DFS Alerts
Jose Calderon (sore hamstring) ruled out Friday
Calderon will miss his second consecutive game due to sore left hamstring and won’t play in Friday’s matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, which will enable Cedi Osman to remain in the starting lineup for the second time in as many days with George Hill also unavailable. However, Osman logged just 15 minutes in his starting role in Thursday’s win and is unlikely to be a viable option in daily fantasy formats with that amount of playing time. Head coach Tyronn Lue has already announced that he plans to start Jeff Green alongside LeBron James at one of the forward positions for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs, which means that Kevin Love will remain the Cavaliers starting center for the foreseeable future.
As reported by: Fred McLeod via Twitter
Enes Kanter (back, wrist) and Lance Thomas (illness) ruled out Friday; Michael Beasley (illness) will play
Kanter has been ruled out, as expected, for Friday’s matchup with the Miami Heat due to a sore lower back and right wrist, while Lance Thomas is a late addition to the New York Knicks’ injury report and won’t play because of an illness. Meanwhile, Michael Beasley will make his return from a one-game absence and will more than likely start at power forward alongside Kyle O’Quinn in the frontcourt this evening. O’Quinn technically remains listed as probable, but assuming he’s good to go, he’ll be a worthwhile target in all daily fantasy formats at his current price tag and has logged at least 29 minutes in each of the last two games. O’Quinn has never been a high usage player but with Kanter, Thomas, and the other Knicks inactives off the court this season, he is averaging a whopping 1.36 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.45 on FanDuel, which is a +0.23 increase over his season per minute averages.
As reported by: Chris Iseman via Twitter Other tagged players: Lance Thomas, Michael Beasley Aaron Gordon (calf) and Nikola Vucevic (back) ruled out Friday
Gordon and Vucevic are surprise additions to the Orlando Magic’s injury report and have been ruled out for Friday’s matchup with the Charlotte Hornets due to their respective ailments, and they’ll join Jonathon Simmons, Jonathan Isaac, Evan Fournier, and Terrence Ross among the other Magic inactives. Jamel Artis will join the starting lineup alongside Mario Hezonja at one of the forward positions and has recorded at least 31 minutes of action in each of the last two games while exceeding salary-based expectations on both occasions, making him a logical salary-saver in tournament formats across the industry. Minute distributions will be nearly impossible to predict down this final stretch of the season for the Magic, but, traditionally with the aforementioned players off the court this season, Hezonja, Shelvin Mack, and D.J. Augustin all own at least a +5.1% usage rate differential, while Mack and Augustin both average over a fantasy point per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Nikola Vucevic Dario Saric (elbow cellulitis) will play Friday
Saric will make his return from a three-game absence due to right elbow cellulitis in Friday’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which will likely send Ersan Ilyasova back to the bench resume a reserve role after averaging 29 minutes per start over the last three contests. Joel Embiid is still recovering from surgery on his orbital fracture, so Amir Johnson will likely continue starting at center but should see his playing time take quite a hit in a matchup where head coach Brett Brown can easily deploy Saric or Ilyasova at the five spot in small-ball lineup combinations. Saric continues to be the main beneficiary with Embiid off the court this season, as he owns a +4.5% usage rate differential and is averaging 1.11 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.05 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Keith Pompey via Twitter Skal Labissiere (ankle) and Garrett Temple (ankle) ruled out Friday
Labissiere and Temple have been ruled out and won’t play in Friday’s matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies due to their respective ailments, which could provide Vince Carter the opportunity to start a second consecutive game since Zach Randolph hasn’t seen game action in a little over three weeks for a variety of reasons. The Kings are probably one of the most difficult rotations to project at this point in the season, and even though he started in Tuesday’s win, Carter logged just 20 minutes and was inefficient from a daily fantasy standpoint. Willie Cauley-Stein also replaced Kosta Koufos in the starting lineup for that contest, which surprisingly led to Koufos receiving a DNP-CD, just further evidencing the unpredictability surrounding this team on a nightly basis.
As reported by: Sean Cunningham via Twitter Other tagged players: Garrett Temple John Wall (rest) and Ian Mahinmi (concussion) listed out Friday
Wall has been listed out on the updated version of the Washington Wizards’ game notes for Friday’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks due to rest purposes, while Ian Mahinmi will join him on the inactive list and is currently listed out with a concussion. There has yet to be an official update from the team on their statuses, but unless reported otherwise, it’s best to approach tonight’s slate as if Wall will be unavailable, which was ultimately expected on the second leg of a back-to-back set. In his absence, Tomas Satoranksky will rejoin the starting lineup at point guard after a one-game hiatus and averaged 28.4 minutes per game in his previous five starts with Wall sidelined. That said, his price tag still hasn’t a chance to adjust and remains nothing more than a longshot, mid-range tournament target across the industry.
As reported by: NBA.com Game Notes Other tagged players: Ian Mahinmi Jimmy Butler planning to play on Friday
This is still somewhat speculative, but Marc Stein is reporting that Jimmy Butler is expected to play tonight against the Lakers. He was active last night, but ended up being a DNP-CD as Thibs was cautious. It seems likely that if Butler plays he’d step into at least close to his normal allotment of minutes – the Wolves are in a must-win situation so they aren’t going to ease up unless they’re afforded the ability to do so late in the game. Butler’s DK price tag specifically is far too low and he quickly becomes one of the top GPP targets on the slate, but his $8,500 tag on FanDuel doesn’t jump off the page. Nemanja Bjelica figures to see his court time cut.
As reported by: Marc Stein
Big Upside in a High Scoring Game
Even though Marquese Chriss is priced at a premium, he’s one of my favorite plays at power forward. He is finally playing 30+ minutes on a regular basis and he gets to square off against the Pelicans, who struggle to defend all five positions on the floor. As long as he stays out of foul trouble, he has the chance to hit 6-7x tonight.
Big Opportunity in Memphis
The Grizzlies are basically resting half of their team tonight, which opens up a ton of minutes in the rotation. Even though the younger players are a safer bet, the Grizzlies may have no choice but to play Ben McLemore 30+ minutes. He is priced under $4,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings and you can pair him up with a few of his teammates.
Devin Booker remains out on Friday
No real surprise here as the Suns made it sound likely that Booker, Warren and Payton will all remain out this evening. We should see plenty of Tyler Ulis at the point with Shaq Harrison, Danuel House continuing to see increased roles off the bench, while Josh Jackson should continue playing minutes in the high-30s. Jackson is one of the stronger mid-range targets on this slate and Ulis continues to offer solid upside at his price tag. Marquese Chriss is the top option in the Suns front-court with Alex Len on the GPP radar off the bench.
As reported by: John Gambadoro Noah Vonleh ruled out Friday
Noah Vonleh will miss tonight’s game against the Celtics, with a calf injury he suffered on Tuesday. Bobby Portis and Lauri Markkanen benefit most without Vonleh on the court.
As reported by: Darnell Mayberry via twitter
George Hill listed out Friday.
George Hill will miss his fourth straight game Friday against the 76ers with an ankle injury. Jose Calderon is also questionable for tonight, he missed last night’s game. In somewhat of a shock Cedi Osman started for Hill last night, although he did just play 15 minutes. That really hurt the value of Jordan Clarkson, who only played just 22 minutes last night.
As reported by: Cleveland Cavaliers via gamenotes Jayson Tatum and Al Horford ruled out Friday, Shane Larkin available to play
The Celtics will rest Jayson Tatum and Al Horford Friday against the Bulls. Shane Larkin, who missed the last three games with an illness is available to play tonight. With Tatum and Horford resting, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Morris, and Terry Rozier should all get an uptick in usage tonight. Greg Monroe and Aron Baynes will see an uptick in minutes without Horford. Shane Larkin isn’t a DFS target for tonight.
As reported by: Boston Celtics via Twitter Other tagged players: Jayson Tatum Top Value of the Night
Elfrid Payton, Devin Booker, Troy Daniels, and T.J. Warren are all unlikely to play for the Suns tonight in what should be the highest scoring game of the night. They will almost certainly lose to the Pelicans, but plenty of minutes are going to be available in the backcourt. Tyler Ulis has been much improved over the second half of the season, and he will likely be one of the most popular plays tonight. I’ll comfortably lock him in all formats, as the price and opportunity are too good to ignore.
Attacking an Injury-Depleted Squad
The Grizzlies are going to be without approximately 100 players tonight with Martin, Green, Gasol, and others all out, so there is plenty of value to attack here even though the Grizzlies are trying to lose. Someone has to play! The big men have my attention the most, and guys like Rabb and Davis should see a ton of court time. Welcome to the NBA on April 6th during Tankapalooza 2018.
Other tagged players: Deyonta Davis