DFS Alerts
C.J. Miles (gastroenteritis) questionable Wednesday
Miles has been added to the Toronto Raptors’ injury report and is questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a bout of gastroenteritis. DeMar DeRozan and Fred VanVleet both remain questionable with the respective ailments that forced them jointly miss Tuesday’s win and VanVleet has already missed two consecutive games. 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 all three of the aforementioned questionable players are ruled out, that would essentially leave 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: Rick Noland via Twitter
More Upside Than The Starter
I love finding bench guys that might go overlooked, and while everyone is playing Felicio tonight, I’m going to play Vonleh. With Markkanen and the guards out again, there is going to be plenty of minutes for Vonleh off the bench tonight. I have him projected for 25 minutes, and at $4,100 (DK) / $4,000 (FD) he presents some upside. These are must win games for the Nuggets, and even in a blow out, I would expect his minutes to be safe tonight.
Too Cheap On DraftKings
Collison returned to the starting lineup on Monday against the Lakers, and finished the fame with 33 minutes. This team is fighting with the Cavs and Wizards for the three seed in the East, and will be playing their core guys down the stretch. Collison is priced up on FanDuel, but he’s a great value over on DraftKings tonight. In the six games since returning, he’s gone for at least 30 fantasy points in three of those games.
Low Owned Value Play
The Pacers receive the biggest bump in pace on the slate tonight, and Stephenson in particular provides nice value at his current price. He’s played 28 and 29 minutes in the last two games without Sabonis, who is already ruled out for tonight’s game. He’s also gone for 25.5 and 39.5 fantasy points in those two games. We have some really solid value options tonight, which should lead to lower ownership for Stephenson tonight.
Ready for a Late Season Takeoff?
It seems like Millsap is free of any real restrictions at this point, as he logged a whopping 45 minutes in the double overtime game against the Heat the other night. He posted a decent all around line in that game, but we haven’t seen a ceiling game from him for a while. This could be the spot for one against a tanking Bulls squad that doesn’t offer a lot of resistance defensively these days. They rank just 24th in the league on the year in defensive efficiency, and they are trending in the wrong direction. Millsap is a great mid-range play tonight.
A Sneaky Top GPP Play
Victor Oladipo is a really interesting tournament option on the high end this evening. The Pacers draw a pace up matchup against a Pelicans team that loves to run, and the Pelicans are in the midst of three games in three days (this is a make up game from earlier in the season). Oladipo could absolutely go nuts in this matchup, and his ownership won’t be nearly as high as it would have been earlier in the season. Don’t be surprised if Oladipo lands on some winning GPP rosters tonight.
Ready to Smash the Glass
DeAndre Jordan is a very strong upside option at center this evening. He is averaging an astonishing 18 rebounds per game over the last 11 games, and he draws a great matchup here against a Bucks team that really struggles on the glass. They don’t have big bodies capable of matching up with Jordan on the interior, and a massive double-double could be in the cards here.
The Forgotten Man in Miami
Josh Richardson seems to be the forgotten man in Miami right now. With Wade and Whiteside sidelined, there remains plenty of opportunity to go around. The big men have gotten most of the attention, and that will likely continue with both Olynyk and James Johnson playing well. However, Richardson is coming off a pair of strong games and is a solid option on the wing. His minutes are secure, and I like him a lot in GPP formats this evening in a matchup against the woeful Knicks.
Tyreke Evans (rest) ruled out Wednesday
Evans is a new addition to the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report and has been ruled out of Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers’ due to what’s being listed as rest purposes. This will be the second consecutive game that 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. The other inclusions on the injury report are Marc Gasol and Andrew Harrison, both of whom are listed as probable due to their respective ailments, while Ivan Rabb is questionable with a right heel injury but remains largely out the rotation when both Gasol and Deyonta Davis are healthy and available to play. 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: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Jodie Meeks (illness) and Mike Scott (illness) questionable Wednesday
Meeks and Scott didn’t participate in shootaround Wednesday morning and both have been listed as questionable on the Washington Wizards’ injury report for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs due to flu-like symptoms. Meeks and Scott are both key cogs in the second unit, so their potential absences wouldn’t have any direct effect on head coach Scott Brooks’ starting lineup, but Markieff Morris could see a nice boost in value if Scott is unavailable 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, if Meeks is ruled out, given the likelihood 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 Potential Blowup Spot for this Power Forward
Due to the rainout earlier in the year, the Pelicans had to reschedule one of their games. New Orleans now has to play three games in three days. They decided to rest Jrue Holiday last night and I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to rest Anthony Davis tonight. Not only is three games in three nights tough on anyone, but Davis left yesterday’s game with a shin injury. If Davis is limited or ruled out, Nikola Mirotic would become a must play in all formats.
Sneaky Play at Point Guard with Plenty of Upside
If you look at Eric Bledsoe’s last five games, the first thing you will notice is that his minutes have been down. What the game logs don’t tell you is that he got into foul trouble in two of them and there were also a couple of blowouts recently. The Bucks are still fighting for playoff positioning in the East, so look for Bledsoe to resume his 33-35 minute role against the Clippers, who have not fared well against point guards this season.
Keep Playing this Point Guard
Cameron Payne didn’t play great against the Knicks the other night, but on the season he has averaged a fantasy point per minute. With Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn expected out again, Payne will draw another start and push for 30+ minutes against the Nuggets, who are ranked in the bottom five in efficiency, DvP, and DRPM against point guards this season.
Jrue Holiday (illness) questionable Wednesday; Solomon Hill (rest) ruled out
Holiday has officially been listed as questionable on the New Orleans Pelicans’ injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers due to flu-like symptoms that have already 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. Unsurprisingly, Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotic, and E’Twaun Moore have been the primary beneficiaries with Holiday and DeMarcus Cousins off the court this season, as each own at least a +4.2% usage rate differential and see production increases of at least +0.20 per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Pelicans PR via Twitter Lance Thomas (personal) remains out Wednesday
Thomas still has yet to rejoin the New York Knicks in Miami and has officially been ruled out of Wednesday’s game against the Heat due to a personal matter that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Mudiay remains probable with a sprained left ankle he sustained in the second half of Monday’s contest. Beasley has started at power forward the last three games, but his playing time has been far from consistent in head coach Jeff Hornacek’ rotation, logging 23 minutes or less in two of those aforementioned starts. Courtney Lee has started three of the last four games in conjunction with Thomas’ sporadic absences but has also fallen victim to the fluctuating rotations of Hornacek, recording more than 21 minutes just once over that span.
As reported by: Marc Berman via Twitter