DFS Alerts
Will Barton (back) and Nikola Jokic (ankle) questionable Friday; said they'll play
Barton told reporters that he will play but remains listed as questionable on the Denver Nuggets’ injury report for tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans’ due to a low back contusion that forced him to miss Wednesday’s loss, while Nikola Jokic went through shootaround but is also listed as questionable on the injury report and it remains uncertain whether or not he would be subject to a minute restriction if he suits up for Friday’s contest. Jokic was originally cleared to play in Wednesday’s loss but ended up receiving a DNP-CD after head coach Mike Malone stated that he would play off the bench. In his and Barton’s absences, Trey Lyles and Mason Plumlee started in the frontcourt and it appears that Lyles has officially leapfrogged Kenneth Faried in the rotation after logging 33 minutes in his last start. As of now, Barton and Jokic are trending towards making their returns to the lineup based on their comments to reporters following shootaround, but the Nuggets’ injury news is certainly one of the key situations to monitor as lock approaches.
As reported by: T.J. McBride via Twitter Other tagged players: Nikola Jokic
DeMarre Carroll (rest) ruled out Friday; Allen Crabbe (knee) questionable
Carroll has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors due to rest purposes on the second night of a back-to-back set, while Allen Crabbe has been listed as questionable on the Brooklyn Nets’ injury report with left knee soreness for the second straight game, though he managed to play through the tag on Thursday night and logged a whopping 35 minutes. If he’s unable to suit up, Joe Harris should be expected to enter the starting lineup in his place and has averaged nearly 32 minutes per contest in the previous games Crabbe has been sidelined. Isaiah Whitehead was recalled from his most recent G-League assignment and will likely be tasked in absorbing a majority of the backup point guard minutes with Caris LeVert likely to draw the start at small forward in Carroll’s place. Not only would LeVert possess a solid minute floor with Carroll and Crabbe (possibly) sidelined, but he owns a +3.3% usage rate differential with them, D’Angelo Russell, and Jeremy Lin off the court this season and has seen his per minute production spike to 1.17 fantasy points, putting him firmly in play for all formats should this injury situation play out as depicted.
As reported by: Brian Lewis via Twitter Other tagged players: Allen Crabbe Minutes Equal Money in NBA
Like many other teams, Denver has been rolling with a shorter rotation of late due to injuries. Nikola Jokic is back, but Will Barton missed the game against Boston the other night and is questionable for this one. Both Gary Harris and Jamal Murray went off for 50 fantasy points in that game, and they will both receive a boost if Barton is out once again. Even if Barton plays, he might not see his usual allotment of minutes. Harris is never a sexy fantasy play, but the minutes will be there in any case. Even if Barton plays, Harris is still a viable selection. This should be a close, relatively high scoring game between two decent offensive teams, and both Harris and Murray are on my radar. Keep an eye on Barton’s status as we get closer to tip-off, but as I said, I still like Harris even if Barton is active.
Andre Roberson (ankle) will start Friday, but will have a minute restriction
Roberson has been cleared to play and will start in tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers after previously being listed as out on the Oklahoma City Thunder’s game notes due to a sprained right ankle that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. Roberson will take over his normal shooting guard spot in the starting lineup but, according to head coach Billy Donovan, will be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back. This means that Alex Abrines will head back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role following two spot starts where he was relatively inconsistent but did average 28 minutes per game. Roberson owns a lowly 9.2% usage rate on the season and averages just 0.56 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.60 on FanDuel, keeping him out of consideration for daily formats on a nearly nightly basis.
As reported by: Erik Horne via Twitter Milos Teodosic (rest) ruled out Friday, will play Saturday
Teodosic has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Washington Wizards due to rest purposes, but, according to Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, he will be ready to go for Saturday’s contest as Teodosic still hasn’t been cleared to play in back-to-back situations as he recovers from a foot injury that kept him sidelined for 22 consecutive games. In his absence, Sindarius Thornwell will likely draw the start at point guard alongside C.J. Williams in the backcourt. The Clippers were already without Austin Rivers, Danilo Gallinari, Blake Griffin, and Patrick Beverley, which leaves Lou Williams and DeAndre Jordan as essentially the only two key rotation players that are healthy and available to play. This obviously opens up a ton of value on the Clippers side of the ball, and Jawun Evans and Sam Dekker look to be the primary players to target, as each logged at least 25 minutes in the previous game. That said, Jordan and Lou Williams also make fine options themselves, as each own at least a +5.3% usage rate differential with the aforementioned players off the court this season, while Williams leads the team by a wide margin with a 37.8% usage rate overall.
As reported by: Brad Turner via Twitter Aaron Gordon (concussion) will start Friday; Arron Afflalo (back) and Jonathan Isaac (ankle) ruled out
Gordon has cleared the concussion protocol and will start in tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers after previously being listed as questionable on the Orlando Magic’s injury report, while Arron Afflalo and Jonathan Isaac have each been ruled out following their earlier questionable designations on the injury report with their respective ailments. The Magic are still without Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross as well, which led the team to recall Adreian Payne, Jamel Artis, and Khem Birch from the G-League on Wednesday, but the trio failed to see the court and will likely only do so in the event of an emergency with Afflalo and Isaac remaining sidelined once again. The sample size with the aforementioned players off the court this season is extremely limited, but both Nikola Vucevic and Jonathon Simmons own at least a +4.7% usage rate differential and see substantial increases to their per minute fantasy production, adding to their appeal, along with Gordon, in all formats on Friday’s slate.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter Other tagged players: Arron Afflalo, Jonathan Isaac Injury Has Created Opportunity For Me
Sam Dekker was getting minutes before Gallinari came back, and with him out again, Dekker saw 26 minutes against the Magic on Wednesday. Dekker checked out for Rivers in the second quarter, but saw all the minutes down the stretch with Rivers out. With Rivers already ruled out for tonight, look for Dekker to get extra run tonight. He’s a guy that can crush value with 25 minutes, and I like him a lot tonight.
Joel Embiid (back tightness) questionable Friday
Embiid has officially been listed as questionable on the Philadephia 76ers’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to lingering back tightness that has forced him to land on the injury report a few times in the past week. He was at the team’s morning shootaround and was able to log a season-high 39 minutes in Tuesday’s win, so he appears likelier to play than not, despite the questionable tag. Meanwhile, Robert Covington will make his return from a two-game absence due to a low back contusion, and head coach Brett Brown opted to alternate starts between Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Richaun Holmes with Covington unavailable, both of whom will now head back to the bench to resume their normal reserve roles. Covington has been much more consistent this season than in years past now that he’s playing with an elite ball distributor like Ben Simmons at point guard. On top of that, if for some reason Embiid is ruled out, he, Simmons, and Dario Saric all own at least a +3.1% usage rate differential with Embiid off the court this season, while Covington has averaged 1.13 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.08 on FanDuel in this scenario.
As reported by: Jessica Camerato via Twitter A Lot Of Value On This Team Tonight
With the injuries to Griffin, Rivers, and Gallinari; there is a lot of value on the Clippers tonight. This always makes for some interesting GPP plays, and Evans is one of those guys for me tonight. He’s 3k on DraftKings tonight, and I’m always willing to take a shot on a 3k guy. He was on the floor for 18 minutes in the second half when Austin Rivers left the game. With Milos just coming back from injury, I don’t see the Clippers running him out for more than 30 minutes here, which makes Evans very interesting for me.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (personal) ruled out Thursday
Caldwell-Pope is currently not with the team and has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to personal reasons, despite never appearing on the Los Angeles Lakers’ injury report at any point throughout the day. Head coach Luke Walton has yet to name his replacement in the starting lineup and there are now a number of different ways he can go with his starting unit. Either way, Jordan Clarkson looks to be the primary beneficiary in terms of playing time and leads the Lakers with a 29.6% usage rate with Caldwell-Pope off the court this season, while Larry Nance and Lonzo Ball each own at least +2.9% usage rate differential and average roughly a fantasy point per minute in this scenario as well.
As reported by: Bill Oram via Twitter Dwyane Wade (sore knee) will play Thursday
Wade has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers after previously being listed as questionable in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game notes with a sore left knee that had forced him to miss one game. There’s been no word of a potential minute restriction for Wade, so he’ll presumably resume his customary mid-20s minute role off the bench. Additionally, head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed with reporters that Tristan Thompson will remain on his first half-only minute restriction that limited him to just five minutes in his first game back, so it’s unlikely that he sees more than 10 minutes of court time off the bench this evening. This means that Kevin Love will remain the Cavaliers’ starting center for at least one additional game, opposed to his typical power forward spot, though Thompson coming off the bench could certainly be a permanent move moving forward, as well, with how great Cleveland has been playing with their current starting lineup and rotation.
As reported by: Fred McLeod via Twitter Allen Crabbe (sore knee) will play Thursday
Crabbe has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the New York Knicks after previously being listed as questionable on the Brooklyn Nets’ injury report with a sore left knee. His presence will keep Joe Harris on the bench in his normal reserve role, effectively removing for consideration for daily fantasy formats on Thursday night. Both Jahlil Okafor and Nik Stauskas were active and available to play in the Nets previous game, but neither ended up seeing any court time, and it remains to be seen whether they’ll finally enter the rotation this evening. Isaiah Whitehead is still on a G-League assignment, so Caris LeVert could still see a few minutes extra minutes as the backup point guard in the backcourt rotation, which slightly raises his minute floor. With Whitehead, D’Angelo Russell, and Jeremy Lin off the court this season, Crabbe and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson have consistently been the primary beneficiaries, as each own at least a +2.4% usage rate differential in this scenario while Hollis-Jefferson trails only Spencer Dinwiddie for the team lead with a rate of 1.05 fantasy points per minute.
As reported by: Anthony Puccio via Twitter John Collins (shoulder) will play off the bench on Thursday; Miles Plumlee will start
Collins has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons after previously being listed as probable on the Atlanta Hawks’ injury report with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder that has forced him to miss six consecutive games, while Luke Babbitt remains listed as probable for the eighth straight game, but has yet to sit, and Mike Muscala and Dewayne Dedmon remain sidelined with their respective injuries. Collins will come off the bench and will be subject to a minute restriction in his first game back, which will allow Miles Plumlee to start at center, likely in an effort to better matchup with Andre Drummond on the defensive end of the floor. This means that Tyler Cavanaugh, who easily exceeded salary-based expectations in 28 minutes in his lone spot start, will be relegated to the third-string center role for at least one game with Babbitt and Ersan Ilyasova absorbing a majority of the playing time at power forward for the remaining duration of Muscala and Dedmon’s absences.
As reported by: Brad Rowland via Twitter Other tagged players: Miles Plumlee Top Value
With Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia likely out tonight, Jordan Bell should continue to log big minutes in the frontcourt. He started in the last game and got a healthy dose of minutes, and I would expect the same this evening. He’s a talented young player with upside on the glass and with blocks, and Golden State’s pace favors his style of play. On a night that’s starved for elite value, Bell carries plenty of upside.
Elite Point Per Dollar Upside
Stan Van Gundy sent a message to his starters in the last game, which was a lifeless performance against Denver in which the Pistons lost their seventh game in a row. Andre Drummond has had a solid sesaon, and I think he responds to the call out with a big game in a favorable matchup against Atlanta’s frontcourt. The Hawks have allowed massive games to opposing big men this year, and Drummond is a great GPP selection.