DFS Alerts
Keep a Close Eye on the News
This is not a ringing endorsement just yet, but keep a very close eye on the news tonight. The Pelicans are playing their third game in three nights and their fifth game in six nights, and it comes against the lowly Lakers. This could be an ideal spot for them to rest Rajon Rondo, who has played in the last two games. If Rondo is out, Clark becomes a rock solid value in the favorable matchup. Stay tuned for an update.
Jonathon Simmons (wrist) and Jonathan Isaac (foot) officially ruled out Thursday
Simmons has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers after previously being listed as doubtful on the Orlando Magic’s injury report with a right wrist contusion that has not forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Jonathan Isaac has also been ruled out following his original doubtful designation on the injury report due to a strained left foot. Aaron Gordon returned to the starting lineup for Tuesday’s loss following a five-game absence due to a concussion and stepped directly into his normal minute share, and Arron Afflalo replaced Simmons at the shooting guard spot, logging 23 inefficient minutes. Gordon started at small forward in that contest, but with Isaac unavailable, he should slide back down to his familiar power forward position with Mario Hezonja entering the starting lineup after a one-game hiatus. There is not a huge sample size with Simmons, Isaac, and Evan Fournier off the court, but Nikola Vucevic has still recorded a massive 46.7% usage rate and averaged 1.57 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.58 on FanDuel in 34.2 minutes, indicating the likelihood that he continues to be the main beneficiary in their absences, though the aforementioned rates are obviously unsustainable moving forward.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Jonathan Isaac
A Steady Value Option
John Collins is going to sit again tonight for the Hawks, and both Mike Muscala and Dewayne Dedmon benefited and had solid games against the Jazz the other night. Muscala entered the starting lineup, played nearly 30 minutes, and put up a decent all around line. That was in a tough matchup, too. Tonight’s matchup is much more favorable against a Kings team that is very weak defensively. Even though these teams aren’t the fastest paced teams in the league, this could be a sneaky shootout just because of how bad each team is on the defensive end. Muscala is an elite value pick tonight.
Stepping in for Howard
The NBA confirmed this morning that Dwight Howard will be suspended one game for getting his 16th technical foul last night, so Frank Kaminsky should benefit with some extra minutes. With Marvin Williams struggling and the rest of the frontcourt not carrying much upside, Kaminsky is the clear beneficiary from Howard’s suspension. We saw him play well when he got extended minutes earlier this year, and the price tag has come down to a very cheap level right now. Fire him up as one of the top values of the day, regardless of whether or not he ends up starting. He should see an extra six or eight minutes of court time tonight.
Jodie Meeks (illness) and Mike Scott (illness) ruled out Wednesday
Meeks and Scott didn’t participate in shootaround Wednesday morning and both have officially been ruled out of tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after previously being listed as questionable on the Washington Wizards’ injury report with flu-like symptoms. Meeks and Scott are both key cogs in the second unit, so their absences won’t have any direct effect on head coach Scott Brooks’ starting lineup, but Markieff Morris could see a nice boost in value given his already consistent minute role in the upper-20s to low-30s on a nightly basis. Conversely, Bradley Beal could also be the beneficiary of a few additional minutes considering the likelihood that Brooks would just tighten his rotation as much as possible and not allocate all of the vacated playing time to fringe rotational players. This would make Beal an intriguing tournament target on Wednesday’s slate, but specifically on FanDuel, where he can be had at a sizable discount from his price tag on DraftKings.
As reported by: Candace Buckner via Twitter Other tagged players: Mike Scott Antonio Blakeney (wrist sprain) available to play Wednesday
Blakeney has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Wednesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets after previously being listed as questionable on the Chicago Bulls’ injury report and considered a game-time decision with a sprained left wrist. The Bulls are still without Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine, and Lauri Markkanen due to their respective ailments, though the latter two were able to participate in the non-contact portions of Tuesday’s practice, possibly signaling their imminent returns. Blakeney has settled into a fairly consistent role off the bench of late, logging at least 24 minutes in each of the last three games, making him an interesting under-the-radar tournament option for the duration of aforementioned players’ absences. That said, Denzel Valentine has been the main beneficiary with Dunn, LaVine, and Markkanen off the court this season, as he owns a +5.6% usage rate differential and is averaging 1.06 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.02 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Chuck Swirsky via Twitter Andrew Harrison (wrist) available to play Wednesday; Ivan Rabb (heel) ruled out
Harrison has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers after previously being listed as probable on the Memphis Grizzlies injury report with a right wrist injury. Meanwhile, Ivan Rabb will join Tyreke Evans on the inactive list following his original questionable designation on the injury report due to a right heel issue. Marc Gasol will also start following a one-game absence due to an illness. Additionally, this will be the second consecutive game that Tyreke Evans has missed after being inactive for Monday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, as the Grizzlies are now fully re-engaged in their tanking efforts. This means that Harrison will draw the start at point guard for the second time in as many games after easily exceeding salary-based expectations in 30 minutes of action his first game back while Briante Weber logged 34 minutes off the bench. On top of that, Harrison owns a +4.3% usage rate differential with Evans off the court this season and is averaging 0.97 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.94 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Ivan Rabb Tyler Zeller (sore ribs) available to play Wednesday
Zeller has officially been cleared to play and will suit up, as expected, for Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers after previously being listed as probable on the Milwaukee Bucks’ game notes with ribs soreness that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. In his absence, Thon Maker entered the rotation as the backup behind John Henson at center and is coming off a solid fantasy performance in 23 minutes of action in Monday’s loss. However, he’ll likely only play a limited role or be relegated from the rotation entirely with Zeller available to make his return. Additionally, Giannis Antetokounmpo should see less time at center in small-ball lineup combinations after logging heavy minutes over the last two games.
As reported by: Matt Velazquez via Twitter Jrue Holiday (flu-like symptoms) will play Wednesday
Holiday has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers after previously being listed as questionable on the New Orleans Pelicans’ injury report with flu-like symptoms that had forced him to miss one game. Meanwhile, Solomon Hill has already been ruled out for rest purposes on the second leg of this brutal three games in three nights stretch that Pelicans are currently in the midst of due to a postponement earlier in the season. Hill started in place of Holiday for Tuesday’s win but logged just 11 minutes as he continues to work his way from a torn hamstring he sustained during the offseason. Head coach Alvin Gentry utilized a 10-man rotation yesterday in an effort to manage his players’ workload, which limited Emeka Okafor to just five minutes of action and allowed Nikola Mirotic and Cheick Diallo to see extended run in the frontcourt.
As reported by: Will Guillory via Twitter Fred VanVleet (wrist) available to play Wednesday; C.J. Miles (illness) ruled out
VanVleet has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as questionable on the Toronto Raptors’ injury report with a right-hand contusion that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. Meanwhile, C.J. Miles has been ruled out following his late addition to the injury report due to a bout of gastroenteritis. In his return, VanVleet will assume his normal role in the second unit, while Norman Powell and Malcolm Miller are likely to split the minutes vacated by Miles in the wing rotation. DeMar DeRozan is also set to make his return from resting a left thigh contusion, but head coach Dwane Casey has reiterated during his media availabilities in recent days the possibility of resting certain players as the Raptors are set to play their fifth game in seven nights this evening, making someone like Serge Ibaka a prime candidate to sit if Casey plans to continue utilizing that aforementioned strategy.
As reported by: RaptorsMR via Twitter Other tagged players: C.J. Miles Marc Gasol (illness) will play Wednesday
Gasol has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers after previously being listed as probable on the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report with an illness that had forced him to miss one game. However, interim head coach JB Bickerstaff has already disclosed that Gasol will be rested for the matchup with the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow night. This will be the second consecutive game that Tyreke Evans has missed after being inactive for Monday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, as the Grizzlies are now fully re-engaged in their tanking efforts. This means that Andrew Harrison is likely to draw the start at point guard for the second time in as many games after easily exceeding salary-based expectations in 30 minutes of action, while Briante Weber logged 34 minutes off the bench. On top of that, Harrison owns a +4.3% usage rate differential with Evans off the court this season and is averaging 0.97 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.94 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Ronald Tillery via Twitter Nicolas Batum (Achilles) and Cody Zeller (knee) ruled out Wednesday
Batum has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Wednesday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets after previously being listed as doubtful on the Charlotte Hornets’ injury report with a sore left Achilles that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Cody Zeller will remain sidelined for the sixth consecutive game due to a sore left knee. Jeremy Lamb replaced Batum in the starting lineup for Monday’s loss and logged 30 minutes en route to easily exceeding salary-based expectations, putting him in position to produce a similar result in tonight’s contest. Guillermo Hernangomez has been the main beneficiary of Zeller’s most recent absence and finally eclipsed the 20-minute mark for the first time as a member of the Hornets, affording him the ability to become relevant in tournament formats on Wednesday’s slate if he’s able to see that type of run off the bench once again.
As reported by: the Charlotte Hornets via Twitter Other tagged players: Cody Zeller DeMar DeRozan (thigh contusion) will play Wednesday
DeRozan has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as questionable in the Toronto Raptors’ game notes with a left thigh contusion that had forced him to miss one game. Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet and C.J. Miles remain questionable and are expected to be game-time decisions due to their respective ailments. Head coach Dwane Casey reiterated the possibility of resting certain players during his media availabilities in recent days as the Raptors are set to play their fifth game in seven nights this evening, making someone like Serge Ibaka a prime candidate to sit if Casey plans to continue utilizing that aforementioned strategy. If the other two aforementioned questionable players are ruled out, that would essentially leave DeRozan, OG Anunoby, Malcolm Miller, Norman Powell, and Delon Wright as the only candidates to absorb minutes on the wing in Casey’s rotation.
As reported by: Josh Lewenberg via Twitter Dante Cunningham (concussion) available to play Wednesday
Cunningham has officially cleared the concussion protocol and will be available to play in Wednesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets after previously being listed as questionable on the Brooklyn Nets’ injury report with the aforementioned concussion that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. In Cunningham’s absence, Quincy Acy averaged just under 21 minutes off the bench, essentially stepping directly into his vacated role, and was serviceable from a daily fantasy perspective for his bargain price tag. However, Acy will likely only see limited minutes or be relegated from the rotation entirely now that Cunningham is available. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has now started four consecutive games at power forward and led the Nets with an average of 34 minutes per game with Cunningham sidelined, though he’s likely to see that workload dissipate a bit with the entirety of the regular rotation at head coach Kenny Atkinson’s disposal.
As reported by: Alex Labidou via Twitter Rodney Hood (back) and Tristan Thompson (ankle) ruled out Wednesday
Hood has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors after previously being listed as questionable on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ injury report with a strained lower back that has now forced him to miss five consecutive games, while Tristan Thompson remains sidelined due to a sprained right ankle following his brief upgrade to questionable on the injury report. The Cavaliers are also still without Kyle Korver, Cedi Osman, and Larry Nance, which will allow Jose Calderon to start at point guard and slide George Hill over to the shooting guard spot. Kevin Love returned to the starting lineup for Monday’s win but was limited to just 24 minutes, despite exceeding salary-based expectations on all sites across the industry. There’s been no word on whether Love will be subject to a minute restriction once again, but he is a good bet to see his playing time increased rather quickly given the nature of his prior injury, which was a left-hand fracture that had kept him sidelined since the end of January.
As reported by: Dave McMenamin via Twitter Other tagged players: Tristan Thompson