DFS Alerts
Golden State expected to start Javale McGee at center
The Golden State Warriors are making a minor change to their starting rotation tonight by moving Javale McGee into the starting lineup for Zaza Pachulia. The Warriors didn’t have a strong finish to their first half and maybe this is an indication that Kerr is looking for a certain spark to his lineup. There hasn’t been any announcement on how many minutes Mcgee will play tonight. McGee will likely assume the same role Zaza Pachulia normally has. He is usable as a salary saving options in all late night night tournament slates.
As reported by: Jason Jones
Justin Holiday ruled out Thursday
Holiday and Robin Lopez both won’t dress and will be inactive Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, contrary to Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg’s initial comments following shootaround this morning that the duo would receive DNP-CDs in the Bulls new-look rotation that features David Nwaba and Christiano Felicio in the starting lineup at small forward and center, respectively. With Felicio starting at center, Bobby Portis and possibly even Noah Vonleh are likely to get some extra run at center with Felicio off the court, which could be a significant amount of time considering he has played more than 19 minutes just once all season. Cameron Payne is also available to make his season debut following right foot surgery, and he’ll slot in as the backup point guard behind Kris Dunn, meaning the Jerian Grant will be relegated from the rotation as well.
As reported by: K.C. Johnson via Twitter
D'Angelo Russell will start ahead of Quincy Acy on Thursday
Russell has been confirmed as a member of the Brooklyn Nets starting lineup for Thursday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, according to head coach Kenny Atkinson, and he’ll slot in at the shooting guard position alongside Spencer Dinwiddie in the backcourt, which sends Quincy Acy to the bench to resume a reserve role and slides DeMarre Carroll and Allen Crabbe over to power forward and small forward, respectively. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice but is still unavailable for tonight’s contest due to a strained right groin that has now forced him to miss 11 consecutive games, while Caris LeVert will also remain sidelined for a fifth consecutive game because of a sprained right knee, despite being a limited participant in practice. While the duo will be unavailable this evening, Atkinson is hopeful that each can return to the lineup for Monday’s matchup. Hollis-Jefferson and LeVert off the court this season, Dinwiddie has actually led the Nets with a +2.2% usage rate differential, good for a 26.2% usage rate overall, while Russell has seen his production spike to 1.23 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.19 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Brian Lewis via Twitter De'Aaron Fox (illness) ruled out Thursday
Fox has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Thursday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after previously being listed as questionable on the Sacramento Kings’ injury report with a bout of conjunctivitis. Meanwhile, Skal Labissiere and Frank Mason remain probable due to their respective ailments and have jointly missed the last nine consecutive games, with Mason’s absence equated to 21 games total. Assuming Mason is cleared to play, he’ll likely draw the start at point guard in place of Fox and may be in line for a heavy minute workload, if he’s able to manage it, with George Hill now in Cleveland and Iman Shumpert still dealing with left foot plantar fasciitis and going through left knee rehabilitation. Zach Randolph started nine of the last 10 games at power forward, but his role in the rotation and youth movement appears to be in doubt moving forward and is likely to be on the receiving end of DNP-CDs on a regular basis with the Kings approaching full strength.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter Hello, Chicago Value!
The Bulls are another team that is going to be friendly to us DFS players here after the All Star break. With the team in full tank mode, Nwaba is going to join the starting lineup. The front office has made it clear that both Nwaba and Cristiano Felicio will play a lot moving forward, and both make sense as fantastic values on this first post All-Star break slate. Even though neither player will get you 50 fantasy points, they are two of the best point per dollar plays on the board. Now, let’s just hope the 30+ minutes are there for the taking. If Nwaba gets 30 minutes, the “bust” potential is very low here.
Cheap Price with Plenty of Upside
The Bulls are another team that is going to be friendly to us DFS players here after the All Star break. With the team in full tank mode, Felicio is going to start ahead of Robin Lopez, and it sounds like Lopez might be out of the rotation entirely. The front office has made it clear that both Felicio and David Nwaba will play a lot moving forward, and both make sense as fantastic values on this first post All-Star break slate. Even though neither player will get you 50 fantasy points, they are two of the best point per dollar plays on the board.
New Role, Bigger Upside
The Knicks are shaking up their rotation to start the second half, and Mudiay will be your new starter at the point. He clearly has more potential than a veteran like Jarrett Jack, and the early returns in New York have been encouraging. We have a surprising amount of value on this slate with rotation changes, and Mudiay is one of my favorite plays of the night in all formats.
Avery Bradley (sports hernia) ruled out Thursday
Bradley has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors after previously being listed as questionable on the Los Angeles Clippers’ injury report with a sports hernia injury that forced him to miss Wednesday’s practice. In his absence, Tyrone Wallace will draw the start at the shooting guard spot in his place. This means that Wallace, Austin Rivers, Lou Williams, and Milos Teodosic will serve as the primary guards in head coach Doc Rivers’ backcourt rotation since Jawun Evans is still without a timetable for his return from separate groin and abdomen injuries and C.J. Williams is still on a G-League assignment. Doc Rivers also added 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 before the trade deadline made their Clippers debuts, DeAndre Jordan has led the team with a +4.7% 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 Robin Lopez will be active, but won't play Thursday
Lopez will still be active but won’t play in Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg, and will be a DNP-CD, at least to start, in the Bulls new-look rotation that features David Nwaba and Christiano Felicio in the starting lineup in place of Lopez and Justin Holiday at small forward and center, respectively. However, Hoiberg did clarify that Holiday will still absorb some playing time off the bench at the wing positions. With Felicio starting at center, Bobby Portis and possibly even Noah Vonleh are likely to see some run at center with Felicio off the court, which could be a significant amount of time considering he has played more than 19 minutes just once all season. Cameron Payne is also available to make his season debut following right foot surgery, and he’ll slot in as the backup point guard behind Kris Dunn, meaning the Jerian Grant will be relegated from the rotation as well.
As reported by: K.C. Johnson via Twitter Aaron Gordon (hip) and Nikola Vucevic (hand) will start, but won't play "heavy" minutes Thursday
Gordon and Vucevic have both officially been cleared to play and will start in Thursday’s game against the New York Knicks but, according to Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel, neither will see heavy minutes in their first game back following extended injury absences. Gordon and Vucevic have missed eight and 23 consecutive games, respectively, due to their aforementioned ailments, so their return to the starting lineup will impact the Magic’s rotation significantly and send both Mario Hezonja and Bismack Biyombo back to the bench to resume reserve roles. However, Vogel did also mention that he plans to continue utilizing Hezonja as an integral part of the frontcourt rotation and expects him to log time at power forward and small forward in the second unit.
As reported by: Josh Robbins via Twitter Other tagged players: Nikola Vucevic High Minutes in an Uptempo Game
Since coming back from injury, Austin Rivers has played at least 31 minutes and has scored at least 19 fantasy points in every single game. Even with Milos Teodosic healthy, Rivers has been playing a full complement of minutes. He draws an uptempo matchup against the Warriors in a game that features a monster total of more than 230 points. This is a great game to stack and Rivers offers nice value for both cash games and tournaments.
Paying up for Safety in Cash Games
When it comes to consistency, there are few that do it better than LeBron James. He offers a high floor and a high ceiling and there is more than enough value to easily fit him into your cash game lineups. James has a nice track record against the Wizards, scoring 72, 49, 92, and 52 fantasy points in their last four meetings. Cleveland still has some gelling to do with their new acquisitions, so look for James to continue to carry the load offensively.
New Role After the All-Star Break
The Bulls have nothing to play for at this point of the season and we are already seeing some changes being made. Chicago has benched Justin Holiday and Robin Lopez for David Nwaba and Cristiano Felicio. Nwaba should be locked into a 25+ minute role a night moving forward and this is likely the cheapest he will be for the foreseeable future. The Sixers aren’t great at defending wing players, making Nwaba one of the top value plays for both cash games and tournaments.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (groin) and Caris LeVert (knee) remain out for Thursday
Hollis-Jefferson was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice but has still been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets due to a strained right groin that has now forced him to miss 11 consecutive games, while Caris LeVert will also remain sidelined for a fifth consecutive game because of a sprained right knee, despite being a limited participant in practice. While the duo will be unavailable for tomorrow’s contest, Brooklyn Nets’ head coach Kenny Atkinson is hopeful that each can return to the lineup for Monday’s game. Atkinson also revealed during his post-practice media availability that he plans to play Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell alongside each other in the backcourt more often, though he would not go as far to say that Russell would rejoin the starting lineup, at least at this point in time. Additionally, with Hollis-Jefferson and LeVert off the court this season, Dinwiddie has led the Nets with a +2.2% usage rate differential, good for a 26.2% usage rate overall, while Russell has seen his production spike to 1.23 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.19 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Bryan Fonseca via Twitter Other tagged players: Caris LeVert Gary Harris (bruised foot) will start Thursday
Harris has officially been cleared to play and will start in Thursday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks after previously being listed as probable on the Denver Nuggets’ injury report with a bruised right foot. Meanwhile, Jamal Murray has been removed from the injury report and will start following his initial probable designation due to a sore chest. Murray was listed as questionable prior to Tuesday’s win with the same ailment and was able to log 37 minutes, so the team was more than likely just taking a cautious approach by listing him as probable on Wednesday’s original injury report. The Nuggets will have also have shorter bench than normal for tonight’s contest, as Torrey Craig, Kenneth Faried, and Richard Jefferson did not travel with the team to Milwaukee and have effectively been ruled out. However, their absences won’t have any impact on head coach Mike Malone’s rotation since the aforementioned trio are typically DNP-CDs on most nights.
As reported by: the Denver Nuggets via Twitter