DFS Alerts
Taking Advantage Of Injuries
I really think we can look at Mario Hezonja and Damyean Dotson for the Knicks tonight. Kevin Knox missed his first game on Monday, and Mario Hezonja saw 30 minutes off the bench. I think Dotson will depend on the status of Thomas and Baker, but I think Hezonja is a good tournament play here. He attempted 16 shots in the game against the Bucks, and in the two games with double-digit shot attempts, he has over 26 fantasy points in each of those games. Fizdale is the new coach of the Knicks, and he tends to play the hot hand, but he has said they need Mario with Knox out.
Can This Be Real?
The Lakers have the second-highest implied team total on the slate, and all the sites did a nice job of pricing them up. I’m jumping on the McGee bandwagon late and hopefully not too late, but it’s hard not to like what he’s doing this season. After playing just 22 and 20 minutes in the first two games, he played 28 minutes against the Spurs on Monday night. He’s put up at least 30 fantasy points in each game this season, and he is averaging 1.47 DK and 1.68 FD fantasy points per minute so far. McGee is getting easy buckets in this offense, and with the pace this team is playing at, he’s getting a lot of opportunities for blocks and rebounds.
I'll Just Keep Playing This Guy
One of my favorite plays on the slate is Cedi Osman on DraftKings. He’s one of the first things I noticed when I opened up the slate, and he’s a core play for me. I’ve talked about him a couple of times this season already, and I will continue to play him while he’s this cheap. He’s averaging .99 fantasy points per minute and has played at least 33 minutes in each game this season. I like his floor a lot here, but I do think he has 6.5-7.5 upside at this price tag. It’s certainly early in the season, but Brooklyn is 27th in DRPM against small forwards this season.
Lance Thomas (knee) available to play Wednesday; Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle) remains out
Thomas will be available to play in Wednesday’s matchup with the Miami Heat after originally being listed as probable with left knee soreness. Meanwhile, Mudiay will miss his fifth consecutive game due to a sprained right ankle and joins Courtney Lee and Kevin Knox among the Knicks inactives. Mario Hezonja and Damyean Dotson have been the early beneficiaries of extra playing time with Knox sidelined, as each logged greater than 30 minutes in Monday’s loss. While both players remain inexpensive across the industry, Hezonja appears to possess the higher floor and ceiling combination of the two and has recorded a 29.8% usage rate, trailing only Tim Hardaway Jr. for the team lead, with Knox off the court this season. Not only that, but Hezonja has capitalized on that increased usage by averaging 1.14 DraftKings and 1.16 FanDuel points per minute in this 49.1 minutes sample, putting him in a tremendous position to be a profitable value play on tonight’s 11-game slate.
As reported by: Chris Iseman via Twitter Other tagged players: Emmanuel Mudiay
Sixers will start Fultz, Shamet, Covington, Saric, Embiid on Tuesday
Head coach Brett Brown was uncharacteristically coy in naming his starting lineup for Tuesday’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons, but he has finally decided to start Landry Shamet at the shooting guard position in place of Ben Simmons, which slides Markelle Fultz over to point guard in the starting unit. Fultz will now assume the primary playmaking responsibilities, while J.J. Redick will remain the sixth-man and still be on the court with the starters in crunch time, so Shamet should not be expected to step directly into a starter’s minute workload. T.J. McConnell has logged at least 22 minutes in all but one game thus far, so with Simmons sidelined, he can comfortably be projected to land at a minimum somewhere in that 25-30 minutes range, making him a great high-floor value option that also possesses a realistic ceiling if Fultz struggles as the main point guard this evening.
As reported by: the Philadelphia 76ers via Twitter Ben Simmons (back) officially ruled out Tuesday
Simmons was originally classified as doubtful by head coach Brett Brown following shootaround and has now officially been ruled out for tonight’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to lower back tightness. With Simmons unavailable, Markelle Fultz will assume the primary point guard responsibilities, while current sixth-man J.J. Redick will most likely be thrust into the starting lineup at the shooting guard position for the entire game, opposed to only the second half as he has through the Sixers first three games. T.J. McConnell has logged at least 22 minutes in all but one game thus far, so with Simmons sidelined, he can comfortably be projected to land at a minimum somewhere in that 25-30 minutes range, making him a great high-floor value option that also possesses a realistic ceiling if Fultz struggles as the main point guard this evening.
As reported by: Keith Pompey via Twitter Mike Muscala (ankle) available to play Tuesday
Muscala has officially been upgraded from questionable and will be available to make his season debut in Tuesday’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons after missing three consecutive games with a sprained right ankle. While Wilson Chandler is still sidelined, Muscala will likely serve almost exclusively as the backup power forward, though it is possible he could siphon minutes away from Amir Johnson as the season progresses. Since Simmons appearing unlikely to play, Markelle Fultz would assume the primary point guard responsibilities, while current sixth-man J.J. Redick would be thrust into the starting lineup at the shooting guard position for the entire game, opposed to only the second half as he has through the Sixers first three games. T.J. McConnell has logged at least 22 minutes in all but one game thus far, so with Simmons unavailable, he can comfortably be projected to land at a minimum somewhere in that 25-30 minutes range, making him a great high-floor value option that also possesses a realistic ceiling if Fultz struggles as the main point guard this evening.
As reported by: Serena Winters via Twitter Andre Drummond (illness) will play Tuesday
Drummond participated in shootaround Tuesday morning and will start in tonight’s matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers despite originally being listed as questionable with an illness. Head coach Dwane Casey also confirmed with reporters the everyone else on the active roster is also available to play, so it’s likely he’ll utilize a starting lineup consisting of Drummond, Blake Griffin, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock, and Reggie Jackson once again. Drummond has struggled with foul trouble through two games and a defensive assignment against Joel Embiid will do very little to negate those issues, downgrading him to a fringe tournament play, at best, this evening. However, this has allowed Zaza Pachulia to take advantage of extended minutes as the primary backup center, while Griffin and Jackson have thrived with Drummond off the court, each recording a usage rate greater than 32.5%, adding to their tournament appeal if Drummond is unable to stay on the floor against this middling Sixers defense.
As reported by: Keith Langlois via Twitter Finished With The Starters
Ben Simmons has been downgraded to doubtful tonight, and with a back-to-back for the 76ers, I highly doubt he plays tonight. With Simmons out, everyone for Philly gets a bump, and with Simmons leaving after eight minutes against the Magic, we have an idea of what to expect tonight. Redick started the second half and finished the game with the starters against Orlando. Fultz still only played around 23 minutes, and Dario saw a season-high 38 minutes. I’m a one lineup a night guy, and while I trust Redick, Saric, and Covington as value options, but I’m not going to touch any of the other cheap guys.
Nice Value In This High Total Game
The Pelicans have scored 280 points in two games this season and blew out the Kings in their last game. E’Twaun Moore is still extremely cheap across the industry, and if you’re trying to fit in some of the top end studs, then he’s certainly someone to look at tonight. Moore should play 30+ minutes in this massive implied total, and with his defense, they usually don’t sit him for no reason. Searching for value on this three-game slate is tricky, so I’m just sticking to the situations that we know will generate minutes.
Seeking Some Upside
Payton has never been a consistent fantasy option, but he’s always offered some GPP upside potential. We have already seen him post a triple-double this year, and he should be heavily involved for a high scoring New Orleans squad. Even if he is popular, he’s one of my favorite mid-range plays on the slate. New Orleans has already had two blowout wins, meaning Payton hasn’t had to play down to the wire in either game. When they finally get a close game, we might see an even higher ceiling here. Load up on Payton in your GPP builds this evening in what should be a competitive contest.
It's Not Sexy... But It's Value
Will Barton is going to be out for an extended period, so we have some value to attack in Denver. Torrey Craig appears to be the most direct beneficiary in terms of playing time, as he approached 30 minutes in the big win over Golden State on Sunday. He’s not a high usage, massive upside kind of player, but Craig is dirt cheap on every site and should push for about 0.7 or 0.8 fantasy points per minute. That gives us a baseline of 21-25 fantasy points if he can crack 30 minutes, giving him a nice floor for a cheap value. Give Craig a look to round out your lineups tonight.
A Safer Value Option
It’s still early in the day, but right now we don’t have a lot of great value options. Craig drew the start for Will Barton over the weekend and finished the game with 27 minutes. He’s expected to start again tonight, and if we get 25+ minutes out of him again, then he becomes a solid value play on a 3-game slate. He played 13 minutes in the first half and 14 minutes in the second half, plus he played the last seven minutes of a close game. He’s not much of a scorer, but he was very active on the boards and on defense in his start against Golden State.
Ben Simmons (back) downgraded to doubtful Tuesday
Simmons was not able to participate in shootaround Tuesday morning, and head coach Brett Brown has classified him as doubtful for tonight’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons due to lower back tightness. With Simmons appearing unlikely to play, Markelle Fultz would assume the primary point guard responsibilities, while current sixth-man J.J. Redick would be thrust into the starting lineup at the shooting guard position for the entire game, opposed to only the second half as he has through the Sixers first three games. T.J. McConnell has logged at least 22 minutes in all but one game thus far, so with Simmons unavailable, he can comfortably be projected to land at a minimum somewhere in that 25-30 minutes range, making him a great high-floor value option that also possesses a realistic ceiling if Fultz struggles as the main point guard this evening.
As reported by: Keith Pompey via Twitter Ascending as a Top Fantasy Option
These aren’t your father’s Sacramento Kings! It’s obviously early, but the Kings are currently leading the NBA in pace and are third in offensive efficiency. We are going to see much bigger fantasy numbers from this team in 2018-2019, so jump on the ship before it’s too late. Fox has been very solid in the early going, he’s playing heavy minutes, and he has topped 40 fantasy points in two of Sacramento’s three games. He’s becoming a matchup-proof mid-range option and is one of my favorite point per dollar targets on this slate.