DFS Alerts
Alexis Ajinca (hip) questionable for Friday
Ajinca has officially been listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Sacramento Kings due to a hip injury. If Ajinca is unable to suit up, Donatas Motiejunas will likely step into the backup center role behind both DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis 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 Motiejunas is unlikely to see enough minutes to become fantasy relevant on Friday’s slate should Ajinca be ruled out.
As reported by: @Pelicans
Jahlil Okafor (sore knee) and Sergio Rodriguez (hamstring) will not travel for their upcoming road trip as well
Jahlil Okafor has missed five of the last six games and Richaun Holmes has been starting in his place. Holmes has been pretty effective and will likely log 30+ minutes on Friday against the Cavs. The upside might not be as high because we expect his salary to spike after another strong performance. Sergio Rodriguez will be out for a while with a hamstring injury and T.J. McConnell has played heavy minutes with Rodriguez out. McConnell will continue to be a viable option against the Cavs.
As reported by: Jessica Camerato Other tagged players: Sergio Rodriguez, Richaun Holmes, T.J. McConnell Robert Covington (knee) does not travel with Philadelphia for their upcoming two road games
Covington has missed one game due to a knee issue and the team conducted MRI on his knee. So far, the results have not shown any major issues but the team is being cautious since they have nothing to play for moving forward. Covington will not play against Cleveland or Toronto and his next opportunity to play will be against the Nets in Philly. Justin Anderson started in his place last night and played a shade over 25 minutes. Anderson will continue to be a viable GPP option as long as his salary stays low. Timothe Luwawau-Cabarrot has also taken advantage of the extra usage in the starting lineup and continues to exceed value.
As reported by: Marc Narducci Other tagged players: Justin Anderson, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot Lance Stephenson passes physical, officially a member of the Pacers; expected to play on Sunday
Lance Stephenson is an official member of the Pacers and is expected to play against the Cavs on Sunday. With the Pacers dealing with a bunch of injuries to their reserves, Stephenson will likely start in a reserve role. In his previous tenure with the Pacers, Stephenson started at SG, so there is a chance that he affects Monta Ellis directly. We’ll have to wait and see how the rotation shakes out before recommending him in anything outside of low dollar GPPs.
As reported by: Scott Agnes Other tagged players: Monta Ellis Marc Gasol (left foot strain) day-to-day moving forward; Andrew Harrison (ankle) hopeful to play on Friday
Gasol has missed the last three games due to a left foot strain and the Grizzlies will be cautious with their franchise big man. Randolph started at PF last night with JaMychal Green out and Brandan Wright started at C with Gasol out. Both Randolph and Wright will be strong plays against the Mavericks on Friday. Andrew Harrison injured his ankle last night but is hopeful to play as well. We’ll have another update on Green and Harrison after tomorrow’s shootaround.
As reported by: Rob Fischer Other tagged players: Andrew Harrison, JaMychal Green, Zach Randolph, Brandan Wright James Harden states he is fine and will play tonight for Houston
No big surprise here just confirmation that one of the league’s MVP contenders will play tonight against Portland in a game that has the highest total on the slate. He’s a top option as usual, especially against a porous Trail Blazers defense.
As reported by: Calvin Watkins on Twitter
Will Barton, Mason Plumlee, and Darrell Arthur all questionable for Denver on Friday
Barton is the only one of the three who have a DFS impact as the oft-injured Arthur has vanished from the rotation and Plumlee has seen his playing time reduced to under 20 minutes a game. If Barton can’t go, it would be a boost to the value of Jamal Murray who could be worth a look as a value option on Friday’s slate. We’ll update you tomorrow on the status of these three.
As reported by: Chris Dempsey on Twitter Other tagged players: Mason Plumlee, Darrell Arthur Brandon Ingram OUT again for Lakers tonight
He had been listed as questionable but was never really expected to play and the team confirmed that this morning. D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Corey Brewer, Julius Randle and Ivica Zubac will start for the Lakers. David Nwaba will benefit the most, however, from Ingrams absence.
As reported by: Mark Medina on Twitter Other tagged players: David Nwaba Cristiano Felicio expected to be available for Bulls tonight
Not huge news in terms of DFS relevance but Felicio is expected to return to the court for the Bulls tonight when they face Cleveland after missing the last three games. He’s not a viable option but could take some minutes away from Robin Lopez and Joffrey Lauvergne.
As reported by: Sean Highkin on Twitter Iman Shumpert available for Cavaliers today; Kyle Korver out
Korver hasn’t played for Cleveland since March 25th and remains out tonight for the team. Iman Shumpert, however, is expected to play against Chicago tonight after being a full participant in practice yesterday. He has only been seeing minutes in the low 20’s and he doesn’t produce in terms of fantasy so he’s not a viable DFS target.
As reported by: Sean Highkin on Twitter Other tagged players: Kyle Korver Austin Rivers OUT today for Clippers
Late last night, Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers stated his son, Austin, would be out for a little while and would not play tonight against Phoenix. He’s battling a hamstring injury and his absence will be a boost to J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford as both should pick up some extra minutes.
As reported by: Bill Oram on Twitter Gordon Hayward (quad) will start; Dante Exum confirmed as starter for George Hill (groin) tonight
Hayward will play and start in tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings after previously being listed as questionable on the Jazz’s injury report with a left quad contusion that had forced him to miss one game. His return to the starting lineup will send Joe Ingles back to the bench to resume his reserve role, while Dante Exum has been confirmed as the starting point guard in place of the injured George Hill this evening. With Raul Neto already ruled out as well, Exum certainly possesses an expected minute floor that would allow him to become a viable option, but he has been a horrendous fantasy point per minute producer when given the opportunity in the past. Taking that into consideration, it wouldn’t be an awful idea to take a tournament flier on Shelvin Mack in hopes that Exum ends up being a starter in name only and gives way to Mack down the stretch of Wednesday’s contest.
As reported by: Tony Jones Other tagged players: Dante Exum
Ty Lawson (quad) upgraded to probable tonight
Lawson has officially been upgraded to probable for tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz after previously being listed as questionable on the Kings’ injury report with right quadriceps tendinitis. Assuming Lawson is cleared to play, he will assume his normal reserve point guard role and bring the total number of available Kings players to nine for tonight’s contest. With Arron Afflalo, Kosta Koufos, and Garrett Temple all unavailable, Tyreke Evans will likely receive the starting nod at small forward, while Skal Labissiere will likely start at power forward, forcing Willie Cauley-Stein over to center. The Kings minute allotments have been spread out fairly evenly, making it really tough to really key in on one player outside of Cauley-Stein or Buddy Hield as viable options. Even so, given the matchup, they are secondary tournament targets, at best, on the late slate.
As reported by: James Ham J.J. Redick (right ankle sprain) will play tonight
Redick will play in tonight’s game against the Washington Wizards after previously being listed as questionable on the Clippers’ injury report with a sprained right ankle that had forced him to miss one game. His return from injury will send Austin Rivers back to the bench to resume his reserve role. Redick’s playing time has been all over the map in recent games, but he will still garner consideration in all formats on Wednesday’s late slate. The return of Redick to the starting lineup does severely limit the appeal of Rivers from a projected fantasy value standpoint, reserving him to tournament flier only status.
As reported by: Candace Buckner James McAdoo (laceration) available to play tonight; Kevon Looney (hip) ruled out
McAdoo is officially available to play in tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after previously being listed as probable on the Warriors’ injury report with a laceration above his left eye that he sustained in Tuesday’s win over the Houston Rockets. Additionally, Kevon Looney has been ruled out with a strained left hip despite never being listed with an injury designation at any point throughout the day. However, neither forward typically plays more than a few minutes per contest so their availability and/or unavailability has no effect on the Warriors rotation whatsoever.
As reported by: Warriors PR Other tagged players: Kevon Looney