DFS Alerts

Hunting for Some GPP Value

McGruder has faded since his white hot start to the season, but the good news is that he has played at least 30 minutes in six straight games. The court time is still there, and that will certainly continue tonight with the Heat dealing with injuries to both Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson. They also draw a favorable matchup against a Hawks team that plays at the fastest pace in the NBA and ranks in the bottom eight in defensive efficiency. That’s not a good combination. McGruder is fully capable of knocking down shots, and now he is much more reasonably priced. Fire him up as a GPP option this evening.

Positive Trends And A Fine Matchup

Gary Harris is questionable for the Nuggets tonight. If he is sidelined, we can count on a huge role for Murray, who nearly triple-doubled in 40 minutes sans Harris in the last game. The good news is that Murray is still capable of putting up a fine performance even if Harris is active — especially in an up tempo matchup against the Lakers. There’s a nice combination of floor and upside here that makes Murray very appealing on a short slate, and he would get the lock button for me if we get word that Harris is out.

Big Interior Numbers Available

Perhaps Enes Kanter is coming to handshake agreements with his opponents in order to help pad his stats this season. Kanter has never been a good defender, but numbers like we saw in the last game are ridiculous. Kanter logged 21 points and 26 boards against a good player in Marc Gasol, while Gasol had 27/8/4 and five blocks on the other side. Hello, fantasy goodness! Kanter has no shot to slow down Andre Drummond, and this could be another game where both big men put up big numbers. Both of them are elite GPP options at center on this short slate.

NBA Injury Rundown - Tuesday, 11/27

New York Knicks – Courtney Lee (Out), Lance Thomas (Out), Kristaps Porzingis (Out)

Detroit Pistons – Luke Kennard (Out)

Atlanta Hawks – Kent Bazemore (Probable), Alex Len (Probable), Alex Poythress (Out), Tyler Dorsey (Out)

Miami Heat – Goran Dragic (Out), Tyler Johnson (Out), Dion Waiters (Out)

Toronto Raptors – Norman Powell (Out)

Memphis Grizzlies – Dillon Brooks (Out), Chandler Parsons (Out)

Los Angeles Lakers – Rajon Rondo (Out)

Denver Nuggets – Gary Harris (Questionable), Will Barton (Out), Isaiah Thomas (Out), Michael Porter Jr. (Out), Jarred Vanderbilt (Out)

Indiana Pacers – Victor Oladipo (Out)

Jonathon Simmons will start ahead of Wesley Iwundu on Monday

Head coach Steve Clifford has finally opted to make a change to his starting lineup for Monday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors and will start Jonathan Simmons at small forward, which will send Wesley Iwundu to the bench to resume a reserve role. Iwundu has been a nominal starter at the three-spot and only recently eclipsed the 20-minute mark with the Magic fully healthy before being limited to just five minutes in Sunday’s win. Simmons essentially swapped roles with Iwundu in that contest, and he logged 25 minutes off the bench en route to exceeding salary-based expectations. This makes Simmons an intriguing punt option in tournaments considering he owns a 21.8% usage rate and is averaging 0.75 DraftKings and 0.76 FanDuel points per minute this season.

Marcus Smart will start in place of Jaylen Brown (back) on Monday

Brown was ruled out in advance of Monday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a bruised right lower back, while Terry Rozier will be available to play despite dealing with a sore left knee he also managed to play through in Saturday’s loss. The Celtics will receive some reinforcements with Gordon Hayward returning from a one-game absence, but despite being listed as the probable starter, will come off the bench in favor of Marcus Smart this evening. Marcus Morris has started two consecutive games at power forward and averaged 27.1 minutes over that span, and even though he’ll start once again, head coach Brad Stevens has yet to confirm if this change has will be the norm moving forward. Either way, Morris and Aron Baynes seem to be locked into relatively static minutes regardless of role, so whoever starts alongside Al Horford in the frontcourt shouldn’t be factored into lineup decisions for daily fantasy formats.

Anthony Davis (hip) will play Monday

Davis has officially been upgraded from questionable, as expected, and will play in Monday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics after missing one game with a strained right hip. Julius Randle logged 39 minutes and smashed salary-based expectations in Saturday’s loss, but he’ll head back to the bench to resume a reserve role with Davis available to return this evening. Assuming Davis isn’t hindered by his aforementioned hip injury, he’s poised to be an intriguing tournament target on tonight’s slate, especially on DraftKings, and he continues to lead the Pelicans with a 29.0% usage rate while averaging 1.55 DraftKings and 1.61 FanDuel points per minute this season.

Ersan Ilyasova (knee) and Donte DiVincenzo (quad) available to play Monday

Ilyasova and DiVincenzo have both been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets despite dealing with a sore right knee and strained left quad, respectively. DiVincenzo has missed the last five games, but his absence didn’t really affect the rest of the wing rotation, as head coach Mike Budenholzer opted to just distribute his playing time to Matthew Dellavedova for the most. Meanwhile, Thon Maker failed to take advantage of Ilyasova’s absence, as he underwhelmed from a fantasy perspective and was limited to just 17 minutes off the bench. Ilyasova has seen 18 or fewer minutes in four of his last six minutes, but his presence in the rotation is enough to reduce the role of Maker, Sterling Brown, and others that saw increased playing time in Saturday’s win.

Chris Paul (leg) and Gerald Green (ankle) out Monday

Paul has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a sore left leg that’s now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Gerald Green has also been ruled out with a sore right ankle. Head coach Mike D’Antoni expressed concern about the workload his starters have absorbed in recent games, so he confirmed that newly-signed Danuel House will make his Rockets debut and step directly into Green’s role in the rotation this evening. Eric Gordon may not see the 39 minutes he logged in Saturday’s loss, but he should start at shooting guard once again in Paul’s absence and remains cheap enough across the industry to provide value. However, James Harden is the clear beneficiary with Paul and Green off the court, as he owns a massive 46.2% usage rate (+6.2%) and is averaging 1.85 DraftKings and 1.80 FanDuel points per minute in a 133.0 minutes sample size this season.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (ankle) and Tony Parker (rib) available to play Monday

Kidd-Gilchrist has officially been upgraded from probable and is available to play in Monday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks after missing six consecutive games with a sprained right ankle, while Tony Parker is also expected to be available despite not being 100 percent. The likely return of Parker will likely relegate Devonte’ Graham from the rotation following a couple of uninspiring fantasy performances in an average of 17 minutes per game. Kidd-Gilchrist had been averaging 22.1 minutes off the bench prior to his injury, so his presence in the rotation should begin to siphon away playing time from Marvin Williams, Miles Bridges, and Dwayne Bacon at the forward positions. Still, Williams remains extremely inexpensive around the industry and should be able to provide value in an up-tempo matchup with Milwaukee since he’s averaging 0.79 DraftKings and 0.81 FanDuel points per minute on the season.

Dwight Howard (glute) out Monday

Howard has officially been downgraded from questionable and will not play in Friday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to gluteal soreness that has now kept him sidelined for four consecutive games. In his absence, Thomas Bryant will draw the start at center once again following three middling fantasy performances in an average of 17.7 minutes of action over that span. Still, head coach Scott Brooks seems willing to give him at least a moderate leash with the starters, citing the “youthful energy and enthusiasm” he brings to the court. Jason Smith and Ian Mahinmi still haven’t been able to find the court with Howard unavailable and a majority of those backup center minutes continue to be absorbed by Markieff Morris and Jeff Green, both of whom have logged at least 20 minutes off the bench in each of the Wizards last three games.

Donovan Mitchell (rib) remains out Monday

Mitchell has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to a rib contusion that’s now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Royce O’Neale drew that start at the shooting guard position in Sunday’s win, but he logged just 15 minutes and provided almost no fantasy value as he gave way to Alec Burks, Grayson Allen, and Raul Neto for extended stretches in the backcourt rotation. Meanwhile, Jae Crowder started at power forward in the aforementioned contest to guard Nemanja Bjelica on the defensive end of the floor, though head coach Quin Snyder gave no indication that this lineup change would be a long-term move, making it possible that Favors returns to the starting lineup this evening. The main beneficiaries with Mitchell off the court have been Crowder and Ricky Rubio, as each own at least a +4.1% usage differential, but Rubio leads the way with a 29.4% usage rate overall and is averaging 1.10 DraftKings and 1.06 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.

The Cavs: Actually Bad

The Cavs: actually bad. Cleveland ranks dead last in the league allowing 114.8 points per 100 possessions and have been just as miserable defending the rim allowing the league’s second highest field goal percentage (69.3%) up close. Towns is more of a stretch five, only attempting 33% of his shots at the rim but he should feast in this matchup regardless. Stylistically the Wolves big man this matchup sets up best for is Taj Gibson who is also in play for extremely cheap despite recently being on the wrong side of a rotation with Dario Saric.

Play Bigger

It may not be likely but there’s a chance that Larry Drew opts to play bigger with David Nwaba out with a knee injury. Bigger lineups would mean more minutes for Larry Nance who only needs his minutes to creep into the mid 20’s to be one of the better value options of the slate. Nance has produced over a fantasy point per minute over the last two seasons and is a guy worth taking a shot at in GPPs at the chance of extended run with a thinned out rotation.

Victor Oladipo (knee) out Monday; Myles Turner (ankle) and Domantas Sabonis (ankle) available to play

Oladipo has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Monday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to a sore right knee that’s now forced him to miss four consecutive games, while Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis both will be available to play despite dealing with separate ankle injuries. The absence of Oladipo will enable Tyreke Evans to draw another start at the shooting guard spot following three underwhelming fantasy performances in only 22.9 minutes of action in his previous three starts. Evans’ price tag has come up across the industry over that span, and the emergence of Aaron Holiday in the second unit makes Evans difficult to trust in daily fantasy formats, especially with Holiday seeing similar playing time at a cheaper cost. Turner, Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Cory Joseph have all benefitted from a usage standpoint with Oladipo sidelined, as each own at least a +2.7% usage rate differential with him off the court. However, it’s Sabonis that is clearly the top fantasy option given his 24.9% usage rate and an average of 1.45 DraftKings and 1.43 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.