DFS Alerts
Jameer Nelson (personal) now available to play Tuesday
Nelson had originally been ruled out but has unexpectedly rejoined the New Orleans Pelicans in Boston and will be available to play in tonight’s game against the Celtics after tending to a personal matter that had forced him to miss Sunday’s win. Nelson has recently been passed by Ian Clark as the team’s primary backup point guard behind Rajon Rondo and Jrue Holiday, as he has averaged just eight minutes per game over his last three contests, so his availability won’t do much to alter the playing time of the remaining members of the backcourt rotation. On the contrary, Clark has averaged just over 23 minutes during that same timespan, though his fantasy production has been minimal with Holiday, Rondo, DeMarcus Cousins, and Anthony Davis absorbing most of the Pelicans available usage on a nightly basis.
As reported by: Pelicans PR via Twitter
Mason Plumlee (lateral trunk strain) probable Tuesday
Plumlee has officially been added to the Denver Nuggets’ injury report and is listed as probable for tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks due to a strained lateral trunk. With Paul Millsap still recovering from left wrist surgery, Plumlee has entered the starting lineup at center, forcing Nikola Jokic over to the power forward spot, and has consistently seen 20-24 minutes of playing time on a nightly basis. When speaking with reporters after Monday’s practice, head coach Mike Malone hinted that he may opt to shake up the lineup in wake of the team’s recent scoring woes, though he refused to specifically blame the frontcourt duo of Jokic and Plumlee for those troubles, it’s likely that Plumlee would be the odd man out of any potential lineup reconfiguration. Assuming Plumlee is demoted back to the bench to resume a reserve role, Malone could go a number of different ways with the starting unit, but Trey Lyles seems like the logical candidate as a more prototypical stretch power forward. However, given the matchup with the Mavericks small-ball lineup, it is plausible that a player like Malik Beasley or Richard Jefferson, based on most recent rotations, starts on the wing and slides Wilson Chandler over to the four spot.
As reported by: the Denver Nuggets via Twitter T.J. Warren (back) and Marquese Chriss (hip) ruled out Tuesday; Josh Jackson (hip) will start
Warren has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers after previously being listed as questionable on the Phoenix Suns’ injury report with a sore lower back that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Meanwhile, Marquese Chriss will remain sidelined for the third straight game, as expected, following his earlier doubtful designation on the injury report due to a strained right hip flexor. Josh Jackson will draw the start at small forward in Warren’s place and easily exceeded salary-based expectations in 30 minutes of action in his first spot start. In Chriss’ absence, Dragan Bender will draw the start at power forward for the third time in as many games and is coming off of a dreadful performance where he was held scoreless in 30 minutes, making him a prime bounce-back candidate at likely reduced ownership. That said, Jackson has been the clear beneficiary of Warren and Chriss’ absences, as he owns a +3.2% usage rate differential with them off the court this season, and he has averaged 0.96 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.94 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Scott Bordow via Twitter Other tagged players: Marquese Chriss, Josh Jackson Cheap Small Forward with Upside
Jameer Nelson hasn’t been seeing a ton of minutes with the Pelicans, but his absence opens up around 15 minutes for the likes of Rajon Rondo, Jrue Holiday, and E’Twaun Moore. Earlier in the season, Moore was playing close to 40 minutes a night on a regular basis. His matchup against the Celtics isn’t ideal, but Moore should see plenty of minutes and he is priced under $5,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings.
Revenge in the Garden
There are a handful of players where narratives truly matter, at least in my humble opinion. One of those players is Rajon Rondo, who can be great when he is motivated. Tonight he gets to face his former team in Boston. In his last three trips to the TD Garden, Rondo has scored 56, 32, and 23 fantasy points with an elite FP/min of 1.20. He could also see a few extra minutes tonight, as Jameer Nelson has been ruled out.
Massive Upside at Center
While I certainly don’t have a problem with Cousins or Towns at center tonight, I wanted to highlight Jokic in the GPP pool. Most fantasy players will discount a matchup with Dallas because the Mavericks play at a slower pace. While that is true, I still like taking big men against them. For the last several years, Dallas has been abysmal in the rebounding department. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jokic was one of the top scorers on tonight’s slate with a 25 point, 16 rebound type of performance. I’m absolutely a fan of him in all formats tonight, and the GPP upside is very real.
A Top Play at a Weak Position
A lot of the elite wing players played on yesterday’s short slate, so we don’t have a ton to choose from tonight — especially on FanDuel where you need two small forwards. Butler is sneakily going to be one of the top plays on this slate, as he draws a matchup against an Orlando squad that is very weak defensively. They rank 24th in the league in defensive efficiency and 7th in pace, so that’s a nice combination for opposing fantasy players. We know the minutes will be there if this game is close, and Butler clearly dwarfs the rest of the small forward pool in terms of upside. Buy.
A Great Under the Radar Mid-Range Play
The attention always goes to the two big men in New Orleans, and they certainly deserve that attention. However, Jrue Holiday has quietly been playing very well for this team. He takes over the ball-handling duties plenty, especially as Rajon Rondo sees his minutes trend in the other direction. Holiday has played at least 33 minutes in nine straight games, and the lack of strong bench play for the Pelicans assures that his minutes will be there. Fire him up as a great mid-range play with upside tonight.
Minutes and Production on the Rise
Dennis Smith Jr. has finally started to secure a larger role on this Dallas team. He has played over 30 minutes in each of the last three games, and he is coming off a 23 point game where he took 19 shots against the Lakers. We know that he has shown upside when given the opportunity throughout the season, and tonight’s four game slate represents a great chance to fire up Smith for his massive GPP upside. He might even be considered a cash game play on this slate, especially since Dallas will also be without J.J. Barea tonight.
Jordan Bell starting ahead of Zaza Pachulia on Monday; Omri Casspi inactive
Casspi had been cleared to play and was expected to be available off the bench for tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after originally being listed as probable on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report with low back soreness that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. However, he’ll be inactive for Monday’s contest since the Warriors are now fully healthy and head coach Steve Kerr had to deactivate someone from the active roster, though this is the first time all season Casspi will be a healthy scratch. Additionally, Jordan Bell will draw the start at center in favor of Zaza Pachulia, just as he did in the Warriors matchup with Cleveland on Christmas Day and ended up logging 26 minutes of action en route to a solid, but not great, fantasy performance. Given Bell’s typically great per minute production, he will be well worth a shot in tournaments at his price tag, especially on an abbreviated four-game slate that is somewhat dearth of viable value options.
As reported by: Anthony Slater via Twitter Other tagged players: Omri Casspi Kawhi Leonard (quad) ruled out Monday
Leonardis a surprise late scratch from the San Antonio Spurs lineup for today’s game against the Atlanta Hawks as he continues to deal with a right quad issue, according to head coach Gregg Popovich, despite not being listed on the latest version of the injury report. Kyle Anderson will almost assuredly draw the start at small forward in Leonard’s absence and should see a small uptick in playing time even with the Spurs virtually fully healthy this afternoon, as Rudy Gay is the only other player that appeared on the inactive list. LaMarcus Aldridge remains the main beneficiary from usage and fantasy production standpoints with Leonard off the court this season, and he owns a +2.2% usage rate differential en route to an average of 1.17 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Jabari Young via Twitter Tim Hardaway Jr. (rest) ruled out Monday
Hardaway Jr. is a late addition to the New York Knicks’ injury report and has officially been ruled out for today’s game against the Brooklyn Nets due to rest purposes on the second leg of a back-to-back set after logging 33 minutes off the bench in Sunday’s overtime loss. This news is far from surprising considering Hardway Jr. just returned from a left leg stress reaction late last week. In his absence, Lance Thomas will remain in the starting lineup at small forward for at least one additional game and had done so in the previous two games Hardaway Jr. was active and available. The main beneficiary of playing time in Hardaway Jr.‘s absence is clearly Michael Beasley, who has seen his minutes plummet in the last two contests, averaging just 12 minutes over that span. Beasley’s price remains elevated across the industry but is certainly worth a shot in tournaments if participating in any late-swap contests this fine Monday afternoon.
As reported by: Al Iannazzone via Twitter The Path to Beating Indiana
We have seen the recipe for beating Indiana throughout much of the year, and the key revolves around strong big man play. Enter Derrick Favors, who is pretty much Utah’s only real low post threat without Rudy Gobert. He should be ready to roll for a few extra minutes after logging 29 minutes in his return over the weekend, so this could be a nice time to buy low. I like the matchup, and the price tag certainly isn’t too much to command. Fire him up in GPPs with confidence on a short evening slate.
Possible Punt Value
We desperately need value on the late slate, as guys like Westbrook, Paul, James, and Durant come with high salary tags. Of course, there aren’t a ton of punt plays to absolutely love, but Cory Joseph stands out as a potential option. He always gets minutes in the mid-20’s off the bench for the Pacers, and he comes dirt cheap in DFS formats. Joseph is unlikely to absolutely tank your lineup at this price, and he helps you squeeze in a few of the other studs out there. Joseph is averaging 27 minutes per game this month and is coming off a solid line last night against the Suns, making him an interesting punt even though tonight’s matchup isn’t quite as appealing.
Tyler Zeller (sore hip) will start Monday
Zeller has been cleared to play and will start in today’s game against the New York Knicks, according to head coach Kenny Atkinson, after previously being listed as probable on the Brooklyn Nets’ injury report with a sore left hip that had forced him to miss one game. Zeller’s return to the starting lineup will send Quincy Acy back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role after surprisingly drawing the spot start at center and performing extremely well for fantasy purposes in 25 minutes of action. Even though Zeller is “starting”, he’ll remain irrelevant for daily fantasy formats going forward, as the big man rarely sees more than 15 minutes on any given night and has basically settled into a 10-12 minute role as the starter with Acy, Jahlil Okafor, and Jarrett Allen absorbing the remainder of the available playing time at the center position.
As reported by: Anthony Puccio via Twitter