DFS Alerts

Early news roundup for Tuesday's opening 2-game NBA slate

Boston Celtics – OUT: Marcus Morris (sore knee);

Morris will be sidelined for at least the first week of the regular season due to a sore right knee. His absence will open up minutes on the wing for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, elevating both young forwards as solid value options on tonight’s abbreviated slate. Tatum is expected to start at power forward, while Brown is slotted into the starting shooting guard position. –

Cleveland Cavaliers – QUESTIONABLE: LeBron James (ankle sprain);

LeBron actually hasn’t received any sort of official injury designation from the team but his status for tonight’s contest does remain uncertain due to a sprained left ankle. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters that he will leave the final call on his availability to LeBron, which presumably indicates that he is more likely to play than not. If for some reason LeBron is ruled out, Kevin Love would enter virtual must play status on a two-game slate, while Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose would assume a majority of the offensive playmaking responsibilities. Additionally, Jeff Green or Tristan Thompson would be the likeliest candidates to enter the starting lineup. –

Houston Rockets – No significant injury situations to monitor at the time of this writing –

Golden State Warriors – QUESTIONABLE: Andre Iguodala (back strain); PROBABLE: Omri Casspi (ankle sprain);

Iguodala is really the only notable injury situation to watch out for on Golden State, as Omri Casspi is probable and is slotted as just an end of the rotation player anyway, relegating him and his potential “replacement” to daily fantasy purgatory. However, should Iguodala be ruled out, minutes could open up on the wing for Patrick McCaw, Nick Young, and/or Casspi, though it’s difficult to imagine any of them seeing enough usage or minutes to become viable options, even on a minuscule two-game slate, outside of longshot tournament dart throws.

Increased Usage and a Good Rebounding Matchup

Kevin Love sat out the preseason’s finale with a hamstring injury, but it was precautionary more than anything. He is fully expected to suit up against the Celtics, who had one of the worst rebounding differentials in the NBA last season. With Cleveland and Boston expected to roll out a small frontcourt, Love will be the best rebounder on the floor and it’s not particularly close. He has a good shot at a double-double and he should see increased usage this season with Kyrie Irving in Boston and with Isaiah Thomas starting the season on the shelf.

This Value is a Must in Cash Games

When we have such small slates like this one, it can be tough to find value. When that happens, it makes it hard to pay up for the superstars without sacrificing pieces of your lineups. Luckily, there are a few good value plays on opening night. My favorite value is Jaylen Brown, who will be thrust into a much bigger role this season. Marcus Smart has accepted his role off the bench, which could open up 30 minutes a game for Brown, who will start at shooting guard. Brown isn’t the best three-point shooter, but he’s athletic, he can fill up all areas of the stat sheet, and he is way too cheap in DFS.

Injuries Have Opened Up an Opportunity

Isaiah Thomas will start the season on the shelf, as he continues to work his way back from a hip injury. In the meantime, the Cavaliers will lean on Derrick Rose, who gets a new chance at life in Cleveland. He didn’t play a ton of minutes in the preseason, but he showed flashes of his former brilliance and averaged 1.18 fantasy points per minute. He is underpriced for the opener against the Celtics and he draws one of the best possible matchups for a point guard. He gets to square off against Kyrie Irving, who was ranked 436th out of 467 players in Defensive Real Plus-Minus last season.

Getting Lonely At Center

The center position is not that deep on opening night, especially on FanDuel where your options are few and far between. We all know that Capela can produce when given the minutes, but it’s those minutes that are often in question. The good news is that he played 30 and 26 minutes in the final two meetings with Golden State last year, and he matches up nicely with their frontcourt. I like him a lot in GPP formats.

A Top Value Spot

There isn’t a lot of reliable value out there on this two game slate, but a great place to find some is in Boston. I expect Jaylen Brown to be immensely popular, but Jayson Tatum also brings some upside to the table for a cheap price. He should see more minutes to start the year with Marcus Morris sidelined for at least a week, and I’ll happily take him as a prime value target in GPP formats.

Instant Revenge?

I can’t help myself here – I am a sucker for the revenge narrative. You know Kyrie is going to come out and want to post a huge game right out of the gate against his former team. He should see plenty of usage in a new offense and is one of my favorite overall plays on this two game slate.

Kelly Olynyk officially named starter in place of Amir Johnson (shoulder) Tuesday

With Johnson (shoulder) out, coach Brad Stevens has decided to give Olynyk his first start of the postseason. Olynyk’s ten points in the second half of Game 3 provided a nice boost for the Celtics during their comeback. He finished with 15 overall, which marked the only game of the series in which he scored more than two points. He earned 23 minutes last time out and he may push past that tonight. Olynyk is third on the team in usage (21.4%) and DK ppm (.96) this postseason. His price has gone up, but it’s not prohibitive in this situation. When Isaiah Thomas has been off the court this postseason, Olynyk has experienced a usage bump of 2.5% and he’s produced an extra 0.04 DK ppm.

Deron Williams (illness) will play Tuesday, as expected

Williams hasn’t done much in his 12.2 minutes per game in the eastern conference finals; he’s averaged 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Plus, he hasn’t scored more than five points since Game 4 of the first round. If looking for a late swap, he isn’t the strongest option. However, he could potentially benefit from another massive blowout. Williams picked up 17 minutes in Game 2, with eight coming after the starters checked out, and he turned them into 20.6 FD points. He’s not much more than a dart throw at this point, but he may come with lower ownership than similarly priced options.

Kelly Olynyk may start in place of Amir Johnson, nothing official yet

With Johnson (shoulder) out, coach Brad Stevens may decide to give Olynyk his first start of the postseason. Olynyk’s ten points in the second half of Game 3 provided a nice boost for the Celtics during their comeback. He finished with 15 overall, which marked the only game of the series in which he scored more than two points. He earned 23 minutes last time out and could end up receiving a similar workload tonight whether he starts or not – if he starts, he may push into the high 20s. Olynyk is third on the team in usage (21.4%) and DK ppm (.96) this postseason. His price has gone up, but it’s not prohibitive, especially if he gets the nod.

Amir Johnson (shoulder) ruled out Tuesday

Johnson is dealing with a sprained shoulder and won’t be able to play tonight. It’s possible that coach Brad Stevens rolls with Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko or Gerald Green in the starting five tonight. Beat writer Michael Eaves is speculation Olynyk may start but we may not hear anything official until closer to lock tonight. Olynyk is third on the team in usage (21.4%) and DK ppm (.96) this postseason. His price has gone up, but it’s not prohibitive, especially if he gets the nod. Even if Olynyk starts, Jerebko could see a workload increase following his solid performance in Game 3 – he finished with ten points and five rebounds. Although his per-minute production isn’t as high as Olynyk’s (.89 DK ppm), he’s much cheaper at $2k or less on FD and DK. Should Green end up back in the starting five, he’ll be a very risky option, but he’s experienced a 3.5% bump in usage when Isaiah Thomas has been off the court this postseason (24.2%).

Amir Johnson (shoulder) will be a game-time decision tonight

Johnson suffered a sprained shoulder in the first quarter of Game 3 on Sunday. Tyler Zeller entered for him and played seven minutes, but didn’t do much with them and didn’t return after the first frame. If Johnson misses again, it would likely provide more time to Kelly Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko over Zeller. Jerebko finished with ten points and five rebounds and played an important role in Boston’s comeback. He may have earned some extra time regardless of Johnson’s status. Should Johnson end up sidelined, Gerald Green could end up back in the starting five. As always, he’s a very risky option, but he’s experienced a 3.5% bump in usage when Isaiah Thomas has been off the court this postseason (24.2%).

Deron Williams (illness) missed shootaround this morning; still expected to play tonight

Williams hasn’t done much in his 12.2 minutes per game in the eastern conference finals; he’s averaged 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Plus, he hasn’t scored more than five points since Game 4 of the first round. If looking for a late swap, he isn’t the strongest option. However, he could potentially benefit from another massive blowout. Williams picked up 17 minutes in Game 2, with eight coming after the starters checked out, and he turned them into 20.6 FD points. He’s not much more than a dart throw and the illness adds more risk, although it appears he’ll be good to go tonight.

Zaza Pachulia (heel) ruled out for Game 4 tonight; Either JaVale McGee or Patrick McCaw will start

Pachulia has officially been ruled out for Game 4 tonight against the Golden State Warriors after previously being listed as questionable on the Warriors’ injury report with a right heel contusion that forced him to miss Game 3 and limited him to just seven minutes in Game 2. He was replaced in the second half of that game by Matt Barnes, but Warriors interim head coach Mike Brown stated that JaVale McGee will “probably” draw the start at center this evening but wouldn’t rule out the possibility of inserting Patrick McCaw into the lineup depending on matchups. Despite the presumed starting nod, McGee hasn’t played more than 13 minutes in any game this postseason, meaning he will likely be a starter in name only with McCaw. Draymond Green, David West, and possibly even James Michael McAdoo commanding the remaining available minutes with the starting unit.

Kawhi Leonard (left ankle sprain) officially ruled out for Game 4 tonight

Kawhi Leonard has been ruled out for Game 4 tonight against the Golden State Warriors after previously being listed as doubtful on the Spurs’ injury report with a sprained left ankle. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had previously stated that Leonard was unlikely to suit up Monday night, so this news is far from a surprise. With Leonard officially ruled out, this is now the third consecutive he has been forced to miss due to a sprained left ankle he sustained in the first game of this Western Conference Finals series. Jonathon Simmons will almost assuredly draw his third consecutive start at small forward in Leonard’s place. With LaMarcus Aldridge struggling to provide consistency on the offensive end in Leonard’s absence, the Spurs have relied on Simmons more as a catalyst on both ends of the floor and that is further evidenced by his 17 field goal attempts in back-to-back games as a starter.