DFS Alerts
John Wall (knee surgery) officially ruled out Thursday
Wall traveled with the Washington Wizards to Detroit and went through shootaround Thursday morning, but he won’t play in tonight’s game against the Pistons and is targeting a return to the lineup Saturday evening. With Wall still unavailable, Tomas Satoransky will continue to start at point guard and has been a semi-reliable option in tournament formats with Wall sidelined, typically logging minutes in the low-30s in most matchups. That said, Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre will continue to be the main beneficiaries from a usage standpoint with Wall off the court, as each own at least a +2.6% usage rate differential in this scenario, and Porter sees his production spike to 1.01 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.02 on FanDuel, keeping him in consideration for tournaments on a near-nightly basis.
As reported by: Candace Buckner via Twitter
Draymond Green (illness) will play Thursday; Omri Casspi (ankle) ruled out
Green is set to return from a two-game absence and will play in Thursday’s matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks, while Omri Casspi remains sidelined with a sprained right ankle. With Green and Kevin Durant reclaiming their spots in the starting lineup this evening, both Jordan Bell and either Patrick McCaw or Nick Young will head back to the bench to resume roles. The Warriors are also still without Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, so Quinn Cook is poised to continue starting at point guard and has logged at least 31 minutes in each of the last six games. Outside of Cook, it’s been Kevin Durant that has taken over as the primary beneficiary with Curry and Thompson off the court this season, owning a +9.0% usage rate differential and averaging a lofty 1.51 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.50 on FanDuel in this scenario, putting him firmly in play for all formats if he isn’t significantly limited by the sore rib that kept him sidelined for six consecutive games.
As reported by: Mark Medina via Twitter Other tagged players: Omri Casspi Trevor Booker (ankle sprain) ruled out Thursday
Booker won’t suit up for Thursday’s matchup with the Sacramento Kings due to a sprained right ankle he sustained during the first half of Tuesday’s win. Head coach Nat McMillan went back to utilizing a 10-man rotation with Domantas Sabonis available for the previous game, so with Booker unavailable, he’ll likely reduce that number back down to nine, increasing the minute floor of Sabonis, Myles Turner, and Thaddeus Young in the frontcourt. Sabonis managed to play 23 minutes in his first game back from a sprained left ankle, and he was stellar in the Pacers’ prior meeting with the Kings, recording a 22.4% usage rate and posting 1.49 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.38 on FanDuel in that contest. However, the Pacers were without Turner that night, limiting the appeal of Sabonis outside of a dart throw in tournament formats.
As reported by: Clifton Brown via Twitter John Wall (knee surgery) unlikely to play Thursday
Wall traveled with the team to Detroit and went through shootaround Thursday morning, but he appears unlikely to play in tonight’s game against the Pistons and is more likely to make his return to the lineup Saturday evening. With his availability in doubt, Tomas Satoransky will continue to start at point guard and has been a semi-reliable option in tournament formats with Wall sidelined, typically logging minutes in the low-30s in most matchups. That said, Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre will continue to be the main beneficiaries from a usage standpoint with Wall off the court, as each own at least a +2.6% usage rate differential, and Porter sees his production spike to 1.01 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.02 on FanDuel in this scenario, keeping him in consideration for tournaments on a near-nightly basis.
As reported by: Candace Buckner via Twitter Lauri Markkanen listed as out in the Bulls game notes
Game notes aren’t always fully reliable, but the Bulls have been more transparent than most when it comes to divulging correct injury information early in the day. Assuming Markkanen sits, we’ll probably see Robin Lopez get some run with Noah Vonleh potentially re-entering the starting lineup. Vonleh was a better performer in a bench role in terms of his per-minute output, and the blowout risk that is in play almost any night the Bulls are in action also lends some increased risk to the starters. Bobby Portis figures to pick up 24-27 minutes off the bench and while that isn’t an eye-popping total, his per-minute ability is elite with the second unit and his DFS asking price is starting to fall, so he’s firmly on the GPP radar.
As reported by: Bulls Game Notes Other tagged players: Bobby Portis, Noah Vonleh, Robin Lopez
Hassan Whiteside and Bam Adebayo both listed as questionable
After participating in morning shootaround today, the Heat upgraded Hassan Whiteside to questionable versus the Bulls tonight. In addition, Bam Adebayo also participated in shootaround and he was deemed questionable to return tonight as well. If one or both play, that would likely affect the minutes of both Kelly Olynyk and James Johnson. In addition, Heat guards Tyler Johnson and Dwane Wade both sat out this morning due to migraines, but Coach Eric Spolestra expects both to play this evening.
As reported by: Anthong Chiang via Twitter Other tagged players: Bam Adebayo, Tyler Johnson, Dwyane Wade, Kelly Olynyk
Bench Player That Will Be Low Owned
We don’t have a lot of value options tonight, and that’s what makes Vonleh a great tournament play tonight. With Markkanen back, people will overlook Vonleh, and he draws an excellent matchup with Miami. It’s an excellent matchup because the Heat like to play big, which should create plenty of minutes for Vonleh. If this game gets out of hand, expect Vonleh to be on the floor for the blowout, as he played the whole fourth quarter in the blowout loss to Houston.
Time for a Statement Game?
This game is infinitely more important to the Bucks than it is to the Warriors, as the latter team is just trying to get healthy before the playoffs. The Bucks are on the fringe of clinching a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and they need their star player to step up. I think Giannis Antetokounmpo goes out and makes a statement against Kevin Durant tonight, and he’s my favorite high end GPP play this evening.
Minutes and Matchup Are There
I don’t like looking at players with nothing to play for at this point of the season, but Skal Labissiere continues to get minutes and the Kings seem committed to giving him minutes. He’s played at least 25 minutes in five of the last six games since returning from injury, and he’s played at least 29 minutes in three straight games. The Pacers rank in the bottom half against power forwards and centers this season. We don’t have a ton of value tonight, and I’ll gladly take 5-6x from Labissiere at this price.
Maintaining Relevance in the Backcourt
Kevin Durant and Draymond Green are both expected to return for the Warriors tonight, so we can eliminate the frontcourt value with this team. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team is somewhat cautious with their minutes, especially with Durant. I will proceed with caution there. We still have some value in the backcourt with Curry and Thompson out, so going back to the well with Quinn Cook or Nick Young is still a viable option. Cook has been the only consistent option for this team of late, and the minutes should continue to be there. Yes, the price tag does seem a bit steep at this point, but he should still be able to make value given his guaranteed court time.
Contrarian Value Play at Center
The masses are going to pay up at center tonight. While I see Andre Drummond as a solid option, I would rather save salary and take the center opposing him. The knock on Marcin Gortat all season has been his playing time, but he has two things going for him tonight. The first is that John Wall may join the starting lineup. Gortat gets easier looks at the rim playing next to Wall. The second is the matchup. Washington will need his size against Andre Drummond. In their three meetings this season, Gortat has averaged 28 minutes and 26 fantasy points against the Pistons.
Auto Play at Point Guard
John Wall has gone through two full practices and seems ready to return to the lineup. If he does, he becomes a must play on FanDuel at a price of $3,500. Even if Wall is limited to 20 minutes, he should easily reach value at the bare minimum salary. On the season, Wall has averaged 1.20 fantasy points per minute and he draws an exploitable matchup against the Pistons.
An Overlooked Mid-Range Play
He might fly under the radar a bit with other players getting more attention in the Bucks/Warriors game, but I like Bledsoe a lot as a mid-range play. The current Golden State backcourt is no match for him, and he has immense upside in GPP formats. The Bucks should give him as many minutes as he can handle with the team chasing a playoff spot, and that has plenty of value on its own at this stage of the season.
Pivoting Away from the Popular Lineup Construction
The common lineup approach will be to pay up for Andre Drummond at center. While he’s still on my radar, I like the idea of playing Blake Griffin and Marcin Gortat instead. Gortat has a good track record against Drummond and is dirt cheap across the industry, while Griffin has a better matchup than Drummond. He gets to square off against Markieff Morris, who is a mediocre defender at best.
Elfrid Payton (knee) ruled out Wednesday; Tyler Ulis will start
Payton has officially been ruled out for Wednesday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers after popping up on the Phoenix Suns’ game notes as questionable with left knee tendinopathy. In his absence, Tyler Ulis will draw the start at point guard and has already played 30 minutes in two of the last three games even with Payton active. Additionally, Devin Booker and T.J. Warren will jointly miss their fifth consecutive game, so Troy Daniels and Josh Jackson will remain in the starting lineup for at least one additional game. Daniels has averaged 33 minutes per game over that span and been at least semi-consistent from a daily fantasy standpoint. For the most part, Jackson has been stellar with Warren and Booker sidelined and is averaging 38 minutes per game outside of a lone 27-minute effort in last Friday’s blowout loss. Jackson also sports a +4.7% usage rate differential with Payton, Booker, Warren, and Tyson Chandler off the court this season and is averaging 1.01 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Scott Bordow via Twitter Other tagged players: Tyler Ulis