DFS Alerts
Attack The Battlefield With This Tank
Marvin Williams has already been ruled out for tonight’s game, and Kaminsky could see a nice bump in minutes tonight. Williams is playing 22-28 minutes a night, and with Kaminsky playing 20-24 minutes lately, he’s looking at possibly playing 26-30 minutes tonight. Kaminsky is averaging .82 fantasy points per minute without William on the floor this season. He has a really nice floor tonight in this matchup, and I like him as a pivot off the chalk.
Time for a Breakout
The Bulls have apparently been shopping Nikola Mirotic and have already ruled out Lauri Markkanen for tonight’s game against the Blazers. Bobby Portis is expected to draw the start and there is a chance he plays 30 minutes if Mirotic ends up being ruled out (currently questionable with a leg injury). While the matchup against the Blazers isn’t great, Portis is averaging 1.12 fantasy points per minute this season and is only $4,500 on FanDuel tonight.
Taking Advantage of a Bad Defense
Words are not enough to describe just how bad the Cavs defense is right now. They got lit up by a short-handed Pistons squad last night, allowing big games to Andre Drummond, Stanley Johnson, and Anthony Tolliver in the process. When Stanley Johnson and Anthony Tolliver are lighting you up, there’s a problem at hand. I’m generally not a big fan of Dragic with Tyler Johnson back in the mix, but I can’t ignore the matchup at this point. The upside is there, and this Cleveland defense is just putrid. Don’t be afraid to get some exposure to the Heat this evening.
Nice Value Play at Center
Kevin Love is going to miss the next six to eight weeks with a broken hand, which opens up nearly 30 minutes in the nightly rotation. While Tristan Thompson isn’t going to see much of a usage boost, he will see a significant increase in playing time. Look for Thompson to regularly see 30 minutes in this lineup, especially in matchups where they will need his size down low. Tonight’s matchup against Hassan Whiteside and the Heat certainly qualifies. Thompson isn’t an exciting play, but he has a safe floor and offers nice value at center.
Top Spend of the Night?
The Cavs are a mess right now, and there will be games where LBJ is just forced to take over. This could be one of those games against his former team. Kevin Love is going to be out for a long time, we don’t know how much Isaiah Thomas will play on the tail end of a back to back, and Cleveland’s defense is so bad that we know they will need to score a lot of points to win this game. While Miami isn’t the best matchup on paper, I get the feeling that this will be a takeover night for James. CourtIQ tells us that James sees a 2% boost in usage and scores six additional fantasy points per 36 minutes with Love off the floor, giving him an average of 58 points (DK scoring) per 36 minutes. Fire him up in GPPs with 70+ fantasy point upside if the game stays close
A Rock Solid Mid-Range Play
It’s always uncomfortable to target some Lakers in DFS contests, because Luke Walton is as unpredictable as any coach in the NBA with his rotations. However, Brandon Ingram is generally exempt from that madness. He has played at least 33 minutes in each of the last three contests, and he appears to be fully healthy again. While his production has been hit or miss of late, I like him a lot in GPP formats tonight. This will be an up tempo game between two teams that rank inside the top eight in the league in tempo, and Orlando is not a strong defensive unit. Fire up Ingram with some upside at stake here this evening.
High Usage Bench Player
I always love targeting players against the Hawks because they play at a fast pace and have one of the worst defenses in the entire NBA. Marvin Williams is not going to play tonight, which opens up around 26 minutes in the rotation. Even if Jeremy Lamb can get three or four extra minutes of playing time tonight, he should easily pay off his salary at a price under $5,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings. On the season, Lamb is averaging 0.98 fantasy points per minute.
Monitor the News for Memphis
As usual, we will have to monitor the injuries for Memphis tonight, as they have a whopping SEVEN players listed on the injury report. Jarell Martin will continue to see heavy minutes if JaMychal Green remains sidelined, and Green is currently listed as doubtful for this game. Martin has seen a big bump in playing time of late, and he has posted some solid all around lines in the month of January. Tonight’s matchup is a solid one against a Pacers team that has often struggled against opposing big men. Keep an eye on the news as we get closer to lineup lock, and fire up Martin with confidence if Green (and others) are sidelined.
Darrell Arthur will start for Mason Plumlee (calf) on Tuesday
Chandler has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after previously being listed as probable on the Denver Nuggets’ injury report with a migraine that had forced him to miss one game. The Nuggets are already without Mason Plumlee for Tuesday’s contest, who had already been ruled out due to a strained right calf, which will give head coach Mike Malone an excuse to start Darrell Arthur at power forward alongside Nikola Jokic in the frontcourt. However, Arthur shouldn’t be expected to see anywhere close to starters’ minutes and is likely to form a committee in the frontcourt with Trey Tyles and Kenneth Faried, with Lyles easily leading the way in terms of playing time. As for Chandler, he was recently displaced from the Nuggets starting lineup in favor of Will Barton, but he has still consistently seen playing time in the low-30s, leaving him in consideration for tournament formats on most nights.
As reported by: Harrison Wind via Twitter
Andre Drummond (illness) will start Tuesday
Drummond has been confirmed as a starter and will play in tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as questionable and a game-time decision in the Detroit Pistons’ pregame media sheets due to an illness. Blake Griffin, Willie Reed, and Brice Johnson are all unavailable to make their Pistons debut following Monday’s blockbuster trade that sent Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and Boban Marjanovic to the Los Angeles Clippers along with a couple draft picks. Head coach Stan Van Gundy has opted to shake up the starting lineup once again in Sunday’s loss and reinserted Reggie Bullock and Ish Smith at the shooting guard and point guard positions, respectively, sending Stanley Johnson and Langston Galloway back to the bench to resume reserve roles. However, Johnson will find his way into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s matchup and will likely start at small forward going forward with Harris and Bradley no longer on the Pistons roster. Not only that, but he, Tolliver, and Bullock will be relied upon to log a hefty minute workload with the team shorthanded at the forward and wing positions, specifically, this evening.
As reported by: Keith Langlois via Twitter C.J. Miles (sore knee) ruled out Tuesday
Miles is a late scratch and has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to right knee soreness, despite never being listed on the Toronto Raptors’ injury report at any point throughout the day. Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet is expected to play after missing shootaround this morning due to personal reasons. In Miles absence, Norman Powell will likely absorb a majority of his playing time allotment off the bench, so the news of Miles’ unavailability does very little to alter head coach Dwane Casey’s wing rotation. Miles typically sees minutes in the upper-teens or low-20s and is rarely relevant in daily fantasy formats on most nights, so possibly unrealistic expectations for Powell should be tempered for Tuesday’s slate and moving forward should Miles miss extended time.
As reported by: RaptorsMR via Twitter Wilson Chandler (migraine) available to play Tuesday
Chandler has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after previously being listed as probable on the Denver Nuggets’ injury report with a migraine that had forced him to miss one game. The Nuggets are already without Mason Plumlee for Tuesday’s contest, who had already been ruled out due to a strained right calf, which will likely allow Trey Lyles to start at power forward alongside Nikola Jokic in the frontcourt. Plumlee’s absence will also enable Kenneth Faried, who logged his first minutes in nearly two weeks in Monday’s loss, to enter the rotation in a more expanded role. Chandler was recently displaced from the Nuggets starting lineup in favor of Will Barton, but he has still consistently seen playing time in the low-30s, leaving him in consideration for tournament formats on most nights.
As reported by: Harrison Wind via Twitter Chris Paul (groin) ruled out Tuesday; Eric Gordon will start
Paul has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Charlotte Hornets after previously being listed as questionable on the Houston Rockets’ injury report with a sore right groin that forced him to miss most of the fourth quarter in Sunday’s win. In his absence, Eric Gordon will enter the starting lineup at shooting guard, which slides James Harden over to the point guard spot. Additionally, Luc Mbah a Moute will start at small forward in place of Trevor Ariza, who is expected to miss the next five games due to a strained left hamstring. Mbah a Moute also started the second half of Sunday’s game and ended up logging 32 minutes, while Gerald Green was able to reenter the rotation after being a DNP-CD in four of the past five games. With Paul and Ariza off the court this season, both Gordon and Harden each own at least a +3.3% usage rate differential, while Harden leads the way with a 41.5% usage rate overall and has averaged 1.69 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.63 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Craig Ackerman via Twitter Andre Drummond (illness) listed as a game-time decision Tuesday
Drummond is listed as a probable starter on the media notes for tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers but will reportedly be a game-time decision due to an illness, despite never appearing on the Detroit Pistons’ injury report at any point throughout the day. This news could end up being nothing, but it’s certainly worth monitoring as lock approaches with Blake Griffin, Willie Reed, and Brice Johnson all unavailable to make their Pistons debut following Monday’s blockbuster trade that sent Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and Boban Marjanovic to the Los Angeles Clippers along with a couple draft picks. If Drummond ends up being ruled out, Eric Moreland would more than likely start at center and step into a substantial role with the Pistons current lack of depth in the frontcourt, while Henry Ellenson would enter the rotation and serve as the primary big man off the bench behind Moreland and Anthony Tolliver at center and power forward, respectively.
As reported by: Rod Beard via Twitter Danilo Gallinari (glute contusion) will play Tuesday
Gallinari has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers after previously being listed as questionable on the Los Angeles Clippers’ injury report with a left glute contusion that had forced him to miss 25 consecutive games. Meanwhile, the three players, Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and Boban Marjanovic, who were acquired in Monday’s blockbuster traded involving Blake Griffin, will not be available to make their Clippers debut Tuesday and are expected to debut in Saturday’s contest. This will leave the Clippers shorthanded with Gallinari likely to be subject to some sort of minute restriction in his first game back and should also allow Montrezl Harrell to absorb a large portion of playing time in the frontcourt regardless of head coach Doc Rivers’ starting lineup. For reference, the last time Gallinari returned from an extended absence, he started and managed to log 26 minutes, which should give a rough expectation of his role in the rotation this evening.
As reported by: Brad Turner via Twitter