DFS Alerts
Lucas Nogueira (ankle) ruled out Wednesday; DeMar DeRozan (thigh) will play
Nogueira has been ruled out and will not play tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors after previously being listed as questionable on the Toronto Raptors’ injury report with a sprained left ankle, while Jonas Valanciunas has also been ruled out as he continues to recover from a sprained left ankle that has now kept him sidelined for two consecutive games. Nogueira had already been starting at center in place of Valanciunas and now Jakob Poeltl could move into the starting lineup in their absences. The Raptors could also opt to start Serge Ibaka at center and play C.J. Miles on the wing with Norman Powell and DeMar DeRozan, which may make sense against a uptempo Warriors squad that goes small with Draymond Green at center on a consistent basis. If Miles starts, he would enter the discussion as an intriguing tournament option given his shooting ability and propensity to get hot from the field in pace up matchups.
As reported by: Michael Grange via Twitter Other tagged players: DeMar DeRozan
Jimmy Butler (illness) remains out Wednesday
Butler has been ruled out and will not play in tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons due to an upper respiratory infection that forced him to be a surprise late scratch for Tuesday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers and will now miss his second consecutive game. In his absence, Shabazz Muhammad will likely draw the start at small forward once again, a move that will slide Andrew Wiggins over to the two-guard position alongside Jeff Teague in the backcourt. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves starters with a 29.6% usage sans Butler on Tuesday, though both he and Andrew Wiggins saw reduced playing time due to the blowout and Wiggins severely underwhelmed relative to his salary-based expectations and may end up being the contrarian tournament option from this Timberwolves squad on Wednesday evening.
As reported by: Derek James via Twitter He Seems Overpriced, but not for the Role that he's Playing
The Rockets are playing short-handed. Tonight they will be without Chris Paul and Trevor Ariza. Eric Gordon has taken on a major role in this offense with a usage rate of 32%. He should see minutes in the low to mid 30s and he draws a favorable matchup against the Sixers in a game where both teams will look to push the pace of play. We have to assume the Sixers will put their best defender (Robert Covington) on James Harde, which will leave Gordon with the likes of J.J. Redick and Jerryd Bayless. Don’t be surprised if Gordon puts up 20+ shots tonight.
It's Time for this Center to Live up to the Preseason Hype
Andre Drummond hasn’t quite gotten off to the start that many of us were expecting after playing so well in the preseason. He’s struggled with foul trouble and he was taken to school by Joel Embiid. Tonight marks his best matchup of the season to date. The Wolves have struggled against opposing centers in each of the last two seasons and Karl-Anthony Towns has by far the worst DRPM (-1.71) of any center on the schedule tonight. Drummond is playing at home where he has good splits and he’s primed for a breakout performance.
Added Motivation is Never Bad in DFS
The Ball family hasn’t made many friends in the NBA outside of Los Angeles. The Wizards want to prove a point about how much better John Wall is than Lonzo Ball, which makes for some fun, pointless, October NBA drama. A breakout game from Wall is coming sooner rather than later. Despite shooting 39% from the floor and 11% from the three-point line, he is still averaging 47 fantasy points per game. Once the efficiency kicks in, we could see a monster outing from the man that once taught me how to Dougie.
Markelle Fultz (shoulder) ruled out Wednesday, will additionally miss the following two games
Fultz has been ruled out and will not play in tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets due to a sore right shoulder that will also keep him sidelined for the Philadelphia 76ers following two games as well. He’ll be reevaluated next Tuesday and the team will provide an update his status at that time. The Sixers have already confirmed that Fultz has no structural damage, so they remain hopeful he will not be sidelined with this shoulder injury for too long. Jerryd Bayless has been serving as the Sixers starting point guard to begin the season, but Dario Saric replaced him to begin the second half of Monday’s win over the Detroit Pistons, adding some uncertainty about head coach Brett Brown’s starting lineup moving forward. Either way, Fultz’ absence will open up some additional playing time for the likes of Nik Stauskas and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot on the wing, though not enough to become viable options in daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Michael Lee via Twitter Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (personal) will play and start Wednesday, but will be limited to around 14 minutes
Kidd-Gilchrist will play and start tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets after missing the Charlotte Hornets’ first three games of the season due to a personal matter. He is expected to replace Dwayne Bacon in the starting lineup, which would slide Jeremy Lamb over to the shooting guard spot, but Kidd-Gilchrist will be limited to around just seven minutes in each half, according to head coach Steve Clifford, effectively putting him on a restriction of roughly 14 minutes for the entire contest. The Hornets are still without Michael Carter-Williams and Nicolas Batum, so despite his likely bench role moving forward, Bacon will continue to be a key cog in their wing rotation. As for Wednesday, the return of Kidd-Gilchrist is enough to remove Bacon from consideration in daily fantasy formats, while Kidd-Gilchrist won’t see enough playing time in his return to become relevant, which leaves Lamb as the only realistic target in large-field tournaments.
As reported by: Rick Bonnell via Twitter Nene (sore Achilles) officially ruled out Wednesday
Nene has officially been ruled out and will not play in tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers after previously being listed as doubtful on the Houston Rockets’ injury report with a sore left Achilles. With Nene unable to play, look for Tarik Black to assume the backup center minutes as the Rockets could have a difficult time going small in the frontcourt should Joel Embiid continue seeing around 28 minutes of action each game. In a small sample size this season, Gordon has been by the far the biggest beneficiary with Chris Paul and Trevor Ariza, who is dealing with a sprained left foot, off the court, but it is difficult to imagine James Harden continuing to underperform from salary-based expectations standpoint with Paul sidelined, and his breakout performance could be in the works for Wednesday’s matchup with Philadelphia.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen via Twitter The Time Has Come
We are a week into the season, and I’ve yet to mention KCP. If you’re new to RotoGrinders, I have a problem, and that problem is playing KCP too much. I really like him in pace up games, and against teams that struggle to defend the three point line. Washington plays at a top ten pace, and the Lakers play at the fastest pace in the NBA. This game opened with a 231 total, and both teams have high implied team totals. With the new scoring on FanDuel, KCP becomes an interesting play because of his defense, and his ability to get steals. With the three point bonus on DraftKings, he’s in play because of his three point upside. He’s one of my favorite GPP plays tonight, and this is one of my favorite games to stack on the slate.
Tough Matchup Will Create Low Ownership
Mike James got the start for Eric Bledsoe on Monday, and with Bledsoe expected to be traded, I would expect him to start again tonight. He looked great in 27 minutes on Monday, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he earned an extra few minutes with the new coach. While he had four turnovers, he finished with seven assist and 18 points. I don’t expect him to shoot 80% from the field every night, but this is a guy with a ton of experience. He’s played the last five seasons in Europe, and he’s not a first year rookie that will struggle in his new role. It’s a slower game against Utah, but with them on a b2b, I expect this game to stay close and I like James for GPPs.
The Upside SIts Here
While Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will draw the start for the injured Trevor Ariza tonight, he carries very little fantasy upside. The GPP potential lies with P.J. Tucker and Ryan Anderson, and both are strong plays in a favorable matchup against a Sixers team that still doesn’t possess much of a defense. Anderson is capable of knocking down three pointers in bunches when he gets hot, and he is a strong point per dollar play at a cheap price tag tonight.
Revenge Game!!
I’m not a huge believer in the revenge narrative, but it’s a nice secondary story when the matchup is also a good one. Such is the case with Paul George this evening. The Thunder draw a great matchup with an up tempo Pacers squad, and you know Paul George will be motivated to face his former team. He is coming off a strong game in the tough loss to Minnesota over the weekend, and his ability to post solid all around lines gives him upside in games that will be played at a faster pace. Oklahoma City has an implied team total of 116 points, which is one of the highest marks on the slate, and that only makes their top players even more appealing.
Upside Following Injury to Lin
It looks like Caris LeVert might end up being the biggest beneficiary of the season-ending injury to Jeremy Lin. He is averaging a healthy 29 minutes per game and is coming off a sturdy 15/8/5 line against the Magic last night. While a matchup against the Cavaliers isn’t quite as appealing, LeVert is an athlete and a scorer who can certainly help this Brooklyn bunch. I like him as a GPP option again this evening.
Breakout Game in Waiting
The Jazz have encountered some difficult matchups so far this season, which has limited the upside of their players for DFS purposes. A breakout spot awaits tonight in a favorable matchup against the Suns. Rubio has more upside in a pace up game like this one, and his ownership will be very low compared to some other point guards on the board. Fire him up as an elite tournament option tonight. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him be one of the top point per dollar scorers on the board.
Jimmy Butler (illness) ruled out Tuesday; Shabazz Muhammad will start
Butler was a late scratch from the Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup for tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers despite never appearing on the injury report with an illness. In his absence, Shabazz Muhammad will draw the start at small forward, sliding Andrew Wiggins over to shooting guard. Given his expected minute floor, Muhammad obviously sets up as a solid value play on the late slate, while all of the Timberwolves remaining starters should be expected to benefit from a usage and production standpoint with Butler unable to give it a go Tuesday evening.
As reported by: the Minnesota Timberwolves via Twitter Other tagged players: Shabazz Muhammad