DFS Alerts
Massive Usage Bump For This Guard
Eric Gordon’s matchup against Avery Bradley is not ideal and one reason I would have some reservations about Gordon, but the fact is Gordon is now the #2 offensive option on the team with Harden gone and he should continue to see heavy minutes in the starting lineup. In his last two games, he’s seen a usage rate of 32%, which is right up there with Chris Paul’s usage. Continue riding this guard where the price is right.
Continue Playing This Guard
The matchup against the Detroit Pistons isn’t an exciting one as they are a bottom 10 team in pace, but this is all about Paul’s usage and role. Paul saw a massive 33.6% usage rate in his last game against the Warriors and played 36 minutes, the second highest amount he’s logged all season. I fully expect the Rockets to continue to ride him during Harden’s absence, and while $10,100 is a lot of pay, you’re locking in a player with a high floor.
LaMarcus Aldridge (undisclosed) ruled out Friday
Aldridge has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns, according to head coach Gregg Popovich, due to an undisclosed reason despite not previously being listed on the San Antonio Spurs’ injury report at any point throughout the day. In his and Danny Green’s absences, Kyle Anderson and Bryn Forbes will be inserted into the starting lineup alongside Kawhi Leonard at the forward and shooting guard spots, respectively. Anderson is coming off of an impressive performance in 35 minutes of action in his previous spot start and will be an elite value for daily fantasy formats with Aldridge now sidelined as well. Leonard managed to log a season-high 31 minutes in Tuesday’s contest, and he appears to be trending towards a full minute workload in non-back-to-back situations, making him an intriguing tournament target on Friday’s slate at a likely suppressed price tag across the industry.
As reported by: Paul Garcia via Twitter
Andre Drummond (rib) will play Friday; Stanley Johnson (hip) a game-time decision
Drummond has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers after previously being listed as questionable in the Detroit Pistons’ game notes with a right rib contusion that had forced him to miss one game, while Stanley Johnson is now considered a game-time decision despite his prior doubtful designation in the latest version of game notes due to a strained hip flexor. Johnson will test his injured hip in pregame warmups, but head coach Stan Van Gundy didn’t seem all that optimistic he’d be ready to go after missing Thursday’s practice and each of the last two games. Drummond’s availability will send Boban Marjanovic back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role, which is typically minimal, at best, after easily exceeding salary-based expectations in just 21 minutes in his spot start on Wednesday evening. With Reggie Jackson still sidelined, the Pistons have had a change of the guard at the backup point guard spot, as Dwight Buycks has overtaken Langston Galloway and has logged 17 minutes in two consecutive games. Meanwhile, Drummond continues to take advantage of his expanded role in the offense with Jackson sidelined and has averaged 1.56 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.62 on FanDuel with him, Johnson, and Jon Leuer off the court this season.
As reported by: Rod Beard via Twitter Marcus Morris (knee rehabilitation) confirmed out Friday, will play Saturday
Morris has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after previously being listed as out in the latest version of the Boston Celtics’ game notes due to his continued left knee rehabilitation that has forced him to miss at least one game of every back-to-back set so far this season. While game notes can be extremely unreliable at times, the listing of Morris as inactive for Friday’s contest made sense, as the Celtics take on the Brooklyn Nets on the second leg of a back-to-back set on Saturday night. Aron Baynes was likely to rejoin the starting lineup for Friday’s contest given the matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson anyway, but now that Morris is unavailable, he’ll definitively draw the start at center, a move that pushes Al Horford over to the power forward spot. Morris finally saw his playing time increase to 25 minutes for his start on Wednesday, so there will certainly be some extra playing time available for the likes of Baynes, Jayson Tatum, and Daniel Theis this evening.
As reported by: Sean Grande via Twitter Lonzo Ball (shoulder sprain) upgraded to probable Friday
Ball has been upgraded to probable from questionable on the Los Angeles Lakers’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Charlotte Hornets due to a sprained left shoulder that has forced him to miss six consecutive games. Ball participated in shootaround this morning and, according to head coach Luke Walton, should play Friday night if he stays on schedule and does not suffer a setback. His likely return will send Tyler Ennis back to the bench to resume a reserve role following three straight spot starts and likely out of the rotation entirely with Jordan Clarkson and Josh Hart both clearly ahead of him in the backcourt rotation. It remains unclear if Ball will be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back, and it’s unlikely this information will be disclosed prior to lock on the main slate, relegating him to a tournament-only option. The current projected Lakers starting unit hasn’t spent a ton of time on the court together this season, but in the 83.6 minutes they’ve logged together, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each own at least a +3.9% usage rate differential, while Ball has led the way with a rate of 1.12 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.16 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Bill Oram via Twitter An Elite Value
Kawhi Leonard announced that he was officially back the other night with a monster game against the Knicks, and he played a season-high 31 minutes in that contest. That would naturally make us gravitate toward steering away from Kyle Anderson, as his minutes and usage will definitely be hampered a bit by Leonard’s return. However, starting shooting guard Danny Green and primary reserve Rudy Gay are both out right now, so there should be minutes to go around for Anderson at the shooting guard, small forward, and potentially even power forward position if the Spurs elect to go small — which is very much a possibility against the Suns. This is a great matchup for the Spurs against an up tempo, defensively challenged Phoenix squad. In addition, Anderson played 28 minutes against the Knicks on Tuesday even when Leonard played 30+. As I mentioned, he will get minutes at multiple positions. The Spurs could also win this game comfortably, where they might look to limit Leonard and/or LaMarcus Aldridge a little bit. Anderson will get his minutes, his price is very cheap, and the matchup is fantastic. I’m a willing buyer.
Last Chance to Buy Low on this Small Forward
Kawhi Leonard played a season-high 30.5 minutes in his last game, including 18 in the first half. He is very close to seeing a full complement of minutes and the fact that he is seeing the majority of his minutes early in the game helps with the potential blowout tonight against the Suns. This is the cheapest Leonard is going to be the rest of the season, so we should buy in now before we are paying well over $9,000 in the near future. Don’t forget that he is facing one of the worst defenses in basketball in the Suns.
The Forgotten Man at Shooting Guard
Khris Middleton doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves, both from the media and from the DFS community. He is having a tremendous season for the Bucks and very few have noticed. The Raptors have a solid defense as a whole, but have really struggled against shooting guards this season. Middleton has 40 minute upside, he provides a high floor and a high ceiling, and he just scored 35 fantasy points in this same matchup two games ago.
Marcus Morris (knee rehabilitation) listed out Friday
Morris is listed as out on the latest version of the Boston Celtics’ game notes for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to his continued left knee rehabilitation that has forced him to miss at least one game of every back-to-back set so far this season. While game notes can be extremely unreliable, the listing of Morris as inactive for Friday’s contest makes sense, as the Celtics take on the Brooklyn Nets on the second leg of a back-to-back set on Saturday night. Aron Baynes was likely to rejoin the starting lineup for Friday’s contest given the matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson anyway, but now that Morris is unavailable, he’ll draw the start at center, a move that pushes Al Horford over to the power forward spot. Morris finally saw his playing time increase to 25 minutes for his start on Wednesday, so there will certainly be some extra playing time available for the likes of Baynes, Jayson Tatum, and Daniel Theis this evening.
As reported by: NBA.com Game Notes High Floor at Power Forward
Derrick Favors has played well in Rudy Gobert’s absence this season. In the 18 games that Gobert has missed, Favors has averaged 33 fantasy points, compared to only 19 fantasy points in the 18 games that Gobert has played. Favors draws a decent matchup against the Nuggets in a game that should stay competitive throughout. Favors is affordable and one of the safest cash game targets at power forward.
T.J. Warren (illness) questionable Friday
Warren was absent from shootaround this morning and has officially been listed as questionable on the Phoenix Suns’ injury report for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs due to an illness. Additionally, Tyson Chandler will start at center after being rested for Wednesday’s contest, meaning Greg Monroe will head back to the bench and almost assuredly be a DNP-CD once again. Should Warren be ruled out, Josh Jackson would likely draw the start at small forward, despite a recent DNP-CD, and is coming off of a solid performance in 24 minutes in the Suns’ previous game. Somewhat surprisingly, Chandler has actually been the main beneficiary with Warren and Monroe off the court this season, owning a +6.4% usage rate differential, and he has also seen his per minute production spike to 1.09 fantasy points on DraftKings and 1.10 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Scott Bordow via Twitter Taking Advantage of Towns
Horford is generally not the sexiest tournament option, but I really like him in DFS tonight. Karl-Anthony Towns is not a strong defensive center, and Horford put up lines of 20/9/8 and 20/6/5 with four total blocks in the two head-to-head meetings between these teams last year. While Horford tends to not play huge minutes these days, often capping in the low 30’s, that should be enough to post a solid fantasy line. He also played 36 minutes in one of last year’s meetings. There are a lot of centers on the board tonight, and Horford will most likely come in at around 5% ownership. People give Towns far too much overall credit. His offensive game is fantastic, but the defense is not. Horford is one of my favorite GPP plays on the board this evening.
Victor Oladipo (knee) and Bojan Bogdanovic (ankle) questionable for Saturday
Oladipo was a full participant in Thursday’s practice and remains hopeful to return for tomorrow’s game against the Chicago Bulls, but he has officially been listed as questionable on the Indiana Pacers’ injury report with a sore right knee that has kept him sidelined for four consecutive games. Meanwhile, Bojan Bogdanovic is a new addition to the injury report and is listed as questionable with a sprained left ankle. Oladipo made it clear to reporters that he’d be a full go when he returns and doesn’t plan to be limited in any way, making him an intriguing tournament option on Saturday’s slate if he’s ultimately cleared to play. In his absence, Lance Stephenson started on the wing alongside Bogdanovic and eclipsed 35 minutes in three of his four starts, keeping him in play for tournaments if one, or both, of Oladipo and Bogdanovic are eventually ruled out with their respective ailments.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Other tagged players: Bojan Bogdanovic A New Team Leader?
Memphis is also going to be a little short-handed tonight, as Chandler Parsons will again be sidelined, while Andrew Harrison has already been ruled out. Evans has quietly been thriving with a new coach in place, posting a 31.4% usage rate and logging 44.3 DraftKings points per 36 minutes over the last four weeks. His minutes have been on the rise, and the team is allowing him to run the show. While I don’t often make a habit out of targeting shooting guards against the Wizards, I will make an exception for Evans. There’s 50+ fantasy point potential here, and Evans often gets overlooked a bit at his current prices. That’s music to my ears in GPP formats.