DFS Alerts
Rodney Hood (leg contusion) ruled out Monday
Hood has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks 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 two 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 second time in as many games. Ingles didn’t see a significant change in playing time in spite of his “promotion” to a starter on Saturday, logging 32 minutes, and he actually owns a +3.3% usage rate differential with Gobert on the court and Hood off the court this season, making him an interesting tournament option on the main slate, as he should be relied upon to shoulder a more significant role in the offense once again.
As reported by: Eric Woodyard via Twitter
Thriving for a Banged Up Squad
Like many other teams, the Heat have been fighting a losing battle with injuries over the past few weeks. They will be without Dion Waiters for the season, and both Tyler Johnson and Goran Dragic are being listed as questionable for tonight’s game. Josh Richardson is locked into heavy minutes in any case, but he will shift over and spend more time at the guard spots if either of the starting guards are out. He played 36 minutes and took a whopping 20 shot attempts on Saturday against the Hornets when both Johnson and Dragic were sidelined. The Heat also get a pace boost in a matchup against the Rockets here, so Richardson is a fine option. He has a steady floor for cash game play and plenty of GPP upside as well.
A Fine GPP Point Guard Selection
Kemba Walker is certainly not the flashiest point guard in the NBA, but he generally gets the job done, especially at home, where his numbers have always been a bit better. He is coming off a 22/3/7 line against the Heat the other night, and he has been flashing his upside a bit of late. The Kings don’t play at a fast pace, but they also aren’t a very efficient defensive team. This is primarily an ownership-based GPP play, as Walker will almost certainly be lower owned than some of the other mid to high-end point guards on this slate. Give him a look for his potential at possibly sub-10% ownership.
Monitor Injury Status for Memphis
This is somewhat of a blanket statement, but keep a close eye on the injury report for Memphis tonight. There are about six players listed on it. Brooks is questionable with an illness that is circulating the team, so he might get removed from this list later. JaMychal Green is out, so Jarell Martin is in play as a great value… but he is also listed as questionable. The point is that there WILL be some value on this team, but we might not be able to peg it with certainty until closer to lineup lock. If Brooks is active, he stands to benefit from all the injuries, as he has played well over the past week and should be locked into 30+ minutes.
The Perfect Storm of Circumstances
Yes, the price tag has come up for Khris Middleton, but he should still very well be worth the price of admission. Milwaukee draws a great pace-up matchup against a defensively challenged Suns squad, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to be sidelined again tonight, as well. If we fire up CourtIQ, we see that Middleton sees a whopping 9% increase in usage and scores almost seven additional fantasy points per 36 minutes when Giannis is off the floor. When you combine that with this matchup, Middleton is one of the most likely players on the entire slate to top 50 fantasy points. Fire him up with confidence in all DFS formats tonight.
Brandon Ingram (ankle sprain) available to play Sunday
Ingram has been officially cleared and will be available to play in today’s game against the New York Knicks after previously being listed as questionable on the Los Angeles Lakers’ injury report and classified as a game-time decision with a sprained left ankle, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was already ruled out due to a strained right Achilles following his original questionable designation. Julius Randle is dealing with mallet fracture in his right ring finger, but will play, and was joined in the starting frontcourt by Kyle Kuzma in the previous game, sending Brook Lopez to the bench to assume a reserve role. The Lakers are also without Lonzo Ball, which should allow Tyler Ennis and Josh Hart to start in the backcourt at the point guard and shooting guard positions, respectively, once again. Though not official, Ingram will most likely displace Corey Brewer from the starting small forward position after logging 29 minutes in his spot start Friday evening. Despite still coming off the bench, Jordan Clarkson posted a monster fantasy performance in 33 minutes of action and still leads the Lakers with a 31.2% usage rate with Ball and Caldwell-Pope off the court this season. Additionally, Randle owns a respectable 27.8% usage rate in this scenario, good for second on the team, and has averaged 1.16 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.14 on FanDuel.
As reported by: Bill Oram via Twitter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Achilles) ruled out Sunday; Brandon Ingram (ankle) a game-time decision
Caldwell-Pope has officially been ruled out and won’t play in today’s game against the New York Knicks after previously being listed as questionable on the Los Angeles Lakers’ injury report with a strained right Achilles, while Brandon Ingram remains questionable due to a sprained left ankle and will be a game-time decision. Julius Randle is dealing with mallet fracture in his right ring finger, but will play, and was joined in the starting frontcourt by Kyle Kuzma in the previous game, sending Brook Lopez to the bench to assume a reserve role The Lakers are also without Lonzo Ball, which should allow Tyler Ennis and Josh Hart to start in the backcourt at the point guard and shooting guard positions, respectively, once again. Should Ingram be ruled out closer to tipoff, Corey Brewer could remain in the starting lineup at small forward after logging 29 minutes in his spot start Friday evening. Despite still coming off the bench, Jordan Clarkson posted a monster fantasy performance in 33 minutes of action and still leads the Lakers with a 31.2% usage rate with Ball and Caldwell-Pope off the court this season. That said, Randle also owns a respectable 27.8% usage rate in this scenario, good for second on the team, and has averaged 1.16 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.14 on FanDuel.
As reported by: Shahan Ahmed via Twitter Other tagged players: Brandon Ingram Aron Baynes (illness) will play Sunday
Baynes has been cleared to play and will suit up for today’s game against the Orlando Magic after previously being a late addition to the Boston Celtics’ injury report with an illness, while Kyrie Irving is also good to go following his early probable designation due to a sore left shoulder. Marcus Morris will draw the start at power forward for this afternoon’s matchup with Orlando, sliding Al Horford over to the center spot and sending Baynes to the bench to resume a reserve role. Morris matched his season-high with 27 minutes of playing time in Thursday’s loss, even off the bench, so he’ll remain in play for tournaments moving forward no matter head coach Brad Stevens’ choice of starting lineup. Additionally, there has been no reported minute restriction for Irving, and he will almost certainly displace Marcus Smart from the starting lineup following his dismal fantasy performance in 34 minutes of action in his spot start.
As reported by: Jared Weiss via Twitter Kyrie Irving (shoulder) will play Sunday; Aron Baynes (illness) questionable
Irving has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for today’s game against the Orlando Magic after previously being considered as probable with a sore left shoulder that had forced him to miss one game. Meanwhile, Aron Baynes is a late-addition to the Boston Celtics’ injury report and has been listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest due to an illness that kept him sidelined for Saturday’s practice. Regardless of his availability, Marcus Morris will draw the start at power forward for this afternoon’s matchup with Orlando, sliding Al Horford over to the center spot and sending Baynes to the bench to resume a reserve role. Morris matched his season-high with 27 minutes of playing time in Thursday’s loss, even off the bench, so he’ll remain in play for tournaments moving forward no matter head coach Brad Stevens’ choice of starting lineup. There has been no reported minute restriction for Irving, and he will almost certainly displace Marcus Smart from the starting lineup following his dismal fantasy performance in 34 minutes of action in his spot start.
As reported by: the Boston Celtics via Twitter Other tagged players: Aron Baynes Play This Stud Center
Andre Drummond has been in beast mode lately, scoring at least 58 FanDuel points in four out of his last five games. He’s the highest priced player on this slate but has the highest ceiling as well, which is why I want to start my cash game lineups with him. He faces the Brooklyn Nets, who he recently dominated. The Nets are dead last in DvP against centers, making this the best possible matchup for Drummond.
Star Continues To Lead
LaMarcus Aldridge continues to see his salary rise, but he continues to perform at a level that justifies it. With Kawhi Leonard and Rudy Gay off the court, Aldridge leads the team with a 33.1% usage rate and 1.1 fantasy points per minute via CourtIQ. Aldridge has topped 45 FanDuel points in three straight games and is carrying the Spurs’ offense on his back while Leonard is out injured. The case to play Aldridge is not merely because Leonard is out, but also because this is an excellent matchup for him. The Pacers will be without Myles Turner and rank 25th in DvP against power forwards. This is a spot he should find success in.
Mario Chalmers (shoulder) ruled out Saturday; Ben McLemore (knee) will start
Chalmers has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans after previously being listed as questionable on the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report and considered a game-time decision with a right shoulder injury. Ben McLemore will play following his earlier designation of questionable on the injury report and will start at shooting guard in place of Andrew Harrison, who was already ruled out with a left shoulder injury. Additionally, Chandler Parsons, James Ennis, and Brandan Wright remain sidelined and will join Mike Conley among the other Grizzlies inactives for Saturday’s contest. With Wright unavailable, Deyonta Davis will be locked in as the team’s primary backup behind Gasol at center, though he had seemingly surpassed Wright in the rotation anyway, and Jarell Martin will absorb any remaining minutes Wright would have played. There will now be a plethora of playing time available on the wing and guard positions for McLemore, Dillon Brooks, and Wayne Selden with Memphis down to only 10 available players this evening.
As reported by: Rob Fischer via Twitter Other tagged players: Ben McLemore Goran Dragic (knee) active but won't play Saturday; Wayne Ellington will start
Dragic will be dressed and active for tonight’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, but won’t play, after previously being downgraded to a game-time decision during head coach Erik Spoelstra’s pregame media availability, despite never appearing on the Miami Heat’s injury report at any point during the day. Miami is also already without Tyler Johnson and Dion Waiters with their respective ailments, so now that Dragic is officially been deemed unable to play, they will be without their three primary ballhandlers and it will likely force Josh Richardson into the starting “point guard” role, even though Wayne Ellington will technically start in his place. Justise Winslow has logged nominal minutes as the backup point guard with Johnson sidelined and should form a “point guard-by-committee” with Richardson, Ellington, and James Johnson with Dragic unavailable. The main beneficiary from a usage standpoint with Dragic and the aforementioned players off the court this season has been Richardson, as he owns a +7.7% usage rate differential and has averaged 0.82 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.81 on FanDuel in a 119.7 minutes sample size.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter Other tagged players: Wayne Ellington Andrew Harrison (shoulder) ruled out Saturday; Ben McLemore (knee) will play
Harrison has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans after previously being listed as questionable on the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report with a left shoulder injury, while Ben McLemore will play following his earlier designation of questionable and Mario Chalmers will be a game-time decision due to a right shoulder issue. Additionally, Chandler Parsons, James Ennis, and Brandan Wright remain sidelined and will join Mike Conley among the Grizzlies inactives for Saturday’s contest. With Wright unavailable, Deyonta Davis will be locked in as the team’s primary backup behind Gasol at center, though he had seemingly surpassed Wright in the rotation anyway, and Jarell Martin will absorb any remaining minutes Wright would have played. There could also potentially be a plethora of playing time available on the wing and guard positions for McLemore, Dillon Brooks, and Wayne Selden if Chalmers is deemed unable to suit up closer to tipoff.
As reported by: Rob Fischer via Twitter Other tagged players: Ben McLemore Rodney Hood (leg) questionable Saturday; Jonas Jerebko (back) probable
Hood has officially been listed as questionable on the Utah Jazz’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a lower left leg contusion he sustained during Friday’s loss, while Jonas Jerebko is listed as probable with back spasms but was able to log 12 minutes in last night’s contest, despite his original questionable designation on the injury report. With Rudy Gobert returning to the Jazz starting lineup following a 15-game absence due to a sprained left PCL and left tibia bone bruise, Hood took over for Joe Ingles at the small forward spot in Friday’s contest, so if Hood ends up being ruled out closer to tipoff, Ingles would almost certainly draw the start in his place. Ingles didn’t see a dropoff in minutes in his “demotion” to bench on Friday, and he actually owns a +4.1% usage rate differential with Gobert on the court and Hood off the court this season, making him an interesting tournament option on the main slate, as he should be relied upon to shoulder a more significant role in the offense should Hood be unavailable.
As reported by: Kyle Goon via Twitter Other tagged players: Jonas Jerebko