DFS Alerts
Stephen Curry (ankle) will play tomorrow
After tweaking his ankle in the third quarter, Curry only played 20 seconds in the fourth. He received treatment on the sidelines, but coach Mike Brown said “it’s nothing to worry about.” Curry is expected to receive a full workload on Thursday barring another blowout. While he was on the floor, he led the team with a 30.3% usage rate, which is right in line with his season average when he shares the court with Kevin Durant. Although the point guard had a team-high 22 points, he only took 11 field goals to Durant’s 17 and his ceiling will be limited with the whole squad healthy.
As reported by: CSN
Markieff Morris (ankle) officially cleared to play Tuesday
The power forward has been cleared by Washington’s medical staff and he’ll start Tuesday against the Celtics. He’s now a risky option in fantasy as he may play fewer minutes than normal. Kelly Oubre will come off the bench, but he came in ahead of Bojan Bogdanovic in Game 1. They both remain potential tournament options as they could get a few minutes more minutes than normal, but they’ll come with low floors and limited upsides with Morris in the starting five.
As reported by: Shams Charania Markieff Morris (ankle) and Amir Johnson both listed as starters Tuesday
Morris is currently going through pre-game warmups and he’s listed as a starter for the Wizards. Beat writers on the scene have reported he’s dunking and landing on both feet. As of now, it appears he will get the medical approval to remain in the lineup. It’s possible he’s limited in some fashion and doesn’t receive his full complement of minutes, which keeps Kelly Oubre in consideration for tournaments. Boston is expected to start Amir Johnson if Morris’ status holds.
As reported by: Gary Washburn Other tagged players: Amir Johnson Boston expected to start Amir Johnson ahead of Gerald Green tonight
Coach Brad Stevens says he “anticipates” returning to the normal starting lineup with Amir Johnson in the starting five but it may depend on Markieff Morris’ status. Beat writer Jay King reported that it seems as though Johnson may not get the nod if Morris is out. If they do make the change, it would send Green back to the bench. Johnson averaged 20.1 minutes per game this season, but he may not have a secure workload tonight as Boston may continue to go small for the most part. When he’s on the court, Johnson produces 0.81 FD ppm on a 14.1% usage rate. Although he doesn’t make a major impact on other players, Isaiah Thomas’ usage drops 1.6% and his per-minute production falls 0.06 FD ppm. Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder do a little better as Johnson normally takes guys like Marcus Smart off; Bradley’s usage rises 1.3% while he returns an extra 0.04 FD ppm and Jae Crowder gets a 1.2% bump in usage and delivers another 0.05 FD ppm. Hopefully, we’ll get more information prior to lock, but it looks like Morris is a true game-time call.
As reported by: Boston Celtics Other tagged players: Gerald Green Rudy Gobert pulled down 17+ rebounds in all three meetings with Warriors this season
The Jazz center fouled out in 13 minutes in Game 7 and he hasn’t put up more than 38 FD points in the postseason. On top of that, he costs $9.600 on FanDuel, he’s dealing with an ankle injury, and the Jazz are currently 13-point underdogs. Considering everything, his ownership should be pretty low tonight on FD, which makes him an interesting contrarian tournament option. In addition to some excellent rebounding, he averaged 16.0 points and 1.7 blocks against Golden State this year. He’s going to have to score more and add some blocks, but he’s capable of doing that and he offers the highest ceiling among the centers available on FD tonight. Of course, Al Horford has been excellent in the playoffs and he’s a great target. However, he’ll likely come with high ownership along with Marcin Gortat. Horford is shooting a bit over his head as he’s converted 62.7% of his attempts after making 47.3% during the regular season. Gortat dropped 16 points in Game 1 and he could get an extended run with Morris hobbled up, but he’s shown his downside when he made exactly one basket in four consecutive games leading up to their first matchup against the Wizards. While both centers make sense as top options, if looking to differentiate lineups in GPPs, Gobert could be a nice high-risk/high-reward pivot on FanDuel. Over at DraftKings, Gobert is $500 cheaper than Horford and $600 less than Draymond Green, so the ownership advantage won’t be as significant – even so, he probably won’t be over-owned. He isn’t as safe as those guys but his upside may be worth the risk.
Derrick Favors (back) was a limited participant in shootaround Tuesday, remains questionable
Favors is dealing with some lower back soreness. He had a really great game in Game 7 against the Clippers, but he was aided by Rudy Gobert fouling out in 13 minutes. He would return to a much smaller workload if he plays and Gobert avoids foul issues. Over three meetings with the Warriors this season, Gobert played well. The center double-doubled each time and pulled down 17 or more rebounds in each contest.
As reported by: Utah Jazz Kelly Oubre will start if Markieff Morris (ankle) is ruled out tonight
Morris is a game-time decision after spraining his ankle in Game 1 against the Celtics. With Morris exiting in the second quarter Sunday, Oubre received 25 minutes and produced 16.2 FD points. He could potentially see an increase towards 30 if he starts, but Bojan Bogdanovic will work into the rotation for a good chunk of time as well. Oubre has done well this postseason when he’s been on the court; he’s maintained a 16.2% usage rate and produced 0.75 FD ppm, an increase of 0.13 above his normal production. Given his cheap price across the industry, he’ll be a solid value target, but he’ll also come with high ownership. Bogdanovic makes for an interesting GPP pivot as he’s returned 0.79 FD ppm on a 19.5% usage rate. He’s scored at least ten points in each of the past five games despite playing as few as 18 minutes. If Morris is ruled out, Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat would also receive more time on the floor; in Game 1, they earned 41 and 39 minutes, respectively.
As reported by: David Aldridge Other tagged players: Bojan Bogdanovic Can LaMarcus Aldridge get things going against the Rockets?
On paper, this is a fantastic matchup for LA – Houston gave up the fourth-most rebounds per game after the break (46.2) and ranked 22nd in opponent field goal percentage (46.8%). Even better, they’re soft in the same areas Aldridge loves to attack. Of his made baskets, 81.6% come from the restricted area and mid-range; in the second half of the season, Houston ranked 26th in opponent field goal percentage in the former (65.6%) and 22nd in the latter (40.9%). Of course, Houston runs at a much faster pace than Memphis, the Rockets were the third-fastest team this season (102.54) while the Grizzlies were the third-slowest (94.74). Even so, Aldridge hasn’t had a ton of success against them this season. He wasn’t able to score more than 17 points in any of their four meetings and he exceeded 33.0 FD points just once, although he did manage two double-doubles. Plus, Vegas isn’t terribly high on him; at Sportsbook.ag, his player props are set to 17.5 points (-125) and 8.0 rebounds (-120). However, part of the reason Aldridge wasn’t an effective scorer was his woeful 19.4% shooting rate on 31 attempts from the mid-range against Houston this season. There’s no question he can do better as he converted 41.2% of his attempts from the zone on average. He was able to be effective inside the restricted area, as we’d expect, completing 75.0% of his attempts. In terms of rebounding, he’s shown some upside in this spot as he’s pulled down ten boards twice on them. On top of that, he should have a heavy workload with more minutes than he averaged in their regular season series. All in all, he’s looking like a solid fantasy target tonight.
Jonas Valanciunas will start ahead of Norman Powell Tuesday
The Raptors will move Norman Powell back to the bench and JV will rejoin the starting five tonight against Cleveland. Valanciunas has a nice matchup as the Cavs ranked 23rd in rebounding percentage after the break (48.8%) and 22nd in opponent field goal percentage from within five feet of the basket, where Valanciunas scored 76.0% of his baskets this season. Powell will earn time off the bench, but it’s unclear how many minutes he’ll receive, which makes him a risky bet tonight.
As reported by: Blake Murphy Other tagged players: Norman Powell Derrick Favors (back) questionable for tomorrow
Favors missed practice today with some lower back soreness. With Gobert in foul trouble throughout Game 7 against the Clippers, Favors stepped up with 17 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes of action – he could’ve done more damage had he not fouled out as well. If he ends up playing Tuesday, he would likely receive fewer minutes if Gobert doesn’t accumulate too many fouls, but he could have carved out a decent workload off the bench with his solid performance.
As reported by: Utah Jazz Markieff Morris (ankle) questionable for Tuesday
Updating a report from yesterday. While Morris said he will “definitely play,” coach Scott Brooks is less optimistic. The power forward may still suit up, but as beat writer Candace Buckner put it, “judging by (Brooks’) tone, chances are slim.” If Morris is ultimately ruled out, Kelly Oubre or Bojan Bogdanovic could draw the start. Oubre was hot in Game 1 and may have jumped Bojan in the rotation. Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat would both push towards 40 minutes again in that scenario.
As reported by: Candace Buckner Markieff Morris (ankle) expected to play Tuesday
Morris exited Game 1 in the second quarter after rolling his ankle on Al Horford’s foot. He was held out for the remainder of the afternoon but said it was just precautionary and he’ll “definitely play” on Tuesday. Due to Morris’ absence, starters Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat ended up playing 41 and 39 minutes, respectively, and Kelly Oubre picked up 26 off the bench. They would all similar workloads if Morris ends up missing the second contest, and Oubre could potentially start. If Morris does suit up, all three would likely see fewer minutes on Tuesday.
As reported by: ESPN Other tagged players: Otto Porter Jr., Kelly Oubre, Marcin Gortat Austin Rivers will start Sunday, as expected
It will be Rivers second consecutive start. He earned 35 minutes and Game 6 and should have a similar workload this afternoon. Rivers scored 13 points on ten shots in his first start. On the season when he shares the court with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin is off, Rivers set an average per-36 pace of 26.21 FD points.
As reported by: LA Clippers Rudy Gobert (ankle) will start Sunday, as expected
The Jazz center suffered a mild sprain in Game 6 but he’s going to start this afternoon in Los Angeles. There’s some added risk involved with Gobert today as he’s only had one day to rehab the injury. Over the past two games, he’s turned in 1.13 DK ppm, a slight 0.03 bump above his season average and his usage rate jumped 4.0% to 21.0%.
As reported by: Utah Jazz Isaiah Thomas (personal) will play Sunday
Thomas was in Washington yesterday for his sister’s funeral, but he’s going to play against the Wizards today. Whether due to external factors or the Bulls’ defense, Thomas shot a below-average 43.0% from the field and 20.0% from deep in the opening series. Fortunately, Washington’s defense is much worse, which should help Thomas in either case. After the break, the Wizards were 27th in defensive rating (110.7), 29th in opponent FG% (48.4%) and 3P% (38.8%) while the Bulls were third (102.2), fourth (44.4%), and first (30.7%), respectively. He’s in a great spot for to produce the monster game we’re all rooting for (outside of D.C.).