DFS Alerts
Serge Ibaka (knee) questionable Friday; Norman Powell (hip) remains doubtful
Ibaka has been added to the Toronto Raptors’ injury report for tonight’s game against the New York Knicks and has been listed as questionable with a swollen left knee, while Norman Powell remains doubtful with a right hip pointer and Delon Wright has already been ruled with a dislocated shoulder. In the only game Ibaka missed this season, Pascal Siakam drew the start at power forward and is leading candidate to do so once again of Ibaka is unable to suit up. Fred VanVleet will also likely step into a sizable role off the bench, serving as the primary backup point guard behind Kyle Lowry, while also playing alongside him at times with Lowry and DeMar DeRozan’s playing time typically being staggered. Additionally, OG Anunoby should draw the start at small forward for the third time in as many games in place of Powell with Casey seemingly preferring to keep C.J. Miles as a primary scoring option in the second unit. There isn’t a tremendous sample size with Ibaka, Powell, and Wright all off the court this season, but in that limited time, Kyle Lowry has been the main beneficiary and owns a +6.6% usage rate differential in the aforementioned scenario, while averaging a solid 1.20 fantasy points per minute on DraftKings and 1.07 fantasy points per minute on FanDuel.
As reported by: RaptorsMR via Twitter Other tagged players: Norman Powell
Jon Leuer (ankle sprain) doubtful Friday
Leuer didn’t participate in the Detroit Pistons’ morning walkthrough after already missing Thursday’s practice and is considered doubtful for tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers with a sprained right ankle. Leuer reportedly suffered a setback with his ankle and didn’t play in Wednesday’s contest despite being available to play off the bench. His likely absence will leave Eric Moreland and Boban Marjanovic to compete for the backup center minutes behind Andre Drummond, who has consistently seen playing time in the upper-30s in terms of minutes.
As reported by: Rod Beard via Twitter Steven Adams (calf contusion) will play Friday
Adams has been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after his status was previously up in the air with a right calf contusion that had forced him to miss three consecutive games. Adams won’t be subject to a specific minute restriction in his return, according to Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, though his playing time will be based solely on how he feels throughout the game. Adams will presumably reclaim his spot in the starting lineup, as well, which will send Dakari Johnson back to the bench to resume his normal role off the bench.
As reported by: Brett Dawson via Twitter Ricky Rubio (Achilles) ruled out Friday; Thabo Sefolosha (knee) now questionable
Rubio has been ruled out and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets after previously being listed as questionable on the Utah Jazz’ injury report with a sore right Achilles, while Thabo Sefolosha has been added to the injury report with right knee soreness and is questionable. This Jazz squad is also without Rudy Gobert and Joe Johnson, meaning that they are now missing two key starters for Friday’s matchup. With Rubio officially unable to suit up, Rodney Hood could re-enter the starting lineup at shooting guard, while Donovan Mitchell would take over the primary ballhandling duties in the starting unit at point guard. Mitchell will now likely become a relatively popular option on Friday’s slate, as he will be locked into big minutes and owns a +5.6% usage rate differential with Rubio off the court this season while averaging a lofty 1.15 fantasy points per minute in the aforementioned scenario. Hood hasn’t necessarily turned the extra usage into additional fantasy production with Rubio off the floor to this point, but he could end up being the cheaper tournament pivot to Mitchell and is second on the Jazz in usage rate (32.9%) coming off easily his best performance of the young season in the Jazz’ previous game against the New York Knicks.
As reported by: Tony Jones via Twitter Other tagged players: Thabo Sefolosha Right Back To The Well
I really liked MKG against Cleveland, and I’m going right back to the well in this matchup tonight. He’s played 27 and 31 minutes in the last two games, and this offense looked good with him and Batum back. MKG is a guy that can fill up the stat sheet, and draws an excellent matchup against the Chicago Bulls tonight. Chicago ranks 19th in defensive efficiency this season, and they’re 17th in rebound rate. MKG should fill up the stat sheet again tonight, and he’s still cheap enough to profit on his price tag.
Intriguing Game Stack?
The Clippers/Cavs game profiles as one of the more stackable games of the night, and if you do that, don’t forget about Blake Griffin. He has picked up his scoring a bit over the last few contests, and he is chucking up massive numbers of shot attempts on a nightly basis. Danilo Gallinari remains sidelined, so the usage should continue to be there. Lou Williams is getting to be too expensive, so Griffin is by far my favorite target on this team.
Top Point Per Dollar Play On The Slate
With Tyson Chandler already ruled out for tonight’s game, it’s a great spot to attack the Phoenix big men. They’re on a back-to-back, but last night’s game looked like a pick up game. Greg Monroe played 26 minutes in his debut, and if they were trying to showcase him for a trade, I would expect him to play 20+ minutes again tonight. The salaries came out before last night’s game, and Monroe is a great option tonight. Both of these defenses rank in the bottom ten, and both teams like to push the pace. Expect some easy rebounds, and some easy baskets for Monroe tonight.
Moose Sighting!
Out of nowhere, Greg Monroe made his Suns debut and started last night against the Rockets. It is no secret that he is not in the long-term plans for the Suns. A potential buyout has been thrown out in the news, but you know the Suns would rather showcase him for a trade. With Tyson Chandler confirmed out again tonight, this is another perfect opportunity for Monroe to get some extended run. He made 10 of 14 shots from the floor last night and logged a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. While his defense is the major liability, this is an interesting matchup of poor defensive centers in Monroe and Brook Lopez. The other positive is that Monroe remains dirt cheap, as the salaries for tonight were released before yesterday’s games started. You have to love NBA DFS. A guy that was completely irrelevant two days ago and hasn’t even been discussed all year has suddenly become perhaps the top value play on the board.
Minutes Equal Money in NBA
Favors is another Utah player that gets the nod as a strong GPP play today. He doesn’t necessarily see a ton of increased usage without Rudy Gobert, but he certainly sees more minutes and has the ability to grab a few more rebounds. He has averaged 35 fantasy points per game in the three contests that Gobert has missed, and his price tag has strangely only risen a little bit. Given tonight’s matchup against the Nets, I would have expected him to be priced about $1,000 higher than this on every site. Take advantage of the discount while you can still get it. While Favors will certainly be highly owned in this spot, I’ll simply differentiate my lineups with other plays.
Top Play of the Night
There is a lot of value out there today, so that should leave plenty of salary to fit in Mr. Point Guard LeBron James. He has been taking over the entire offense with Derrick Rose on the shelf, and he has kicked it into overdrive since Cleveland got off to a 5-7 start. The Cavs carry the second highest implied team total on the board today at 114 points, and there isn’t a soul on the Clippers roster that is capable of checking him. Well, there really isn’t anyone in the league that’s capable of checking him. In any case, there’s enough value out there to easily fit James into a lineup, and he is definitely my favorite “spend up” target of the day.
Rookie of the Year?
Without Rudy Gobert, this team simply doesn’t have a lot of offensive options. If we fire up CourtIQ and take Gobert off the floor, we see that Mitchell carries a very healthy 33% usage rate this season. The minutes are going to be there, he seems locked into a starting role, and he’s playing with confidence. He has taken at least 13 shot attempts in eight straight games, which is a healthy amount for any player. Mitchell is also capable of adding plenty of extra stats in addition to his scoring volume. Oh, and the Jazz play the Nets tonight. All aboard!
Earning More Time
Clarkson has closed out the games ahead of Lonzo Ball this week, and he has been on fire over the last two games. He has attempted a whopping 40 shots in those two contests, scoring almost 40 fantasy points in both games in the process. The logical argument against him is that those performances came against the Suns and Sixers, so he certainly won’t be able to keep it up against better defensive squads. Well, the good news is… the Lakers play the Suns again tonight! There is some risk of reduced minutes if Lonzo Ball happens to be playing well (and you can throw Ball into the GPP conversation as well), but Clarkson is significantly cheaper and is the better play in my eyes.
My Extreme Punt Play Tonight
Delon Wright is averaging 20.9 minutes per game this season, and with his injury, I expect VanVleet to pick up extra minutes tonight. Wright left the game against New Orleans in the second quarter, and when Lowry checked out in the third quarter, VanVleet was the guy that checked in for him. He has a 20% usage with the second unit this season, and he’s averaging .84 fantasy points per minute this season. This is absolutely a punt play, but he should have very low ownership on an 11-game slate. I like his chances to go for 7x if he cracks 20 minutes again tonight.
Steph Curry (thigh contusion) will play Thursday, as expected
Curry has officially been cleared to play and will suit up for tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics after previously being listed as probable on the Golden State Warriors’ injury report with a right thigh contusion that had forced him to miss Monday’s win over the Orlando Magic. He returned to practice on Tuesday and was expected to suit up Thursday evening, so this news is far from shocking. Curry’s return will send Shaun Livingston back to the bench to resume his normal reserve role. Livingston performed well in 20 minutes of action on Monday night but is now relegated back to daily fantasy purgatory with Curry active and available to play, even on a two-game slate, as he doesn’t even receive blowout run if the Warriors end up with a huge lead to begin the fourth quarter.
As reported by: Chris Haynes via Twitter Gary Harris (sore shoulder) questionable for Friday, but expected to play
Harris has officially been listed as questionable on the Denver Nuggets’ injury report for tomorrow’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans with right shoulder soreness that has already forced him to miss two consecutive games. In his absence, Will Barton had been starting at the shooting guard spot but will be relegated to the bench to resume his normal reserve role if Harris is indeed good to go. The likely return of Harris is also a slight knock to the projected fantasy value of Jamal Murray, who has really flourished in the last two games and should be probably be avoided in all formats until his salary across the industry returns to the normal levels prior to Harris’ injury.
As reported by: Harrison Wind via Twitter