DFS Alerts
DeMarcus Cousins suspended for Wednesday's game vs. Boston
DeMarus Cousins will not be playing against the Celtics after receiving his 16th technical foul in last night’s game against the Bulls. Willie Cauley-Stein will likely start in place of Cousins and should be considered an elite option. Matt Barnes has played well lately with Gay, Casspi, and Temple out of the lineup and he should continue to be a reliable source of production. He also randomly disappears and lacks a consistent offensive game, making it almost tough to trust in cash games unless he continues to be priced under $5k. Cousins will be suspended for every other technical foul from here on out for the remainder of the season.
As reported by: Adam Himmelbach Other tagged players: Willie Cauley-Stein, Matt Barnes
Tyreke Evans (left ankle sprain) doubtful for Wednesday's game vs. Utah
Tyreke Evans was only able to play 8 minutes before spraining his left ankle again. Evans has been dealing with ankle issues all season long and will likely continue to have a minutes restriction even when he does return. E’Twuan Moore saw 30 minutes off the bench with Evans going down and should be considered a viable GPP play with Evans expected to be out on Wednesday. Moore has scored over 30 DraftKings fantasy points in three of his last seven games and will remain under $4k for Wednesday’s game.
As reported by: @Pelicans PR Other tagged players: E'Twaun Moore Jimmy Butler (right heel contusion) and Cristiano Felício (right lower leg strain) questionable for Wednesday
The Bulls are listing Jimmy Butler as questionable but he is expected to be a game-time decision for Wednesday’s game against the Warriors. If Butler misses again on Wednesday, Michael Carter-Williams will likely continue to play heavy minutes. MCW has played over 30 minutes in back-to-back games and scored over 40 fantasy points in both contests. It’ll be tough to go back to the well against the Warriors who are 1st in defensive efficiency, but MCW will still remain a GPP option as long as his salary does not spike considerably. Cristiano Felício missed last night’s game with a longer leg strain and was starting to really become a part of the rotation before his injury. Felicio rarely plays more than 24 minutes, making his prospects for Wednesday not entirely enticing.
As reported by: Chuck Swirsky Other tagged players: Cristiano Felicio, Michael Carter-Williams David West (thumb) and Zaza Pachulia (shoulder) ruled out for Wednesday
David West and Zaza Pachulia will continue to be out with their respective injuries for Wednesday’s game against the Bulls. JaVale McGee will likely start again for the Warriors but is not expected to play over 20 minutes. Andre Iguodala looks like a lock for about 30 minutes with West out of the lineup. Iguodala continues to be fairly priced across the industry but rarely has GPP winning upside. Kevon Looney and James McAdoo continue to see minutes with both big men out but are risky options that are not a lock for anything more than 10-15 minutes.
As reported by: Rosalyn Gold-Onwude Other tagged players: Zaza Pachulia, Kevon Looney, James McAdoo, Andre Iguodala Khris Middleton to make season debut on Wednesday for Bucks
Middleton hasn’t played in nearly a year (April of 2016) and will be on a 15-20 minute limitation when he makes his season debut for Milwaukee on Wednesday. His return figures to impact the playing time of Mirza Teletovic and Tony Snell the most. He’s not a viable DFS option while on the minutes limit but keep an eye on his playing time and be ready to jump on him when it starts to increase.
As reported by: C.F. Gardner on Twitter
Deron Williams doubtful; Andrew Bogut and J.J. Barea remain OUT for Dallas
It’s been this way for these three for the better part of two weeks now. It was originally thought that Bogut might return today but he’s not quite ready and he’ll join Barea on the bench as a spectator. Williams has also missed significant time (the last six games) with a toe injury and appears as if he again will not be able to go. Yogi Ferrell will continue to operate as the primary point guard and has a plus match up against a Portland team he torched recently. Dwight Powell and Salah Mejri benefit most from Bogut’s absence but are risky DFS options given to their uncertainty in the Mavericks rotation. That said, Powell has some value on this three game slate if you are looking for a value option.
As reported by: Earl Sneed on Twitter Other tagged players: Andrew Bogut, J.J. Barea, Yogi Ferrell, Dwight Powell Jeff Green OUT tonight for Orlando
Green’s fiance gave birth to their first child this morning and he will miss today’s game. He’s had his role reduced of late as he’s only averaged 16 minutes a game in the three games the team has played this month. Aaron Gordon stands to see additional playing time with Green out tonight and makes for an excellent DFS option tonight.
As reported by: Joshua Robbins on Twitter Other tagged players: Aaron Gordon Caris Levert will play on Wednesday; still OUT for today
LeVert has already been ruled out for today’s game after missing the teams last game with a sore knee but will play on Wednesday. Sean Kilpatrick topped 30 minutes last game and along with Bogan Bogdanovich is the biggest beneficiary of LeVert’s absence. Both are viable options on this small three game slate.
As reported by: Brian Lewis on Twitter Other tagged players: Bojan Bogdanovic, Sean Kilpatrick Jimmy Butler (right heel contusion) ruled out tonight
Butler will not play in tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings after previously being listed as questionable on the Bulls’ injury report with a right heel contusion that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. The Bulls have announced that Michael Carter-Williams will replace him in the starting lineup once again and immediately becomes an elite option after playing 35 minutes on Friday in Butler’s absence. Paul Zipser has been consistently playing minutes in the mid-to-upper twenties and can be considered as tournament punt on the late slate. Not to bury the lead, but Dwyane Wade is the one starter that is a clear beneficiary of Butler’s absence, as he owns a positive 8.0% usage rate differential (40.5%) with Butler off the court this season.
As reported by: Chuck Swirsky
Kawhi Leonard (quad contusion) ruled out tonight
Leonard was a late scratch from the Spurs lineup and will not play in tonight’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a quad contusion. San Antonio has announced that Jonathon Simmons, not Kyle Anderson, will replace Leonard in the starting lineup at small forward. However, both forwards are viable options in tournaments on the late slate. Without Leonard available, LaMarcus Aldridge (30.5%) and David Lee (23.5%) become intriguing targets despite the perceived difficult matchup, as they both see at least a positive 4.1% usage rate differential and average well over a fantasy point per minute with him off the court this season.
As reported by: Jeff McDonald Will Barton starting for Kenneth Faried (personal) tonight
Faried will not play in tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks as he tends to a personal matter. Will Barton will replace him in the starting lineup, which slides Wilson Chandler down to the power forward spot. The Nuggets are already with Danilo Gallinari, so they are relatively shorthanded in the frontcourt, making Barton and even Juancho Hernangomez interesting options in tournaments on the late slate. However, Nikola Jokic and Wilson Chandler still remain the primary Nuggets players to target with Faried, Gallinari, and Emmanuel Mudiay all unavailable this evening.
As reported by: Harrison Wind Kris Dunn (sore right hand) active tonight, but is not expected to play
Dunn will be active for tonight’s game against the Miami Heat, but will only play in the event of an emergency. Dunn was previously listed as questionable on the Timberwolves’ injury report with a sore right hand that has kept him sidelined for two consecutive games. His vacated backup point guard minutes should be absorbed by Tyus Jones, but Jones is highly unlikely to eclipse the 20-minute plateau despite playing 24 minutes off the bench Saturday. Dunn’s absence seemingly does more to raise the minute floor of Ricky Rubio, making him an intriguing tournament option in an exploitable individual matchup against Goran Dragic. With Zach LaVine also unavailable, Andrew Wiggins becomes a clear beneficiary of his absence, as he owns a positive 3.3% usage rate differential (32.8%) with LaVine off the court this season. Wiggins remains a high floor option in a neutral matchup with this Heat defensive unit.
As reported by: Timberwolves PR Deron Williams (sprained toe) officially ruled out tonight
Williams will not play in tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets after previously being listed as doubtful on the Mavericks’ injury report with a sprained left big toe that has now forced him to miss six consecutive games. With Williams now officially ruled out, Yogi Ferrell and Seth Curry will basically see all the minutes they can handle in the Dallas backcourt with Devin Harris still on a soft minute restriction, making them both elite options in a pace up matchup with the inefficient Denver defensive unit. Additionally, Wesley Matthews should also continue to see a ton of minutes and is firmly in play as well. In fact, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities to play all three guards in one lineup given their projected minute floors and then build fill out the rest of the lineup from there.
As reported by: Earl K. Sneed Emmanuel Mudiay (back) and Kenneth Faried (personal) ruled out tonight
Mudiay will not play in tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks after previously being listed as doubtful on the Nuggets’ injury report with lower back pain that had recently forced him to miss five games and to be limited to just over 21 minutes per contest off the bench in the three games since returning to the lineup. Jameer Nelson will remain in the starting lineup at point guard and his cash game viability is certainly increased exponentially with Mudiay officially ruled out. Additionally, Kenneth Faried has been ruled out as he tends to a personal matter. Juancho Hernangomez is expected to replace him in the starting lineup, which would slide Wilson Chandler down to power forward. The Nuggets are already with Danilo Gallinari, so they will be relatively shorthanded in the frontcourt, making Hernangomez an interesting punt option in tournaments.
As reported by: Adam Mares Other tagged players: Kenneth Faried DeMar DeRozan (ankle) will play tonight; Patrick Patterson (knee) ruled out
DeRozan will play in tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers after previously being listed as questionable on the Raptors’ injury report with a sore right ankle that had forced him to miss seven of the last eight games. DeRozan will assume his normal starting role and won’t be limited by a minute restriction. His return to the active roster will displace Norman Powell from the starting lineup and remove him from daily fantasy consideration for the foreseeable future. Additionally, Patrick Patterson will remain out for the second consecutive game due to a left knee contusion. Pascal Siakam will likely remain in the starting lineup at power forward but continues to be a low floor, low ceiling option. If looking for a Raptors big man to utilize as a punt option in tournaments, Lucas Nogueira remains the higher upside player to target after outscoring Siakam in less playing time in Sunday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets.
As reported by: Eric Smith Other tagged players: Patrick Patterson