DFS Alerts
Bogdan Bogdanovic (sore hamstring) ruled out Monday
Bogdanovic is a new addition to the Sacramento Kings’ injury report and has been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Detroit Pistons due to a sore left hamstring. Meanwhile, Vince Carter is back with the team and will be available to play following a two-game absence as he dealt with a personal matter. While Carter should be active, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s guaranteed to see the floor in head coach Dave Joerger’s inconsistent rotations, and Garrett Temple is the likeliest candidate to stat alongside Justin Jackson on the wing. Zach Randolph was on the receiving end of a DNP-CD in Saturday’s loss, so his chances of playing tonight seem pretty good, though it remains unclear at this time whether he’d displace Skal Labissiere from the starting power forward spot or come off the bench. Labissiere only logged 21 minutes in three-quarters of action because of the blowout loss, so it’d be safe to project that he would be allocated more playing time in the frontcourt rotation than Randolph regardless of starting lineup.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter
Not Getting A Lot Of Love
The Spurs are a tough defensive matchup for anyone, so the young point guard isn’t getting any love against them today. Still, Cook has played 40 minutes in back-to-back games, and his price didn’t increase enough to fade him in this tough matchup. I don’t expect him to keep shooting 60%+ from the field, but even if you knock that percentage down, he’s still going to out-perform his salary with these minutes. With everyone out again for the Warriors, don’t be afraid to go back to Quinn Cook tonight.
Underpriced Low-Owned Option
Martin is low owned on every slate, but I have been playing him all season. With so much value tonight, I expect him to be low owned yet again tonight. Marc Gasol missed shoot-around this morning, and if he’s out, Martin gets an even bigger bump. He’s played at least 28 minutes in 10 straight games, and he has over 30 fantasy points in four of those games. He’s averaging 31.1 minutes over his last five games, and he’s averaging 26.5 fantasy points in that span. Martin draws a great matchup against Brooklyn tonight, as the Nets continue to struggle against big men.
Lance Thomas (personal) listed out Monday
Thomas has been listed as not with the team in the latest updated version of the New York Knicks’ game notes for Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls due to personal reasons. There’s still been no official update from head coach Jeff Hornacek or the team, but it’s best to approach tonight’s slate as if Thomas will be unavailable until further notice. Meanwhile, Courtney Lee was not given a designation in the game notes, so he appears to be back with the team and will be available to play this evening. Both Thomas and Beasley started at the forward positions with Lee sidelined in the previous game, so with Thomas now unavailable, Lee or Frank Ntilikina should rejoin the starting lineup alongside Tim Hardaway Jr. on the wing, enabling Michael Beasley to remain at the starting power forward position.
As reported by: NBA.com Game Notes Low-Owned Value Play
The Bulls are an excellent source of value tonight, and I’m hoping Blakeney is the low-owned play. He played 27 minutes on Saturday against the Cavs, and with everyone out again tonight, I think he’s in line to play 25+ minutes again. They’re not giving Holiday and Grant any extra minutes right now and continue to play the young guys. Blakeney had 14 shot attempts in the Cavs game, and if he shoots it any better tonight, he’s going to crush value.
Vince Carter (personal) available to play Monday
Carter is back with the Sacramento Kings and will be available to play in Monday’s game against the Detroit Pistons after missing two consecutive games dealing with a personal matter. While Carter will likely be active, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s guaranteed to see the floor in head coach Dave Joerger’s inconsistent rotations. Zach Randolph was on the receiving of a DNP-CD in Saturday’s loss, so his chances of playing tonight seem pretty good, though it remains unclear at this time whether he’d displace Skal Labissiere from the starting power forward spot or come off the bench. Labissiere only logged 21 minutes in three-quarters of action because of the blowout loss, so it’d be safe to project that he would be allocated more playing time in the frontcourt rotation than Randolph regardless of starting lineup.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter Don't Overthink this Power Forward
The Cavaliers are going to be short-handed again tonight, as Rodney Hood and Larry Nance have already been ruled out. There is a chance that Kevin Love could suit up, but he’s not likely to play a full complement of minutes. Even if Love manages to log 25 minutes, he will likely cut into the playing time of Ante Zizic. I fully expect Jeff Green to play 30+ minutes and be heavily involved on both ends of the floor. Over his last three games, Green has averaged 34 minutes and 32 fantasy points per contest.
Big Minutes in a High Scoring Game
The Lakers have played extremely well since the All-Star break, even though they have had to deal with a number of injuries. From a DFS standpoint, they’ve been one of the best teams to target thanks to their tight rotation. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is basically locked into a 38-40 minute role and will be playing in a game that features a total of 218.5 points. KCP will play as many minutes as he can handle, as he’ll be tasked with defending Victor Oladipo.
Not Getting the Attention He Deserves
Nicolas Batum has been ruled out of tonight’s game, so everyone will gravitate to Jeremy Lamb. He’s one of the top value plays at any position. While I will also be loading up on Lamb, I like the idea of pairing him with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. With Batum out, we can project MKG to play minutes in the high 20s and potentially even in the low 30s. MKG is priced below $4,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings.
A Worthwhile Value Option
The Bulls are going to be very short-handed in the backcourt again tonight, with both Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine glued to the sidelines. This should give Cameron Payne another opportunity to start and play heavy minutes, as the Bulls look to get more time for their younger players down the stretch. Payne double-doubled with 13 points and 10 assists in Saturday’s win over the Cavaliers, and he played 32 minutes in that game. I would expect a similar workload tonight, making him a fine mid-range value play for all DFS formats.
Marc Gasol (illness) questionable Monday
Gasol didn’t participate in shootaround Monday morning and has been listed as questionable on the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report for Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets due to an illness, while Andrew Harrison remains questionable with a right wrist injury that has already forced him to miss eight consecutive games. Tyreke Evans returned to the starting lineup last Thursday and has exceeded salary-based expectations in both games since while averaging 35 minutes per contest, which has led to former fill-in starting point guard Kobi Simmons being demoted to the bench and picking up a DNP-CD in Saturday’s win. That should be the norm moving forward, especially as Mario Chalmers gets back up to game speed following his extended injury absence. If Gasol is eventually ruled out, Evans would be an intriguing tournament target once again, as he owns a +4.9% usage rate differential with Gasol and Harrison off the court this season, while also averaging 1.32 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.29 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Intriguing Risk/Reward Potential
If we run the CourtIQ numbers with Gary Harris off the floor, it’s Murray that gets the biggest boost for the Nuggets. His usage spikes by 4.4%, and he scores a couple of additional fantasy points per 36 minutes in these situations. Murray is often a frustrating fantasy commodity, as he disappears for long stretches in some games. However, when he’s on, there’s 50 fantasy point upside here. Even in an average matchup against the Heat, I will gladly take some shots on Murray. He will also be lower owned than Will Barton, if you are looking to play the ownership angle on the Nuggets’ guards.
An Elite Upside Option Despite a Price Boost
I am really intrigued to see how people handle Draymond Green tonight. On one hand, he has seen his price jump over the last week, and he also draws a poor matchup against the Spurs. On the other hand, Curry, Thompson, Durant, and Casspi all remain sidelined. That leaves a healthy chunk of scoring, rebounding, and assisting available for other players. Green has logged lines of 14/10/7 and 25/11/8 in the two games without those four players, and he should continue to be a huge part of the offense. He won’t be as popular tonight given the matchup, which gives us some leverage in GPP formats. Don’t forget about the upside here.
Patrick McCaw (wrist fracture) available to play Monday
McCaw has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after previously being listed as probable on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report with a fractured left wrist. There’s no word on whether McCaw will start given the rash of injuries currently plaguing Golden State, but head coach Steve Kerr did confirm that he expects McCaw to play in the range of 15-20 minutes this evening. Meanwhile, Andre Iguodala, Quinn Cook, Zaza Pachulia, and Kevon Looney will be available to play, as expected, following their original probable designations on the injury report. However, the Warriors are still without Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Omri Casspi due to their respective ailments, which has extended Cook and Draymond Green the opportunity to thrive in Kerr’s depleted rotations. In fact, Green, Iguodala, and Nick Young all own at least a +6.3% usage rate differential with the aforementioned players off the court this season, while Green leads the way with rates of 1.24 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.27 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Connor Letourneau via Twitter Kevin Love (hand) and Kyle Korver (foot) questionable Monday; Larry Nance (hamstring) and Rodney Hood (back) remain out
Love is still reportedly targeting a return later this week but has been listed as questionable on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ injury report for Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a fractured left hand that has kept him sidelined since the end of January, while Kyle Korver is also questionable after missing one game because of a personal matter. Additionally, Larry Nance and Rodney Hood have both been ruled out once again with their respective ailments. The Cavaliers are also still without Tristan Thompson, which allowed Ante Zizic to draw the start at center in the previous game and log a season-high 20 minutes en route to easily exceeding salary-based expectations. If Love is eventually ruled out, Zizic will likely continue to split the center minutes with Jeff Green and LeBron James while remaining the leading candidate to start at center for the second time in as many games. On the other hand, if Love is cleared to play, he should displace Zizic from the starting lineup and become a free square on FanDuel at his absurd stone minimum price tag.
As reported by: Chris Fedor via Twitter Other tagged players: Kyle Korver, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood