action in his spot start. There’s been no word of a minutes restriction for Williams, but his minutes have been typically capped in the mid-20s when Kidd-Gilchrist and the rest of the Hornets frontcourt are healthy, which removes him from consideration in daily fantasy formats on most slates.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter George Hill and Sam Dekker traded to the Bucks for Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, and future draft picks
The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to send Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, a 2021 first-round picks, and a 2021 second-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for George Hill and Sam Dekker in what appears to a salary dump deal for Milwaukee, as they will save $18M in salary in the 2019-20 season with the trade, which allows them flexibility to continue to upgrade their roster. Obviously, it goes without saying that all of the aforementioned players will not be available to play for their new or former teams in Friday’s matchups as the trade still needs to be finalized by the NBA league offices. Henson and Dekker are currently sidelined with injuries, and Dellavedova was out of the Bucks rotation, so Hill’s departure is really the only noteworthy news to come from this trade. His absence should allow Larry Nance to reenter the Cavaliers starting lineup while Jordan Clarkson and Alec Burks should see increased roles off the bench.
As reported by: Adrian Wojnarowski via Twitter Other tagged players: Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, Sam Dekker