DFS Alerts
T.J. Leaf (ankle sprain) will remain out for Tuesday
Leaf has been ruled out and won’t play in tomorrow’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans after previously appearing as questionable on the Indiana Pacers’ game notes with a sprained left ankle that has already forced him to miss one game and could cause him to be sidelined even longer than Tuesday’s contest, according to head coach Nate McMillan. He had played a major role in the Pacers frontcourt rotation during the seven games Myles Turner was sidelined with a concussion and sore neck but was likely to begin losing playing time once Turner was no longer limited. In Leaf’s absence, there will some extra minutes available for Domantas Sabonis, who returned to a bench role on Sunday, and possibly even Al Jefferson as the backup center while Turner works his way back to full game shape.
As reported by: Pat Boylan via Twitter
Nice Value at Power Forward
The Suns have a lot of bodies splitting minutes in their frontcourt, but it appears that they are slowly phasing Marquese Chriss out. Over the last five games, Dragan Bender is averaging 24 minutes. If he sees that tonight against the Nets, he should be able to reach and exceed value with ease. On the season, Brooklyn is ranked dead last in points allowed per game.
The High Ceiling is Worth the Risk of the Low Floor
The Nets’ rotation can be extremely frustrating from a DFS standpoint. Given their deep rotation and inconsistent playing time, it’s hard to rely on them in cash games. With that said, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is worth the risk. Trevor Booker is questionable, which would boost RHJ’s minutes, but even if he’s active, 28 minutes against the Suns is better than 32 minutes against most teams.
Shooting Guard in a High Total Game
I want to get as much exposure to the Suns/Nets game as possible. When these two teams met up last week, they combined for 236 points. Booker is the best player on the Suns, he should see minutes in the mid-30s, and he has massive upside. He’s close to a lock in cash games, as he has a high floor and a high ceiling. In the game against the Nets last week, he finished with 42 fantasy points in 35 minutes.
Dion Waiters (personal) remains out Monday
Waiters has officially been listed as out on the Miami Heat’s injury report and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors due to the birth of his daughter that has now kept him sidelined for two consecutive games. The Heat haven’t formally announced his replacement in the starting lineup, Justise Winslow drew the start at small forward on Sunday, sliding Josh Richardson over to shooting guard. However, Winslow saw just 17 minutes in his spot start, while Tyler Johnson played a season-high 33 minutes off the bench in Waiters’ absence. Waiters leads the Heat in usage rate this season, so there will certainly continue to be more offensive possessions available for the likes of Johnson, Richardson, and Goran Dragic in Monday’s matchup with Golden State, while Hassan Whiteside should also have ample rebounding opportunities, as the Warriors rank just 29th in defensive rebounding percentage and have struggled versus opposing centers from a fantasy perspective this season.
As reported by: Tim Reynolds via Twitter Joel Embiid (rest) and Jerryd Bayless (wrist) ruled out for Tuesday
Embiid will be rested and won’t play in tomorrow’s game against the Utah Jazz due to what is being classified as workload management but he will play against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Jerryd Bayless is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his left wrist due to discomfort and has been ruled out in advance of Tuesday’s contest as well. In Embiid’s absence, either Richaun Holmes or Amir Johnson would likely draw the start at center, while T.J. McConnell and possibly even Nik Stauskas should see some extra playing time off the bench at the guard positions with Bayless unavailable. There hasn’t been a very large sample will Embiid, Bayless, and Markelle Fultz off the court this season, but in that limited time, McConnell, J.J. Redick, Robert Covington, and Ben Simmons have all seen a usage rate differential of at least +4.9%, making each of them the viable options on Tuesday’s slate despite the difficult matchup with this efficient Jazz defensive unit.
As reported by: Derek Bodner via Twitter Other tagged players: Jerryd Bayless Malcolm Delaney (sprained right ankle) probable Monday
Delaney has officially been listed as probable on the Atlanta Hawks’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics with a sprained right ankle that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. The Hawks also listed Dennis Schroder and Marco Belinelli as probable with their respective ailments but have done so before every game for an extended period of time, so we should fully expect them to play without any limitations until further notice. Delaney will presumably reclaim his normal backup point guard role behind Schroder, but with Mike Muscala, Ersan Ilyasova, DeAndre Bembry, and Miles Plumlee all still sidelined, the Hawks have a significant minute void to fill at power forward, which looks likely to be filled by Luke Babbitt once again, who saw an unthinkable 42 minutes of action in Sunday’s contest.
As reported by: Brad Rowland via Twitter Injury Has Created Opportunity For Me
Luke Babbitt played 42 minutes last night against the Cavs, and he’s in line for another big workload tonight. With Muscala and Ilysova already ruled out for tonight, the Atlanta front court is short handed. Babbitt is hardly ever in play, but with the minutes he’s going to play tonight, he’s too cheap.
Massive Upside if the Minutes are There
If you want to win a GPP on a three game slate, sometimes you can’t be afraid to take a risk. Those that took the risk on Whiteside in his second game back from injury after he only played 24 minutes in his first game back were handsomely rewarded. He rocked it with 21 points and 17 rebounds in over 30 minutes against the Clippers, and he will need to have a huge game if the Heat want to hang with mighty Golden State. There aren’t a lot of good value options at center on this slate, so I would recommend saving at other positions and grabbing your upside here with Whiteside, who certainly has 20/20 potential as he approaches full strength.
Can He Do It Again?
We have seen Warren flash his upside over the last two weeks, including in a game against these same Nets. Both of these teams love to play fast and don’t offer much in the way of defense, so this is definitely a game to load up on with a three game slate. Warren put up a 20 point, 11 rebound double-double in just 25 minutes in the last meeting, and he followed that up with a big game against the Wizards. He looks poised to thrive with a new head coach, and the minutes should continue to trend in the right direction. He’s a very strong GPP play for his massive upside in this matchup.
Believe It or Not...
I feel a little dirty doing this, but Luke Babbitt is actually going to be a popular salary saving option tonight. With both Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Muscala sidelined, there will be tons of minutes available in the frontcourt, and Dewayne Dedmon hasn’t been producing all that much this year. Babbitt played a whopping 42 minutes in the last game, and if he is going to get that much court time, he will accidentally run into value with upside for more than that. John Collins is a strong play as well, but his price has risen to an appropriate level. I like both players tonight.
David Nwaba (ankle) to miss 2-4 weeks; Paul Zipser will start on Tuesday
Nwaba is expected to miss the next two-to-four weeks with a severe right ankle sprain he sustained in Saturday’s overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. In his absence, Paul Zipser will reclaim the starting small forward spot for tomorrow’s game against the Toronto Raptors, while Bobby Portis will be activated from his team-mandated suspension stemming from an altercation with Nikola Mirotic at practice in mid-October and will serve as the backup power forward behind Lauri Markkanen in his return. That said, Portis isn’t guaranteed a significant role in the Bulls frontcourt rotation and Markkanen will continue to be one of the primary scoring options in the starting unit, making him a strong play in daily fantasy formats more often than not.
As reported by: Vincent Goodwill via Twitter Other tagged players: Paul Zipser, Bobby Portis I Continue To Have A Massive Floor
DeMarre Carroll continues to be underpriced, and continues to have a very high floor. He has at least 30 fantasy points in six of eight games this season, and one of the games that he didn’t score 30, he left early due to injury. This game has a massive total, and Vegas is projecting it to be close. I really like Carroll tonight, and on top of his floor, I think his defense gives him massive upside here.
Manu Ginobili out tonight vs the Suns
Playing their third game in four night, The Spurs are opting to rest veteran Manu Ginobili tonight vs the Suns. Patty Mills looks to be the best value plays in the absence of Ginobili. Mills has played an average of 28 minutes in his last two games, and at $3,500 he becomes a great play in all formats on DraftKings.
As reported by: Jabari Young Twitter Other tagged players: Patty Mills
TJ Warren to play Sunday
Warren was upgraded from questionable to expected to play vs. the Spurs on Sunday. Warren only played 10 minutes in Friday’s loss before bumping heads with Enes Kanter. This is a big sigh of relief for The Suns as Warren missed 13 games last season with a head injury. Warren has had an amazing start under interim coach Jay Triano. Boosted by his 40 points 10 rebound game vs the Wizards, Warren is averaging almost 40 DK points per game in his four complete games since the coaching switch.
As reported by: Paul Garcia