DFS Alerts
Attacking Teams with Something to Play For
The Wolves lost in Denver last night, which now has them tied with the Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. It’s do or die time with just a few games remaining, and that means we can expect heavy minutes for all the Minnesota starters. This is a great matchup against the Lakers front court, and with Minnesota needing a win, we can safely expect a double-double here. Towns put up 26 and 13 against Nikola Jokic and company last night, and he comes at a nice discount from the likes of Anthony Davis. Give him a look in GPP formats, for sure.
Harrison Barnes, Dwight Powell, and Dennis Smith Jr will all likely start on Friday, Salah Mejri questionable
The Mavericks will likely get back Harrison Barnes, Dwight Powell, and Dennis Smith Jr. tonight against the Pistons. Dallas rested all those players on Wednesday. No word on any minutes restrictions for these players. Smith Jr. and Barnes are the top two plays for Dallas tonight, especially without J.J. Barea. Aaron Harrison and Johnathan Motley lose their value with these players returning. Salah Merji is questionable, he played just one minute last game.
As reported by: Eddie Sefko via twitter
Reggie Bullock out for the rest of the season
The Pistons will shut down Reggie Bullock for the rest of the season with an knee injury. Luke Kennard will start for Bullock for the rest of the season. Kennard becomes a decent option tonight, but doesn’t have much upside.
As reported by: Rob Beard via Twitter Sneaky Good Value Play
I talked about Monk on Tuesday, and I’m going right back to the well with him tonight. For the third straight game, Monk has played 24 minutes, and with Bacon and Graham out again tonight, I would expect that streak to move to four straight. The Hornets are finally letting him play, and he’s not disappointing. Over the last three games, he has a 36.8% usage rate, and he’s averaging 1.08 fantasy points per minute. He draws a great matchup against Orlando tonight, and with all the other value options, he could be very low owned.
Increased Role Because Of Injuries
The Suns will be without Alan Williams, Troy Daniels, Payton, Booker, and Warren tonight. This increases a lot of usage for a lot of players, and gives us some value to target in a fast paced game. We have a really nice sample of what the Suns will do without these guys, and what the minutes will look like in the 4th quarter of a game that’s not close. Len (32mins), Ulis (36mins), Jackson (38mins), House (28mins), and Chriss (27mins) were the core group of guys the Suns used against the Kings. I would expect around the same in minutes tonight, and they have just as good of matchup. House is still cheap, and that makes him one of my favorite value plays on the slate.
The Risky Cheap Play On This Team
Memphis will be without Gasol, Green, Martin, Selden, Evans, Parsons, Harrison, and Conley tonight. Davis played 21 minutes against New Orleans on Wednesday, and that was with Martin (22mins) and Gasol (20mins) playing. We have no idea what to expect, but with that said, there is some risk/reward with Davis. Outside of Rabb and Davis, Memphis will have to play small, but they’re going to have to play these big guys 25+ minutes each. I think Davis will be overlooked on this team, which makes him a good GPP play for me.
Increased Opportunity Because Of Injuries
Memphis will be without Gasol, Green, Martin, Selden, Evans, Parsons, Harrison, and Conley tonight. Brooks played 36 minutes against New Orleans on Wednesday, and put up over 30 fantasy points for the third straight game. While I like some of the cheap options, I think Brooks has the most upside for GPPs. This team wants to lose tonight against the Kings, but they’re still going to have to give some of these guys minutes. We have no idea what to expect, but it’s hard not to play some of these Memphis guys.
Everyone Is Out
Memphis will be without Gasol, Green, Martin, Selden, Evans, Parsons, Harrison, and Conley tonight. Rabb played 26 minutes against New Orleans on Wednesday, and that was with Martin (22mins) and Gasol (20mins) playing. This team wants to lose tonight against the Kings, but they’re still going to have to give some of these guys minutes. We have no idea what to expect, but it’s hard not to play some of these Memphis guys.
Jimmy Butler (torn meniscus) not listed as a starter Thursday
Butler, Jeff Teague, and Derrick Rose are all active and available to play in Thursday’s matchup with the Denver Nuggets, but while Teague is expected to play and listed as the starter at point guard, there’s been no confirmation on the official status of Butler, as he is not listed in the Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup. This obviously sheds some concern on how many minutes Butler could see in his potential return to the court, if any at all, as head coach Tom Thibodeau is notorious for sitting players that are supposedly cleared to play following an injury absence. That said, the availability of Teague will send Tyus Jones back to the bench to resume a reserve role after his 33-minute spot start where he obliterated salary-based expectations across the industry.
As reported by: Jerry Zgoda via Twitter
Jeff Teague (knee), Jimmy Butler (knee) and Derrick Rose (ankle) available to play Thursday
Butler, Teague, and Rose are all active and available to play in Thursday’s matchup with the Denver Nuggets, but while Teague is expected to play and listed as the starter at point guard, there’s been no confirmation on the official status of Butler, as he is not listed in the Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup. This obviously sheds some concern on how many minutes Butler could see in his potential return to the court, if any at all, as head coach Tom Thibodeau is notorious for sitting players that are supposedly cleared to play following an injury absence. That said, the availability of Teague will send Tyus Jones back to the bench to resume a reserve role after his 33-minute spot start where he obliterated salary-based expectations across the industry.
As reported by: Kyle Ratke via Twitter Other tagged players: Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose Joe Ingles (knee contusion) will play Thursday
Ingles has been cleared to play will suit up for Thursday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, as expected. There haven’t been any reported minute limitations for Ingles, so he will presumably slot directly into his normal starting small forward role and has logged at least 32 minutes in all but one of the Utah Jazz’s last 10 games. In prior meetings with the Clippers this season, Ingles has been his usual reliable self from a daily fantasy perspective, recording a 23.5% usage rate en route to averaging 0.89 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.86 on FanDuel in those contests, putting him in position to be a viable mid-range option for cash game formats around the industry.
As reported by: Andy Larsen via Twitter Dante Cunningham (back) ruled out Thursday; Allen Crabbe (illness) will start
Cunningham has officially been ruled out for Thursday’s matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks due to back spasms, and he’ll join Jahlil Okafor and DeMarre Carroll among the Brooklyn Nets inactives. Meanwhile, Allen Crabbe will rejoin the starting lineup following a one-game absence because of an illness, while Joe Harris will remain with the starting unit with Carroll still sidelined and has logged at least 26 minutes in all but one of the last five games. The players that have benefited the most from a usage standpoint with Cunningham and Carroll off the court have been D’Angelo Russell and Jarrett Allen, as each own at least a +2.4% usage rate differential in that scenario, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson leads the way with rates of 1.14 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.17 on FanDuel.
As reported by: Brian Lewis via Twitter Other tagged players: Allen Crabbe Cedi Osman will start for George Hill
Cedi Osman will start for the injured George Hill tonight versus the Wizards. While he’s starting Osman doesn’t have much DFS appeal tonight. He hasn’t played over 10 minutes in a game in over a month. Jordan Clarkson is still the Cav that benefits most without Hill and Jose Calderon in the lineup.
As reported by: Chris Fedor via twitter Eric Gordon ruled out Thursday
The Rockets will be without Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson on Thursday against Portland. Gordon will miss with a foot injury. Not a whole a whole lot of DFS impact with Gordon out, but Gerald Green and Joe Johnson should see some extra minutes. Green has averaged 26 FDP in his last two games.
As reported by: Craig Ackerman via twitter Nick Young will play Thursday
Nick Young will play tonight for the Warriors against the Pacers. He was listed questionable earlier in the day because of an illness. He still must not be feeling great, because Steve Kerr said Young would have his minutes monitored tonight. For that reason, Young isn’t a DFS target tonight.
As reported by: Mark Medina