DFS Alerts

A Fabulous Point Per Dollar Option

On a points per dollar basis, Portis could very well be my favorite overall play on today’s slate. Last season, we saw Portis flash upside in waves whenever he received consistent playing time. It was simply that playing time that was in question. Lauri Markkanen is out with injury right now. Jabari Parker has been moved to the bench and wasn’t very effective in the opener. Portis looked like the best player on the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds over a solid 33 minutes against the Sixers, and his price tag is very affordable everywhere. Fire up Portis in all formats this evening.

The Saturday Night Building Block

The Lakers are going to play at a fast pace and aren’t going to be the most efficient defensive unit — as usual. While they might try to stick LeBron James on Harden at some spots during this game, it’s still obvious that Harden is going to ‘get his’ in this one. This game has the highest total on the board by quite a wide margin, and Houston has an implied team total of a whopping 119 points.

Harden was just one rebound away from a triple-double in the opener, and that was a game that the Rockets lost by nearly 20 points. He has a remarkably high usage rate in this offense, and he has a great floor and a great ceiling in this up tempo matchup. Start your cash game lineups with Harden tonight and build from there.

J.R. Smith (elbow) is active but not expected to play Friday

There was apparently an error with the Cavaliers media notes handed out prior to Friday’s matchup, and J.R. Smith is actually active for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, however, he is not expected to play. Smith shouldn’t have a huge role in the rotation for the Cavaliers with head coach Tyronn Lue focusing on developing a young wing rotation that primarily consists of Rodney Hood, Cedi Osman, Jordan Clarkson, and David Nwaba, while rookie point guard Colin Sexton is set to begin the season as the sixth man off the bench. Tristan Thompson should continue to start at center alongside Kevin Love in the frontcourt with Osman, Hood, and George Hill rounding out the rest of the starting five, but he still only logged 27 minutes in Wednesday’s season opener compared to the 14 minutes Ante Zizic saw off the bench. Since LeBron James has now taken his talents to Los Angeles, Love figures to assume the responsibility as the focal point of the Cavaliers offense and recorded a 33.8% usage while averaging 1.38 DraftKings and 1.31 FanDuel points per minutes with James off the court last season.

Marc Gasol (back) and JaMychal Green (knee) will start Friday

Despite being added to the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report earlier in the day after going through shootaround, Gasol has been cleared to play in Friday’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks and will start at his accustomed center position. Additionally, JaMychal Green was upgraded from probable and will start at power forward, making it likely he sees somewhere in the ballpark of the 25 minutes he logged in Wednesday’s season opener. If either Gasol or Green is limited by their respective ailments, rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. would become an intriguing tournament option after playing roughly the same amount of minutes as Green off the bench the other night. Should that scenario come to fruition, the Grizzlies reserve wings like MarShon Brooks and Kyle Anderson would enter tournament consideration as well, especially in a matchup against a depleted Hawks team that would seemingly prefer to play small if possible.

Julius Randle (foot) available to play Friday

As expected, Randle has been cleared to play in Friday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings after previously being listed as probable with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The injury appears to be more of a pain management issue, so Randle does still run the risk of having to leave the game for unplanned stretched, but despite heading to the locker on two separate occasions on Wednesday, he still managed to play extremely well in just 24 minutes of action. Assuming head coach Alvin Gentry continues to utilize a strict eight-man rotation, there will be plenty of minutes to go around for Randle and the entire Pelicans starting five, making them all viable options in the highest total game on the entire nine-game main slate.

Russell Westbrook (knee) officially out Friday

As expected, Westbrook will miss his second consecutive game and won’t play in Friday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers due to a knee procedure he underwent late in the offseason. Westbrook is close to returning and has been cleared for full contact drills in practice, and it’s looking likely Westbrook could be available against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. However, his absence will allow Dennis Schroder to draw the start at point guard once again, though he was extremely inefficient in Wednesday’s season opener, recording just 0.65 DraftKings and 0.62 FanDuel points per minute. Unsurprisingly, Paul Geoge led the way with a 37.5% usage rate and scored 1.23 fantasy points per minute, keeping him in play as an elite option for all daily fantasy formats across the industry despite a minor price increase.

Larry Nance (ankle) and J.R. Smith (elbow) out Friday

Nance and Smith will both remain sidelined for the second consecutive game and won’t play in Friday’s matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a sprained right ankle and sore right elbow, respectively. Smith is not expected to have a huge role in the rotation for the Cavaliers with head coach Tyronn Lue focusing on developing a young wing rotation that primarily consists of Rodney Hood, Cedi Osman, Jordan Clarkson, and David Nwaba, while rookie point guard Colin Sexton is set to begin the season as the sixth man off the bench. Tristan Thompson should continue to start at center alongside Kevin Love in the frontcourt with Osman, Hood, and George Hill rounding out the rest of the starting five, but he still only logged 27 minutes in Wednesday’s season opener compared to the 14 minutes Ante Zizic saw off the bench. Since LeBron James has now taken his talents to Los Angeles, Love figures to assume the responsibility as the focal point of the Cavaliers offense and recorded a 33.8% usage while averaging 1.38 DraftKings and 1.31 FanDuel points per minutes with James off the court last season.

Courtney Lee (neck) remains out Friday; Mitchell Robinson (ankle) available to play

Lee will remain sidelined for a second consecutive game and won’t play in Friday’s matchup with Brooklyn Nets due to a strained neck. Meanwhile, Mitchell Robinson is available to play off the bench, but he appears to be firmly behind Enes Kanter and Noah Vonleh in head coach David Fizdale’s frontcourt rotation to begin the season, limiting his viability in daily fantasy formats while the Knicks are healthy. The absence of Lee should allow Ron Baker to continue having a prominent role in the backcourt rotation, but with so many guards and wings at Fizdale’s disposal, it’s tough to feel confident that he’ll see 27 minutes, as he did in Wednesday’s season opener, on a night-in and night-out basis.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (adductor) remains out Friday; Allen Crabbe (ankle) will play

Hollis-Jefferson will miss his second consecutive game and won’t play in Friday’s matchup with the New York Knicks due to a strained left adductor and a personal matter that excused him from Thursday’s practice. On the other hand, Crabbe will make his return from a one-game absence, but the Nets are still without DeMarre Carroll, Shabazz Napier, and Alan Williams, which means they will be without two regular starters from last season. Jared Dudley should continue to start at power forward in Hollis-Jefferson’s place and recorded a whopping 35 minutes in Wednesday’s season opener, while Joe Harris will likely start alongside Crabbe on the wing. From a usage standpoint, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie both led the Nets with a usage rate north of 33% in the previous game, while Dinwiddie easily outplayed D’Angelo Russell and logged 32 minutes despite coming off the bench.

Andre Iguodala (calf) out Friday

Iguodala has been downgraded from questionable to out for Friday’s matchup with the Utah Jazz due to left calf tightness. Iguodala was limited to just 10 minutes in the Warriors win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on opening night, and instead of his absence benefitting a specific player or two, head coach Steve Kerr utilized seven different bench players in some shape or form in his rotation. It also appears unlikely for that to change with Jacob Evans expected to enter the rotation in Iguodala’s place tonight, while Alfonzo McKinnie should also see more than the two minutes he logged on Wednesday evening. Therefore, in a matchup with Utah that projects to be relatively close throughout, it’s difficult to feel confident rostering any Warriors bench players, even in large-field tournaments, on a full nine-game slate.

Modest Rates

Jerami Grant logged 29 minutes in the Thunder’s road opener against the Warriors and should see similar run in a much better matchup Friday night against the Clippers. Grant projects for modest rates across the board but the minutes and price are nice.

Fast Paced Minutes

The Bucks are going to be one of the fastest paced teams this season and fast pace = more possessions = more fantasy points. Brogdon played 38 minutes in the Bucks opener against Charlotte and should get plenty of run again on Friday night against the Pacers. Usage will always be a concern playing alongside Giannis but Brogdon isn’t as reliant on scoring as he does have the ability to accumulate peripheral stats.

Raise Your Hand

Raise your hand if you fell for the Alex Len trap on Wednesday night? Well, bad news, Len is going to remain in play for as long as the Hawks frontcourt remains thin with Dedmon and Collins out. Foul trouble is always a concern for Len which makes a matchup with Marc Gasol dicey at best. However, Gasol popped up on the injury report and is questionable for Friday’s game – his absence would improve Len’s value significantly.

Marc Gasol (back) questionable Friday; JaMychal Green (knee) remains probable

Gasol went through shootaround Friday morning but has still been added to the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report for tonight’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks due to a sore back. There’s been no change in the status of JaMychal Green, so he remains probable and is expected to play through a sore left knee. If either Gasol or Green is limited by their ailments, rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. would become an intriguing tournament option after playing the same amount of minutes as Green off the bench in Wednesday’s season opener, and may even start if Gasol is ruled out. Should that scenario come to fruition, the Grizzlies reserve wings like MarShon Brooks and Kyle Anderson would enter tournament consideration as well, especially in a matchup against a depleted Hawks team that would seemingly prefer to play small if possible.

Omari Spellman (ankle) officially out Friday

Spellman has been downgraded from doubtful to out on the Atlanta Hawks’ injury report and won’t play in Friday’s matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies due to a sprained left ankle. In his absence, the Hawks are essentially left with a big man rotation that consists of Alex Len, Vince Carter, Alex Poythress, and Miles Plumlee since John Collins, Dewayne Dedmon, Justin Anderson, and Daniel Hamilton are already deemed unavailable. Taurean Prince is still more than capable of manning the four spot in smaller lineup combinations, but Atlanta may not be able to go small as often as they would like with Marc Gasol patrolling the paint for Memphis, which could lead to an extended run for Len (barring foul trouble) and Plumlee at the center position.