DFS Alerts
Myles Turner (concussion, sore neck) will remain out Sunday
Turner has officially been ruled out and won’t play in tomorrow’s game against the San Antonio Spurs with a sore neck and concussion that has now kept him sidelined for five consecutive games. Turner remains in the concussion protocol and an updated timeline for his return has yet to be provided by the team. Domantas Sabonis will likely draw his fifth start at center in as many games with Turner unavailable and has been splitting center minutes with Al Jefferson. He has performed well in somewhat limited playing time for a starter, but Sabonis draws a difficult matchup with San Antonio on Sunday, relegating him and the remainder of the Pacers players to tournament-only options.
As reported by: the Indiana Pacers via Twitter
Trevor Ariza (foot) upgraded to questionable Saturday; Tarik Black (hip) also questionable
Ariza had originally been ruled out but has now been upgraded to questionable on the Houston Rockets’ injury report for tonight’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a sprained left foot. Meanwhile, Black has also been listed as questionable with a right hip contusion that limited him to just nine minutes in Friday’s contest. Nene is still a game-time decision with a sore left Achilles, and if he misses a third consecutive game, leaving Ryan Anderson as the main recipient of the backup center minutes behind Clint Capela, if Black is ruled out as well, in addition to his normal power forward workload. However, the matchup for Capela and the remaining Rockets big men is less than ideal, Marc Gasol is a capable defender and one of the better rebounding centers in the entire league, relegating Capela to a fringe tournament option at an elevated price tag.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen via Twitter Other tagged players: Tarik Black Dwyane Wade (knee) and Derrick Rose (ankle) questionable Saturday
Wade and Rose have officially been listed as questionable on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ injury report for tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to their respective ailments. Wade has already missed one game with a left knee contusion while Rose has been sidelined the past two contests with a sprained left ankle, however, both guards were able to participate in practice on Friday, pointing towards a potential return this evening. It’s important to note that the Cavaliers have already announced that they plan to deploy a new starting lineup once Rose is cleared to play, featuring Rose, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson. This means that Wade and Jae Crowder will each be “demoted” to the bench and will be the main offensive facilitators in the second unit. That said, if Rose is unable to suit up, Crowder would remain in the starting lineup for at least one more game and LeBron would be the Cavaliers starting point guard once again, making him an even more elite option in all formats since he would not be competing for offensive touches with any guards like Wade or Rose.
As reported by: Joe Vardon via Twitter Other tagged players: Derrick Rose A Core Play For Salary Relief
Let me start off by saying playing Joe Ingles is never sexy, but he is only $4,800 and allows you to fit in some bigger names. Here is my argument for Joe Ingles. The Lakers are near the top of the NBA in team pace. They’re coming off a loss on Friday night and now have to fly into Utah to face this defensive juggernaut. The Lakers allow the most steals per game to opponents (11.4) and the tenth most assists per game to opponents (22.6), which should allow Ricky Rubio to do his thing. Ingles dealt with an illness a few days ago and only played 18 minutes during the Clippers game, which explains his struggles there. If you throw that game out, he has averaged 31 minutes per game. To top it all off, he ranks 21st in the NBA in true shooting percentage and is averaging two steals a game.
The Small Forward To Target
Every year, we hear about the Cavs wanting to cut back his minutes, yet we really haven’t seen it happen. Through the first five games, James is averaging 37.4 minutes. Last season, James averaged 37.8 minutes, so his playing time is right in-line with last year. This Cavs team needs him right now and is playing so poorly they suffered an embarrassing 112-107 loss to the Timofey Mozgov-led Brooklyn Nets. Rose and Wade may be back and they’ll soak up some of the usage, but this is still LeBron’s team.
D'Angelo Russell (knee sprain) will play and start Friday
Russell has been cleared to play and will start in tonight’s game against the New York Knicks after previously being upgraded to questionable from doubtful on the Brooklyn Nets’ injury report with a sprained right knee that forced him to miss one game. His return will send Spencer Dinwiddie back to the bench to resume his reserve role and effectively removes him from the status of an elite value option on Friday’s slate. As for Russell, he can really only be deployed as a large-field tournament option given the added risk of him being limited or ineffective in his return from a one-game absence.
As reported by: Brian Lewis via Twitter Jimmy Butler (illness) will play Friday, as expected
Butler will play in tonight’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after previously being considered as expected to play, barring a setback, after previously being listed as questionable on the injury report with an illness that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. Butler participated in Friday morning’s shootaround, and Thibodeau has already been confirmed that Butler won’t be subject to a minutes restriction in his return this evening. However, coming off of an illness and in a difficult matchup with Andre Roberson and the Thunder wing defenders, Butler is nothing more than deep tournament play on Friday’s slate despite his more than reasonable price tag across the industry.
As reported by: Timberwolves PR via Twitter Dennis Schroder (ankle) and Ersan Ilyasova (knee) will start Friday
Schroder will play and start in tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets after previously being listed as questionable on the Atlanta Hawks’ injury report with a sprained right ankle that had forced him to miss two consecutive games. However, head coach Mike Budenholzer did tell the media that he will likely scale back Schroder’s playing time to some degree in his return. Meanwhile, Ilyasova has also been cleared to play and will join Schroder in the starting lineup. With Schroder and Ilyasova officially slated to start, Malcolm Delaney and Mike Muscala will resume their normal roles off the bench, removing them both from consideration in daily fantasy formats on Friday’s slate.
As reported by: Adam Mares via Twitter Frank Ntilikina (ankle sprain) officially available to play Friday
Ntilikina is officially available to play in tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets after he was a full participant in the team’s practice on Thursday and was previously considered likely to play after dealing with a sprained right ankle. Ntilikina was essentially the third-string point guard behind Ramon Sessions and Ron Baker, playing just under eight minutes in the Knicks’ season opener, and with Ntilikina able to give it a go on Friday, it appears Sessions and Jarrett Jack may split the point guard minutes in a full-blown timeshare, though head coach Jeff Hornacek balked at declaring Jack the starter for tonight’s contest, with Ntilikina gradually seeing more time as he gets his legs under him again and Baker likely out of the rotation entirely. That said, a large portion of the Knicks offensive usage will continue to be absorbed by Kristaps Porzingis, who remains their top player to target in daily fantasy formats on a nearly nightly basis.
As reported by: Al Iannazzone via Twitter Treveon Graham (quad) is available but not expected to play Friday
Graham is officially active for tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets but will only play in the event of an emergency, according to Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford. He was a nonparticipant in the Charlotte Hornets’ practice on Thursday and had previously been listed as questionable with a quad injury. With Graham unlikely to play and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist still on minutes restriction of around 20 minutes, there is certainly still plenty of opportunity on the wing for the likes of Jeremy Lamb, Marvin Williams, and even Dwayne Bacon off the bench. The Hornets are still without Michael Carter-Williams and Nicolas Batum as well, so despite his likely bench role moving forward, Bacon will continue to be a key cog in their wing rotation. As for Friday, the availability of Kidd-Gilchrist is enough to demote Bacon to a fringe tournament option, while Kidd-Gilchrist won’t see enough playing time in his second game back to become relevant, which leaves Jeremy Lamb as the only realistic target among the Charlotte wings in large-field tournaments.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets PR via Twitter Ian Mahinmi (ankle sprain) a game-time decision Friday
Mahinmi is officially listed as questionable on the Washington Wizards’ injury report and will be a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors with a sprained right ankle he sustained in Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. After Mahinmi left with his injury, Jason Smith entered the rotation to serve as the backup center behind Marcin Gortat, and will likely remain in that role should Mahinmi be ruled out and if Kelly Oubre remains in the starting lineup. Gortat typically sees a significant uptick in playing when Mahinmi is unavailable, but the matchup with Golden State has historically been a rough one for the Polish Hammer and averaged just 19 minutes per game in the two matchups with the Warriors last season.
As reported by: Chris Miller via Twitter Get out your Umbrella, It's Raining KATs and Dogs
We have an interesting slate tonight. More often than not, we are trying to fit one of the studs in and then build our lineups from there. However, I don’t consider James Harden or Russell Westbrook must plays tonight. I actually like my builds better when I fade both and load up on the second level superstars like Kristaps Porzingis, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Karl-Anthony Towns. While Steven Adams is an excellent low-post defender, Towns hasn’t had an issue with him in the past. In their last three meetings, Towns is averaging over 50 fantasy points per contest. He’s playing at home in a game that should stay close throughout.
He's the Man, He's the Man, He's the Mannnn
Power forward might be the position to pay up for tonight. We have Kristaps Porzingis at home against the Nets and we have LaMarcus Aldridge facing a beatable Magic frontcourt. I plan to have exposure to both, but Aldridge is the one that I’m going to feature here. With Kawhi Leonard out, Aldridge has been a usage monster (28%) in the Spurs’ offense. He is averaging 46 fantasy points per game and he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. He should continue to roll tonight against a Magic defense that is ranked 28th against power forwards.
Salary Saver in Cash Games
There are typically bigger slates on Fridays, which leads to a lot of value. With only seven games on the schedule, value is harder to come by tonight. One player that stands out from a point-per-dollar perspective is Andre Iguodala. Shaun Livingston has been ruled out of tonight’s game and Ian Clark is now in New Orleans. The Warriors don’t have a true backup point guard tonight against the Wizards, which could lead to a few extra minutes for Iguodala, who has played point guard in this offense in the past. He is cheap across the board, he should see minutes in the mid to upper 20s, and he draws a favorable matchup against a beatable Washington backcourt.
Hassan Whiteside (knee bone bruise) will remain out Saturday
Whiteside was able to do some court work in the Miami Heat’s practice on Friday, but he has already been ruled out and won’t play in tomorrow’s game against the Boston Celtics due to a left knee bone bruise that has now forced him to miss four consecutive games. In his absence, either Bam Adebayo or Jordan Mickey will start at the center spot once again, while James Johnson will presumably assume the starting power forward responsibilities for Saturday’s contest, meaning Kelly Olynyk will likely come off the bench for the fourth time in as many games. Josh Richardson and Dion Waiters figure to still be the biggest beneficiaries in terms of usage and production in the Heat’s starting unit sans Whiteside, while Olynyk will have more usage and rebounding opportunities playing primarily with the second unit, also making him an interesting daily fantasy tournament option on Saturday’s slate in a revenge spot against the Celtics.
As reported by: Ira Winderman via Twitter