DFS Alerts
Nemanja Bjelica is expected to play
I’m going to work off the assumption Jimmy Butler is out on Saturday and Bjelica moves into the starting lineup. Bjelica saw four spot-starts when Butler was out earlier this season and played well. In those starts, he averaged 11.5 points, 7 rebounds and nearly 2 steals and 2 assists over 33 minutes, so he’s more than capable of smashing his price tag. On Friday, he played 20 minutes and finished with a season-high 3 steals. I’m expecting him to be one of the main beneficiaries if Butler is out for an extended period.
Patty Mills will start at SG next to Dejounte Murray on Friday
With Danny Green unavailable tonight, The Spurs have decided to start Patty Mills tonight at shooting guard along side Dejounte Murray. Brynn Forbes and Manu Ginobili will both split time off the bench when Murray and or Mills are off the court. Patty Mills is a fine salary saving option in all late night DFS tournaments tonight.
As reported by: Jim Mcdonald
Tyler Ulis available to play Friday
After previously being listed as questionable, Tyler Ulis has been upgraded to active and available to play tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers. Ulis is by no means anywhere near a lock to see any court time tonight. Since the addition of Elfird Payton, Ulis has only seen the court once for a nine minute stretch against the Jazz. It looks like the Suns have firmly invested in giving Elfrid Payton a chance to run the show for the remainder of their season. Tyler Ulis is not unplayable for the late night slate in DFS tournaments.
As reported by: Scott Bordow Update: Danny Green is out Friday
Danny Green has been ruled out for tonight’s matchup against the Nuggets in Denver. Green did not appear on the injury report all day but reportedly ate bad spaghetti earlier this afternoon which caused some discomfort in Greens stomach. With Green unavailable tonight expect his minutes to be spread evenly between Brynn Forbes, Manu Ginobili, Patrick Mills and Dejounte Murray.
As reported by: Paul Garcia Eric Gordon is officially out Friday
After previously being listed as questionable with an illness Eric Gordon has officially been ruled out for tonight’s matchup against the Minnesota Timverwolves. Gordon was bothered by a knee injury before the all star break and it’s unclear if the knee issue is still bothering him. With Gordon unavailable to play tonight expect his minutes to be spread around evenly between Trevor Ariza, Gerald Green, and Joe Johnson.
As reported by: Craig Ackerman Danilo Gallinari is OUT Friday
After being previously listed as questionable with a bruised shooting hand, Danilo Gallinari has been confirmed out for tonight’s tail end of a road back to back in Phoenix. Coach Rivers has yet to announce who will start in Gallinaris absence tonight. Wesley Johnson was preferred option to fill in for Gallinari earlier this season when he was forced to miss an extended period of time. However, the Clippers have completely transformed their roster since the departure of Blake Griffin so it’s unclear who will start for Gallinari tonight. With Gallinari and Avery Bradley unavailable to play tonight both Tobias Harris and Lou Williams will see a big bump in usage tonight making them great plays for the night slate in all DFS tournaments tonight.
As reported by: Tomer Azarly Mario Chalmers is active and available to play Friday
Originally listed as questionable with right ankle tendinitis Mario Chalmers has been confirmed in and ready to play for the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. There hasn’t been any further update on if Chalmers will be held to a strict minutes restriction off the bench. For now it’s safe to assume Mario Chalmers will presume his normal reserve role backing up Aaron Harrison
As reported by: Memphis Grizzlies WIll Barton (illness) will have minutes monitored
The same illness that forced Will Barton to miss practice on both Wednesday and Thursday is forcing the Nuggets coaching to monitor his minutes tonight against the Spurs. With Barton having his minutes monitored expect both Jamal Murray and Gary Harris to see a slight uptick in minutes and ball handling responsibilities when Barton is unavailable. In addition to Murray and Harris, Devin Harris could also see a slight bump in minutes serving as both the backup point guard and shooting guard. Murray and Harris are both usuable in all DFS late night tournaments.
As reported by: Ally Sturm Tyson Chandler is out Friday
The Phoenix have confirmed that Suns center Tyson Chandler is out tonight. The Suns have yet to announce who will start in place of Tyson Chandler tonight. In the 10 games without Monroe, Chandler started at center in seven of them while coach Triano elected to switch up his rotation contingent on the matchup for the remaining three. Alex Len started in place of Chandler in the Suns last game before the all star break. Assuming he starts again tonight he is a strong value play in all DFS tournaments.
As reported by: Phoenix Suns Eric Gordon (illness) may not play Friday, status still TBD
Gordon is dealing with an illness and his status for Friday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves is still to be determined, according to Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, though Gordon’s outlook appears bleak as he has still not arrived at the arena for tonight’s contest. If Gordon is eventually ruled out, Gerald Green would likely assume an increased role off the bench after logging 21 minutes in the final game before the All-Star break when both Gordon and Trevor Ariza were sidelined with their respective ailments. That said, he is unlikely to see that type of run again this evening, as Ariza will start at small forward in his return from a strained left hamstring injury and newly-signed Joe Johnson, who logged 31 minutes in Rockets debut, appears to be firmly ahead of Green in the forward and wing rotations.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen via Twitter
Isaiah Taylor (ankle) available to play Friday
Taylor is officially available to play and will suit up for Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers after previously being listed as questionable on the Atlanta Hawks’ injury report with an ankle issue. The Hawks are already without Malcolm Delaney due to a knee injury, so the availability of Taylor is a much-needed boost to their backcourt depth for tonight’s matchup, and he should slot in as the primary backup behind Dennis Schroder at point guard. Other inactives include Ersan Ilyasova, Tyler Cavanaugh, and recently-signed Antonius Cleveland, so the Hawks have recalled Josh Magette and Andrew White from the G-League to assume their places on the active roster for at least one game. If Taylor is limited by any sort of minute restriction, Magette may actually find his way onto the court in a nominal end of the rotation role, while Kent Bazemore may see some minutes at the point in this scenario as well. Elaborating on Ilyasova’s unavailability, he and the Hawks have reached a tentative buyout agreement and will sit out of Friday’s contest as the team plans to place him on waivers in the coming days. Ilyasova missed the Hawks’ final game prior to the All-Star break with a sprained right shoulder, and John Collins ended up drawing the start at power forward in his absence, making him the leading candidate man the four spot in the starting unit for the second time in as many games.
As reported by: Michael Cunningham via Twitter Ersan Ilyasova (tentative buyout) ruled out Friday
The Atlanta Hawks have reached a tentative buyout agreement with power forward Ersan Ilyasova, and he has been ruled out for Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers as the team plans to place him on waivers in the coming days. Ilyasova missed the Hawks’ final game prior to the All-Star break with a sprained right shoulder, and John Collins ended up drawing the start at power forward in his absence, making him the leading candidate man the four spot in the starting unit for the second time in as many games. Other inactives include Malcolm Delaney, Tyler Cavanaugh, and recently-signed Antonius Cleveland, leading to the Hawks recalling Josh Magette and Andrew White from the G-League to assume their places on the active roster for at least one game. If Isaiah Taylor is limited by any sort of minute restriction because of his ankle injury, Magette may actually find his way onto the court in a nominal end of the rotation role, while Kent Bazemore may see some minutes at the point in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Mark Montieth via Twitter Marcus Smart (quad contusion) available to play Friday
Smart sustained a minor left quad contusion in Wednesday’s practice and is officially available to play in Friday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, as expected, after originally being listed as probable on the Boston Celtics’ injury report with the aforementioned quad injury. While Smart is set to return from an 11-game absence due to a right-hand laceration, Shane Larkin will miss his ninth consecutive game because of lingering right knee soreness. Stevens has also hinted in recent days that he may opt to shake up the rotation with the Celtics dropping four of their last five games prior to the All-Star break, though he failed to provide any specifics and will continue to utilize the same starting lineup with Aron Baynes at center. Either way, the return of Smart will almost assuredly cut into the playing time of Terry Rozier to some extent and possibly even Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum assuming Stevens wants to experiment with more lineup combinations at the two through four spots on the floor with Al Horford and Kyrie Irving manning the center and point guard positions, respectively.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter Danilo Gallinari (hand) questionable Friday; Avery Bradley (groin) ruled out
Gallinari has officially been listed as questionable on the Los Angeles Clippers’ injury report for Friday’s game against the Phoenix Suns due to a bruised left hand he sustained during Thursday’s loss, while Avery Bradley will miss his second consecutive game with a recently diagnosed hernia and groin injury. Tyrone Wallace ended up replacing Milos Teodosic in the starting lineup to begin the second half of that contest after originally being reported as the starting shooting guard earlier in the day. This means that Wallace, Teodosic, Austin Rivers, Lou Williams will serve as the primary guards in head coach Doc Rivers’ backcourt rotation for the second time in as many games. Doc Rivers also added during an interview on Thursday that Bradley’s availability may be “50/50” prior to every game for the rest of the season, and while that designation is more than likely just coach-speak, it does hint at the potential seriousness of his hernia and groin issue moving forward. Since the players acquired in the deal with the Detroit Pistons made their Clippers debuts, DeAndre Jordan has led the team with a +3.5% usage rate differential with Bradley off the court while averaging 1.44 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.49 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Tomer Azarly via Twitter Other tagged players: Avery Bradley Thriving as the New Point Forward
While a matchup against Dallas doesn’t usually seem like a fun one because the Mavericks don’t play fast, I have no issues taking a player or two against them. Dallas is admittedly tanking right now (and Mark Cuban paid the price for admitting it), and they already rank in the bottom third of the league in defensive efficiency. Brandon Ingram is growing into the leader of this Lakers team, and he’s even handling the ball a bit more now that Lonzo Ball is on the shelf. Ingram used to get a reputation as a player with a very low floor, but that has not been the case lately. He’s developed a nice consistency to his game, and the upside is there on the nights where he gets some shots to fall. I like him a lot as a mid-range play that might get somewhat overlooked this evening.
