DFS Alerts
Now or Never for this Power Forward
The Rockets draw the best matchup of the slate, as they square off against the Suns in Phoenix. Not only that, but they are playing short-handed (James Harden, Nene Hilario, and Tarik Black are all out) and the spread is set at only seven points. Anderson should play 32-34 minutes in an ideal matchup and he’s on the road, so we don’t have to worry about his weird shooting splits at home. Everything is shaping up for a big game from Anderson and he’s dirt cheap across the industry.
Was It My Shoulder
Andrew Harrison was playing really good, and then he hurt his shoulder. His minutes started to become an issue, and he wasn’t playing well. They finally shut him down for a few games, and he came back strong. He played 30 minutes and had 28 fantasy points in his return against New Orleans. Denver ranks 28th in defensive efficiency against point guards this season, and they’re allowing the second most fantasy points to point guards. I don’t expect Harrison to be popular, and he’s one of my favorite value plays on the slate.
Big Minutes Because Of Injury
I never play Tucker, but you have to put him on the list tonight. He’s next to minimum on all sites tonight, and he’s in line to play really big minutes with all the injuries. Tucker played 32 minutes and scored 25 fantasy points in the first meeting earlier this season. The Rockets have the highest implied team total on this slate, and this is projected as the fastest paced game on the slate.
This Point Guard is not for the Risk Averse
Darren Collison may not fit the usual mold of a cash game play, but I tagged him here because he’s one of my favorite point guards of the slate. His minutes have been down recently thanks to the Pacers being involved in four blowouts in their last five games. His price is under $5,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings and he draws an elite matchup against the Cavaliers at home. Collison has faced the Cleveland twice already this season, putting 45 fantasy points in one of those outings.
An Overlooked Point Guard Option
While we generally focus a lot on taking players against the Nets, it’s easy to forget that perhaps we can sometimes target a guy from the Nets. They draw a decent matchup against the Hawks tonight, as Atlanta ranks in the top half of the league in pace, they rank in the bottom half in DvP against point guards, and they rank 26th in overall defensive efficiency. Dinwiddie has also been playing well of late. Outside of a dud in a blowout loss to the Pistons the other night, he had scored 26, 20, and 31 actual points in his previous three games, while playing at least 36 minutes in all of them. Brooklyn is often a team where we can’t trust the minutes for the starters, but Dinwiddie is the safest play of the group. He’s a great GPP option that will likely get overlooked on this slate.
Thriving for a New Team
There is a lot to like here for GPP purposes. Green has been seeing a healthy dose of minutes with James Harden on the sidelines. Despite not having a starting role, Green is averaging 30 minutes per game in the month of January (since Harden went down). Second, Green is a perfect fit for this Houston offense. He is a volume shooter that isn’t shy about letting it fly from downtown. Lastly, the Rockets have a fantastic matchup here against the Suns. On a night that is full of high scoring games, this one takes the cake with a 227 projected total. Houston has a mammoth team total of 117 themselves. These two teams both like to run, as they each rank inside the top eight in the NBA in pace. Fire up Green as an elite upside option in tournament formats.
One of the Best Mid-Range Plays on the Board
If the Rockets/Suns game stays close, I love the potential it provides from a DFS perspective. There are affordable plays with upside on both sides, and let’s not forget about the Phoenix side. T.J. Warren missed a game due to injury last week, but he has returned and hasn’t missed a beat. He seems to be co-existing nicely with Devin Booker, as Warren has averaged 23.4 actual points per game over his last nine contests, and he has attempted at least 14 shots in every game during that span. Houston will likely focus most of their defensive attention on Booker, which could open up some additional shot attempts for Warren.
Top Value of the Night
This one is probably the most obvious pick of the night, and I would be comfortable using Dragan Bender in both cash games and tournaments. This is simply a matter of opportunity. Marquese Chriss, who has been playing pretty well in his own right, has already been ruled out for tonight. After Chriss left the last game due to injury, Bender picked up the slack and played a whopping 39 minutes off the bench in a big win over the Thunder. In that game, he scored 20 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, and also blocked three shots. He is a big man who is also capable of shooting from the outside, and he profiles nicely in a matchup against the Rockets. While Chriss has gotten all the attention of late, Bender has also been playing pretty well off the bench. He will start tonight and has tons of upside at this affordable price.
Elite GPP Upside
While it is understandable to be concerned about a matchup against a Portland squad that has been strong defensively against the center position this year, I am not all that concerned. Cousins racked up 38 points and eight rebounds in the previous meeting between these teams this season, and it’s worth noting that was also a game where Davis was sidelined. Cousins is a physical mismatch on the interior, and Portland will have trouble slowing him down, regardless of whether Davis is in there or not. There’s plenty of upside to seek here.
Isaiah Thomas (rest) will play Thursday, ruled out for Friday
There was some misinterpretation among beat writers during Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue’s pregame media availability in regards to which game Isaiah Thomas will be rested on the Cavaliers upcoming back-to-back set Thursday and Friday. He was originally thought to be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors but instead will be rested for tomorrow’s game against the Indiana Pacers as he continues to work his way back from a right hip impingement that kept him sidelined for the first two months-plus of the season. Thomas has yet to log more than 21 minutes in any of the three games he’s been active, so his absence on Friday won’t have much impact on the backcourt rotation other than allowing Jose Calderon to re-enter the rotation and reclaim the starting point guard role at least one more time with both Thomas and Derrick Rose unavailable due to their respective ailments. Given the limited minutes Thomas has played this season, no one player sees any quantifiable increases in usage or production, but Dwyane Wade figures to take on more of the ball-handling responsibilities in the second unit and for the stretches in-game when Calderon is absent from the starting unit on Friday evening.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter
Kyle Lowry (bruised tailbone) officially ruled out Thursday
Lowry has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as doubtful on the Toronto Raptors’ injury report with a bruised tailbone and back spasms that have now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Additionally, the Raptors will also be without Serge Ibaka for Thursday’s contest, as the big man will serve his one-game suspension handed down by the NBA for his physical altercation with James Johnson in Tuesday’s loss. In Lowry’s absence, Delon Wright should draw the start at point guard for the second time in as many games, though Wright has the higher minute floor and potential ceiling than Fred VanVleet regardless of starting lineup, making him the preferred option in daily fantasy formats. That said, DeMar DeRozan is still the clear beneficiary of Lowry and Ibaka’s absences and owns a massive +12.7% usage rate with them off the court, equating to a 44.5% usage rate overall. Not only that, but DeRozan has also seen his per minute production skyrocket in this scenario and is averaging 1.61 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.56 on FanDuel.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter Blake Griffin (concussion) and Milos Teodosic (foot) questionable Thursday
Griffin has officially been listed as questionable on the Los Angeles Clippers’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings due to a concussion that has already forced him to miss two consecutive games. Meanwhile, Milos Teodosic has also been upgraded to questionable with a sore left plantar fascia that has kept him sidelined for three straight games. It’s still unknown whether Griffin has cleared the concussion protocol, but if he has, he’ll more than likely be good to go this evening, making him an intriguing tournament option given the likelihood news of his availability won’t break prior to lock on the main slate. There’s been no confirmation of a potential starting lineup sans C.J. Williams, but Lou Williams is a strong candidate to remain in the starting lineup with the dearth of options available for head coach Doc Rivers at the shooting guard position and the fact that Tyrone Wallace and Sindarius Thornwell being the only other realistic alternatives. If Griffin is held out an additional game, Lou Williams becomes a strong option once again after dropping 50 actual points in Thursday’ win over the Golden State Warriors.
As reported by: Tomer Azarly via Twitter Other tagged players: Milos Teodosic Tony Parker (ankle) and Danny Green (groin) ruled out Thursday
Parker has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers after previously being listed as doubtful on the San Antonio Spurs’ injury report with a sprained right ankle, while Danny Green has also been ruled out following his earlier questionable designation due to left groin tightness. Additionally, Kawhi Leonard will remain sidelined for the third straight game with a strained left shoulder. In their absences, Kyle Anderson, Dejounte Murray, and Bryn Forbes should all continue to start at the small forward, point guard, and shooting guard positions, respectively. Murray’s playing time can be a bit sporadic in head coach Gregg Popovich’s rotation, which relegates him to tournament use only, as Patty Mills has actually logged more minutes off the bench recently with Parker sidelined. Unsurprisingly, the main beneficiaries with Leonard, Parker, and Green off the court this season have been Murray and LaMarcus Aldridge, as each own at least a +3.4% usage rate differential, while Aldridge leads the team with a 34.2% usage rate overall and has averaged 1.30 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Tom Orsborn via Twitter Other tagged players: Danny Green George Hill (personal) expected to play Thursday
Hill is back with the Sacramento Kings and is expected to play in tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing three consecutive games due to the birth of his child. Meanwhile, Frank Mason has been diagnosed with a partially torn plantar fascia and is likely to miss at least two-to-four more weeks. Prior to Mason’s injury, Hill and De’Aaron Fox were the preferred starting backcourt duo of head coach Dave Joerger, but it will be interesting to see if that changes since Bogdan Bogdanovic has been serving as the primary backup point guard out of necessity with Hill away from the team. Fox performed well during the three-game stretch with both Hill and Mason unavailable and averaged close to 33 minutes per contest, but he may now be a little overpriced across the industry given the likely decrease in usage and playing time.
As reported by: James Ham via Twitter Favorite Value at Center
Center has been a tough position to fill in these smaller slates. That’s the case again tonight, as most of the centers are either inconsistent (Pau Gasol) or over-priced (DeAndre Jordan). My favorite play of the bunch is Brook Lopez, who played 22 minutes the other night against the Kings (his highest mark in nearly a month). He appears to be fully recovered from his injury and he should be locked into a 20+ minute role tonight against the Spurs, who tend to play big more than most teams.