DFS Alerts
Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance, Rodney Hood, and George Hill won't make their Cavaliers debuts Friday
Clarkson, Nance, Hood, and Hill were all acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers through three separate deals before Thursday’s trade deadline, and none of the aforementioned players will be available to make their Cavaliers debut in Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks since Iman Shumpert has yet to complete his physical with the Sacramento Kings, holding up the completion of the three-way trade that sent Hood and Hill to Cleveland from their respective teams.
As reported by: Joe Vardon via Twitter
Austin Rivers (ankle) will play Friday; Milos Teodosic (foot) ruled out
Rivers confirmed to reporters that he has been cleared to play and will suit up for Friday’s contest against the Detroit Pistons after previously being listed as questionable on the Los Angeles Clippers’ injury report with a right ankle impingement that had forced him to miss 18 consecutive games. Meanwhile, Milos Teodosic has been ruled out following his earlier questionable designation due to a sore right foot. There’s been no reported minute restriction for Rivers, but given the nature of his injury, it’s unlikely he’ll be allotted a full minute workload in his first game back. However, he will draw the start at point guard in place of Teodosic, leaving open the possibility he sees more playing time than expected. Either way, Tyrone Wallace will remain in the rotation for at least one more game, while Lou Williams figures to still be a key piece in the Clippers backcourt as he normally is, logging 34-38 minutes off the bench on a regular basis.
As reported by: Tomer Azarly via Twitter Other tagged players: Milos Teodosic Shabazz Napier (great toe) questionable Friday
Napier has officially been listed as questionable on the Portland Trail Blazers’ injury report for Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings due to his ailing left great toe that forced him to miss a game earlier in the week and appear on the injury report several times since then. The Trail Blazers are on the second night of a back-to-back set and there’s yet to be any confirmation if Evan Turner will be subject to a minute restriction that limited him to 20 minutes off the bench in Thursday’s contest. In his place, Maurice Harkless drew the start at small forward for the second time in three games and logged 31 minutes, possibly distancing himself from the remaining members of the wing and backcourt rotations, as Napier and Pat Connaughton recorded just 23 minutes combined off the bench.
As reported by: Casey Holdahl via Twitter Jameer Nelson available to make Detroit Pistons debut Friday; James Ennis inactive
Nelson has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, while James Ennis hit a bit of a snag in his travel plans and will not be making his Detroit Pistons debut this evening. However, even though Nelson is with the team and is active, according to head coach Stan Van Gundy, it’s unlikely he plays in tonight’s contest. This means that Langston Galloway figures to remain the primary backup point guard behind Ish Smith for at least another game, as Dwight Buycks was a DNP-CD in the Pistons previous matchup and his status in the backcourt rotation remains unclear moving forward with Nelson presumably in the mix following Friday’s contest.
As reported by: Rod Beard via Twitter Other tagged players: James Ennis III John Henson (sore hamstring) will play Friday
Henson is currently participating in the Milwaukee Bucks morning shootaround and will play in Friday’s game against the Miami Heat after previously missing one game due to a sore right hamstring. His return to the starting lineup will send Thon Maker back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role following a respectable fantasy performance in 22 minutes of action in his spot start. The presence of Henson will also presumably remove Tyler Zeller and possibly Marshall Plumlee from the frontcourt rotation entirely, the latter absorbing 19 minutes off the bench in Henson’s absence on Tuesday evening. Additionally, the Bucks are still without Malcolm Brogdon and Matthew Dellavedova, which will allow Jason Terry, Sterling Brown, and Sean Kilpatrick to retain significant roles in the rotation, at least while Jabari Parker continues to remain on a minute restriction while he works his way back from a torn left ACL he sustained right around this time last season.
As reported by: the Milwaukee Bucks via Twitter Dennis Schroder (back tightness) probable Friday
Schroder has officially been added to the Atlanta Hawks’ injury report and is listed as probable for Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to lower back tightness. Schroder logged 31 minutes in Thursday’s loss, which is essentially the maximum allocated playing time for any Hawks player in head coach Mike Budenholzer’s ultra-deep 11-man rotation. Even with tonight being the second leg of a back-to-back set for Atlanta and Schroder’s aforementioned ailment, he should be fully expected to suit up and play his full allotment of minutes, as the Hawks are typically very liberal in their injury reporting and it’s extremely rare for a player with a probable designation on their injury report to be ruled out.
As reported by: Chris Vivlamore via Twitter The King is Ready to Reclaim his Throne
The trade deadline for the Cavaliers was nothing short of a scene from the Game of Thrones. The King (LeBron James) was not happy with his soldiers, so he shipped them off to the Night’s Watch and brought in better fighters. Unfortunately, the new acquisitions won’t be available for tonight’s battle against the Hawks. LeBron is going to carry a bunch of scrubs on his back in a game where the Cavaliers are projected to score 108 points. This is as safe of a cash game play as I’ve seen in quite some time.
Cash Game Value at Center
Tristan Thompson is not a flashy play by any means. He doesn’t create his own shot and he typically doesn’t play a ton of minutes. While there’s nothing we can do about the first problem, he should see extended minutes after the Cavaliers blew up their roster at the trade deadline. The four new players that Cleveland acquired aren’t expected to be active. Thompson should push for 30+ minutes against a Hawks’ team that is ranked 29th in fantasy points allowed to centers this season.
Under the Radar Value Play
The Cavaliers are going to be extremely short-handed tonight, so everyone will gravitate to their lineup for value. While I will be loading on up Cleveland as well, a great pivot is Alec Burks. The Jazz traded Joe Johnson and Rodney Hood and newly-acquired Jae Crowder is not expected to make his debut. Alec Burks has been productive all season (averaging 0.89 FP/min) and could step into tonight’s game and play 25+ minutes against the Hornets, who are playing in the second half of back-to-back road games.
Kelly Olynyk (shoulder) ruled out Friday; Wayne Ellington (shoulder) questionable; Dwyane Wade and Luke Babbitt available to play
Olynyk has officially been ruled out and won’t play in Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks after previously being listed as doubtful on the Miami Heat’s injury report with a strained left shoulder that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Wayne Ellington has been downgraded to questionable due to a right shoulder injury, putting his availability for tonight’s contest in some doubt. Additionally, Dwyane Wade and Luke Babbitt will be available to make their Heat debuts following separate trades on Thursday, and head coach Erik Spoelstra already confirmed that Wade will play off the bench in his return to Miami this evening. This means that either Ellington, Tyler Johnson, or Derrick Jones Jr. will draw the start at the shooting guard spot, though a large portion of that decision hinges on Ellington’s status. That said, the main beneficiaries of Olynyk and Dion Waiters’ absences continue to be Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic, as each own at least a +2.0% usage rate differential, making them intriguing targets in tournaments, even with Wade, who should soak up a decent amount of usage, available to play off the bench
As reported by: Anthony Chiang via Twitter Other tagged players: Wayne Ellington, Dwyane Wade, Luke Babbitt Revenge Narrative, Part II
This one carries some special appeal, as you know Blake Griffin will be motivated to go up against the team he spent several years playing for. The trade is also fresh in everyone’s minds, so the revenge should be served on a silver platter. Griffin has taken a back seat to Andre Drummond in the last couple of games, but Griffin still carries a lot of all-around appeal. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him put up a monster double-double in this game, and the price tag isn’t all that outrageous at $9,100 on DraftKings. If Griffin comes out determined to put on a show for his new home fans, there’s big time upside here. Griffin is averaging a line of 22/8/6 in his four games with Detroit, and those are very similar to the numbers he put up with the Clippers prior to the trade. The Pistons have also won all four games. Don’t sleep on Griffin’s revenge tonight.
Revenge Narrative, Part I
Revenge can be a narrative that we look at tonight, so here is Revenge Game, Part I. Tom Thibodeau is happily letting Butler run the show in Minnesota, especially since Jeff Teague has largely been a disaster over the last month. While Teague has been struggling, Butler has been surging. He has put up back-to-back 55 fantasy point outings on DraftKings, and the minutes remain sturdy. Butler is now tied with LeBron James for the league lead in minutes per game, so Butler’s floor will always be safe. The ceiling is appealing as well, and Butler will always be motivated to play against his former squad, not to mention the fact that Thibodeau is also coaching against his former team. That will likely lead him to play every starter 48 minutes (I’m kidding, of course). In any case, Butler is a very strong option to pay up for in tournament formats given his current strong form and stable minutes.
Plenty of Potential in Cleveland
This is a really interesting night to analyze from a GPP perspective, and the Cavaliers are definitely a team that we need to look at. They made a bunch of trades prior to the deadline on Thursday, and the new players are not expected to be available for this game. Therefore, with George Hill and Jordan Clarkson likely not available and both Dwyane Wade and Isaiah Thomas gone to other teams, there aren’t going to be a lot of guards available for Cleveland. As such, J.R. Smith will likely see as many minutes as he can handle. We know that Smith doesn’t mind chucking, and he could be looking at around 40 minutes of court time. Fire up guys like Smith, Jeff Green, and perhaps even Jose Calderon tonight.
A High Upside Play That Might Go Overlooked
His production has quietly ramped up since the calendar turned to 2018, but yet Murray seems to go under-appreciated in DFS circles. Perhaps some of that is because you just can’t trust Coach Malone with his rotations, but Murray’s playing time has largely been steady of late. He is averaging 22.1 actual points per game over his last nine contests, and that is almost a five point improvement over his season average. A lot of his other metrics are also trending in the right direction. Despite the fact that he will see Chris Paul defense, I like the pace up matchup here.
Joel Embiid (sore ankle) questionable Friday
Embiid has officially been listed as questionable on the Philadelphia 76ers’ injury report for Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a sore right ankle. Embiid was recently cleared to play in back-to-back to days, and his injury designation reportedly has nothing to do with the fact that the Sixers are gearing up to play their first game of a back-to-back set tonight. If Embiid is ultimately unavailable, Amir Johnson would likely draw the start at center once again, just as he has the previous eight games Embiid has been sidelined this year. Richaun Holmes typically averages more playing time off the bench than Johnson in these instances, but he’s largely been out of the frontcourt rotation recently with Trevor Booker assuming a larger role with the second unit. That said, the Sixers starter that has been the clear beneficiary of Emiid’s absences is Dario Saric, as he owns a +4.7% usage rate differential with him off the court this season and averages 1.19 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.14 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Keith Pompey via Twitter