DFS Alerts
Brandon Ingram (groin strain) out for at least one week
Ingram underwent an MRI and has been diagnosed with a left groin strain that will keep him sidelined for at least one week, effectively ruling him for Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers next two games later this week. The earliest Ingram could return would be on Sunday when he’ll have his injured groin reevaluated. The Lakers recently agreed to a buyout with Corey Brewer and are also without Josh Hart, who underwent surgery on his fractured finger, so they’ll be relatively thin at the wing positions with Ingram sidelined. In his absence, Kyle Kuzma will likely remain in the starting lineup after logging 33 minutes in his first start small forward, while recent 10-day contract signee, Travis Wear, should stay in the rotation to help absorb some of the available minute allotment not already distributed to Kuzma, Julius Randle, Isaiah Thomas, and other key rotational players.
As reported by: Bill Oram via Twitter
Chalk, Chalk, Chalk!
The Cavaliers will be without Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, and Jeff Green tonight. The only other big on their current roster (they could sign someone to a 10-day contract) is Ante Zizic, who has barely seen the floor this season. Larry Nance will easily play 30+ minutes tonight if he can stay out of foul trouble. Granted, that’s a tough task against the likes of Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, but I’m willing to take the risk given Nance’s upside. His price point is reasonable, he’s in good form, and he averages 1.09 FP/min on the season.
Seizing the Opportunity
The Bulls have nothing to play for the rest of the season, so they are starting to plan for the future. With Cristiano Felicio clearly not the answer at center, the Bulls will start Bobby Portis at the five moving forward. There are already rumors that Chicago wants to sign him to an extension, so expect big minutes from Portis the rest of the way. He draws a difficult matchup against the Celtics, but he’ll be a tough cover for the likes of Al Horford and Aron Baynes thanks to his ability to knock down jump shots and attack the glass. Take advantage of the price point before it goes up once the sites adjust for his new role.
Troy Daniels (hyperextended knee) doubtful Monday
Daniels has been added to the Phoenix Suns’ injury report and is listed as doubtful for Monday’s game against the Miami Heat due to a hyperextended right knee that he apparently sustained during Sunday’s loss. His minutes have been a bit deflated the last two games, but he’s still averaged 22 minutes per game since the All-Star break, which will open up the opportunity for the starters on the wing and reserve players like Shaquille Harrison, who just signed a second 10-day contract with the Suns over the weekend. That said, outside of a minimal minute bump for Devin Booker, T.J. Warren, and Josh Jackson, there is not much daily fantasy impact of note on a slate already loaded with value options more optimal than Harrison that also possess higher ceiling and floor combinations.
As reported by: Scott Bordow via Twitter Top Play of the Night
This is a recording. James has not been held below 50 fantasy points in a game since February 6th. That’s a span of ten straight games above 50 fantasy points. When you throw in the 70+ fantasy point upside that he brings to the table, what’s not to like? He has the highest floor and one of the highest ceilings in the NBA, making LBJ a viable play in all DFS formats. There is going to be a lot of value out there tonight, and James will continue to be the leader of this Cleveland team as they fight for playoff positioning. A few more rebounds might be available, too, given the absence of Tristan Thompson. Lock in James as the top play on this Monday slate.
Leading the Walking Wounded?
The injury hits just don’t stop coming for Memphis. Tyreke Evans, Andrew Harrison, and Mario Chalmers are ALL out for tonight’s game, and that leaves very few bodies available in the backcourt. Wayne Selden, Kobi Simmons, and Ben McLemore will see all the minutes they can handle, and I don’t expect Selden (who is coming back from an injury of his own) to play a ton, either. Simmons could be staring at 35-40 minutes here, and his price is dirt cheap. That should be enough for him to reach value with the potential for more than that, even though this matchup is less than ideal.
Big Time Upside with Irving Sidelined
It’s going to be Marcus Smart chalk night, which means we will likely see Smart bust in a prime role, as he usually tends to do when he is popular in DFS. I’ll happily make the pivot over to Rozier in GPP formats. He should see the largest bump in minutes of the group, and he also scores about three additional fantasy points per 36 minutes with Irving off the floor. In essence, he gets every boost that Smart does, and Rozier obviously carries potential. We saw him smash on several occasions prior to the All Star break when he was given the opportunity, and I like his odds to do that again with a matchup against the tanking Bulls on tap.
Bam Adebayo (personal) will play Monday; Wayne Ellington (quad) doubtful; Tyler Johnson (quad) questionable
Adebayo is back with the team and will play in Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns after missing one game due to personal reasons. However, Wayne Ellington is considered unlikely to play in tonight’s contest because of a left quad contusion despite participating in shootaround this morning, and Tyler Johnson remains listed as questionable with a left quad contusion but also was able to through shootaround. Justise Winslow likely to re-enter the starting lineup, but is virtually guaranteed to start at small forward if Johnson is eventually ruled out, as it appears unnecessary for head coach Erik Spoelstra to start James Johnson and Luke Babbitt at the forward positions now that Adebayo is available to anchor the second unit and assume his normal role as the backup center, which would free up Kelly Olynyk to start at power forward in this scenario. Even in his normal bench role, Dwyane Wade is an intriguing bounce-back candidate on Monday’s slate, as he owns a massive 38.0% usage rate with Johnson and Ellington off the court, albeit, in an extremely limited sample size, but it still does indicate his high probability of seeing increased usage when on the floor and he should continue to be locked into minutes in the mid-20s regardless of lineup combinations.
As reported by: Anthony Chiang via Twitter Other tagged players: Wayne Ellington, Tyler Johnson Kyrie Irving (knee) ruled out Monday; Daniel Theis (hamstring) probable
Irving has been added to the Boston Celtics’ injury report and is officially ruled out for Monday’s game against the against the Chicago Bulls due to a sore left knee that has now forced him to miss two games this season. Meanwhile, Daniel Theis has been listed as probable with a sore right hamstring and was a DNP-CD in Saturday’s loss despite initially being medically cleared to play. The last time Irving was unavailable Marcus Smart was also sidelined with a hand laceration, which enabled Terry Rozier to start at point guard and put together some monster daily fantasy performances. Because of that, Rozier needs to be considered the leading candidate to draw the start in place of Irving this evening. Either way, both guards are inexpensive enough to jointly exceed salary-based expectations, though Smart has seen the larger usage bump with Irving off the court this season, and he, Greg Monroe, Marcus Morris, and Al Horford all own at least a +3.8% usage rate differential in the aforementioned scenario.
As reported by: the Boston Celtics via Twitter Other tagged players: Daniel Theis Tony Snell (thigh contusion) will start Sunday; Shabazz Muhammad available to play
Snell has officially been cleared to play and will start in Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, according to interim head coach Joe Prunty, after previously being listed as probable on the Milwaukee Bucks’ injury report with a right thigh contusion that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. The Bucks formally announced that Shabazz Muhammad will be active and available to play in tonight’s matchup after finalizing a deal for the remainder of the season following his buyout agreement with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he was not a part their shallow rotation. However, despite his availability, there has not been any confirmation from the team or Prunty on whether Muhammad will actually see the court in his debut. The return of Snell to the starting lineup will send Jason Terry back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role, while Sterling Brown is also likely to see his playing time diminished after he and Terry split starts at the shooting guard spot in Snell’s two-game absence.
As reported by: the Milwaukee Bucks via Twitter Other tagged players: Shabazz Muhammad Kelly Oubre (sore foot) ruled out Sunday
Oubre is a late scratch and has officially been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers due to a sore left foot, despite never appearing on the Washington Wizards’ injury report at any point throughout the day. The is the first game Oubre will miss this season, so it’s a bit of an unknown how the Wizards rotation will look without him and John Wall available, but they do have Ramon Sessions active on the final day of his 10-day contract to provide some depth at the guard positions, which would enable them to utilize some three-guard lineups in an emergency situation with Chris McCullough currently in the G-League and not able to absorb minutes at either forward position. Though, barring unforeseen injuries or foul trouble, Mike Scott and Jodie Meeks should be able to fill the minute void left behind by Oubre satisfactorily enough by themselves. Somewhat predictably, with Oubre and Wall off the court this season, Otto Porter owns a noteworthy +3.1% usage rate differential and has averaged 1.00 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.02 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Chase Hughes via Twitter Emeka Okafor (ankle sprain) ruled out Sunday
Okafor has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks after previously being downgraded to from probable to questionable on the New Orleans’ Pelicans’ injury report with a sprained right ankle he sustained during Wednesday’s win. Nikola Mirotic replaced him in the starting lineup to start the second half of that contest, so with Okafor now unavailable, Mirotic will return to the starting lineup at power forward alongside Anthony Davis after Okafor started the last seven games at center. Ever since DeMarcus Cousins suffered a torn Achilles injury, Anthony Davis has recorded a 36.1% usage rate and has averaged 1.64 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.71 fantasy points on FanDuel, keeping him in consideration as an elite option for all daily fantasy formats on most nights moving forward.
As reported by: Brad Townsend via Twitter Wesley Matthews (hip) ruled out Sunday
Matthews has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans after previously being listed as questionable on the Dallas Mavericks’ injury report with a left hip injury. Matthews had recently moved over to the starting shooting guard spot with Dwight Powell replacing J.J. Barea in the starting lineup, but now that he’s unavailable, Barea will likely reclaim his starting position alongside Dennis Smith Jr. in the backcourt. This will also promote Yogi Ferrell to the role of the primary guard off the bench and should enable him to see an increased minute workload with Kyle Collinsworth and Doug McDermott rounding out the remainder of the guard and wing rotations. Head coach Rick Carlisle typically likes to keep certain members of his starting unit together on the floor as much as possible, so there isn’t much of a sample size for players like Smith Jr. or Harrison Barnes with Matthews off the court since the NBA trade deadline, but each should logically see significant usage and productions bumps with him sidelined this evening.
As reported by: Brad Townsend via Twitter Cody Zeller (sore knee) available to play Sunday
Zeller has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors after previously being listed as questionable on the Charlotte Hornets’ injury report with a sore left knee that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. His return to the lineup will relegate Guillermo Hernangomez from the regular rotation after back-to-back underwhelming fantasy performances serving as the backup center in Zeller’s absence. Additionally, Frank Kaminsky will likely see his playing time reduced down to normal levels and typically logs minutes in the low-20s on most nights.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Big Man Should Score Big Tonight Against Weak Interior Defense
Milwaukee has had trouble defending high-profile big men over the past month of the season, giving up the fastest triple-double in NBA history to Nikola Jokic in February, followed by a 15 point / 16 rebound game to Andre Drummond and a 27 point / 13 rebound game to Anthony Davis, all losses. Tonight Joel Embiid takes on the Bucks, in what is projected to be a close game that has playoff seeding implications for both teams. Embiid is priced reasonably at $10,200 on DraftKings and $10,600 on FanDuel making him an appealing point-per-dollar target in the middle tonight against a sagging Milwaukee interior defense.
