DFS Alerts
Joel Embiid (sore back) will play Saturday
Embiid has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors after previously being listed as questionable on the Philadelphia 76ers’ injury report with a sore back that had forced him to miss three consecutive games. There’s been no word of an official minute restriction for Embiid but with the Sixers tipping off on Christmas Day in less than 48 hours, it’s entirely possible that the coaching staff monitors his minutes more strictly than they have recently. His return to the lineup will send Amir Johnson back to the bench resume his normal reserve role following a string of inconsistent performances in his three spot starts, while Jerryd Bayless will draw the start at the shooting guard spot in J.J. Redick’s place once again. The starter that stands to benefit the most from Redick’s absence is Robert Covington, as he owns a +6.0% usage rate differential with him off the court this season and has seen his production increase to 1.25 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.20 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Keith Pompey via Twitter
Kawhi Leonard (quad) ruled out Saturday; Pau Gasol (groin) now probable
Leonard has now been downgraded from probable to questionable to out on the San Antonio Spurs’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings due to his recovery from right quad tendinopathy, while Pau Gasol has been upgraded to probable after previously being ruled out with right groin tightness. Leonard finally saw his playing time creep over the 20-minute plateau after not playing more than 16 minutes in any of his three prior games this season. The Spurs do have some reinforcements on the wing with Leonard and Danny Green officially ruled out, as Kyle Anderson has averaged 23 minutes off the bench in his first two games back following an eight-game injury stint due to a sprained left medial collateral ligament. There are several different ways that head coach Gregg Popovich can go with his starting lineup, but he chose to roll with Bryn Forbes and Joffrey Lauvergne at the shooting guard and center spots, respectively, in Thursday’s win, but with Gasol appearing on track to play Lauvergne will most likely head back to the bench to resume his typical minimal reserve role.
As reported by: Tom Orsborn via Twitter Other tagged players: Pau Gasol Jaylen Brown (Achilles) probable Saturday; Shane Larkin (knee) questionable
Brown as officially been listed as probable on the Boston Celtics’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls due to left Achilles soreness that has already forced him to miss one game, while Shane Larkin has been listed as questionable with left knee soreness that also kept him sidelined for the previous game. With Brown seemingly on track to suit up, Marcus Smart will head back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role and will join Terry Rozier, who logged 27 minutes in Thursday’s loss, as the primary guards off the bench. Rozier struggled despite his extra playing time sans Brown and Larkin in the previous game, but if Larkin sits for the second straight game, he figures to be locked into a 20-25 minute role behind Brown and Kyrie Irving in the backcourt, making him a viable contrarian punt option in tournaments. As for Brown, he’s been a consistent source of fantasy production when healthy this season and trails only Irving for the team lead with a 21.6% usage rate with Larkin and Marcus Morris off the court this season.
As reported by: Brian Robb via Twitter Other tagged players: Shane Larkin JaMychal Green (sore knee) doubtful Saturday
Green has been added to the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report and is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers due to right knee soreness. Meanwhile, Marc Gasol remains listed as doubtful with a left hip issue but will reportedly be a game-time decision anyway. The Grizzlies are still without Mike Conley and Wayne Selden, but Brandan Wight recently returned to the rotation and managed to log 19 minutes off the bench in Thursday’s contest, making him the leading candidate to replace Gasol in the starting lineup at center, while Chandler Parsons is likely to draw the start at power forward in Green’s place. This leaves Tyreke Evans to shoulder a large majority of the offensive playmaking responsibilities with Gasol (likely), Green (likely), and Conley unavailable. On top of that, he and Wright each own at least a +3.3% usage rate differential with the aforementioned players off the court this season while Evans leads the way with a rate of 1.29 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.23 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Grizzlies PR via Twitter Another Easy Cash Game Value Play
With Dwight Howard listed as doubtful, Kaminsky is set to join the starting lineup and log 30 or more minutes in a solid matchup against the Bucks. When Howard went down last game after playing just four minutes, Kaminsky stepped in and played 30 minutes, which should be representative of what we can expect tonight. He’s extremely cheap, and has the upside to exceed value in scoring alone. Add in the peripherals and you have an easy value play that can crush value.
A Must Play Value Option in Cash Games
With Damian Lillard out, Napier will draw the start and log 30 or more minutes in a prime matchup against the Lakers. The Lakers play extremely fast and offer little to no resistance on the defensive end. He’s too cheap across the industry, making him an absolute must play in cash games. He’ll be extremely high-owned, but there’s no reason to get cute and try to play the fade. Just lock him in and spend up elsewhere.
C.J. Miles (dental procedure) ruled out Saturday; Lucas Nogueira (calf) questionable
Miles was originally removed from the Toronto Raptors’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, but he has now been ruled out due to a dental procedure that has now forced him to miss three consecutive games, while Lucas Nogueira has been listed as questionable with a torn right calf muscle that has kept him sidelined for last 10 games. Miles has essentially settled into a consistent 16-20 minute role off the Toronto Raptors’ bench, and his absence should continue to open up additional minutes on the wing for players like Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet, though the playing time increase has been nominal, at best, making both guards tough sells for daily fantasy formats on Saturday’s slate and moving forward.
As reported by: Blake Murphy via Twitter Other tagged players: Lucas Nogueira Donovan Mitchell (great toe contusion) probable Saturday
Mitchell has been listed as probable on the Utah Jazz’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a right great toe contusion that has forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Raul Neto will remain sidelined for the seventh straight game with a concussion. With Mitchell appearing likely to play, Rodney Hood will head back to the bench to resume his newly-acquired sixth-man role following some mixed results in his two spot starts, though he did log 34 minutes and exceed salary-based expectations his last time out. There’s been no word of a possible minute restriction for Mitchell, so he should step immediately back into his normal role in this offense and rotation, and he trails only Hood for the team lead with a 28.8% usage rate with Neto and Rudy Gobert off the court this season while averaging 0.96 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.93 on FanDuel.
As reported by: Kyle Goon via Twitter Dennis Schroder (ankle) questionable Saturday
Schroder has officially been listed as questionable on the Atlanta Hawks’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks due to a left ankle issue that has already forced him to miss one game. With Schroder unavailable for Friday’s loss, Marco Belinelli entered the starting lineup in his place at the shooting guard spot, a move that slid Kent Bazemore over to point guard. It remains to be seen if head coach Mike Budenholzer opts to utilize the same unconventional starting lineup if Schroder is eventually ruled out, but either way, Malcolm Delaney will in play as a punt option and has averaged just over 31 minutes of playing time in the previous games Schroder has missed this season. In fact, Delaney and Bellinelli each own at least a +5.1% usage rate differential with Schroder off the court, and Belinelli actually leads the Hawks with a 27.6% usage rate differential in this scenario.
As reported by: KL Chouinard via Twitter Dwight Howard (finger) and Kemba Walker (head) questionable Saturday
Howard has been listed as questionable on the Charlotte Hornets’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a dislocated right ring finger he sustained in the opening minutes of Friday contest, while Kemba Walker has also been listed as questionable with what’s being called a head contusion and Treveon Graham is questionable due to back spasms. Should Graham remain out, his absence does little, if anything, to affect the remaining members of the wing rotation, but the potential absences of both Walker and Howard would be massive, as they lead the Hornets with 28.8% and 27.2% usage rates, respectively. If they’re ruled out, Michael Carter-Williams and Frank Kaminsky would likely enter the starting lineup, while Malik Monk would step into a larger role off the bench as the backup point guard. With Walker and Howard off the court this season, it’s been Monk, Jeremy Lamb, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist that have been the main beneficiaries, as each own at least a +2.8% usage rate differential and Lamb leads the way with a rate of 1.02 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.00 on FanDuel.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Kemba Walker Rookie Exceeding All Expectations
I’m not a fan of Kuzma’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers as I consider Al-Farouq Aminu a premiere defender. On the flipside, Kuzma has been on fire since the Brook Lopez injury. The price is still affordable, and I expect him to be popular on Saturday due to his recent streak. In the past three games, he’s scored at least 25 real life points and is amazingly picking up some peripheral stats in addition to his normal stellar rebounding. For this reason, I do think you need to highly consider playing Kuzma in cash games.
This Guard Is Locked Into Heavy Minutes
This one is simple – the Miami Heat are so thin at the guard position that they have no choice but to play Richardson heavy minutes. Goran Dragic has been ruled out and Dion Waiters left Friday’s game early with an injury. His absence forced Wayne Ellington to play 39 minutes and tie his career best of 28 points. Derrick Walton also entered the rotation and played 24 minutes. Richardson has been one of the hottest players in the NBA right now and hasn’t seen his price adjusted accordingly to present role.
Otto Porter (thigh contusion) listed as starter Friday
There surprisingly was no official update from the team on the status of Otto Porter before lock, but he has been listed in the starting lineup on the media guide for tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets after previously being listed as questionable on the Washington Wizards’ game notes and considered a game-time decision with a right thigh contusion that had forced him to miss three consecutive games. His probable return will send Kelly Oubre back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role, though it does remain unclear whether Porter will be subject to a minute restriction. Mike Scott has worked his way into a defined role in the frontcourt rotation, but that minute allotment could take a slight hit with Porter now back in the fold. In the Wizards’ previous matchup with Brooklyn earlier in the season, Bradley Beal led the team with an insane 46.7% usage rate, though John Wall was sidelined with an injury in that contest, making it unlikely he’s able to see that type of usage again Friday evening.
As reported by: Chris Miller via Twitter Pau Gasol (groin) and Danny Green (groin) ruled out for Saturday; Kawhi Leonard (quad) probable
Gasol and Green have been ruled out and won’t play in tomorrow’s game against the Sacramento Kings after briefly being listed as questionable on the San Antonio Spurs’ injury report with groin tightness, while Kawhi Leonard has been listed as probable as he continues to work his way back from right quadriceps tendinopathy. Leonard finally saw his playing time creep over the 20-minute plateau after not playing more than 16 minutes in any of his three prior games this season. The Spurs do have some reinforcements on the wing with Green officially ruled out, as Kyle Anderson has averaged 23 minutes off the bench in his first two games back following an eight-game injury stint due to a sprained left medial collateral ligament. There are several different ways that head coach Gregg Popovich can go with his starting lineup, but he chose to roll with Bryn Forbes and Joffrey Lauvergne at the shooting guard and center spots, respectively, in Thursday’s win. Lauvergne, especially, will be an intriguing tournament option on Saturday’s slate if he’s able to see anywhere close to the 26 minutes he logged in the aforementioned spot start in Gasol’s place.
As reported by: Tom Orsborn via Twitter Other tagged players: Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard Montrezl Harrell will start for Milos Teodosic (rest) on Friday
Teodosic was added to the Los Angeles Clippers’ injury report earlier in the day and has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets due to rest purposes, as he has yet to be cleared to play back-to-back days and will suit up for Saturday’s matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies instead. The last time Teodosic was unavailable due to rest, Sindarius Thornwell ended up drawing the start in his place, but Jawun Evans essentially doubled him up in playing time and logged 40 minutes off the bench. That said, Austin Rivers was sidelined with a concussion for that game so it shouldn’t be expected for Evans to see that type of minute workload again in Friday’s contest. However, head coach Doc Rivers has opted to roll with a bigger starting lineup this time out, inserting Montrezl Harrell at the power forward position and sliding Jamil Wilson over to small forward, but regardless of starting lineup, Rivers, Evans, and Lou Williams should absorb a large majority of the minutes in the backcourt. In fact, with Teodosic, Wesley Johnson, Danilo Gallinari, Blake Griffin, and Patrick Beverley all off the court this season, Williams owns a +7.2% usage rate differential and leads the Clippers by a wide margin with a 37.2% usage rate.
As reported by: Brad Turner via Twitter