DFS Alerts

NBA Injury Rundown - Monday, 11/12

Orlando Magic – Aaron Gordon (TBD), Jonathan Isaac (TBD)

New Orleans Pelicans – Nikola Mirotic (Questionable), Elfrid Payton (Questionable)

Philadelphia 76ers – Mike Muscala (Probable)

Miami Heat – Dwyane Wade (Out)

Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook (Out)

Utah Jazz – Ricky Rubio (Probable), Raul Neto (Out)

Memphis Grizzlies – Omri Casspi (Doubtful), Dillon Brooks (Out), Chandler Parsons (Out)

Minnesota Timberwolves – Andrew Wiggins (Questionable), Jeff Teague (Out)

Dallas Mavericks – Wesley Matthews (Doubtful), Luka Doncic (Questionable)

San Antonio Spurs – Pau Gasol (Out), Rudy Gay (Probable), Jakob Poeltl (Probable)

Sacramento Kings – Kosta Koufos (Questionable)

Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry (Out), Draymond Green (Questionable), Shaun Livingston (Questionable)

Los Angeles Clippers – Avery Bradley (Questionable), Luc Mbah a Moute (Questionable)

Juancho Hernangomez will start ahead of Torrey Craig on Sunday

Head coach Mike Malone has finally made an inevitable change to his starting lineup and will insert Hernangomez at the small forward spot in Sunday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, which will send Torrey Craig back to the bench to resume a reserve role. Craig has seen sporadic minutes of late and has averaged just 10 minutes over the last three games, while Hernangomez has played at least 24 minutes in three of the last five games, signaling a clear shift in Malone’s rotation. Hernangomez only has a 14.2% usage rate on the year, but he remains cheap enough on daily fantasy sites that he could still provide value with his respectable rate of 0.74 fantasy points per minute.

Daniel Theis (foot) available to play limited minutes Sunday, if needed

Theis has now been upgraded from doubtful to probable to available to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers despite recovering from to a torn right plantar fascia that’s kept him sidelined since the end of October, which means he’s returned to game action ahead of schedule. Theis didn’t have a significant role in head coach Brad Stevens rotation prior to his injury, averaging just 12 minutes off the bench, so other than siphoning a few minutes away from Aron Baynes and possibly Marcus Morris, his presence won’t have much of an effect on the playing time of the rest of the Celtics players moving forward.

Aaron Gordon (ankle) out Sunday

Gordon has officially been ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to a sprained left ankle he sustained during Friday’s win. The Magic are still without Jonathan Isaac, so Jarell Martin will start at power forward with Gordon unable to suit up this evening. Wesley Iwundu has continued to start at small forward with Isaac sidelined, and even though he’s played more than 18 minutes in just one game all season, that’s something that could change with the Magic down two starters. Iwundu remains at the stone minimum price across the industry and has actually recorded a 24.7% usage rate (+7.0%) while averaging 0.90 DraftKings and 0.88 FanDuel points per minute with Gordon and Isaac off the court, which makes him an interesting tournament punt option on an abbreviated slate should the aforementioned scenario come to fruition

Thank You Carmelo... and Gerald Green Too

Some of the biggest news of the day from a dfs perspective for me is Carmelo Anthony, along with Gerald Green being ruled out of tonight’s slug fest with the Indiana Pacers. Along comes Mr. Eric Gordon, who sits at a massive 32.3% usage rate with those 2 off of the floor this season. With the combination of his very meager pricing across the industry, and current average of .98 fpts per minute we can infer that Gordon should be on the way to a phenomenal outing against the Pacers. Load him up everywhere that you can at these prices because it sure won’t last long.

Jeremy Lamb (groin) available to play Sunday

Lamb has officially been upgraded from probable and will be available to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons despite dealing with a strained right groin he sustained late in Friday’s loss. Lamb tested out his injured groin during Saturday’s practice, so he appears as if he’ll be a full-go for today’s matinee contest. Lamb is typically allocated around 22-25 minutes in head coach James Borrego’s rotation, so he’s nothing more than a speculative tournament play on most slates. However, he’s demonstrated a limited ceiling by owning 22.6% usage rate and averaging just 0.97 DraftKings and 0.99 FanDuel points per minute this season.

Carmelo Anthony (illness) and Gerald Green (ankle) listed out Sunday

Green sustained a sprained right ankle during Saturday’s loss and has been listed out for Sunday’s matchup, while Anthony is also listed out with what’s been categorized as an illness and will miss his second straight game. Anthony’s role with the team moving forward is reportedly uncertain, and the team may be treating this weekend’s back-to-back set as an opportunity to reassess his situation. In his absence, Gary Clark played more than 20 minutes for the fourth consecutive game, and Eric Gordon logged 30 minutes in his first game back from injury, showing no ill effects from a strained right adductor. On top of that, Gordon is tied for the team lead with a 32.3% usage rate without Anthony and Green on the court and is averaging 0.94 DraftKings and 0.93 FanDuel points per minute in that scenario.

Domantas Sabonis (ankle) available to play Sunday

Sabonis has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Sunday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets despite dealing with a sprained right ankle. With Myles Turner playing so poorly of late, Sabonis has actually averaged 28 minutes over the last four games, eclipsing the 30-minute mark twice in that span. Sabonis owns a 22.8% usage rate and is averaging 1.29 fantasy points per minute on the season, so he if continues this trend of overtaking Turner in the frontcourt rotation, he could be an appealing tournament target in a matchup with Houston that projects to go small for extended stretches of the game.

Multi Position Eligibility

Brandon Ingram’s multi-positional eligibility across the industry allows him to act as the missing puzzle piece in cash games. Ingram headlines a very poor PF position on FanDuel where you’re required to play two players and his PG/SF eligibility on DraftKings allows you to use him in a number of different builds. Ingram doesn’t have the ideal floor/ceiling combination in a LeBron led offense but he still rates as a positive value as he can fill the stat sheet in numerous ways.

Chalk Alex Len

Chalk Alex Len is never a good thing but the absence of Dewayne Dedmon will open up more court time for the Hawks big man on Sunday. Despite Javale McGee’s explosion onto the scene as an early season fantasy superstar, the Lakers front court defense has been poor early on as they’re allowing the fifth most shot attempts at the rim (39.5%) and a below league average effective field goal percentage (62.5%) at the rim. The Lakers signing of Tyson Chandler will help improve these numbers a bit but Alex Len is too cheap regardless.

Potentially a Core Play

Jonathan Isaac is out for tonight and Aaron Gordon is now questionable. Keep an eye on this. For now, I will play it safe and change the core tag to Vucevic. If Gordon is out, Orlando will have virtually no depth up front in a great matchup against the Knicks.

Aaron Gordon (ankle) a game-time decision Sunday

Gordon will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s matchup against the New York Knicks due to a sprained left ankle he sustained during Friday’s win. The Magic are still without Jonathan Isaac, so Jarell Martin is expected to start at power forward if Gordon is unable to suit up this evening. Wesley Iwundu has continued to start at small forward with Isaac sidelined, and even though he’s played more than 18 minutes in just one game all season, that’s something that could change if Gordon is unavailable. Iwundu remains at the stone minimum price across the industry and has actually recorded a 24.7% usage rate (+7.0%) while averaging 0.90 DraftKings and 0.88 FanDuel points per minute with Gordon and Isaac off the court, which makes him an interesting tournament punt option on an abbreviated slate should the aforementioned scenario come to fruition

A Fine Mid-Range Forward Play

After battling inconsistency to start the season, Aaron Gordon has steadied his game and has been playing much better of late. Whether it’s coincidence or not, this has coincided almost directly to when Jonathan Isaac went out due to injury, and Isaac has already been ruled out again today. The usage doesn’t really change that much per our CourtIQ tool, but Gordon’s minutes are much more secure now. His last two games have been solid lines of 20/7/4 and 15/10/6 (and that one was in a game where he only played 28 minutes due to foul trouble). Tonight’s matchup is a golden one against a Knicks team that ranks near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency. Gordon also gets a boost because the high-end forward options are relatively weak on this slate. Gordon’s salary is still reasonably affordable, and he’s unlikely to completely tank your lineups. Fire him up as a core option tonight.

Solid Value With Dedmon Out

On a points per dollar basis, you can’t ignore these guys tonight. This matchup features two teams that play at a top-three pace in the NBA, and the Hawks will need more minutes from both Len and Spellman with Dedmon out tonight. I know Len only played eight minutes in the last game, but that was a poor matchup against the Pistons and Andre Drummond. Expect a much better game today. Len is the chalkier option, while Spellman is a fine option in his own right. It is interesting to note that our early ownership projections have Len as perhaps the chalkiest option on the slate, while Spellman is projected at much lower ownership. As such, I have tagged Len as the better “cash game” core play, but I don’t mind Spellman if you want to pivot, and he actually is a bit more secure with his minutes. I also think you can play both together if you wish, as there should be minutes to go around, and the matchup should help lead to plenty of fantasy goodness on both sides of the game.

The Core Starting Point on FD

We don’t have any screaming pricing-related values on FanDuel compared to the other sites, so it makes sense to start our cash game builds with the highest floor/ceiling player on the slate. Right now, that honor belongs to Giannis Antetokounmpo. He continues to improve and impress on a nightly basis, and he now ranks third in the NBA in usage rate, behind only Westbrook and Harden. That’s pretty good company. He is averaging 25.7 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on the year, while throwing in 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game as well. He’s a true five-category player, and there are no weaknesses outside of his three point shooting, which has admittedly been abysmal this season. On the grand scheme, that one weakness is no big deal, and Antetokounmpo should be counted on heavily in a big matchup between two 9-3 teams. Fire him up as the starting point on your FanDuel cash rosters this evening.