DFS Alerts
Hard to Pass on this Usage
Joel Embiid is not going to play tonight, as the Sixers have decided to rest him in the second half of a back-to-back. Ben Simmons is going to handle the offense for Philadelphia and he has shown a great ability to do so. He sees a 5% usage bump with Embiid off the floor and he’s coming off of one of his best games of the season. The matchup against the Celtics is less than ideal, but Simmons’ increased role with Embiid out more than makes up for it.
I'm The Only One Left
If John Collins can stay out of foul trouble tonight, he’s going to play as many minutes as he can. With Dedmon and Muscala already ruled out, Collins and Plumlee are the two big men left. Plumlee made his debut in the last game, but he’s been out all season with a quad injury. Collins has already been announced as the starter for tonight, and the Hawks will look to play smaller against the Cavs. Love isn’t a typical center, and I could see Collins staying out of foul trouble tonight.
Taking Advantage of Injuries
The Hawks’ frontcourt is decimated with injuries right now. John Collins has arguably been their most productive big man and now he’s going to be thrust into a 30+ minute role a night. On the season, he is averaging 1.06 fantasy points per minute and he draws an exploitable matchup against the Cavaliers, who haven’t been great at defending the paint. The only concern with Collins is the potential foul trouble. He averages nearly six fouls per 36 minutes.
Terrence Ross (fractured tibia plateau, MCL sprain) out indefinitely
After undergoing further evaluation, including an MRI, forward Terrence Ross has officially been diagnosed with a right medial collateral ligament and a non-displaced fracture of his right tibial plateau. He will be sidelined indefinitely and the Orlando Magic expect him to miss a significant amount of time. Ross had recently been demoted to the bench in favor of Jonathon Simmons and had been seeing sporadic playing time with the second unit. The Magic are still waiting on Jonathan Isaac to return from a sprained right ankle that has already forced him to miss nine consecutive games, so Arron Afflalo should be expected to take on a more prominent role in the rotation for the time being, while Simmons can be comfortably projected to see minutes in the mid-30s on a regular basis for the duration Ross is unavailable with his right leg and knee injuries.
As reported by: Orlando Magic PR via Twitter
Luke Babbitt (back spasms) will start Thursday
Babbitt will play and start in tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as probable on the Atlanta Hawks’ injury report due to lower back spasms that had forced him to miss three consecutive games. Meanwhile, Mike Muscala will remain sidelined with a sprained right ankle and Isaiah Taylor was removed from the injury report, enabling him to be available to return Thursday night from a torn right retina. With Dewayne Dedmon expected to miss three-to-six weeks with a left tibia stress reaction, John Collins will start at the center spot in his absence, while Miles Plumlee, who was recently recalled from the G-League, should be expected to see his minute workload increase as the backup center until Mike Muscala is able to return from his ankle ailment. With Dedmon and Muscala off the court this season, Kent Bazemore has actually been the primary beneficiary and owns a +4.2% usage rate differential, while averaging 1.16 fantasy points per minute and 1.20 on FanDuel in this scenario, adding to his tournament appeal on Thursday’s slate and moving forward.
As reported by: Michael Cunningham via Twitter 20/20 Potential
Even though he isn’t the most polished offensive player, I love DeAndre Jordan tonight. He should eat on the glass with Rudy Gobert out for the Jazz and Blake Griffin out for the Clippers. Who else is going to be there to clean it up? That should lead to some easy putback hoops as well, and I think the potential is there for Jordan to be the top point per dollar play of the entire night.
GPP Upside For An Up-And-Down Player
Schroder has been maddeningly inconsistent this year, but he still possesses upside with his team-leading 31% usage rate. The Cavs are a favorable matchup for opposing guards, making Schroder a very intriguing mid-range option on a five game slate. Don’t worry about the low minutes in the last game, as that was a blowout loss. While there is also blowout risk in this one, I like the matchup enough to give Schroder a shot, especially in GPP formats.
Opportunity is Available
With Blake Griffin out for an extended period, minutes are available in the Los Angeles frontcourt. I will be targeting this team heavily tonight. Though a committee approach will likely be used, I expect Sam Dekker to get the first crack at significant minutes. He’s dirt cheap everywhere and should be able to reach value even if he only plays 23-26 minutes. There’s upside for more if he’s playing well, too. Fire him up as a Thursday night value play.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (ankle) and Allen Crabbe (back) officially ruled out Wednesday
Hollis-Jefferson and Crabbe have both officially been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks after previously being listed as doubtful on the Brooklyn Nets’ injury report with a sprained right ankle and a sore lower back respectively. Trevor Booker and Joe Harris entered the starting lineup in their place for Monday’s contest and will once again with both forwards now unavailable. In Crabbe’s absence, Harris has seen 37 and 28 minutes of playing time and remains a volume-driven value option on Wednesday’s slate. With the aforementioned players off the court this season, in conjunction with D’Angelo Russell and Jeremy Lin, several Nets players have seen minuscule bumps in their usage rates, but it’s Booker who leads the way from a production standpoint and is averaging 1.17 fantasy points per minute, making him the preferred value option of the bunch if he can get the necessary playing time in head coach Kenny Atkinson’s deep rotations.
As reported by: Anthony Puccio via Twitter Other tagged players: Allen Crabbe Jeff Teague (Achilles) and Nemanja Bjelica (ankle) will be game-time decisions Wednesday
Teague and Bjelica will both go through pregame warmups before their statuses for tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans are determined, according to Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, and this is the first update there has been on their availability since both players had been ruled out for Tuesday’s contest. If Teague is unable to suit up for the fourth consecutive game, Tyus Jones will draw the start at point guard once again and has been stellar in his previous three starts, easily exceeding salary-based expectations and averaging just over 36 minutes per game. Considering we’re unlikely to know Teague’s official availability prior to lock on the main slate, Jones is certainly worth a speculative play in tournaments given the immense upside he has flashed for his price tag when given the opportunity in the Timberwolves starting lineup. That said, among the remaining starters, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler have been the clear beneficiaries with Teague and Bjelica off the court this season, as each player owns at least a +3.0% usage rate differential in this scenario, further adding to their appeal in daily fantasy formats if the duo of Teague and Bjelica is eventually ruled out.
As reported by: Alan Horton via Twitter Other tagged players: Nemanja Bjelica Nene (shoulder strain) available to play Wednesday
Nene has been cleared to play and will be available off the bench in tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers after previously being listed as questionable on the Houston Rockets’ injury report with a strained right shoulder that had forced him to miss one game. With Nene available, Tarik Black will likely find himself on the outside-looking-in at the Rockets frontcourt rotation and saw just 15 minutes of playing time in Monday’s win with Nene inactive. Additionally, both P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute will see a slight downtick in projected fantasy value, as they have actually been the primary beneficiaries in the previous games Nene has missed this season since each forward has been featured more often in the frontcourt when Capela leaves the floor in the aforementioned scenario.
As reported by: Craig Ackerman via Twitter Mario Chalmers (ankle) and Chandler Parsons (knee) ruled out Wednesday
Chalmers has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after previously being listed as questionable on the Memphis Grizzlies’ injury report with a right ankle soreness, while Chandler Parsons is a more surprising scratch, as he was only listed as probable with a sore right knee. Chalmers’ absence from the lineup is expected to be short-lived, as interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has already confirmed that he will play on Friday night, though he was more noncommital with Parsons and the forward could be out a couple more games. With Chalmers ruled out, the Grizzlies now find themselves extremely thin at the point guard position with Mike Conley still sidelined with a sore left Achilles, meaning Andrew Harrison will likely be thrust back into a starting role and significant rotation minutes. Obviously, we’re dealing with a relatively small sample with all of the aforementioned players off the court, but Tyreke Evans stands to benefit the most from Chalmers potential absence, as he owns at least a +3.3% usage rate differential in this scenario
As reported by: the Memphis Grizzlies via Twitter Other tagged players: Chandler Parsons Bam Abedayo confirmed as the starter for Hassan Whiteside (knee) on Wednesday
Whiteside was a surprise addition to the Miami Heat’s injury report and has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the New York Knicks due to left knee soreness. In his absence, Bam Adebayo will draw the start at center following his impressive performance in just 18 minutes of action in Tuesday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road. Whiteside has amassed just 39 combined minutes in the Heat’s previous two games, so while there will be minutes available in the frontcourt, there won’t be as many as we would typically expect with a team’s starting center unavailable. Jordan Mickey has appeared in just three games all season for Miami, so it appears it will be mainly Abedayo and Kelly Olynyk holding down the center spot in Whiteside’s absence. While everyone gravitates towards Abedayo coming off his big game as a punt option at center, Olynyk does make a lot of sense as a pivot in tournaments, considering he is likely the odds-on favorite to see more playing time despite coming off the bench. In fact, Olynyk averages 1.02 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 0.98 on FanDuel with Whiteside off the floor this season, production that lands him behind only James Johnson among the Heat’s regular rotation players on a per minute basis. Should Olynyk be able to get on the court for 25-30 minutes, a reasonable and realistic expectation, he would be in prime position to exceed salary-based expectations across the industry this evening.
As reported by: Tom D'Angelo via Twitter Victor Oladipo (bruised knee) will play Wednesday
Oladipo has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets after previously being listed as questionable on the Indiana Pacers’ injury report with lingering effects from a bruised right knee. Oladipo made his return from a one-game absence on Monday night and played 33 minutes, so the Pacers were likely just being cautious by tagging him with the prior injury designation, assuming he didn’t re-aggravate the knee injury, of course, and he Oladipo was likely always considered closer to probable than questionable for Wednesday’s contest. Oladipo will continue to be the primary target from this Pacers’ squad on a nightly basis, as he leads all key rotation players by a wide margin with a 32.7% usage rate and has been their main facilitator on offense with Myles Turner being so inconsistent of late.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter Rodney Hood (ankle) and Raul Neto (hamstring) questionable for Thursday
Hood has officially been listed as questionable on the Utah Jazz’ injury report for tomorrow’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a sore ankle that forced him to be a late scratch from the active roster for Tuesday’s win over the Denver Nuggets, while Raul Neto has been also been listed as questionable with a sore left hamstring. If Hood and Neto are unavailable, Donovan Mitchell would be in line for a heavy minute workload in Thursday’s contest, as he would be expected to start at shooting guard and also see time at the point guard spot when Ricky Rubio is off the floor. Somewhat surprisingly, Thabo Sefolosha leads the Jazz with a +5.7% usage rate differential with Hood, Neto, Rudy Gobert, and Joe Johnson off the court this season and could present an interesting value option in tournaments on Thursday’s slate if one of Hood or Neto is eventually ruled out.
As reported by: David Locke via Twitter Other tagged players: Raul Neto