DFS Alerts
Frank Ntilikina (sore knee) will play Tuesday
Ntilikina has been cleared to play and will suit up for Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, according to head coach Jeff Hornacek, after previously being listed as questionable on the New York Knicks’ injury report with a sore right knee that limited him to just six minutes in Sunday’s loss. The Knicks and Hornacek seem to refuse to set Ntilikina free, as the rookie has typically been seeing minutes in the high-teens or low-20s in recent weeks and has lost playing time to Jarrett Jack and Trey Burke in the backcourt rotation. As for Burke, he was extremely effective in 20 minutes of action in relief of Ntilikina on Sunday and received some praise from Hornacek following the game as well, meaning he may see a solid minute workload once again if the Knicks try to ease Ntilikina back into the rotation.
As reported by: Ian Begley via Twitter
Jonathon Simmons (ankle sprain) will play Tuesday
Simmons has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as questionable on the Orlando Magic’s injury report with a sprained right ankle he sustained during Monday’s win. Simmons managed to play through the injury and close out last night’s contest, so news of his availability is far from surprising. In Aaron Gordon’s absence, Mario Hezonja and Marreese Speights have alternated starts at power forward over the last four games, but regardless of starter, Hezonja has logged the most playing time of the two, including at least 29 minutes in each of the last two games. So, Hezonja will remain the preferred tournament option over Speights since he appears to be putting some distance between himself and Speights in head coach Frank Vogel’s rotation That said, the starters that still stand to benefit the most with Gordon sidelined are Simmons and Elfrid Payton, as each owns at least a +2.5% usage rate differential with him off the court this season, and Payton has averaged 1.17 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.22 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Josh Robbins via Twitter Dwyane Wade (illness) will play Tuesday
Wade has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic after previously being listed as questionable on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ injury report with an illness that forced him to miss shootaround this morning. Head coach Tyronn Lue mentioned to reporters at shootaround that the team is planning on resting Wade on the second leg of the back-to-back set on Wednesday evening, so he’ll likely see a full allotment of playing time in Tuesday’s contest if able. Wade’s minutes have been a bit inconsistent since Isaiah Thomas and Derrick Rose returned to the Cleveland lineup following their respective injury absences, but he has still flashed tournament upside on occasion and is fourth on the Cavaliers with 25.7% usage rate with Kevin Love off the court during that timespan. On top of that, Wade is averaging 1.11 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.12 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Marla Ridenour via Twitter John Henson (sore hamstring) listed out Tuesday
Henson has been listed as out in the latest version of the Milwaukee Bucks’ game notes for Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks due to right hamstring soreness. While game notes have a tendency of being inaccurate with a lot of NBA teams, the Bucks’ game notes seem to have been reliable in recent weeks, meaning that tonight’s slate should be approached as if Henson will be unavailable, even though there hasn’t yet been an official update from interim head coach Joe Prunty or the team. The Bucks are also without Matthew Dellavedova and Malcolm Brogdon due to their respective injuries for the foreseeable futures, so the Bucks have recalled Xavier Munford from the G-League to bolster their depth in the backcourt, though it is unclear whether he’ll actually crack the rotation. In Henson’s absence, Thon Maker is likely to draw the start at center but probably won’t see anywhere near the 33 minutes he logged the last time Henson was sidelined, as newly-acquired Tyler Zeller is available to play and will make his Bucks debut following Monday’s trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
As reported by: NBA.com Game Notes This Is My Recipe
I’ve been really good at predicting KCP in the past, and this game checks a lot of the boxes for him. I will say, I’m not always right, but I think he’s a great GPP play tonight. The Suns rank 30th in DRPM against shooting guards, and they’re 27th in defensive efficiency against shooting guards. Phoenix also turns the ball over 15.9 times per game, which is the third most in the NBA. KCP has a lot of upside in this matchup, and the added steal upside gives him a really high ceiling in this matchup.
Increased Role on a Team Going Nowhere
The Grizzlies announced that they are going to hold Tyreke Evans out and try to move him before the trade deadline. After Mike Conley was injured and ruled out for the season, who can blame them? In his absence, Andrew Harrison is starting at point guard and playing as many minutes as he can handle. In the last three games that Evans has missed, Harrison has averaged 29 minutes and 29 fantasy points. Tonight he squares off against the Hawks, who have struggled to defend point guards for years.
Excellent Spot For A Breakout Game
Marquese Chriss is one of my favorite plays for tournaments tonight, and I think has a ton of upside in this matchup. He returned from injury four games ago, and has played anywhere from 14 to 28 minutes in those four games. With Monroe gone, Chriss is in a prime spot to play more minutes, and after being suspended for a game, I expect him to come out strong tonight. The Suns receive the biggest pace bump on the slate tonight, and without Booker, there is 28%+ usage to go around.
Keep it Rolling Nintendo Star
Aaron Gordon has already been ruled out of tonight’s game, which should trigger something in your mind that says, “play Mario Hezonja.” With Gordon in the lineup this season, Hezonja has averaged ten fantasy points per game. With Gordon out of the lineup this season, Hezonja has averaged 27 fantasy points per game. Mario has played very well recently and now gets to square off against a Cavaliers’ team that is ranked in the bottom five in points allowed per game, defensive efficiency, and rebounding differential.
Great Matchup and an Increased Role
Devin Booker has already been ruled out of tonight’s game against the Lakers and it sounds like Tyler Ulis is the likely starter in his place. Ulis hasn’t been the most productive player on a per-minute basis this season (0.74 FP/min), but we can project him to play around 30 minutes against the Lakers, who are one of the worst teams in the NBA at defending point guards. Ulis is cheap, he’s going to see a bump in minutes, and he draws an elite matchup, which completes the holy trinity for DFS.
Jonathon Simmons (ankle sprain) questionable Tuesday
Simmons has officially been listed as questionable on the Orlando Magic’s injury report for Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a sprained right ankle he sustained during Monday’s win. Simmons managed to play through the injury and close out last night’s game, so he seems likelier to suit up than not, assuming the ankle didn’t swell up on him too bad. However, if he is unable to give it a go, either Shelvin Mack, D.J. Augustin, or Wesley Iwundu are likely to enter the starting lineup alongside Evan Fournier on the wing. In Aaron Gordon’s absence, Mario Hezonja and Marreese Speights have alternated starts at power forward over the last four games, but regardless of starter, Hezonja has logged the most playing time of the two, including at least 29 minutes in each of the last two games. So, Hezonja will remain the preferred tournament option over Speights since he appears to be putting some distance between himself and Speights in the ortation That said, the starters that still stand to benefit the most with Gordon sidelined Simmons and Elfrid Payton, as each owns at least a +2.5% usage rate differential with him off the court this season, and Payton has averaged 1.17 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.22 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Josh Robbins via Twitter Kyrie Irving (quad contusion) will play Tuesday
Irving confirmed with reporters that he will play in Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors after previously being listed as questionable on the Boston Celtics’ injury report with a right quad contusion that had forced him to miss three consecutive games. Meanwhile, Marcus Morris remains questionable due to a bruised right hip, but he will participate in shootaround, a positive sign for his potential availability this evening. The Celtics are still without Shane Larkin and Marcus Smart with their respective ailments, so Terry Rozier will still remain an integral part of the backcourt rotation, even though he will head back to the bench to resume a reserve role after averaging just under 35 minutes per game as a starter with Irving sidelined. Even though Rozier’s playing time won’t change drastically, his price tag is currently too high across the industry for him to realistically pay off salary-based expectations, meaning he can be easily avoided in all daily fantasy formats this evening.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter A Logical Value Choice
Sometimes, there is no rhyme or reason as to why Luke Walton does what he does with his rotations. He seems to be back on the Josh Hart kick for now, as Hart has played massive minutes over the last two games. It sounds like he should have a starting guard role for now, and the Lakers draw a great matchup against a similarly up tempo Suns team tonight. The Lakers are tied for the second highest team total on the board, so this is a fine spot to find some value. If you don’t trust the minutes for Hart, you could also throw Kentavious Caldwell-Pope into the value/mid-range mix.
Re-Building the Circle of Trust
Like many, I have been burned by Gasol a time or two this season. However, the opportunity is simply too rich to ignore right now. The Grizzlies have no other scorers on their team, especially now that Tyreke Evans has been shelved pending a possible trade. Gasol has been rock solid over the last five games for Memphis, and he draws a great matchup tonight against a Hawks team that really struggles against opposing big men. They rank 29th in DvP against centers this year. While the price tag is getting uncomfortably high, that will only serve to keep ownership in check. Fire up Gasol as an intriguing low-owned leverage play in tournaments tonight.
A Perfect Risk/Reward GPP Option
The minutes haven’t really been consistent for Payton lately, but the Magic have been involved in a few blowouts over the last couple weeks. The good news is that Orlando draws a nice matchup against the woeful Cavs defense tonight. This game sets up as an interesting GPP stack, as both teams rank in the bottom five of the NBA in defensive efficiency. Payton has 40+ fantasy point upside when he is on, and he could very well lead the team tonight with Aaron Gordon remaining out of commission. Don’t sleep on Payton as a mid-range GPP selection.
The Second Half Breakout Candidate
Phoenix is going to be well served to play their younger players going forward, and Josh Jackson is in the midst of a breakout. Devin Booker has already been ruled out for tonight, so we know Jackson’s minutes will be secure. He is logging more time at shooting guard next to T.J. Warren, whereas the coaching staff was reluctant to play him there earlier in the year. They have no choice now with Booker and Canaan out. Jackson has topped 20 points in four straight games while playing at least 26 minutes in all of them, and he should be looking at 30+ minutes tonight in an up tempo game against the Lakers. Yes, please!