DFS Alerts
Jusuf Nurkic (leg) will start Saturday and play limited minutes
Nurkic tested out his leg in warmups and the team decided he was healthy enough to rejoin the starting lineup. His minutes will be limited, although they haven’t set a specific restriction. When Nurkic is on the court, C.J. McCollum’s usage rate decrease by 5.3% to 23.8%.
As reported by: Adrian Wojnarowski
Matt Barnes (ankle) and Shaun Livingston (hand) both ruled out Saturday
They were both questionable heading into the weekend but they’ve been ruled out. With Kevin Durant also out, Andre Iguodala should pick up plenty of minutes off the bench tonight.
As reported by: Chris Haynes Other tagged players: Shaun Livingston Kevin Durant (calf) ruled out Saturday
The Warriors have decided to be cautious with Durant and they’ll keep him sidelined for Game 3 of their series with Portland. Patrick McCaw will earn his second start in a row and Andre Iguodala is expected to get a healthy workload off the bench.
As reported by: Marc Stein Other tagged players: Patrick McCaw David Lee will start in place of Dewayne Dedmon (illness) Saturday
Dedmon was ruled out earlier today after coming down with an undisclosed illness, so Lee will replace him in the starting lineup against the Grizzlies tonight. Dedmon has averaged 12.7 minutes per game so far this series while Lee has averaged 8.8 off the bench. Pau Gasol is third on the team with 27.3 and he’ll probably absorb some of Dedmon’s time on the floor as well. That means Lee will likely receive around 20 or fewer minutes tonight. Dedmon’s absence may help Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldrige. When Lee is on the court and Dedmon off, Leonard’s usage rate rises 2.2% and his production increases by 0.07 FD ppm, bringing it to 1.28. Aldrige’s usage stays relatively steady, increasing by 0.3%, but he adds an extra 0.08 FD ppm to his fantasy production for a 1.03 FD ppm pace. Again, they won’t play a ton of minutes with Lee, but they should be able to capitalize when they do. When Lee plays alongside this duo, his usage drops 4.1% to 13.0% and his per-minute production drops by 0.10 FD ppm to 0.80. This lineup change could also benefit Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and the Grizzlies offense in general, as Dedmon ranks 5th in the NBA in DRPM (3.99) while Lee is 75th (1.43).
As reported by: Jeff McDonald Dewayne Dedmon (illness) ruled out Saturday
Dedmon came down with an illness today and the Spurs have ruled him out of tonight’s matchup with the Grizzlies. They haven’t announced a replacement in the starting lineup yet, but it will likely be Pau Gasol. David Lee could also get some extra time on the court tonight. Dedmon has only played 12.7 minutes per game in this series, so his absence won’t have a huge impact on fantasy.
As reported by: San Antonio Spurs Jusuf Nurkic (leg) will be a game-time decision
Portland hasn’t made a decision regarding Nurkic’s status yet, they’ll test his injured leg in warmups before making a call. Unfortunately, he’s playing in the last game of the night, so we may not have an answer before the late slate locks. If he does end up playing, he’ll likely be limited.
As reported by: Adrian Wojnarowski Norman Powell expected to start ahead of Jonas Valanciunas Saturday
Coach Duane Casey followed through on his promise to shake up the lineup. In an effort to spark the offense, he’s decided to put Powell into the starting five. When Powell is on the floor with DeRozan and Lowry (301.4-minute sample), Lowry’s usage drops 1.8% and he loses 2.49 FD points off his per-36 pace, bringing it to 34.64. DeRozan still leads the team in usage in this scenario with a 33.4% usage rate, but that’s 2.6% beneath his average, and his per-36 pace falls 3.43 FD points to 36.05. As for Powell, he maintains a 10.5% usage rate and returns 0.71 FD ppm. Considering this is the playoffs, Lowry and DeRozan will like have higher usage rates than in this sample, especially considering the state of their series. Still, Powell is now an interesting value option with his $1,800 salary on FanDuel.
As reported by: Michael Grange Blake Griffin (toe) out for remainder of playoffs
Earlier this morning, the Clippers announced Griffin will be shut down for the season. He suffered the injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe in yesterday’s game against the Jazz. Austin Rivers remains out, which means Marreese Speights could join the starting five on Sunday. Over 1056.4 minutes with Griffin off the court, Speights has returned 1.04 FD ppm on average with a 25.2% usage rate. He’ll be a popular value option tomorrow.
As reported by: Marc J. Spears Toronto Raptors will make changes to starting lineup tonight
Coach Dwane Casey refused to reveal what that change would be exactly, but it may be P.J. Tucker as he could help defensively and he’s been getting the most time off the bench.
As reported by: Jeff Zillgitt Gerald Green will start in place of Amir Johnson Friday
Coach Brad Stevens is unhappy with Johnson’s performance in the playoffs, so he’s sending him to the bench and placing Green in the starting lineup tonight against the Bulls. Green has been on the floor with Isaiah Thomas for 222.8 minutes this season. In that sample, Green has a usage of 22.2% and produced 0.87 FD ppm, which is an extra 0.11 above his average. Green only costs $1,500 on FanDuel and $2,000 on DraftKings; he’ll be a popular option on both sites. Thomas’ usage decreased 2.5% to 33.2% and his per-minute pace dropped a hair, falling 0.03 FD ppm to 1.16.
As reported by: A. Sherrod Blakely Jusuf Nurkic (leg) doubtful for Saturday; Allen Crabbe (foot) and C.J. McCollum both questionable
Nurkic has been upgraded to doubtful for Game 3 of Portland’s series against Golden State. Crabbe and McCollum are both fully expected to play. Game 2 got out of hand in the third quarter as no one could make a shot for the Trail Blazers; as a team, they were 20.6% from deep and 33.3% overall. McCollum followed up his huge Game 1 performance with 11 points on 17 shots, so he’ll look to have a bounce-back game at home. During the season, he shot 48.2% in Portland (47.9% on the road) and 43.2% from three (41.0% on the road). He also averaged an extra assist, 4.1 per game vs. 3.0 on the road. Crabbe has averaged 22.7 minutes per game in this series, which isn’t enough for him to be a great fantasy target as he returns 0.59 FD ppm on average. With Nurkic out, Portland has focused on small lineups, providing both Evan Turner and Moe Harkless with more than 30 minutes per game, while Al-Farouq Aminu have both been in the low 20s.
As reported by: Jen Beyrle Other tagged players: Allen Crabbe, CJ McCollum Rajon Rondo OUT tonight and indefinitely for Bulls with thumb fracture
This kind of comes out of nowhere but Rondo, who had been performing like the Rondo of old this series, injured his right hand during Game 2 and x-rays confirmed a thumb fracture. He is out tonight and indefinitely, although surgery is not required. Jerian Grant will likely move into the starting role but it’s a huge downgrade for the Bulls. Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler will both see increased usage with Michael Carter-Williams getting additional run off the bench.
As reported by: Marc Spears on Twitter
J.R. Smith (hamstring) will start tonight for Cleveland
Smith missed the second half of Game 2 after injuring his hamstring, but he’s all set to start tonight in Game 3. Smith has taken seven shots total across a game and a half after averaging 8.7 per contest during the regular season. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have taken over, as expected, each attempting at least 40 field goals so far while Kevin Love is a distant third with 16 FGAs. This trend paired with Smith’s injury makes him a very risky option. Cleveland hasn’t made a decision regarding a minutes restriction yet, but Smith’s injury will likely allow Kyle Kover and Iman Shumpert to earn a little extra time on the floor.
As reported by: Jason Lloyd Glenn Robinson (calf) will have a minutes restriction tonight
Robinson returned from a 12-game absence on Monday and played nine minutes. No clear limit was laid out by coach Nate McMillan, but he’ll likely play for a similar amount of time against the Cavaliers tonight.
As reported by: Vigilant Sports Rudy Gobert OUT for Jazz on Friday
Gobert will miss his second straight game for the Jazz on Friday as the team has ruled him out with a knee injury he suffered this past weekend. He’s considered day-to-day moving forward. Derrick Favors will be the likely starter in his absence and is a viable DFS option along with Joe Johnson who sees an increased role and usage with Gobert out.
As reported by: Tony Jones on Twitter Other tagged players: Derrick Favors, Joe Johnson