DFS Alerts
Skal Labissiere (shoulder) ruled out Tuesday; De'Aaron Fox (calf) and Garrett Temple (ankle) probable
Labissiere has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a strained left shoulder that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while De’Aaron Fox and Garrett Temple have both been listed as probable on the Sacramento Kings’ injury report with their respective ailments. The Kings are already without Willie Cauley-Stein and Frank Mason, leaving them with 11 healthy bodies, including JaKarr Sampson, who has rejoined the team on a temporary basis from his current G-League assignment to provide some depth in the frontcourt but logged just eight minutes in Sunday’s loss. With Cauley-Stein and Labissiere sidelined, head coach Dave Joerger will likely be forced to start Zach Randolph and Kosta Koufos at power forward and center, respectively, while either Sampson or Georgios Papagiannis should absorb a minimal role off the bench. This game is a bit of an outlier given all the injuries once again, but there has yet to be a detectable pattern to which Kings veterans will be rested on a nightly basis, but in the games since the Kings announced their plans to rest two or three veterans each game, Labissiere, Fox, Cauley-Stein, and Bogdan Bogdanovic have been the only players to receive consistent playing time, all averaging at least 29 minutes per game over that span.
As reported by: Jason Jones via Twitter Other tagged players: De'Aaron Fox, Garrett Temple
Stephen Curry (shoulder) and Patrick McCaw (back) available to play Tuesday; Kevon Looney (illness) ruled out
Curry has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz after previously being listed as probable on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report with a sore right shoulder, while McCaw will also be available to play following his earlier probable designation on the injury report. Additionally, Kevon Looney has been ruled out due to an illness, and his absence will likely allow Omri Casspi and possibly even JaVale McGee to reenter the rotation. Looney had settled into a low-teens minute role off the bench with Jordan Bell still sidelined with his left ankle inflammation, so there won’t necessarily be a substantial amount of playing time available for either Casspi or McGee this evening. Over the last month, since he returned from an extended injury absence, Curry has led the Warriors with a 32.0% usage rate and has averaged a stellar 1.54 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.45 on FanDuel.
As reported by: Mark Medina via Twitter Other tagged players: Patrick McCaw, Kevon Looney Low Owned In A Chalk Game
When looking at the Pistons tonight, there’s a lot to love with all of the extra minutes available. The non chalk option and the extremely risky play tonight is Dwight Buycks. They moved Galloway back to the bench against the Cavs on Sunday, and Buycks played 20 minutes as the backup point guard. He played really good on Sunday, and with SVG trying different rotations, I’d expect him to give Buycks 16-24 minutes tonight.
Aaron Gordon (hip flexor strain) ruled out Tuesday
Gordon has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets after previously being listed as questionable on the Orlando Magic’s injury report with a strained left hip flexor. Gordon was held out of Monday’s practice and was originally expected to be a game-time decision, so head coach Frank Vogel and the medical staff must not have been satisfied with his progress to announce his unavailability this early in the day. Vogel didn’t disclose who would replace Gordon in the starting lineup, but Mario Hezonja has typically drawn the start at power forward in games that Gordon has been unavailable and is coming off of a solid 26-minute fantasy performance off the bench in Saturday’s contest. With Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, and Jonathan Isaac off the court this season, Elfrid Payton and Jonathon Simmons each own at least a +3.8% usage rate differential, and Payton also see his production spike to 1.19 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.21 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Lock and Load Value Play
Harrell should be looking at an uptick in minutes moving forward with Blake Griffin off to Detroit, though the Clippers will likely play Tobias Harris at power forward at times. However, as for tonight, the new players are not expected to be available for the Clippers. That should open the door for Harrell to play around 30 minutes in this game, and he has shown solid per-minute fantasy production when he gets the chance. He’s one of the best value plays on the board tonight, even if he doesn’t start.
Let me be Right on this Point Guard One Time
Ricky Rubio and I have had a rocky relationship this season. When I’m high on him, he almost always disappoints. When I fade him, he tends to play well. I’m buying in on Rubio tonight, as he comes into the game in good form. Over his last five games, he is averaging 32 minutes and 28 fantasy points. As long as tonight’s game stays close, he should play minutes in the low-30s against the Warriors at home.
Taking Advantage of Two Injuries
With all of the injuries and all of the trades that are going to impact tonight’s slate, John Wall’s absence will likely fall through the cracks. We have a chance to target Bradley Beal at fairly low ownership in a home game where the Wizards are projected to score 108 points. On the season, Beal has a 34% usage rate with Wall off the floor. He also benefits with Andre Roberson being out for Oklahoma City, as he’ll now square off against the likes of Terrance Ferguson and Josh Huestis.
Lock and Load this Power Forward
Blake Griffin has been traded to the Pistons and none of the players that the Clippers received in the trade are expected to play tonight. Montrezl Harrell should draw the start at power forward and potentially play 30+ minutes against the Blazers. On the season, Harrell is averaging 1.08 fantasy points per minute, so he should easily reach and exceed value at this price point.
Ride the Pistons Value Wave, Part 2
This is part 2 of 2. Detroit value plays are going to be a big key to success tonight. They are facing off against a Cavs team that has been awful defensively all year long, so that’s a good start. In addition, they will be without Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley, who got traded away yesterday. They will also be without Blake Griffin, who won’t be active yet. Expect a very short rotation tonight, and I expect the Pistons to play with renewed energy here. Tolliver is dirt cheap and could be staring at 40 minutes tonight, which will be enough for him to walk into value. He has the potential to go for seven or eight times his salary tag here. He also played 40 minutes in the last game, and that was while Harris was still around. Fire him up with confidence.
Ride the Pistons Value Wave, Part 1
This is part 1 of 2. Detroit value plays are going to be a big key to success tonight. They are facing off against a Cavs team that has been awful defensively all year long, so that’s a good start. In addition, they will be without Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley, who got traded away yesterday. They will also be without Blake Griffin, who won’t be active yet. Expect a very short rotation tonight, and I expect the Pistons to play with renewed energy here. Bullock is dirt cheap and could be staring at 40 minutes tonight, which will be enough for him to walk into value. He has the potential to go for seven or eight times his salary tag here.
A High End Play With Cousins Sidelined
Anthony Davis is the logical beneficiary from Cousins being out, but don’t forget about Jrue Holiday. CourtIQ tells us that Holiday sees an 8% usage boost and scores almost 14 additional fantasy points per 36 minutes in those instances. Although his price has come up quickly, this is also a solid matchup against a Kings team that doesn’t play fast but is very weak overall defensively. Davis is a rock solid play in all formats, but don’t forget about Holiday’s upside as well. His minutes are secure, and he’s handling the ball more with Rajon Rondo taking a back seat.
John Wall (knee procedure) will miss six weeks
Wall will undergo a procedure on Wednesday in Cleveland for his ailing left knee and is expected to miss the next six weeks recovering and rehabilitating from the aforementioned clean-up procedure, effectively ruling him out for the Washington Wizards matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder this evening. In his absence, Tomas Satoransky will continue to start at point guard for the time being, just as he’s done most of the time when Wall has been unavailable this season. Satoransky is a low usage player, but he did perform relatively well in 21 minutes on Saturday, even though he saw fewer minutes and was outproduced by Tim Frazier off the bench. Unsurprisingly, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter have been the main beneficiaries of Wall’s absence among members of the starting lineup, as each own at least a +4.2% usage rate differential, and Beal also leads the way with rates of 1.11 fantasy points minute on DraftKings and 1.07 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Candace Buckner via Twitter Wilson Chandler (illness) ruled out Monday
Chandler has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics after previously being downgraded from probable to questionable on the Denver Nuggets’ injury report with a migraine that had forced him to exit Saturday’s win early and miss this morning’s shootaround. Surprisingly, Torrey Craig replaced Jamal Murray in the starting lineup for that game and logged 26 minutes in head coach Mike Malone’s tight eight-man rotation, but reports later surfaced that Murray was only “benched” for violating team rules and disciplinary reasons, so he should be expected to resume his normal role as the starting point guard this evening. It’ll be interesting to see if Malone opts to stick to this tight rotation moving forward, but with Chandler unavailable for Monday’s contest, Craig is likely to remain in a substantial role at the wing positions for at least one additional game.
As reported by: T.J. McBride via Twitter Terry Rozier (ankle sprain) will play Monday
Rozier confirmed with a reporter that he has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets after previously being listed as questionable on the Boston Celtics’ injury report and, according to head coach Brad Stevens, was “50-50” to play due to a sprained right ankle. The Celtics are already without Marcus Smart for the next couple of weeks, so Rozier will continue to serve as the first guard off the bench behind Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown but has yet to eclipse 24 minutes in either game with Smart unavailable. Instead, Stevens has opted to allocate the available minutes to players like Marcus Morris, Semi Ojeleye, and Shane Larkin in his absence. Additionally, Kadeem Allen was recalled from the G-League to provide some depth at the shooting guard position but is unlikely to see meaningful minutes, if any at all with Rozier available and Jarrell Eddie also on the active roster.
As reported by: Kyle Draper via Twitter Devin Harris (concussion, personal) available to play Monday
Harris has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Miami Heat after previously being listed as questionable on the Dallas Mavericks’ injury report due to a concussion and personal reasons that had forced him to miss four consecutive games. Meanwhile, J.J. Barea has already been ruled out for the second consecutive game due to a strained left oblique. Head coach Rick Carlisle was forced to utilize more traditional lineups on Saturday given the Mavericks lack of guard depth with Barea and Harris sidelined, which enabled Dirk Nowitzki to log 34 minutes in that contest, but the rotation will likely stabilize a bit more with Harris officially available. His presence will also eat into the minutes that Kyle Collinsworth had been seeing off the bench, though he was never relevant for daily fantasy formats prior to this news anyway.
As reported by: Brad Townsend via Twitter