DFS Alerts
Joe Young will start for Darren Collison (personal) on Wednesday
Collison was a late addition to the Indiana Pacers’ injury report and was previously ruled out for tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers due to personal reasons, while Myles Turner will remain sidelined for the eighth consecutive game due to a sprained ligament and muscle in his right elbow following his earlier questionable designation on the injury report. There has yet to be an official update on T.J.Leaf, who remains questionable with a sprained right ankle, but he hasn’t been able to make an impact in the rotation of late even with Turner unavailable. Joseph Young will draw the start at point guard in order to keep Cory Joseph and Lance Stephenson together in the second unit, the latter also a beneficiary from more playing time at the point guard position than normal, elevating him into tournament consideration on Wednesday’s slate. With Collison and Turner off the court this season, Victor Oladipo, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Domantas Sabonis each own at least a +2.1% usage rate differential, while Oladipo leads the Pacers by a wide margin with a 36.5% usage rate overall in this scenario.
As reported by: Mark Montieth via Twitter
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (axillary abscess) will start Wednesday
Kidd-Gilchrist has officially been cleared to play and will start in tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans after previously being listed as probable on the Charlotte Hornets’ injury report with a right axillary abscess in his arm that had forced him to miss one game. His return will send Treveon Graham back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role after being largely ineffective from a fantasy standpoint in 21 minutes of action. Instead, Jeremy Lamb was the true beneficiary of Kidd-Gilchrist’s absence, easily exceeding salary-based expectations in 26 minutes, but he’ll see his role diminish with Kidd-Gilchrist back absorbing playing time in the rotation at the small forward position.
As reported by: Stephanie Ready via Twitter Darren Collison (personal) and Myles Turner (elbow) ruled out Wednesday
Collison is a late addition to the Indiana Pacers’ injury report and has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers due to personal reasons, while Myles Turner will remain sidelined for the eighth consecutive game due to a sprained ligament and muscle in his right elbow following his earlier questionable designation on the injury report. There has yet to be an official update on T.J.Leaf, who remains questionable with a sprained right ankle, but he hasn’t been able to make an impact in the rotation of late even with Turner unavailable. Cory Joseph will likely draw the start at point guard but was largely disappointing in his only other spot start for Collison this season, and Lance Stephenson will also benefit from more playing time at the point guard position, elevating him into tournament consideration on Wednesday’s slate. With Collison and Turner off the court this season, Victor Oladipo, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Domantas Sabonis each own at least a +2.1% usage rate differential, while Oladipo leads the Pacers by a wide margin with a 36.5% usage rate overall in this scenario.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Other tagged players: Myles Turner Alex Len (sore ankle) ruled out Wednesday
Len is a late addition to the Phoenix Suns’ injury report and has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers due to a sore right ankle, while Marquese Chriss will remain sidelined for the sixth consecutive game with a strained right hip and a newly diagnosed eye issue that has kept him from practicing over that span. Interim head coach Jay Triano did disclose to reporters that Tyson Chandler will resume his normal role as the starting center after Greg Monroe drew the start against his former team in Monday’s loss. However, with Len unavailable, Monroe is highly likely to stick in the rotation for at least an additional game and should absorb Len’s typical minute allotment off the bench, keeping him in play for all formats on FanDuel, where his price tag is significantly cheaper than other sites across the industry. With Len and Chriss off the court this season, Devin Booker owns a +3.5% usage rate differential and continues to lead the Suns by a wide margin with a 36.9% usage rate overall in this scenario.
As reported by: the Phoenix Suns via Twitter LaMarcus Aldridge (rest) and Manu Ginobili (thigh) ruled out Wednesday
Aldridge is a new addition to the San Antonio Spurs’ injury report and has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies due to rest purposes on the second night of a back-to-back set after logging 40 minutes in Tuesday’s win, while Manu Ginobili will remain sidelined for the fifth consecutive game with a right thigh contusion. Pau Gasol was not included on the injury report and will make his return from a one-game absence due to a sprained left wrist. In Aldridge’s absence, Davis Bertans will likely remain the starting lineup at power forward and has consistently been logging minutes in the low-20s off the bench even with Aldridge available. On top of that, Bertans is coming off of a stellar fantasy performance relative to his salary in 29 minutes in his spot start in place of Gasol Tuesday evening. Dejounte Murray replaced Tony Parker in the starting lineup on Sunday and, according to head coach Gregg Popovich, will retain the role for the remainder of the season. With the aforementioned injured players off the court this season, Murray owns a massive +9.3% usage rate differential, equating to a 31.2% usage rate overall, and has also seen his production skyrocket to 1.24 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.26 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Paul Garcia via Twitter Other tagged players: Manu Ginobili Tyreke Evans (illness) and Jarell Martin (knee, ankle) questionable Wednesday
Evans is a late addition to the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs due to an illness, while Jarell Martin remains questionable with separate left knee and left ankle injuries. Their availability will be a key situation to monitor as lock approaches since the Grizzlies will already be without JaMychal Green, James Ennis, Chandler Parsons, and Mike Conley due to their respective ailments. If Martin is cleared to play, he’d more than likely start at power forward in place of Green once again and has logged at least 30 minutes of playing time in three of the last four games due to the Grizzlies plethora of injuries up and down their roster. The matchup is far from ideal, but Martin could certainly provide value at his salary, especially if the Spurs opt to rest some of their veteran players on the second night of a back-to-back set.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Jarell Martin Jimmy Butler (knee) and Jamal Crawford (toe) unlikely to play Wednesday
Butler is unlikely to play in tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to head coach Tom Thibodeau, after previously being listed as questionable on the Minnesota Timberwolves’ injury report with a sore right knee that has already forced him to miss two games. Meanwhile, Jamal Crawford is also considered unlikely to play due to a sprained left great toe and is day-to-day moving forward. In their likely absences, Nemanja Bjelica will draw the start at small forward for the third time in as many games after posting two-straight solid fantasy performances while averaging 30 minutes per game as a starter. This change will also slide Andrew Wiggins over to the shooting guard position, and he continues to be the most noteworthy beneficiary of Butler and Crawford’s absences, and he owns a +7.6% usage rate differential with them off the court this season and has averaged 1.02 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.97 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Jerry Zgoda via Twitter Other tagged players: Jamal Crawford Devin Harris (concussion, personal) will miss at least the next three games
Harris did not go through shootaround and has officially been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets after previously being listed as questionable on the Dallas Mavericks’ injury report with a concussion. In addition to remaining in the league’s concussion protocol, Harris has already been ruled out in advance of the Mavericks next two games due to the aforementioned concussion and personal reasons. Maxi Kleber started at power forward in Monday’s contest, which slid Wesley Matthews and Harrison Barnes over to the shooting guard and small forward positions, respectively, and sent Yogi Ferrell to the bench to assume a reserve. Despite his “demotion” from the starting lineup, Ferrell continues to log more minutes with the starters than Kleber, evidenced by his 31 minutes in total Monday evening. If Harris misses a second straight game, which seems likely, there will be a noteworthy allotment of minutes available to be absorbed by Ferrell, Kleber, J.J. Barea and Dennis Smith Jr. in the rotation, and Barea is the best bet to see a quantifiable boost in fantasy value based on his past results with Harris sidelined this season, even though none of the aforementioned players are likely to log substantially more playing time individually with just Harris unavailable.
As reported by: Eddie Sefko via Twitter Reggie Bullock (thumb) available but unlikely to play Wednesday
Bullock will be active and available off the bench in tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz, but according to head coach Stan Van Gundy, he is unlikely to play after previously being listed as questionable on the Detroit Pistons’ injury report with a lingering right thumb injury. When asked by reporters following this morning’s shootaround, Van Gundy declined to name Bullock’s replacement in the starting lineup, though Anthony Tolliver remains the leading candidate to start given the matchup with the frontcourt duo of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, meaning this move would slide Tobias Harris over to the small forward position. Meanwhile, Stanley Johnson and Luke Kennard can also be expected to step into increased roles off the bench at both the shooting guard and small forward positions, respectively.
As reported by: James Edwards III via Twitter Jerryd Bayless (sore wrist) remains out Wednesday; James Young (illness) available to play
Bayless has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls after previously being listed as questionable on the Philadelphia 76ers’ injury report with a sore left wrist that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games. He’ll join T.J. McConnell, J.J. Redick, and Markelle Fultz among the Sixers inactives, leaving them extremely thin at the guard positions for the third time in as many games. In their absences, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot will be called upon once again to start at the shooting guard spot and should continue to log minutes in at least the upper-20s given the Sixers current lack of guard depth. That said, that number could increase a bit with McConnell unavailable as he deals with a personal matter, leaving Luwawu-Cabarrot in play as a fine tournament option on Wednesday’s slate. The remaining wing and guard minutes will be absorbed by Justin Anderson, Larry Drew, and James Young, the latter two just signing contracts with this Sixers squad in recent days. Even though Drew will likely take on the backup point guard role in Bayless and McConnell’s absences, he won’t see enough playing time to become relevant in daily fantasy formats across the industry.
As reported by: Jessica Camerato via Twitter Other tagged players: James Young Rodney Hood (lower leg contusion) remains out Wednesday
Hood has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons after previously being listed as questionable on the Utah Jazz’ injury report with a lower left leg contusion that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games. Prior to Hood’s most recent injury stint, he had taken over for Joe Ingles at the small forward spot, so now that Hood has been deemed unavailable, Ingles would almost certainly draw the start in his place for the third time in as many games. Ingles hasn’t seen a significant change in playing time in spite of his “promotion” to a starter, averaging 30 minutes over the last two games, but he actually owns a +2.6% usage rate differential with Gobert on the court and Hood off the court this season and has averaged 0.84 fantasy points on DraftKings and 0.80 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Eric Woodyard via Twitter Let's Go Back-To-Back
I wrote up Murray yesterday as my favorite value play, and I’m going right back to the well tonight against Memphis. Memphis is without Conley, and both Harrison and Chalmers are banged up right now. Murray adds a lot of upside with his defense, and he ranks 1st among point guards in defensive real plus minus this season. He’s looked great in both starts over the last two games, and his price hasn’t caught up with his production yet.
Commanding the Ship
The Bulls look like a much different basketball team these days, as they are playing much better than they did back in October and November. Kris Dunn has already been ruled out for tonight, which means Jerian Grant should start and play heavy minutes at the point again. He logged a 22/5/13 line in the double overtime game against the Pelicans the other night, and he played 47 of the available 58 minutes in that game. I am more than happy to use Grant as a mid-range point guard option on this Wednesday slate.
What Is This Site Thinking
Serge Ibaka is really under priced on DraftKings tonight, and even though it’s not the best matchup in the world, it’s hard not to play him at this price. He’s averaging 28.1 minutes per game this season, and 26.4 minutes over his last ten games. Atlanta allows the seventh most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards. It’s really a price point play for me, and I think he has a really high floor at this price.
Increasing Popularity as a Value Play
Our friend TLC entered the starting lineup for the Sixers’ last game, and it sounds like he might stick there in the absence of J.J. Redick. While he will never be a high usage player, he should be looking at close to 30 minutes in what profiles as a winnable game tonight at home against the Bulls. He should be playing with confidence, too, as he is coming off a season high 20 point performance against Memphis on Monday. Don’t sleep on him as a value pick, especially in tournament formats.