DFS Alerts
Injury Status to Monitor
Anthony Davis is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Wizards and if he’s unable to go, the trio of Julius Randle, Nikola Mirotic, and Jrue Holiday would benefit greatly. Randle, specifically, would see the biggest uptick in usage and court time. In the last two contests that Davis has missed this season, Randle averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. Davis’ availability will dictate how you approach the slate so make sure you monitor his status leading up to lineup lock.
Other tagged players: Nikola Mirotic, Jrue Holiday
Gary Harris (ankle) questionable Saturday vs Thunder
Gary Harris is questionable for Saturday’s matchup vs the Thunder due to an ankle injury. If Harris were to miss it would open up a spot in the starting lineup for the Nuggets, which would likely be filled by either Malik Beasley or Torrey Craig. Either player would make for an interesting punt option in Harris’s absence should he be unable to suit up, as both players will see more run than usual in a slightly pace-up matchup against the Thunder.
Anthony Davis (hip) officially questionable for Saturday's matchup with the Wizards
Anthony Davis is officially questionable for Saturday’s matchup with the Wizards due to a hip injury he sustained last night against the Knicks. This news figures to be what ultimately shapes most lineups for tonight’s slate, as fellow Pelicans forwards like Nikola Mirotic and Julius Randle would become great albeit popular plays if Davis were to sit. Davis’s absence would also open up additional usage for Jrue Holiday, who already is playing heavy minutes due to the absence of Elfrid Payton.
Josh Hart (ankle) available to play Friday
Hart has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz despite dealing with a strained left ankle tendon. There’s been no indication that Hart will be limited in any way, so he’ll likely resume his normal role in the low-20s as the sixth-man off the bench in tonight’s contest. However, if he’s hampered by the ankle injury Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Brandon Ingram could benefit from a few extra minutes, though it’s unlikely to be enough to drastically change their projected fantasy value.
As reported by: Kyle Goon via Twitter
Alex Abrines (illness) active Friday
Abrines is active and available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets despite continuing to deal with a viral illness that’s already forced him to miss three consecutive games, however, there’s been no confirmation if he’ll actually see minutes in a reserve role. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot has played at least 24 minutes in two of the last three games off the bench, but with Terrance Ferguson and Hamidou Diallo sidelined, head coach Billy Donovan has opted to start his two-point guard lineup combination with Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook patroling the backcourt. Surprisingly, Westbrook has actually seen an uptick in production with Ferguson and Diallo off the court, as he owns a 35.6% usage rate and is averaging 1.80 DraftKings and 1.83 FanDuel points per minute in a 121.4 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Royce Young via Twitter James Johnson will start ahead of Derrick Jones Jr. on Friday
Head coach Erik Spoelstra has finally made the move to start James Johnson at power forward in Friday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls, which will send Derrick Jones Jr. to the bench to resume a reserve role following an uninspiring fantasy performance in 17 minutes of action in his spot start in Tuesday’s loss. Johnson saw his playing time increase to 23 minutes in that contest, so he figures to receive a similar 5-8 minutes bump as a member of the starting unit in his third game back from offseason sports hernia surgery. Johnson has expectedly gotten off to a slow start, but he did average 0.96 DraftKings and 0.97 FanDuel points per minute last season, giving him plenty of upside if he’s able to shake off the rust and approach the 30-minute mark this evening.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter Mikal Bridges will start ahead of Isaiah Canaan on Friday
Head coach Igor Kokoskov may finally be coming around to a permanent lineup change and has opted to start Bridges at the shooting guard position in Friday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, which slides Devin Booker over to point guard to handle a majority of the ball-handling responsibilities and sends Canaan to the bench to assume a reserve role. Bridges has logged at least 29 minutes in two of the last three games, and he figures to see a similar minute workload as a member of the starting unit this evening. Bridges has just a 16.2% usage rate on the year, but he remains cheap enough across the daily fantasy industry to be utilized as a punt option in tournaments.
As reported by: Gina Mizell via Twitter Chandler Hutchison (back) out Friday
Hutchison has officially been downgraded from probable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the Miami Heat due to back spasms he began experiencing during Wednesday’s walkthrough. With Hutchison unable to suit up, Cameron Payne should remain in the rotation for at least one more game, but he saw just eight minutes in the Bulls previous game with Zach LaVine healthy and available to play. However, he is still clearly behind LaVine, Ryan Arcidiacano, Shaq Harrison, and Antonio Blakeney in head coach Fred Hoiberg’s current guard rotation even sans Hutchison, essentially removing him from consideration in all daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Cody Westerlund via Twitter Myles Turner (ankle) out Friday; Domantas Sabonis (ankle) available to play
Turner has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Friday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs due to a sore left ankle right knee, while Sabonis is available to play and Victor Oladipo will miss a third consecutive game with a sore left knee. The absence of Oladipo will enable Tyreke Evans to draw another start at the shooting guard spot following two serviceable fantasy performances in only 24.5 minutes of action in his previous two starts. Evans’ price tag has come up across the industry, but he remains in play for tournaments given his immense upside. Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Cory Joseph have actually been the main beneficiaries 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 25.5% usage rate and an average of 1.47 DraftKings and 1.45 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Other tagged players: Domantas Sabonis Willy Hernangomez (ankle) available to play Friday
Hernangomez has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing one game with a sprained right ankle. His return will relegate Frank Kaminsky from the rotation following a mediocre fantasy performance in 22 minutes of action in Wednesday’s win. Additionally, the Hornets will be without Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Tony Parker this evening. Parker has played over 20 minutes off the bench in each of the Hornets last two games, so Devonte’ Graham will likely absorb a large portion of those available minutes after he served as the primary backup point guard in the only other game Parker has missed this season. However, the aforementioned role only amounted to 13 minutes in that contest, so Graham will remain irrelevant for daily fantasy formats on tonight’s 12-game slate.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Marcus Morris will start in place of Al Horford (knee) on Friday
Horford was ruled out in advance of Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks after originally being listed as questionable due to a sore left knee. However, the Celtics do not expect the injury to impact Horford long-term and there’s a good chance he’s able to suit up for the game in Dallas tomorrow evening. There was a number of different ways head coach Brad Stevens can go with his starting lineup sans Horford, but he’s opted to start Marcus Morris at power forward instead of someone like Daniel Theis or Semi Ojeleye at power forward to keep the rotation mostly intact. Additionally, the primary beneficiary with Horford off the court this season has easily been Morris, as he owns a 28.1% usage rate and is averaging 1.14 DraftKings and 1.08 FanDuel points per minute, making him an outstanding tournament target with the likely increase in playing time as well.
As reported by: Kyle Draper via Twitter OG Anunoby (wrist) will play Friday
Anunoby has officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Friday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards after missing three consecutive games with a sprained right wrist, while CJ Miles has also been cleared to return from a five-game absence due to a strained right adductor. Kawhi Leonard is slated to return to the starting lineup for tonight’s contest, which will send Fred VanVleet back to the bench to resume a reserve role following his underwhelming fantasy performance in 36 minutes of action in Wednesday’s win. Jonas Valanciunas also started ahead of Serge Ibaka at center in the Raptors previous game, but the two big men have been shuffled around the rotation on numerous occasions this season and each still typically sees around the same amount of playing time regardless of role.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter Alex Len (back) available to play Friday
Len was deemed “good-to-go” by head coach Lloyd Pierce and will be available to play in Friday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics after missing one game with a sore back, while Omari Spellman is also available and Alex Poythress has already been ruled out. John Collins and Dewayne Dedmon both recorded a season-high in minutes in Wednesday’s loss, so Spellman was poised for a reduction in his bench role regardless if Len was able to suit up or not, especially with Justin Anderson now soaking up playing time in the frontcourt as well. Dedmon remains severely underpriced across the industry, and he becomes one of the top value options on the slate, despite a lower minute floor with Len available, and is averaging 1.04 DraftKings and 1.09 FanDuel points per minute this season.
As reported by: Kevin Chouinard via Twitter Injuries Creating Opportunity On This Team
Victor Oladipo is out again tonight, and Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis are questionable, so there could be some opportunities opening up in Indiana. Tyreke Evans will likely draw the start again tonight, and is an option to consider despite putting up a disappointing 10 points and 4 assists per game in his last two starts for Oladipo. Thaddeus Young could see more opportunities if either of the big men was to miss the game, and is affordable priced across DFS sites. Finally, first round pick Aaron Holiday has performed well with more playing time, averaging 15 points and 6.5 rebounds over his last two games.
Other tagged players: Tyreke Evans, Thaddeus Young
Multiple Options Available in Projected High-Scoring Game
The game with the highest Vegas total of the night is New Orleans vs the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, clocking in with a 230.5 point total and featuring a number of intriguing DFS options. On the Knicks side, Trey Burke has been on fire recently, averaging 28.5 points and 4.3 assists over his last three games, while Noah Vonleh and Enes Kanter are options to take advantage of a Pelicans defense that ranks 4th in the league in points in the paint allowed. The Knicks interior defense isn’t much better, ranking 5th in points in the paint allowed, which could mean a high point total for Anthony Davis. Finally, any game with a high point total makes me interested in the guards, and Jrue Holiday is a name to take a look at, averaging 23.5 points and 9.25 assists over his last four games.
Other tagged players: Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Enes Freedom, Noah Vonleh