DFS Alerts
Eric Gordon (illness) and Nene (rest) ruled out Sunday
Gordon has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets after previously being listed as questionable on the Houston Rockets’ injury report with an illness that had now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Meanwhile, Nene has also been ruled out for planned rest on the front end of the Rockets back-to-back set and, according to head coach Mike D’Antoni, will be back in action for Monday’s contest. In Nene’s absence, Brandan Wright will step into the backup center role behind Clint Capela and is expected to see significant playing time in his first on-court appearance as a member of the Rockets, meaning Tarik Black is likely to remain out the frontcourt rotation. Gerald Green logged just 5 minutes off the bench in Friday’s win compared to the 21 minutes that were allocated to recently-signed Joe Johnson in the wing rotation with Trevor Ariza making his return from a lengthy absence due to a hamstring injury. That said, neither player figures to be a factor in daily fantasy formats, even with Gordon sidelined, since D’Antoni now suddenly has the ability to deploy deeper nine or 10-man rotations, limiting the minute upside of tertiary rotational pieces like Johnson and Green moving forward.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen via Twitter Other tagged players: Nene Hilario
Eric Bledsoe (sore wrist) will start Sunday
Bledsoe has officially been cleared to play, as expected, and will start in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans after originally being listed as probable in the latest version of the Milwaukee Bucks’ game notes and previously considered a game-time decision with left wrist soreness. The Bucks are still without Malcolm Brogdon and Matthew Dellavedova, which has enabled Eric Bledsoe to exceed salary-based expectations in each of the last six games they have been sidelined with their respective ailments. Additionally, interim head coach Joe Prunty confirmed with reporters during his pregame media availability that he will utilize the same starting lineup as he did in Friday’s win, meaning John Henson will start at center once again following his return from a three-game injury absence prior to the All-Star break in which he logged 35 minutes, though his performance was a bit underwhelming from a daily fantasy perspective.
As reported by: the Milwaukee Bucks via Twitter Manu Ginobili (bruised sternum) ruled out Sunday
Ginobili has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as questionable on the San Antonio Spurs’ injury report with a bruised sternum he apparently sustained sometime during Friday’s loss. Meanwhile, Danny Green was not included on the injury report and will be available to play following a one-game absence due to an illness. Patty Mills ended up replacing Green in the starting lineup alongside Dejounte Murray in the backcourt and logged 33 minutes en route to easily exceeding salary-based expectations. Mills will head back to the bench to resume a reserve role for this afternoon’s matchup, but he may remain in an increased role with Ginobili unavailable, albeit, less so than the previous game, while Bryn Forbes is likely to pick up any remaining minutes not absorbed by Mills, Murray, Kyle Anderson, or Tony Parker in the Spurs guard and wing rotation.
As reported by: Jeff McDonald via Twitter Sky High Usage For This Stud
The matchup against Giannis isn’t the easiest on paper as the Milwaukee Bucks rank 9th in DvP against power forwards. Still, there’s been nobody hotter than Anthony Davis. Here are also his usage rates over those four games: 36.6%, 32.7%, 30.1% and 40.5%. It’s amazing what Davis is doing right now and I want him for cash games.
Draymond Green (sore shoulder) will start Saturday
Green has officially been cleared to play, as expected, and will start in Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after previously being listed as probable on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report with a sore right shoulder. Meanwhile, Jordan Bell will miss his 15th consecutive game due to left ankle inflammation, though head coach Steve Kerr is hopeful that he’ll be able to return to the lineup sometime on the Warriors’ upcoming road trip. Kerr opted to start JaVale McGee ahead of Zaza Pachulia in Thursday’s win, and McGee will draw the start at center for the second time in as many games, though he logged just 13 minutes, essentially stepping right into Pachulia’s typical role in the rotation. McGee certainly possesses higher per minute fantasy upside than Pachulia but both big men will remain irrelevant for daily fantasy formats on most slates.
As reported by: Warriors PR via Twitter Marc Gasol (rest) ruled out Saturday; Deyonta Davis will start
Gasol is a late scratch from the Memphis Grizzlies’ starting lineup and won’t play in Saturday’s game against the Miami Heat due to presumed planned rest, despite not previously being listed on the injury report at any point throughout the day. In his absence, Deyonta Davis will draw the start at center and was already in line for more playing time prior to news of Gasol’s unavailability, as interim head coach JB Bickerstaff wants to begin allocating more minutes to younger players for the stretch run with Memphis well out of playoff contention. The Grizzlies are also with Tyreke Evans, Wayne Selden, and Chandler Parsons, they’ll need to rely on Mario Chalmers and Ben McLemore as the primary guards off the bench, since Dillon Brooks will slide over to the shooting guard spot in the starting lineup and allow Jarell Martin to draw the start alongside JaMychal Green at one of the forward positions, just as he did the last time Evans and Selden were sidelined in the same game prior to the All-Star break. With the aforementioned players off the court this season, Brooks Andrew Harrison both own at least a +5.9% usage rate differential, while Harrison leads the way with a +0.38 increase in his per minute production and is averaging 1.18 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Rob Fischer via Twitter Other tagged players: Deyonta Davis Aron Baynes (elbow) ruled out Saturday; Shane Larkin (knee) available to play
Baynes has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Saturday’s game against the New York Knicks after previously being listed as questionable on the Boston Celtics’ injury report with a left elbow injury he sustained during Friday’s contest. Meanwhile, Shane Larkin is cleared to suit up following his earlier questionable designation on the injury report and, according to head coach Brad Stevens, is available to play 10-12 minutes in his return from injury. Daniel Theis ended up starting the second half in place of Baynes and was extremely effective in 20 minutes of action, totaling a new career-high with 19 points, and he’ll draw the start alongside Al Horford in the frontcourt this evening as well. Following Stevens’ statement that he planned to make changes to his rotation, no Celtics player eclipsed the 30-minute mark in Friday’s contest while 12 total players logged at least some time on the court, so it will be interesting to see if this becomes a trend moving forward or if it was just a one-game outlier while Stevens experiments with different lineup combinations.
As reported by: Adam Himmelsbach via Twitter Other tagged players: Shane Larkin Kelly Olynyk (shoulder strain) ruled out Saturday
Olynyk has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies after previously being upgraded to questionable on the Miami Heat’s injury report with a strained left shoulder that has now forced him to miss six consecutive games. This was the first time over that stretch that Olynyk received a designation on the injury report other than out or doubtful, so there certainly appears to be some optimism that he could be available to make his return in the very near future. There still has yet to be any clarification from head coach Erik Spoelstra on whether Olynyk will rejoin the starting lineup or be subject to a minute restriction once he’s cleared for game action. Olynyk still hasn’t been available in any game since the Heat acquired Dwyane Wade and Luke Babbitt at the NBA trade deadline, so it’ll be interesting to see how Spoelstra deploys his rotation moving forward. Though, one would imagine that Babbitt would eventually be relegated from the rotation entirely and minutes would also be siphoned from Hassan Whiteside, Bam Adebayo, and James Johnson.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter De'Aaron Fox (illness), Skal Labissiere (shoulder), and Frank Mason (heel) probable Saturday; Kosta Koufos (illness) questionable
Fox has officially been upgraded to probable on the Sacramento Kings’ injury report for Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers due to conjunctivitis that has already forced him to miss one game, while, Skal Labissiere and Frank Mason are also listed as probable but should be fully expected to play after logging 26 and 15 minutes, respectively, in their returns from extended injury absences in Thursday’s loss. Additionally, Kosta Koufos is questionable with an illness that forced him to be a late scratch in the Kings’ previous game. Even with Labissiere returning to the lineup, Zach Randolph played a season-high 37 minutes on Thursday en route to easily exceeding salary-based expectations, a surprise performance that begins to cast some doubt on Sacramento’s rotation plans moving forward since head coach Dave Joerger announced some time ago that the team intended to rest one or two veteran players in every game for the remainder of the season. Additionally, the impending return of Fox will send Garrett Temple back to the bench to resume a reserve role after recording 32 minutes in his spot start, and he figures to see that playing time drastically reduced with Fox and Mason both expected to be active for the first time in a while.
As reported by: Jason Jones via Twitter Other tagged players: Kosta Koufos, Skal Labissiere, Frank Mason Raul Neto (ankle sprain) remains out Saturday
Neto has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Saturday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks due to a sprained right ankle he sustained during Friday’s shootaround that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. His absence will leave open the opportunity for Alec Burks to see a few extra minutes off the bench behind Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell in backcourt, but since Neto typically only logs playing time in the mid-teens, it’s more than likely that head coach Quin Snyder will continue to distribute whatever minutes Neto would have played amongst the likes of Mitchell, Rubio, Joe Ingles, and Royce O’Neale, eliminating any possible increase to one players’ projected fantasy value for Saturday’s slate.
As reported by: Kyle Goon via Twitter Kelly Olynyk (shoulder strain) questionable Saturday
Olynyk has officially been upgraded to questionable on the Miami Heat’s injury report for Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a strained left shoulder that has already forced him to miss five consecutive games. This is the first time over that stretch that Olynyk has received a designation on the injury report other than out or doubtful, so there certainly appears to be some optimism that he could be available to make his return to the lineup this evening. However, there’s currently been no clarification on whether Olynyk would rejoin the starting lineup or be subject to a minute restriction if he plays in tonight’s contest. Olynyk still hasn’t been available to play in any game since the Heat acquired Dwyane Wade and Luke Babbitt at the NBA trade deadline, so it’ll be interesting to see how head coach Erik Spoelstra deploys his rotation moving forward. Though, one would imagine that Babbitt would be relegated from the rotation entirely and minutes would also be siphoned from Hassan Whiteside, Bam Adebayo, and James Johnson if Olynyk is cleared to suit up this evening.
As reported by: Tom D'Angelo via Twitter Jimmy Butler (knee) listed out Saturday
Butler has officially been listed out for Saturday’s game against the Chicago Bulls due to a right knee injury he sustained during Friday’s loss. The Minnesota Timberwolves are still awaiting the results of an MRI as the team had some plane issues in Houston overnight and just arrived back in Minnesota not too long ago. The Timberwolves remain cautiously optimistic that Butler did not suffer an ACL tear, but regardless of the MRI results, he is likely to miss an extended period of time with the aforementioned knee injury. Butler has been sidelined for six total games this season, and in those contests, Nemanja Bjelica has started at small forward and averaged just under 31 minutes per game, a lineup change that slid Andrew Wiggins over to the shooting guard position. That said, Wiggins and Jeff Teague have been the primary beneficiaries of Butler’s absence from a usage perspective, as each own at least a +4.2% usage rate differential with him off the court this season, though Teague has seen the larger boost to his production of the two and is averaging 1.01 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Nick Friedell via Twitter Paul Zipser (foot) ruled out Saturday; Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday remain inactive
Zipser is a new addition to the Chicago Bulls’ injury report and has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to left foot pain, and head coach Fred Hoiberg also confirmed that Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday will not dress for the second consecutive contest, effectively ruling them out as well. The Bulls decided to utilize a new-look rotation out of the All-Star break that features David Nwaba and Christiano Felicio in the starting lineup in place of Lopez and Justin Holiday at small forward and center, respectively. With Felicio starting at center, Bobby Portis and Noah Vonleh are likely to continue seeing additional time at center with Felicio off the court, which figures to be a significant amount of minutes considering he has played more than 19 minutes just once all season after logging just 11 minutes in his first start on Thursday evening. Cameron Payne also made his season debut following right foot surgery and played 20 solid minutes, so he’ll remain the backup point guard behind Kris Dunn, meaning that Jerian Grant is likely still on the outside looking in at Hoiberg’s backcourt rotation for the time being.
As reported by: Nick Friedell via Twitter Other tagged players: Robin Lopez, Justin Holiday Tyreke Evans (rib) ruled out Saturday; Wayne Selden (knee) and Chandler Parsons (illness) remain out
Evans is a new addition to the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report and has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Miami Heat due to a right rib injury he sustained during the second half of Friday’s loss, while both Wayne Selden and Chandler Parsons will remain sidelined with a sore right knee and an illness, respectively. In the absences of Evans and Selden, the Grizzlies will need to rely on Mario Chalmers and Ben McLemore as the primary guards off the bench, assuming that Dillon Brooks slides over to the shooting guard spot in the starting lineup and Jarell Martin draws the start alongside JaMychal Green at one of the forward positions, just as he did the last time Evans and Selden were sidelined in the same game prior to the All-Star break. With the aforementioned players off the court this season, Brooks, Marc Gasol, and Andrew Harrison all own at least a +4.5% usage rate differential, while Harrison leads the way with a +0.22 increase in his per minute production and is averaging 1.02 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.01 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Wayne Selden, Chandler Parsons Massive Usage Bump Coming For This Player
Andrew Wiggins is averaging 36 minutes per game, 12th most in the NBA, and if Butler is out for an extended period of time the Timberwolves are going to ride Wiggins. My biggest issue with Wiggins is that he’s scoring-dependent, but he’s facing a tanking Chicago Bulls team that ranks in the bottom-five of the league in defensive efficiency, so this is a matchup he can win. Per CourtIQ, when Butler is off the court, Wiggins leads the team with a 29% usage rate