DFS Alerts
LaMarcus Aldridge (thumb) removed from injury report; Danny Green (quad) ruled out Tuesday
Aldridge sat out Sunday due to a sprained left thumb, but it appears it’s not a big issue as he’s been removed from their injury report. Green missed last game as well with a left quad contusion and he remains out for tomorrow tonight. San Antonio will be a risky team to target the remainder of the season as they’re virtually locked in to the two-seed in the west; in fact, ESPN’s 538 gives Golden State greater than a 99% chance of claiming the top spot (and the Rockets are 7.5 games back in third with five to play). Coach Gregg Popovich will rest players the remainder of the season and will likely provide little warning in many cases. Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, and David Lee all rested Sunday; Ginobili’s status was announced before the game but Lee and Mills dressed even though Pop was going to rest them all along. The absence of these five players provided Kyle Anderson and Jonathon Simmons with over 30 minutes each. Anderson produced 28 FanDuel points in a start and Simmons, scored 17 real points off the bench and 22.2 FD points. While they could both pick up extra minutes without Green, they may not hit 30 minutes unless some vets rest as they did Sunday. It’ll be worth monitoring tomorrow. The Spurs-Grizzlies game is included on the Monday-Tuesday slate on FanDuel. Fortunately, if you’re playing those two-day contests, late swap is available.
As reported by: San Antonio Spurs Other tagged players: Danny Green, Jonathon Simmons, Kyle Anderson
Malcolm Brogdon (back) and John Henson (thumb) remain out for Tuesday's game
Brogdon has missed the past two games with back soreness while Henson has missed the past seven with a sprained thumb. Neither player will travel with the team to Oklahoma City. Matthew Dellavedova will continue to log heavy minutes in the backcourt with Brogdon sidelined, and while he may not have a big ceiling with The Alphabet and Khris Middleton healthy, he still provides decent value on sites that haven’t hiked his price. Henson has missed the Bucks last seven games, which has afforded Greg Monroe the ability to consistently see his minutes in the mid-twenties, with upside for more.
As reported by: Charles F. Gardner Other tagged players: John Henson Jeff Green (back) remains out for Tuesday's game
Green has missed the past six games with a sore lower back and he won’t travel with the team to Cleveland. There’s a decent chance he won’t return this season. Orlando’s starters – Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Vucevic – have all been getting extended minutes the past several games and they could continue to do so even in a lost season. Gordon has been crushing the past two games, he’s averaged 27 points and 15.5 rebounds. Over the past ten games, Cleveland has been the seventh-worst rebounding team (48.6%) and they’ve posted the fourth-worst defensive rating (112.2). While it’s hard to imagine he can keep up the same pace of his previous two outings, it’s not a bad spot to target him again. He and Terrence Ross are a bit cheaper on FanDuel than DraftKings. Vucevic is $900 less on DK, so it’s probably best to get exposure on him there. Payton is coming off a triple double and he’ll get to face Kyrie Irving’s defense; Irving has a -2.18 defensive real plus minus according to ESPN, which is 77th among 89 qualifying point guards. Mario Hezonja stands to continue picking up minutes off the bench without Green available, but there’s not much reason to try to find value among Orlando’s backups.
As reported by: Josh Robbins Other tagged players: Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross P.J. Tucker practiced Monday; questionable for Tuesday
Tucker was ruled out last night with a sore left knee, but he managed to practice with the team on Monday. He’s questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Pacers. His presence or absence will impact DeMarre Carroll and Normal Powell the most. Carroll, who’s been battling a back injury, is expected to start regardless, although he only picked up 23 minutes without Tucker available last night. Powell hit the court for 20 minutes and managed to pick up 10 points, four assists, and a pair of boards. Even with Tucker out, Carroll and Powell won’t be very exciting options unless we can project them for extended minutes. Delon Wright could also get some extra playing time should the Raptors go small, he saw 27 minutes last night. Tucker would best option of these four if he plays, but again, the limited minutes makes him a hard sell. Toronto is included in the two-day slates that lock tonight at 7pm eastern.
As reported by: Josh Lewenberg Other tagged players: DeMarre Carroll, Norman Powell, Delon Wright Jameer Nelson, Will Barton, and Darrell Arthur all questionable for Nuggets on Tuesday
Arthur has pretty much been a non-factor due to injury concerns of late so his potential absence has no impact on the Nuggets rotation. Nelson missed the teams last game and Jamal Murray started for him but it was Emmanuel Mudiay who put up the big numbers. Both will be in play if Nelson and Barton both sit. We’ll update you tomorrow on the status of these three injured Denver players.
As reported by: Chris Dempsey on Twitter Other tagged players: Will Barton, Darrell Arthur
Carmelo Anthony expects to play on Tuesday for Knicks
He’s missed the last two games and four of the last six but is expected to play tomorrow when New York takes the court. He might be limited in terms of playing time, especially with four games this week and nothing to play for, so he’s a risky DFS option moving forward.
As reported by: Steve Popper on Twitter T.J. Warren (illness) and Leandro Barbosa (hamstring) ruled out tonight
Warren will not play in tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets due to an illness despite never appearing on the Suns’ injury report at any point throughout the weekend. Additionally, Leandro Barbosa will remain sidelined for the fifth consecutive game with a left hamstring issue. In Warren’s absence, Derrick Jones Jr. will almost assuredly draw the start at small forward. There isn’t a huge sample size for the remaining Phoenix starters with Warren off the court post-All-Star break, but Devin Booker (39.0%) and Marquese Chriss (28.6%) look to be the clear beneficiaries of his absence, as they each own at least a +8.2% usage rate differential. Chriss is clearly an elite option on the late slate, but Booker becomes a must play in every format in what should be a closely contested game with the Rockets down three starters in James Harden, Trevor Ariza, and Ryan Anderson.
As reported by: Phoenix Suns Stats Other tagged players: Leandro Barbosa
James Harden (illness) officially ruled out tonight
Harden has officially be ruled out for tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns after previously being listed as doubtful on the Rockets’ injury report with flu-like symptoms that caused him to miss the Rockets’ morning shootaround. Additionally, Trevor Ariza was also been ruled out earlier in the day as he tends to a personal matter. In their absences, Troy Williams and Sam Dekker will receive the starting nods for Houston at small forward and power forward respectively. Realistically, with all the usage now available in the starting unit, a case can be made for any of the Rockets starters in any format on tonight’s slate. However, Eric Gordon (25.2%) and Lou Williams (31.2%) stand out far above the rest, as they each own at least a +5.4% usage rate differential with Harden, Ariza, and Ryan Anderson off the court since the All-Star break. This will be the first game Harden has missed this season, so it will certainly be interesting to see how the Rockets’ production is dispersed among the starters and other prominent role players.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen Dragan Bender (ankle surgery) available to play tonight
Bender will be available to play in tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets after missing nearly two months recovering from right ankle surgery. It remains to be seen if Bender will actually see any time on the court in his return, but he clearly is not a viable option in any format on the late slate. He may begin to eat into the minutes of Jared Dudley and possibly Marquese Chriss to some extent, but that is unlikely to be the case in tonight’s contest, as the Suns should be expected to be cautious with their former first round pick and bring him along slowly for the remainder of the season.
As reported by: Doug Haller Markieff Morris (right ankle sprain) will start tonight
Morris will play and start in tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors after previously being listed as questionable on the Wizards’ injury report with a sprained right ankle he sustained in Friday’s loss to the Utah Jazz. Additionally, there has been no official confirmation of a minute restriction for Morris. His availability removes Jason Smith from consideration in daily fantasy formats entirely and makes Otto Porter less of a viable option. Morris himself has struggled mightily in recent weeks and is long-shot tournament flier, at best, on the late slate, though he is probably best avoided given the added uncertainty surrounding the health of his ankle.
As reported by: Warriors PR Alexis Ajinca (hip) expected to be available to play tonight
Ajinca is expected to be available to play in tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls after previously being listed as questionable on the Pelicans’ injury report with a hip injury that forced him to miss the Pelicans previous game. With Ajinca likely to suit up, Donatas Motiejunas will relinquish the backup center role behind both DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis to Ajinca with Omer Asik officially sidelined for the remainder of the season. Ajinca does not see significant playing time when both Cousins and Davis are healthy, so he will not see enough minutes to become fantasy relevant on Sunday’s slate.
As reported by: Pelicans PR Quincy Acy (sore left ankle) available to play tonight
Acy is officially available to play in tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks after previously being listed as probable on the Nets’ injury report with a sore left ankle that had forced him to miss the two previous games. His return to the rotation will cut into the minutes of Justin Hamilton, who averaged just under 19 minutes per contest in the Nets’ last two games. However, the Nets spread minutes throughout their deep rotation to such an extent that it’s difficult to target any one player when they’re thin at a position, let alone nearly healthy like they are this evening. In fact, the only player expected to be unavailable is Joe Harris, who has been sidelined for an extended period of time with a shoulder injury and was just ruled out for the remainder of the season.
As reported by: Tom Lorenzo P.J. Tucker (sore left knee) ruled out tonight
Tucker will not play in tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a sore left knee despite never appearing on the Raptors’ injury report at any point throughout the weekend. His absence from the Raptors’ rotation will open up some extra reserve minutes for Norman Powell, while DeMarre Carroll may even see some extra run at both the small and power forward spots. Delon Wright could also be in line for some extra minutes and could be a sneaky tournament option should this game blowout as it is expected too. Both Powell and Wright are already viable options with their projected minute floors, though they will really have the opportunity to exceed salary-based expectations if they receive extra minutes in fourth quarter garbage time.
As reported by: RaptorsMR Malcolm Delaney (back spasms) officially ruled out tonight
Delaney will be inactive and won’t play in tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets after previously being listed as doubtful on the Hawks’ injury report with back spasms that caused him to be a late scratch in the game prior. Paul Millsap will play off the bench in his return from left knee tightness that had forced him to miss eight consecutive games. The news of Millsap coming off the bench means that Ersan Ilyasova will remain in the Hawks starting lineup for at least more game. However, with Millsap able to suit up for tonight’s contest, he makes all of the remaining Hawks players much less appealing at their inflated price tags, but it does appear that Millsap will have his minutes monitored to at least some extent given his move to the bench for the time being.
As reported by: Chris Vivlamore Paul Millsap (left knee tightness) will play off the bench tonight
Millsap will play off the bench in tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets after previously being listed as questionable on the Hawks’ injury report with left knee tightness that had forced him to miss eight consecutive games. Malcolm Delaney still remains doubtful with back spasms that caused him to be a late scratch in the previous game, while Ersan Ilyasova and Kent Bazemore remain probable on the Hawks’ injury report but are fully expected to play. The news of Millsap coming off the bench means that Ilyasova will remain in the Hawks starting lineup for at least more game. However, with Millsap able to suit up for tonight’s contest, he makes all of the remaining Hawks players much less appealing at their inflated price tags, but it does appear that Millsap will have his minutes monitored to at least some extent given his move to the bench for the time being.
As reported by: Chris Vivlamore