DFS Alerts
Underrated Player in a Popular Stack
The knock on Jusuf Nurkic this season has been his playing time. There was a long stretch where we couldn’t expect more than 24-25 minutes a game from him. However, as we get closer to the playoffs, the Blazers have tightened their rotation. Nurkic has played at least 27 minutes in five straight games and should enjoy a significantly higher usage rate with Damian Lillard out of the lineup tonight. The matchup against Marc Gasol isn’t great, but Nurkic is basically matchup-proof at this point.
Bring out your Portland Stacks
A matchup against the Grizzlies doesn’t look great on paper, but this is a much different Memphis team. They are tanking and consequently, that’s exactly the direction their defense has gone over the last few weeks. The Blazers will be without Damian Lillard and Maurice Harkless tonight, which opens up a ton of minutes in the rotation and a lot of usage in the offense. Evan Turner should see minutes in the mid-30s with a high usage rate. At a price under $4,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings, we can lock him into our cash game lineups.
Ready to Step Up in Lillard's Absence
Portland is still fighting for seeding in the Western Conference playoff race, so don’t expect them to pack it in despite a matchup with the lowly Grizzlies. Damian Lillard is also out for the birth of his child, so guys like Napier and McCollum will be asked to step up. While Napier is the obvious value play, don’t forget about McCollum. His usage goes up by 6% without Lillard on the floor, according to CourtIQ, and he’s one of my favorite mid-range plays on the entire slate. There’s 50+ fantasy point potential here if the game stays close.
Pivot Off The Chalk Value
With Dennis Schroder already ruled out, there is a lot of usage and minutes to go around for the Atlanta guards tonight. Schroder has a 32% usage rate this season, and he’s averaging 31 minutes per game. Dorsey has played at least 25 minutes in three straight games, and has double-digit shot attempts in each of those games. He played 29 minutes with Schroder out on Sunday, and if he gets hot, he could outscore some of the chalky value options, which makes him very interesting tonight.
Emmanuel Mudiay (illness) will play Wednesday; Kyle O'Quinn (hip) remains out
Mudiay is set to make his return from a one-game absence because of an illness, according to head coach Jeff Hornacek, while Kyle O’Quinn will remain sidelined for a third consecutive game with a strained left hip. With O’Quinn unavailable, the New York Knicks will be forced to rely upon Luke Kornet and possibly Isaiah Hicks to absorb the backup minutes behind Enes Kanter at center, though Kornet should be expected to see a substantial increase in playing time since O’Quinn hasn’t logged more than 15 minutes in either of his last two games. Trey Burke has been stellar in his two-game stint as the starting point guard in place of Mudiay and has smashed his salary-based expectations on both occasions while averaging just under 34 minutes over that span. Burke has been priced more appropriately across the industry for Wednesday’s slate, but he remains in play for tournament formats with Mudiay’s role in the rotation appearing to be trending downward.
As reported by: Chris Iseman via Twitter Other tagged players: Kyle O'Quinn
Higher Floor Than Most
With Dennis Schroder already ruled out, there is a lot of usage and minutes to go around for the Atlanta guards tonight. Schroder has a 32% usage rate this season, and he’s averaging 31 minutes per game. Taylor started for Schroder on Sunday, and finished with 32 minutes. He had 17 shot attempts and finished with over 30 fantasy points. I love his floor with the potential minutes, and I think he’s in play in all formats tonight.
Lock And Load Value Play
We have a lot of value options tonight, but no one has a higher floor than Napier on this slate. With Lillard already ruled out for tonight, Napier gets a massive bump in usage and minutes. He’s averaging over 35 fantasy points in the seven games without Lillard this season. With Lillard and Harkless off the floor, Napier averages .83 fantasy points per minute, and he has a 20.6% usage rate. Napier will be chalky tonight, but there is no reason to fade him at this price point, just be different with other parts of your lineup.
An Intriguing Mid-Range Play
There are a ton of value options out there tonight, especially at the point guard spot. For that reason, it’s going to be very easy to ignore Trey Burke. This is despite the fact that he was massively owned the other night and had perhaps the best game of his career in the process. Don’t sleep on him in tournaments. While the masses flock to Dorsey and Napier this evening, Burke will be a lot lower owned than you might expect, and he has a clear path to minutes over the season’s final two weeks.
Elite GPP Upside
Aaron Gordon is back and healthy again for the Magic, and he should continue to stay busy with both Evan Fournier and Jonathan Simmons on the sidelines. This is a favorable matchup against the up tempo Nets, and neither one of these teams is 100% committed on the defensive end. Gordon is one of my favorite GPP plays of the night, and I think he could flirt with being one of the top point per dollar scorers on the entire slate.
Paying a Premium for a High Floor
The Lakers continue to have the tightest rotation in basketball. Even if Brandon Ingram is able to return to the lineup tonight, Julius Randle should play 35 minutes at a minimum. He gets to face one of the worst rebounding teams in basketball, which should boost his floor. I have a hard time seeing Randle not post a double-double in this matchup. His recent form has also been solid, as he has scored at least 30 fantasy points in nine straight games.
Dirk Nowitzki (knee tendinitis) will start Tuesday
The Dallas Mavericks are down two starters in Dwight Powell and Dorian Finney-Smith for Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, but Dirk Nowitzki has officially been cleared to play following his earlier questionable designation on the injury report. This left head coach Rick Carlisle with numerous options for their replacements in the starting lineup this evening. That said, Yogi Ferrell will still assume a major role in the backcourt rotation even though Aaron Harrison will start at the shooting guard spot, while Maxi Kleber has been confirmed as the starter in place of Powell alongside Nowitzki in the frontcourt. The Mavericks are also with J.J. Barea for at least the next two games, allowing Ferrell, Kyle Collinsworth, and Dennis Smith Jr. to assume nearly all the ballhandling and playmaking responsibilities. There’s not a tremendous sample with all of the aforementioned players off the court this season, but Smith Jr. has been stellar, owning a +10.9% usage rate differential and averaging 1.40 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in a 65.4 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Dwain Price via Twitter Domantas Sabonis (ankle sprain) will play Tuesday
Sabonis will make his return from a five-game absence for Tuesday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors after previously being listed as questionable with a sprained left ankle. Despite reaggravating his ailing ankle during pregame warmups before Sunday’s win, Sabonis was able to put in a full practice on Monday, which is certainly a positive sign for his minute workload and potential effectiveness this evening. Al Jefferson has received consecutive DNP-CDs and had surrendered the backup center duties to Trevor Booker in recent games, but with Sabonis back in the fold, Booker will be relegated to just the backup minutes behind Thaddeus Young at power forward. Young was great from a daily fantasy perspective while Sabonis was sidelined, but since the rotation is likely to expand back to 10 players, he’ll become a less viable option when taking in account his projected decrease in playing time.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Thon Maker (groin strain) officially ruled out Tuesday
Maker has officially been ruled out for Tuesday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to interim head coach Joe Prunty, but his absence will have a minimal impact on the Milwaukee Bucks frontcourt rotation, as he’s averaged just 16 minutes per game over the last five contests. Tyler Zeller has seen his playing time plummet over that span, but he’ll be in line for a marginal increase in his role with Maker unable to suit up this evening. The Bucks also have Marshall Plumlee lurking at the end of the bench poised to steal a few minutes form Zeller, while Giannis Antetokounmp consistently sees time at the five spot in small-ball lineup combinations, something Prunty can turn to more often if the game flow and matchups dictate.
As reported by: Matt Velazquez via Twitter Draymond Green (illness) officially ruled out Tuesday
Green is still dealing with a throat infection and will remain sidelined for Tuesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, which could enable Kevon Looney to draw his second consecutive start at power forward. however, head coach Steve Kerr has alternated between Looney and Jordan Bell at the four with Green unavailable in the Golden State Warriors last two games, though Looney’s playing time was consistent on both occasions, logging at least 23 minutes in each contest. The Warriors are also still without Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Omri Casspi, but they are poised to receive some reinforcements in the coming days with Green presumably returning soon and Kevin Durant targeting a return later in the week, likely Thursday’s contest. Outside of Quinn Cook, Andre Iguodala has been the main beneficiary with Curry, Durant, Thompson, and Casspi off the court, as each own at least a +5.7% usage rate differential and experience a minimum of a +0.27 increase to their per minute production as well.
As reported by: Anthony Slater via Twitter Dwight Powell (knee), Dorian Finney-Smith (quad),and Nerlens Noel (thumb) ruled out Tuesday
The Dallas Mavericks are going to be down two starters in Powell and Finney-Smith for Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, which will leave head coach Rick Carlisle with numerous options for their replacements in the starting lineup this evening. However, Yogi Ferrell will almost certainly assume a major role in the backcourt rotation no matter if he or Kyle Collinsworth start at the shooting guard spot, while either Salah Mejri or Maxi Kleber appear to be the leading candidates to start in place of Powell, though Carlisle could also go small by inserting Doug McDermott at small forward as well. The Mavericks are also with J.J. Barea for at least the next two games, allowing Ferrell, Collinsworth, and Dennis Smith Jr. to assume all the ballhandling and playmaking responsibilities. There’s not a tremendous sample with all of the aforementioned players off the court this season, but Smith Jr. has been stellar, owning a +10.9% usage rate differential and averaging 1.40 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in a 65.4 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Chuck Cooperstein via Twitter Other tagged players: Dorian Finney-Smith, Nerlens Noel