DFS Alerts
High Usage in a Pace-Up Spot
The Spurs were short-handed last night against the Jazz and are expected to be even more short-handed tonight. Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Pau Gasol are all rest candidates in the second half of a back-to-back. With LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, and Kawhi Leonard all ruled out, Kyle Anderson is arguably the Spurs’ best offensive player. He should see an elevated usage and he should play well over 30 minutes if this game stays close.
Sneaky Spot in a Pace-Up Game
When it comes to cash games, I hate filling out the power forward position. It’s almost always the thinnest of the five, especially when we have smaller slates. That’s the case again tonight, as there are very few options that we can feel good about. One player that offers a high floor and a high ceiling is Taj Gibson. He draws a pace-up matchup against the Rockets and he gets to face them at home. Gibson should be locked into a 33-35 minute role in a game where the Wolves are projected to score 110 points.
Ready to Thrive for the New Look Cavs?
LeBron appears to be ready to put this team on his back. The Cavs have shown a little more energy of late, and the recent trades can’t hurt things by any stretch. LeBron almost logged a triple-double in the last game despite playing under 30 minutes because of the blowout. He obviously has 70+ fantasy point upside, and a matchup against Paul George might keep his ownership down. LeBron is a top two option in all formats this evening.
Upside at a Discounted Price tag
Tyler Johnson appears to be back to full strength right now, and he seems to be ready to handle a starting role moving forward. The presence of Dwyane Wade will likely take away from Justise Winslow more than it will Johnson. In any case, Johnson is dirt cheap for DFS purposes, and he is coming off a solid 19/6/3 line in 36 minutes in the last game — a contest in which Wade also played 22 minutes off the bench. Don’t be worried about the role here; Johnson is a fine value pick.
Top Point Guard on the Slate?
We still don’t have clarity on the status of Russell Westbrook, so, for now, Paul seems like the most logical spend at the point guard position. He draws the best matchup of the Houston players tonight, especially as Jimmy Butler is likely going to be tasked with attempting to slow down James Harden. Paul is playing without any restrictions right now and brings plenty of upside to the table. He’s one of my favorite GPP options tonight.
Immense Upside Despite a Tough Matchup
People naturally get scared of matchups against the Spurs, but Jokic is simply a different breed. His all-around skill set gives him a solid floor against any opponent, and the Spurs are not at full strength. Without Leonard and Aldridge, I’m not going to shy away from targeting a guy who will be under-owned and has the upside to be the highest scoring player on the slate. Fire up Jokic with confidence in GPPs tonight.
Increased Minutes Because Of Injury
We have a lot of great high end options tonight, but we don’t have a ton of value. With John Henson ruled out tonight, I expect Thon Maker to play over 20 minutes against Atlanta. The Hawks rank 22nd in defensive efficiency against centers this season. Maker played 26 minutes against Orlando on Saturday and just didn’t rebound well in that game. If he hits the glass better tonight, I think we’re looking at 25+ fantasy points.
Tyler Ulis is out Tonight
Tyler Ulis will not be available tonight as a result Josh Gray will be the primary back up point guard for the Suns. In addition to Josh Gray, Josh Jackson and Troy Daniels will also see a slight uptick in minutes.
As reported by: Phoenix Suns
Patrick McCaw is available to play tonight
McCaw was recalled from the G-league earlier this morning. He will be ready to play tonight if coach Kerr calls his name tonight. If McCaw plays he’ll play anywhere from 10-15 minutes which doesn’t impact the rotation much but there is a strong chance this game results in a blowout which could result in a few extra minutes for McCaw.
As reported by: Warriors PR Dejounte Murray and Tony Parker will both play tonight; Murray will start with Parker off the bench
Dejounte Murray and Tony Parker are both available to play for the Spurs on Monday. When asked if Murray would start tonight, Gregg Popovich responded “yes, because he’s our starting point guard.” Per RotoGrinders CourtIQ app, Murray is averaging 1.12 fantasy points per minute when Aldridge, Leonard, and Gay are all off the court this season. Coach Popovich didn’t touch on whether or not Murray will be limited in his first game back. As of now it’s safe to assume he’ll play his normal allotment of minutes tonight.
As reported by: Jeff McDonald Other tagged players: Tony Parker Emeka Okafor will start ahead of Nikola Mirotic on Monday
During his pregame radio interview, New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry disclosed that he plans to start Emeka Okafor at center for Monday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, which will move Anthony Davis over to power forward and send Nikola Mirotic to the bench to assume a reserve role. Despite the starting lineup change, it’s unlikely that Okafor or Mirotic see their minute allotments drastically change since Gentry is seemingly just trying to limit the amount of time Davis is matched up with Andre Drummond on the defensive end, as Drummond is the prototypical center that Davis has traditionally struggled against. Okafor is coming off of an impressive fantasy performance in 20 minutes in Friday’s loss, but that minute threshold should be considered at or near his ceiling in terms of playing time regardless of starting lineup.
As reported by: Sean Kelley via Twitter
Kyle O'Quinn and Lance Thomas will start ahead of Michael Beasley and Courtney Lee on Monday
O’Quinn and Thomas will be inserted into the starting lineup for Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, according to New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek, which will send Michael Beasley and Courtney Lee to the bench to assume reserve roles. The lineup change of Thomas at small forward was expected given the matchup with Ben Simmons defensively, but O’Quinn replacing Beasley at power forward will be an interesting situation to monitor moving forward, as Hornacek has already been hesitant to rely on Beasley with a significant role in the rotation for extended stretches this season. That said, even with the starting lineup change, it’s difficult to imagine Beasley’s playing time diminishing too much given the Sixers’ length and ability to play positionless basketball at the one through four positions on the court.
As reported by: Ian Begley via Twitter Other tagged players: Lance Thomas Marco Belinelli available to make Sixers debut Monday, but unlikely to play
Belinelli has officially signed with the Philadelphia 76ers and will be available to make his debut off the bench in Monday’s game against the New York Knicks but, according to head coach Brett Brown, is unlikely to actually play and envisions Wednesday’s matchup with the Miami Heat as a more realistic possibility. Brown also disclosed to reporters during his pregame media availability that he views Belinelli as the eighth-man in his rotation, which would slot him right behind T.J. McConnell and Justin Anderson in terms of projected minutes. Not only will Belinelli begin to eat into the playing time of Anderson and McConnell, but it’s also possible Trevor Booker sees his minutes reduced from their already low levels given the Sixers ability to play positionless basketball at the one through four positions on the court.
As reported by: Jon Johnson via Twitter Ricky Rubio (sore hip) ruled out Monday
Rubio has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs due to left hip soreness that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Rubio was sidelined for Sunday’s win because of the aforementioned hip issue, which enabled Royce O’Neale to enter the starting lineup alongside Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt and did not disappoint, as he easily exceeded salary-based expectations in 33 minutes of action. The emergence of O’Neale and the addition of Jae Crowder to the rotation limited Alec Burks to just seven minutes in Rubio’s absence and it’s unlikely that changes on Monday night considering the performance of the team and O’Neale in the aforementioned matchup. This also means that Mitchell will continue to absorb a majority of the point guard minutes, and he’ll be an excellent option for all formats on Monday’s slate, as he owns a +5.5% usage rate differential with Rubio and the recently-departed players off the court this season. On top of that, Mitchell also leads the Jazz 35.6% usage rate overall and has averaged 1.32 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.26 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Andy Larsen via Twitter Tyson Chandler (sore neck) will start Monday
Chandler has officially been cleared to play and will start in Monday’s game against the Golden State Warriors after previously being listed as questionable on the Phoenix Suns’ injury report with a sore neck that had forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Tyler Ulis remains listed as questionable with a lower back ailment the kept him sidelined for Saturday’s loss. Devin Booker was already ruled out for the fourth consecutive game due to a left hip pointer, and he reportedly still can’t make NBA-level cuts at practice, so even though Booker is hopeful to play on Wednesday night, it’s appearing more and more likely that he will be held out until after the upcoming All-Star break. With Chandler back in the starting lineup, Troy Daniels will presumably head back to the bench to resume a reserve role after a disappointing fantasy performance in 28 minutes Saturday evening. The presence of Elfrid Payton will continue to throw a bit of a wrench into the Suns’ recent usage dispersion with Booker sidelined, but Josh Jackson has still led the way with a +2.8% usage rate differential with Booker off the court this season and is averaging 0.97 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Scott Bordow via Twitter