DFS Alerts

Richaun Holmes will start ahead of Deandre Ayton on Thursday

According to the Suns’ television broadcast, Richaun Holmes will start at center in Thursday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, which will send Deandre Ayton, who has been confirmed as active, to the bench to assume a reserve role. There’s been no word from the team or head coach Igor Kokoskov if this lineup change is purely disciplinary, performance-based, or if Ayton is dealing with some type of injury or illness. Either way, it’s likely wise to limit exposure to Ayton in tournament formats, as Kokoskov could be trying to send a message to his star rookie following a string of poor performances, and it’d be far from shocking if Ayton is a DNP-CD or plays extremely limited minutes this evening.

Jaylen Brown (back) will play off the bench without a minutes restriction Thursday

As expected, Brown has officially been cleared by the Celtics medical staff and will play off the bench in Thursday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets after missing three consecutive games with a bruised right lower back. Brown won’t be subject to a minutes restriction in his return, and the news of his newly-acquired reserve role isn’t all that surprising given the success Boston has had with Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris manning the shooting guard and power forward positions, respectively, in the starting unit. Smart saw at least 29 minutes in two of the three games Brown was sidelined with mixed results from a fantasy perspective, but his playing time could take a bit of a hit with both Brown and Gordon Hayward now vying for reserve minutes on the wing. Unsurprisingly, Kyrie Irving leads the way with a 30.6% usage rate and is averaging 1.42 DraftKings and 1.44 FanDuel points per minute in the 66.4 minutes this new starting five has spent on the court together.

CJ McCollum (ankle) out Thursday

McCollum has officially been downgraded from questionable and will not play in Thursday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a sprained left ankle. There’s been no word from the team or head coach Terry Stotts (shocker) on who will replace McCollum in the starting lineup, but either Nik Stauskas or Seth Curry appears to be the likeliest candidates with Evan Turner running the point in the second unit. Turner will still see a tangible bump in playing time sans McCollum, and he averages 1.06 DraftKings and 1.05 FanDuel points per minute with him off the court this season, but Damian Lillard owns an absurd 51.9% usage rate (+18.8%) in a limited 75.7 minutes sample size while averaging 1.68 DraftKings and 1.60 FanDuel points per minute. While these metrics obviously aren’t sustainable over the long-term, they do indicate that Lillard is an elite option for all daily fantasy formats this evening.

Risky Value Option

I don’t think I end up on Holmes on FanDuel, but I like him on DraftKings and FantasyDraft. He has at least 26 fantasy points in three of the last four games, and at least 20 fantasy points in seven of the last eight games. The Suns are an excellent team for value on tonight’s slate, and there is a lot of usage to go around without Booker and Warren. Holmes is risky because of his limited minutes, but he continues to produce over a fantasy point per minute.

Minutes Are Worth The Look

It’s all about minutes when it comes to Mikal Bridges, and with the injuries to Booker and Warren, Bridges has played at least 30 minutes in back-to-back games. I am a little worried about his floor, but I do like his upside in this matchup. He was 3-12 and 0-7 from three-point land against the Kings and still finished with 25 fantasy points. Ariza is still the safe option, but if this game gets out of hand, Bridges will likely play more minutes tonight.

Right Back To The Well

I know Josh Jackson disappointed last time out, but I’m going right back to the well with Warren and Booker out again tonight. Jackson will be very popular tonight, and while I don’t mind a fade in tournaments, I think he’s worth a look in all formats on this small slate. He played 27 minutes in the blowout against the Kings, and continued to have a high usage rate (27.9%) with Booker and Warren out.

Starter In Waiting?

We have seen Elie Okobo enough this year to realize that he simply is in over his head at the NBA level. In the blowout loss to the Kings the other night, the coaching staff gave equal minutes to De’Anthony Melton, who responded with a 21/2/5 line in 23 minutes. He is an aggressive offensive player who simply gives the Suns a better chance to score the basketball on the offensive end. If he draws the start, he will be very chalky, but he might fly under the radar a bit if the Suns give Okobo one more chance. As such, I hope that happens in order to make Melton a more contrarian GPP choice.

Quietly Playing Better Since His Return

It’s been a frustrating year for Mitchell, but his play has looked much better since his return from injury. He’s being more aggressive and has been getting better looks at the basket. His production was down a bit in the last game, but that was almost entirely attributable to a blowout in which he did not have to play heavy minutes. I expect a competitive game tonight, and Mitchell should be able to take advantage of James Harden and his sometimes lazy defense when the Jazz have the ball. Don’t sleep on Mitchell in GPPs tonight.

Healthy GPP Upside

Hardaway has been a bit underwhelming of late and draws a difficult matchup tonight against the Celtics, but that will only serve to lower his relative ownership despite the three game slate. However, Hardaway is still the offensive key to this Knicks team, and he has taken 37 shot attempts and 17 three pointers over the last two contests. There’s plenty of upside if his shots are falling, and he has the ability to make a difference on a short slate.

On Fire Right Now

Lillard has been on fire of late with around 60 fantasy points in three of his last four games, and there’s no reason to expect him to slow down against the revolving door of Phoenix point guards. The sample size is very small, but he currently owns a 51% usage rate and scores 60 fantasy points per 36 minutes with McCollum off the floor — so Lillard gets an even bigger boost if McCollum happens to sit this game out.

NBA Injury Rundown - Thursday, 12/6

New York Knicks – Trey Burke (Out), Lance Thomas (Out), Kristaps Porzingis (Out)

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

Portland Trail Blazers – C.J. McCollum (Questionable)

Houston Rockets – Carmelo Anthony (Out), Brandon Knight (Out), Zhou Qi (Out)

Solomon Hill will start ahead of E'Twaun Moore on Wednesday

Head coach Alvin Gentry has opted to make a change to his starting lineup for Wednesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks and will start Solomon Hill at small forward ahead of E’Twaun Moore in an effort to get some more offensive punch off the bench with Julius Randle starting for the injured Nikola Mirotic at power forward. Randle has been productive when given the opportunity to start in the past, as he owns a 28.3% usage rate and is averaging 1.31 DraftKings and 1.27 FanDuel with Mirotic and Elfrid Payton off the court this season. On top of that, Randle is coming off of a career performance in 39 minutes of action in Monday’s loss, keeping his ceiling astronomically high if even approaches that amount of playing time this evening. Additionally, with Andrew Harrison available to make his Pelicans debut, the minute floor of Tim Frazier may be in jeopardy with two serviceable point guards in Harrison and Ian Clark now behind him in the rotation

Khris Middleton (personal) out Wednesday; Tony Snell will start

Middleton is reportedly a not with the team and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to personal reasons. In his absence, Tony Snell will start at small forward, but he’s eclipsed the 20-minute mark just twice the entire season, though the unavailability of Ilyasova in conjuncture with Middleton’s may be enough to get him over that hump. Giannis Antetokounmpo has averaged an insane 40.2 minutes in the three most recent games Ilyasova has been sidelined and has recorded at least 66 fantasy points on each occasion. The vacated playing time that hasn’t been allocated to Antetokounmpo has been absorbed by Pat Connaughton, who’s averaged 26.2 minutes with Ilyasova unavailable, though Connaughton hasn’t shown enough consistency or flashed enough upside to be seriously considered as a viable option on full 10-game slate.

Omari Spellman (hip) downgraded to out Wednesday

Spellman was previously deemed available to play, but he’s now been ruled out for Wednesday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a sore right hip, while Taurean Prince is slated to miss at least three weeks due to a bone bruise, ligament sprain, and inflammation in his left ankle. In his absence, Kent Bazemore will re-enter the starting lineup at small forward after averaging 23.6 minutes off the bench over the last five games. As for Spellman, he’s seen his role in the rotation diminish with the return of John Collins and Dewayne Dedmon and logged just under eight minutes in Tuesday’s loss. Collins has only played 77.6 minutes with Prince off the court this season, but in that limited time, he’s recorded a 25.9% usage rate and is averaging 1.16 DraftKings and 1.12 FanDuel points per minute.

Dennis Smith Jr. (wrist) out Wednesday

Smith Jr. has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to the lingering effects from a sprained right wrist, while Luka Doncic remains probable with a left arm contusion. Doncic still managed to log 32 minutes in Tuesday’s win, so he’ll likely be a full-go barring some unforeseen setback during pregame warmups and will likely start at point guard in Smith Jr.‘s place. This will allow Dorian Finney-Smith to enter the starting lineup at small forward, and he’s logged at least 25 minutes in eight of the last 11 games regardless of a bench or starting role. Doncic and Harrison Barnes continue to be the focal points of the Mavericks offense, though Barnes and DeAndre Jordan have been the main beneficiaries with Smith Jr. off the court this season, as each own at least a +3.8% usage differential and see a minimum of a +0.18 increase in their per minute production.