DFS Alerts
Draymond Green (sore shoulder) will play Friday
Green has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons after previously being upgraded to probable from questionable on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report with a sore right shoulder that had forced him to miss one game. Meanwhile, Zaza Pachulia underwent an MRI that revealed no structural damage in his injured shoulder but will remain sidelined due to significant soreness in the aforementioned shoulder. Head coach Steve Kerr declined to release his starting lineup with Pachulia officially unavailable, but JaVale McGee figures to draw the start at center for the second time in as many games. With Green available, Jordan Bell will be relegated back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role after meeting salary-based expectations in 21 minutes of action in his spot start on Wednesday night. Additionally, Stephen Curry remains out for the next couple of weeks and, in his absence, two-way player Quinn Cook will likely continue to start, signaling that Patrick McCaw is probably the team’s preferred starting point guard once he is able to return from his concussion and nose contusion. That said, the obvious beneficiary of Curry’s absence is Kevin Durant, as he owns a +5.2% usage rate differential and also leads the Warriors with a 36.4% usage rate and averages 1.45 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.41 points on FanDuel with Curry off the court this season.
As reported by: Connor Letourneau via Twitter
Dennis Smith Jr. (hip strain) ruled out Friday, will miss at least two games
Smith Jr. didn’t go through shootaround and has officially been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, and one additional game, after previously being listed as questionable on the Dallas Mavericks’ injury report with a strained left hip he apparently sustained during Wednesday’s loss. Smith Jr. has consistently seen minutes in the mid-to-upper-20s of late and, if now that he’s been confirmed as inactive, either J.J. Barea or Yogi Ferrell will likely draw the start at point guard, though both will see an uptick in playing time regardless of the starter. That said, Barea is the preferred option of the two for all formats when taking per minute production into account. Somewhat surprisingly, neither Barea or Ferrell have seen a significant bump in usage or production with Smith Jr. off the court, but both Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki own at least a +2.3% usage rate differential while each average roughly a fantasy point per minute in the aforementioned scenario.
As reported by: Eddie Sefko via Twitter Myles Turner (calf) and Cory Joseph (shoulder) will play Friday
Turner has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as questionable on the Indiana Pacers’ injury report with a sore right calf, while Cory Joseph will also be available to play following a prior questionable designation due to a nagging sore left shoulder, and he was able to play through the same injury in Wednesday’s contest en route to 31 minutes off the bench. Joseph has been a key cog in the Pacers second unit and has averaged just over 23 minutes of playing time, and now that he’s available, Joe Young will remain a fringe rotation player and has yet to play more than 10 minutes in any game this season. With Turner officially active, Domantas Sabonis will remain in his normal reserve role as the primary big man behind Turner and Thaddeus Young, limiting his appeal in daily fantasy formats, and has seen a downtick in playing time of late, averaging just 21 minutes per game in the Pacers’ last four contests.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Other tagged players: Cory Joseph Tyson Chander (personal) and Alex Len (knee) questionable for Saturday
Chandler has been listed as questionable on the Phoenix Suns’ injury report for tomorrow’s game against the San Antonio Spurs due to personal reasons that forced him to be a late scratch from Thursday’s loss to the Washington Wizards, while Alex Len has also been listed as questionable with a hyperextended right knee. Chandler had been slated to start last night’s game, but Greg Monrow ended up drawing the start at center following Chandler’s surprise scratch and did not disappoint, easily exceeding salary-based expectations in 27 minutes of action. If both big men are eventually ruled out, Marquese Chriss figures to be the largest beneficiary from a playing time standpoint since he will spend time at both power forward and center, and he owns a +3.8% usage rate differential with Chandler, Len, and Devin Booker off the court this season while averaging 1.04 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.10 on FanDuel in the aforementioned scenario.
As reported by: Scott Bordow via Twitter Other tagged players: Alex Len Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) ruled out for Saturday; Maurice Harkless (quad) questionable
Nurkic didn’t practice on Thursday and has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tomorrow’s game against the Houston Rockets due to a sprained right ankle he sustained during Tuesday’s loss, while Maurice Harkless has been listed as questionable on the Portland Trail Blazers’ injury report with a left quad contusion he suffered in the same game. Head coach Terry Stotts made a change to his starting lineup on Tuesday, inserting Maurice Harkless in place of Pat Connaughton at small forward and Al-Farouq Aminu replaced Noah Vonleh at power forward, but with the Trail Blazers possibly down two starters, it still remains unclear exactly how the starting lineup will shake out on Saturday night. If Harkless is eventually ruled out, Damian Lillard would approach must play territory, as he owns an insane +14.3% usage rate differential with Harkless and Nurkic off the court this season. Not only that, he leads the Trail Blazers by a wide margin with a 45.6% usage rate and has averaged 1.44 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.37 on FanDuel in the aforementioned scenario.
As reported by: Casey Holdahl via Twitter Other tagged players: Maurice Harkless Kawhi Leonard (quad tendinopathy) targeting return on Tuesday
Leonard is targeting Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks to make his return and season debut, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, as he continues to recover from right quad tendinopathy. There was initial optimism earlier in the week that he could play on Saturday, but the team is pushing back the expected timetable for at least a couple of days as of now. There are no concrete reports on how much playing time Leonard will be able to handle right out of the gates, though it’s virtually guaranteed that the Spurs coaching staff will ease him back into action. Assuming Leonard returns to the starting lineup in his first game back, his presence will likely relegate Rudy Gay, who is filling in for the injured Kyle Anderson, back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role. Dating back to last season, Leonard leads the Spurs with a 33.0% usage rate while averaging 1.29 fantasy points per minute, and, once at full strength, his return to the lineup figures to affect LaMarcus Aldridge the most, as he owns a -2.2% usage rate differential over the past two seasons with Leonard on the court.
As reported by: Adrian Wojnarowski via Twitter Nothing Wrong with a Little Revenge
DeMarcus Cousins is one of those players that I like almost every night. He is so talented and so involved in all aspects of the game that he can score 60 fantasy points without blinking an eye. Anthony Davis has been upgraded to questionable tonight, but there is still a decent chance that he sits. Even if he is active, Cousins is still a strong play against the Kings, who are ranked 29th in DvP and 28th in efficiency against centers this season. When you add in the fact that he is facing his former team, the stars seem to be aligning for another monster game from Cousins.
Getting Over the Price Hurdle
Far too often in DFS, we compare a player’s price to his past instead of focusing on his recent production. It feels like Gary Harris is overpriced, but that’s not the case with his current role in the Nuggets’ offense. With Nikola Jokic out, Harris is playing 38-40 minutes a game. Believe it or not, he has scored at least 34 fantasy points in each of his last four games and now he gets to feast on a Magic defense that has struggled to defend both shooting guards and small forwards. If we get over the price bump hurdle, Harris makes a great play in both cash games and tournaments.
Using My Gut Play in Cash Games
I generally don’t like to use my gut plays in cash games, but I will be making an exception for Darren Collison. I should start by saying that he’s a strong play to begin with, as he faces a Cavaliers’ defense that is one of the worst in the NBA. Collison’s minutes have been up and down recently thanks to a number of blowouts, but with the spread for this game set at only four points, he should see 33-35 minutes against a Cleveland team that only has one true point guard on their roster. In their first meeting this season, Collison dropped 45 fantasy points and I’m hoping for a similar outing tonight.
Tyreke Evans (sore hip) questionable Friday
Evans has been added to the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report and has been listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors with right hip soreness stemming from a fall during the first quarter of Wednesday’s loss. The injury is not considered serious and Evans was at the team’s morning shootaround, signaling that he may be closer to probable than the actual questionable designation he received on the injury report. That said, if he is unable to suit up, Mario Chalmers would likely enter the starting lineup and has averaged 21 minutes off the bench in the past two games, while Andrew Harrison would pick up the slack as the backup point guard. The players that stand to benefit the most from Evans’ absence from a usage standpoint are Harrison and Marc Gasol, as each player owns at least a +4.6% usage rate differential with Evans, Mike Conley, Wayne Selden, and Brandan Wright off the court this season, and Gasol leads the team with a 35.9% usage rate and averages 1.24 fantasy points per minute in the aforementioned scenario.
As reported by: Michael Wallace via Twitter Dennis Smith Jr. (hip strain) questionable Friday
Smith Jr. didn’t go through shootaround and has been listed as questionable on the Dallas Mavericks’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a strained left hip he apparently sustained during Wednesday’s loss. Smith Jr. has consistently seen minutes in the mid-to-upper-20s of late and, if he’s unable to suit up, either J.J. Barea or Yogi Ferrell would draw the start at point guard, though both would see an uptick in playing time regardless of the starter. Somewhat surprisingly, neither Barea or Ferrell have seen a significant bump in usage or production with Smith Jr. off the court, but both Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki own at least a +2.3% usage rate differential while each average roughly a fantasy point per minute in the aforementioned scenario.
As reported by: Earl K. Sneed via Twitter Jaylen Brown (eye) and Marcus Morris (knee) expect to play Friday
Brown will play and wear protective goggles in tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after previously being listed as questionable on the Boston Celtics’ injury report with an inflamed right eye that has already forced him to miss one game, while Marcus Morris expects to play, but was called a game-time decision by head coach Brad Stevens, following a prior questionable designation on the injury report with a left knee issue that kept him sidelined for Wednesday’s contest due to what was classified as a part of his knee rehabilitation plan. There’s been no reported minute restriction for either Brown or Morris, but the return of Brown to the starting lineup will relegate Marcus Smart back to the bench to resume his normal reserve after struggling mightily in 33 minutes of action in his spot start. Morris has come off the bench for three consecutive games prior to his injury absence with Aron Baynes and Al Horford manning the center and power forward spots, and Baynes is virtually guaranteed to remain in the starting lineup for tonight’s game considering the matchup with Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge in the Spurs’ frontcourt.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter Other tagged players: Marcus Morris Nikola Mirotic (facial fracture) will play Friday
Mirotic is set to make his season debut in tonight’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, according to Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg, after missing nearly two months with a concussion and facial fracture he sustained in a physical altercation during the preseason with Bobby Portis at practice. Hoiberg went on to say that Mirotic isn’t going to see heavy minutes, at least starting out, and will likely help anchor the second unit alongside Portis, effectively relegating Christiano Felicio from the frontcourt rotation. This means that Lauri Markkanen will continue to man the starting power forward spot and has consistently averaged minutes in the low-30s, keeping him in play for daily fantasy formats on nearly a nightly basis.
As reported by: the Chicago Bulls via Twitter Zaza Pachulia (sore shoulder) ruled out Friday
Pachulia has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons after previously being listed as questionable on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report with a sore left shoulder. Pachulia did undergo an MRI that revealed no structural damage in his injured shoulder but just remains extremely sore. The Warriors will also be without Patrick McCaw and Stephen Curry for Friday’s contest, while Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala remain listed as probable with their respective ailments. Head coach Steve Kerr declined to release his starting lineup with Pachulia officially unavailable, but he did say that he’d be shocked if Green doesn’t play. If that’s the case, Jordan Bell would be relegated back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role after meeting salary-based expectations in 21 minutes of action in his spot start on Wednesday night. Curry will remain out for the next couple of weeks and, in his absence, two-way player Quinn Cook will likely continue to start, signaling that McCaw is probably the team’s preferred starting point guard once he is able to return from injury. That said, the obvious beneficiary of Curry’s absence is Kevin Durant, as he owns a +5.2% usage rate differential and also leads the Warriors with a 36.4% usage rate and averages 1.45 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.41 points on FanDuel with Curry off the court this season.
As reported by: Mark Medina via Twitter Massive Upside at Center
If I had to pick one game to stack up in GPPs tonight, the Magic/Nuggets game sure looks tasty. Orlando is going to need other players to step up offensively with both Fournier and Ross on the shelf. Vucevic put up a massive line in the overtime win over the Hawks the other night, piling up 22 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and four blocks. The center spot is definitely one that you probably want to spend up on this evening, and Vucevic is one of the top options should you choose to do that. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him be one of the top point per dollar performers at the position. He also gets a boost with Nikola Jokic out for the Nuggets again tonight.
