DFS Alerts
Stephen Curry (ankle) and Klay Thompson (rest) ruled out Wednesday; Kevin Durant (calf) will play
Curry was forced to end his shootaround routine early after slipping and sustaining a sprained right ankle, and he has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, while Klay Thompson will be rested, effectively ruling him out as well. Additionally, Kevin Durant will make his return from a three-game absence after previously being listed as probable on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report with a strained right calf. There’s been no reported minute restriction for Durant at this time, so he should be expected to see in the ballpark of his normal minute allotment, as long as this game remains close, something it has a much better chance at doing with Curry and Thompson unavailable. There are a number of different ways head coach Steve Kerr could go with the starting shooting guard position, but Shaun Livingston almost assuredly will draw the start at point guard while Andre Iguodala will continue to see increased playing time after averaging 27 minutes in the three games Durant was sidelined. Assuming Durant is at or close to full strength, he’ll be an elite tournament option on Wednesday’s slate, as he owns a massive +10.7% usage rate differential with Curry and Thompson off the court this season and has seen his production skyrocket to 1.69 fantasy points on DraftKings and 1.68 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Warriors PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant
Damian Lillard (calf strain) questionable Wednesday
Lillard has been officially listed as questionable on the Portland Trail Blazers’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets due to a strained left calf that has already forced him to miss two consecutive games. Shabazz Napier has been the main beneficiary of Lillard’s absence and has averaged nearly 36 minutes per game in the seven instances Lillard has been sidelined this season. Lillard did tell reporters prior to Monday’s contest that he is feeling better, so there is certainly some optimism that he’ll be able to make his return from his most recent two-game hiatus. Depending on his official status, one of Lillard or Napier will be tremendous tournament options on Wednesday’s slate, especially if news of Lillard’s availability breaks after lock.
As reported by: Joe Freeman via Twitter Upside without Turner
Myles Turner has been ruled out for the next two games, so Domantas Sabonis should start and play a healthy dose of minutes for the Pacers. He played very well in extended minutes earlier this season, and I wouldn’t expect anything different this time around. His price has reverted to very affordable levels, so feel free to give Sabonis a peek as a great mid-range value tonight. He has double-double upside and should get a huge boost in playing time.
High Usage Off The Bench
I think I’ve wrote Green up every slate he’s been on during the week, and I will continue to write him up. He’s still way too cheap on FD, and still under 6k on DK. With Gordon starting for Harden, Green continues to be the scorer off the bench for the Rockets. He’s played at least 26 minutes in five of the last six games, and has at least 24 fantasy points in four of those six games. With so many studs to pay up for tonight, Green continues to be a strong value option.
Top Play of the Night
You can certainly make a case for Cousins potentially being the top overall play on the board this evening. Per our CourtIQ tool, he scores almost seven additional fantasy points and sees a 6.6% usage boost with Anthony Davis off the floor. With Davis unlikely to suit up tonight, Cousins should be in line for a monster workload up front. Even though this isn’t the most favorable individual matchup on the board, the usage boost and upside are too difficult to ignore. I will be starting a lot of my GPP lineups with Cousins at the top this evening.
Milos Teodosic (foot) ruled out Wednesday; Blake Griffin (concussion) remains out
Teodosic has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors after previously being listed as questionable on the Los Angeles Clippers’ injury report with a sore left plantar fascia that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games. Meanwhile, Blake Griffin remains in the concussion protocol and will be sidelined for the second straight game. The Clippers are also still without Austin Rivers, Danilo Gallinari, and Patrick Beverley, so Lou Williams and Jawun Evans were called upon to start in the backcourt for Monday’s contest with Teodosic and Griffin sidelined. Evans ended up logging 39 minutes in his last start en route to easily exceeding salary-based expectations, but with Tyrone Wallace now in the fold in the backcourt rotation, those appear to be far from secure, relegating him to a tournament-only option. With the aforementioned players off the court this season, Williams and DeAndre Jordan have been the clear beneficiaries from a usage standpoint, as each own at least a +5.5% usage rate differential, while Jordan has also seen his production spike to 1.44 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.41 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Brad Turner via Twitter Other tagged players: Blake Griffin The Forgotten Man
With all the attention on Bobby Portis with Nikola Mirotic unlikely to play tonight, Lauri Markkanen qualifies as the forgotten man in the Chicago frontcourt. He carried about one fourth of the ownership of Portis the other night, and Markkanen is still the starter. He scores a healthy 33 fantasy points per 36 minutes with Mirotic off the floor this year, and Markkanen should be looking at minutes in the mid-30’s. He has a nice combination of floor and ceiling, and his ownership won’t be nearly as high as Portis. I love that in GPP formats.
Let's Take A Little Risk Tonight
Thabo Sefolosha has been tough to figure out this season, but he’s been playing solid minutes against teams that go smaller. I expect this game to go small tonight, and I could see him getting extended run in this matchup. It makes him a very interesting GPP play, but he’s always a very risky play. He has at least 25 fantasy points in four straight games, and he’s played at least 28 minutes in three of those games.
Upside on a Short-Handed Team
The Heat remain ravaged by injuries, and they have been rolling with a short rotation for quite some time now. That likely won’t change tonight with Waiters and Winslow out and Tyler Johnson possibly out. Wayne Ellington is somewhat scoring reliant, but he remains cheap on every DFS site and should be looking at 35 or so minutes off the bench again this evening. In what should be a pace up matchup with Indiana, he is one of my favorite value plays of the night in all formats.
Myles Turner (elbow) officially ruled out Wednesday, will miss at least two games
Turner has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Miami Heat after previously being listed as doubtful on the Indiana Pacers’ injury report with a sore right elbow he reaggravated during Monday’s win. The team has also gone as far to rule him out for Friday’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers as well, meaning Turner will be sidelined for at least two games. Domantas Sabonis is still battling through a left wrist issue but did participate fully in Tuesday’s practice, which is good news for the Pacers as he’ll be relied upon to step into the starting lineup at center for tonight’s contest with Turner unable to suit up. Turner has been extremely inconsistent all season and it’s reflected in his playing time of late, as he has logged 25 minutes or fewer in six of his last seven games, while Sabonis has been tremendous, for the most part, at picking up his slack when given the opportunity. With Turner off the court this season, no one player substantially benefits from usage or production standpoints, but Sabonis does average 1.11 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.08 on FanDuel in this scenario, rates that should allow him to exceed his salary-based expectations on Wednesday’s slate given the uptick in playing time.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Increased Playing Time and Usage
The Heat have been playing short-handed and will be without a number of players again tonight. Dion Waiters and Justise Winslow have already been ruled out, Tyler Johnson is questionable with a shoulder injury, and James Johnson could be facing a suspension. Dragic is going to shoulder the load offensively in a nice matchup against the Pacers. Dragic comes into the game in great form, averaging 37 minutes and 41 fantasy points over his last five outings.
High Floor/Ceiling Combination at Shooting Guard
Justin Holiday has scored at least 22 fantasy points in 14 of his last 16 games. We rarely see that type of consistency for a player that is priced in the mid-$5,000 range on FanDuel and DraftKings. With Nikola Mirotic doubtful, Holiday could see increased usage in an exploitable matchup against the Knicks.
Nikola Mirotic (stomach virus) doubtful Wednesday
Mirotic missed shootaround this morning and has been downgraded to doubtful for tonight’s game against the New York Knicks after previously being listed as questionable on the Chicago Bulls’ injury report with a stomach virus that has already forced him to miss one game. His likely absence would be a huge blow to this Bulls squad from a real-life perspective and will allow Lauri Markkanen and Bobby Portis to handle nearly all of the available power forward minutes, as each logged at least 33 minutes in Monday’s loss, while Robin Lopez theoretically, should see some extended playing time in a matchup with the Knicks frontcourt duo of Kristaps Poraingis and Enes Kanter as the starting center. Over the last month, since Mirotic returned from a facial fracture, Kris Dunn has led the Bulls with a 28.6% usage rate with him off the court, while Portis has averaged 1.20 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.16 on FanDuel in this scenario, making him the top option among the Bulls’ big men when taking price tag, usage, and increased playing time into account.
As reported by: K.C. Johnson via Twitter Jonathon Simmons (back spasms) likely to play Tuesday
Simmons went through shootaround this morning and is likely to play in tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks barring a setback in pregame warmups, according to head coach Frank Vogel, after previously being listed as questionable in the Orlando Magic’s game notes with back spasms that had forced him to miss one game. Mario Hezonja started at small forward in the previous contest and logged a whopping 38 minutes en route to easily exceeded salary-based expectations across the daily fantasy industry. Now that Simmons is expected to be available, Hezonja will head back to the bench to resume a reserve role, albeit, an expanded one with Jonathan Isaac, Terrence Ross, and Nikola Vucevic all still sidelined with their respective ailments. With the other aforementioned players off the court this season, Aaron Gordon has benefited greatly from a usage standpoint, owning a +6.5% usage rate differential, while Elfrid Payton leads the team with a rate of 1.17 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.18 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: John Denton via Twitter Derrick Jones Jr. will start for Tyler Johnson (shoulder) on Tuesday
Johnson has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors due to a strained left shoulder, despite never appearing on the Miami Heat’s injury report at any point throughout the day. Miami is still without Dion Waiters and Justise Winslow and has recalled Derrick Walton Jr. from his G-League assignment to absorb some playing time with the second unit. Wayne Ellington has consistently been seeing minutes in the low-to-mid-30s off the bench with Waiters and Winslow sidelined and figures to be locked into that role for Tuesday, even with Derrick Jones Jr. drawing the start at the shooting guard spot in Johnson’s place. Jones Jr. is likely nothing more than a starter in name only, and Ellington will still warrant consideration in tournaments on an abbreviated four-game slate but a majority of his fantasy production is tied directly to scoring, making him a realistic fade if his projected ownership begins to spiral out of control. With Johnson and the other aforementioned players off the court this season, Goran Dragic has been the main beneficiary in a limited sample size and owns a +5.2% usage rate differential, good for a 33.1% usage rate overall. On top of that, his fantasy production has spiked to 1.31 fantasy point per minute on DraftKings and 1.26 on FanDuel in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter