DFS Alerts
This team expected to put up a massive point total tonight
With so much value opening up tonight in Minnestoa, people may get distracted from what Vegas has targeted to be the highest-scoring game of the night – New Orleans visiting Golden State. The Pelicans currently rank 27th in the league in scoring defense, after ranking 29th last year, and the Warriors have an astounding 124 implied point total as a result. The Warriors have multiple players capable of scoring 50 (NBA) points on a given night, but tonight my attention is drawn to Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, who are both affordable across sites and have even seen their prices dip a bit on DraftKings.
Other tagged players: Kevin Durant
Jimmy Butler (rest) and Jeff Teague (knee) out Wednesday; Andrew Wiggins (quad) "should" play
Butler will be rested and won’t play in Wednesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz due to “general soreness”, while Teague has also been ruled out with a knee contusion. Wiggins remains questionable because of a right quad contusion that has forced him to miss three consecutive games, but according to head coach Tom Thibodeau, he should be ready to play this evening. Josh Okogie has started at shooting guard the past three games with Wiggins sidelined and is coming off of a stellar 30-minute performance on Monday night. Derrick Rose has also been a significant beneficiary sans Wiggins, exceeding salary-based expectations each of the last three games, and he’ll likely now draw the start at point guard alongside Okogie in the backcourt with both Teague and Butler unavailable. However, a starting role may not necessarily lead to a drastic increase in playing time for Rose since Thibodeau has already expressed his desire to keep him at 26-28 minutes a night, and if that holds true, it means Tyus Jones would be an interesting tournament pivot with a chance to receive pseudo starters’ minutes at near minimum salary across the industry.
As reported by: Dane Moore via Twitter Other tagged players: Jeff Teague, Andrew Wiggins
Waiting On News
Isaiah Canaan sprained his ankle in the game on Sunday, and he’s questionable to play tonight. While we wait on that news, I wanted to talk about the point guard situation, with or without him tonight. In Canaan plays, he is a top value play on this slate with Devin Booker out tonight. When Canaan got hurt Sunday, Elie Okobo checked in for him and ended up playing 30 minutes. He started the second half and was on the floor to finish the game. If Canaan sits, Okobo will be in all my lineups tonight. This is a lot harder on FanDuel and FantasyDraft, but if you use Canaan in your guard spot on DraftKings, you can switch to Okobo if Canaan sits.
Too Cheap For This Usage
The Suns could present the most value on the slate if Canaan gets ruled out as well as Booker. With Booker ruled out, I really like the usage bump for Josh Jackson, and the game log watchers will not play him in this spot. He started for Booker against the Thunder but fouled out after 21 minutes in that game. He has a 30.5% usage rate with Booker off the floor this season, but he’s only averaging .66 fantasy points per minute. Expect that .66 fantasy points per minute to come up with the usage rate this high.
High Floor Value Option
After playing 28 minutes in his first game back, Harrison Barnes has played 34 minutes in each of the last two games. He’s attempted at least 13 shots in each of his first three games this season and draws an excellent matchup against the Lakers. This game has a 235-implied team total, and the Lakers rank 23rd in defensive efficiency this season. Barnes won’t stay this cheap, and I think this is an excellent spot to jump on him at this price tag.
Kelly Oubre (illness) will play Tuesday
Oubre has officially been upgraded from questionable and will play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies despite dealing with an illness, while Markieff Morris is in the NBA’s concussion protocol and has already been ruled out. Dwight Howard isn’t expected to make his season debut until Friday, so Jason Smith should step into the backup center role behind Ian Mahinmi after receiving a DNP-CD in Sunday’s loss. Oubre appears to be the likeliest candidate to enter the starting lineup, which would slide Otto Porter down to power forward, though Jeff Green is certainly in consideration for the spot start as well and will see additional playing time regardless of his role in the rotation. Surprisingly, Bradley Beal has been the main beneficiary with Morris off the court this season and leads the Wizards with a 39.5% usage rate (+8.7%) while averaging 1.34 DraftKings and 1.29 FanDuel points per minute in a 60.5 minutes sample.
As reported by: Chis Miller via Twitter Steven Adams (calf) and Nerlens Noel (ankle) will play Tuesday
Adams participated in shootaround Tuesday morning and is officially available to play in tonight’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers after being a late scratch on Sunday due to left calf tightness. In his absence, Nerlens Noel ended up drawing the start at center and was phenomenal in 26 minutes of action, but he did leave the game midway through the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle. Jerami Grant led the team with 37 minutes in his new starting role, while Patrick Patterson saw his playing time skyrocket to 29 minutes serving as the primary backup at both the center and power forward positions. However, neither should continue to see quite that amount playing time with Adams and Noel now available.
As reported by: Royce Young via Twitter Other tagged players: Nerlens Noel De’Aaron Fox (back) available to play Tuesday
Fox has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic despite dealing with a strained lower back, while Iman Shumpert will be rested on the second leg of a back-to-back set as part of his return from injury management plan. The Kings haven’t yet announced a replacement starter for Shumpert, but in the previous instance he was unavailable, Justin Jackson started at small forward and logged a whopping 37 minutes, making him the most likely candidate to start once again. With Fox available, both Frank Mason and Yogi Ferrell will remain in reserve roles and are nothing more than speculative tournament options on a slate that offers plenty of value options at seemingly every position.
As reported by: Sean Cunningham via Twitter Fred VanVleet (toe) out Tuesday
VanVleet has officially been downgraded from questionable and will not play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a sprained left toe that has now kept him sidelined for four consecutive games, while OG Anunoby will also miss his third straight game as he continues to deal with a personal matter. With Kawhi Leonard returning to the starting lineup after resting in Monday’s loss, Norman Powell will head back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a middling fantasy performance in 27 minutes in his spot start. The Raptors continue to rotate Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas in-and-out of the starting lineup, but both big men continue to see similar minute workloads no matter if they start or come off the bench, making the starting center role essentially meaningless. On the other hand, Pascal Siakam has started four straight games, and he will continue to see extended playing time with Anunoby unavailable, making him a fine tournament option on tonight’s slate.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter Aron Baynes (hamstring) will play Tuesday
Baynes has been upgraded from probable and will play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons after missing three consecutive games with a strained right hamstring. Head coach Brad Stevens did confirm with reporters that Baynes won’t have any limitations imposed by the coaching or medical staffs, but Baynes has averaged just 14.7 minutes in the three games he’s played this season, keeping him off the daily fantasy radar while the Celtics core rotation remains healthy.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter Maurice Harkless (knee) downgraded to out Tuesday
Harkless has officially been ruled out, despite head coach Terry Stotts earlier proclamations that he expected him to be available, and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets due to a sore left knee. Harkless has averaged just 17.2 minutes in the games he’s played this season, so while he’s not necessarily on the radar for daily fantasy formats, his unavailability does impact the playing time of Evan Turner and Zach Collins, both of whom have been consistent fantasy producers when given the opportunity. Additionally, Jake Layman continues to start at small forward for Portland, but he is a starter in name only and is averaging just 11.8 minutes through six games this season.
As reported by: Casey Holdahl via Twitter Markieff Morris (concussion) out Tuesday; Kelly Oubre (ilness) a game-time decision
Morris has entered the NBA’s concussion protocol and will not play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, while Kelly Oubre is dealing with an illness and is on track to be a true game-time decision. Dwight Howard isn’t expected to make his season debut until Friday, so Jason Smith should step into the backup center role behind Ian Mahinmi after receiving a DNP-CD in Sunday’s loss. If Oubre is able to give it a go, he’d be the likeliest candidate to enter the starting lineup, which would slide Otto Porter down to power forward, though Jeff Green is certainly in consideration for the spot start as well and will see additional playing time regardless of his role in the rotation. Surprisingly, Bradley Beal has been the main beneficiary with Morris off the court this season and leads the Wizards with a 39.5% usage rate (+8.7%) while averaging 1.34 DraftKings and 1.29 FanDuel points per minute in a 60.5 minutes sample.
As reported by: Candace Buckner via Twitter Luc Mbah a Moute (knee) remains out Tuesday
Mbah a Moute has officially been downgraded from questionable and won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a sore left knee that’s now kept him sidelined for three consecutive games. However, he hasn’t had a major role in head coach Doc Rivers’ rotation to start this season, averaging just 15 minutes per game. Mbah a Moute obviously isn’t relevant for daily fantasy formats with his low minute floor, but with him unavailable, those minutes will have to be absorbed somewhere in the rotation. This means that whatever available playing time that isn’t distributed to the starters, will likely trickle down to Montrezl Harrell and Mike Scott and in the frontcourt rotation.
As reported by: Jovan Buha via Twitter Fred VanVleet (toe) questionable Tuesday; OG Anunoby (personal) remains out
VanVleet has officially been listed as questionable for Tuesday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a sprained left toe that has kept him sidelined for three consecutive games, while OG Anunoby will also miss his third straight game as he continues to deal with a personal matter. With Kawhi Leonard returning to the starting lineup after resting in Monday’s loss, Norman Powell will head back to the bench to resume a reserve role following a middling fantasy performance in 27 minutes in his spot start. The Raptors continue to rotate Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas in-and-out of the starting lineup, but both big men continue to see similar minute workloads no matter if they start or come off the bench, making the starting center role essentially meaningless. On the other hand, Pascal Siakam has started four straight games, and he will continue to see extended playing time with Anunoby unavailable, making him a fine tournament option on tonight’s slate.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter Other tagged players: OG Anunoby Big Bump With Shumpert Out
With the news that Shumpert will sit and Fox is questionable, I see a lot of people jumping on Hield, and while I think he has a big role tonight, I actually like the discount we get with Justin Jackson. Hield’s fantasy points per minute go down with Fox off the floor, while Jackson’s minutes go up with Shumpert out. Jackson started for Shumpert last time he was out and played 37 minutes in that game. He played 17 minutes in the first half and played 20 minutes in the second half. That was against Memphis, and he draws a much better spot against the Orlando Magic this time, assuming he starts again.