DFS Alerts
Larry Nance ruled out for Lakers on Thursday
The Lakers forward will have an MRI on his knee later today but has already been ruled out by the team for their Thursday game. Julius Randle will likely see more minutes and Thomas Robinson could see a bigger role off of the bench.
As reported by: Mark Medina on Twitter Other tagged players: Thomas Robinson
J.R. Smith will require surgery; out extended period of time
According to sources, Smith will need surgery on his injured thumb and will be out an extended period of time. He’s out for tonight’s game and for the foreseeable future. Iman Shumpert will be the likely starter in his absence.
As reported by: Brian Windhorst on Twitter Other tagged players: Iman Shumpert Dwight Howard a game-time decision tonight
The Hawks center said his back is feeling better and that he will warm up tonight before making a final decision. Looks like he will play barring a setback – if he can’t go for some reason, Mike Muscala should benefit the most as the Hawks are much more likely to go big against the Timberwolves then they did the other night when they started Kyle Korver.
As reported by: Chris Vivlamore on Twitter Other tagged players: Mike Muscala Knicks recall Marshall Plumlee and Maurice N'dour from D-league
The Knicks have brought up Plumlee and N’dour to their active roster – neither are viable DFS options.
As reported by: New York Knicks official Twitter feed Other tagged players: Maurice Ndour Matt Barnes starting over Garrett Temple tonight
Gay and Casspi will not play in tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers after previously being upgraded to questionable on the Kings injury report earlier in the day. Matt Barnes will surprisingly be inserted into the starting lineup at small forward in place of Gay this evening. Garrett Temple had started the previous two games Gay and Casspi were sidelined with their respective ailments and played at least 35 minutes in each. Despite the demotion to the bench, Temple deserves tournament consideration for the late slates across the industry. With Gay and Casspi off the court this season, DeMarcus Cousins has recorded an astronomical 42.8% usage rate, which is 4.7% higher than his season average. So, it goes without saying that Cousins remains an elite option in all formats with an extremely exploitable matchup with the Trail Blazers front court.
As reported by: Sean Cunningham Other tagged players: Garrett Temple, Rudy Gay, Omri Casspi
Evan Turner (ankle) and Al-Farouq Aminu (back) ruled out tonight
Turner and Aminu will not play in tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings after previously being listed as questionable on the Trail Blazers’ injury report with a sprained right ankle and back contusion respectively. Noah Vonleh is expected to start in Aminu’s place at power forward for the fourth consecutive game, though he has yet to eclipse the 25-minute mark in any of his previous three starts. As for Turner’s absence, Allen Crabbe and Moe Harkless look to be the primary beneficiaries of additional minutes on the wings, while C.J. McCollum may pick some extra run at point guard with the second unit. All three of the aforementioned players are fine tournament options on the late slate across the industry.
As reported by: Mike Richman Other tagged players: Al-Farouq Aminu Paul Pierce confirming in starting lineup tonight
Pierce will start for the injured Blake Griffin in tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets. In the only game he started this season, he played about 29 minutes. He scored 10.8 DraftKings points and is an extremely risky option. Chris Paul sees a 2.9% increase in usage with Blake Griffin off the floor and should be considered the elite option regardless of format. He does carry some risk due to the blowout but has proven he has an immense ceiling with three games over 65 fantasy points. In his recent 20 points and 20 assists game, Paul played slightly under 30 minutes, easing some of the concern. Blake Griffin has only missed two games this season and DeAndre Jordan has shown that he is a major contributor. Jordan scored 53.3 DK fpts in a double-overtime loss to the Nets and has averaged 42.27 DK fps in his last four games.
As reported by: Dan Woike Other tagged players: Blake Griffin Patrick Patterson (rest) ruled out tonight
Patterson will not play in tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets after being ruled out for rest. His absence from the rotation will likely raise the minute floor of Pascal Siakam, though he has yet to prove himself as a viable fantasy commodity. If this were a smaller slate, Siakam could have been worth a look in tournaments but there are ultimately better value options available. Jakob Poeltl may also find his way into the rotation, but again, is not relevant for daily fantasy.
As reported by: Josh Lewenberg Luis Scola confirmed as the starter in place of Brook Lopez
Scola will draw the start at center for tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors in place of the resting Brook Lopez. Additionally, Jeremy Lin will also officially return to the Nets’ starting lineup after previously playing limited minutes off the bench for Brooklyn. It does still remain to be seen if Lin will see his minute workload increased this evening with Isaiah Whitehead already ruled out. With Lopez also ruled out for rest, Lin will definitively be the focal point of the offense in the starting unit, though he carries extra risk given the probable blowout.
As reported by: Mike Gallagher Other tagged players: Brook Lopez
Isaiah Whitehead (foot) ruled out for tonight
Whitehead will not play in tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors due to a sore left foot. Jeremy Lin will officially return to the Nets’ starting lineup after previously playing limited minutes off the bench for Brooklyn. It does still remain to be seen if Lin will see his minute workload increased this evening. With Brook Lopez already ruled out for rest, Lin will definitively be the focal point of the offense in the starting unit, though he carries extra risk given the probable blowout.
As reported by: Brian Lewis Justise Winslow returns to the starting lineup, replacing Rodney McGruder
McGruder will not play in tonight’s game against the Orlando Magic after previously being listed as questionable on the Heat’s injury report with a sprained right ankle. Justise Winlsow will draw the start at small forward alongside Josh Richardson with Wayne Ellington and Dion Waiters also sidelined. Winslow and Richardson are now firmly supplanted as a couple of the top value plays on tonight’s slate, while Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside remain in play everywhere as usual.
As reported by: Ira Winderman Other tagged players: Rodney McGruder D'Angelo Russell (rest) back in the starting lineup over Brandon Ingram
D’Angelo Russell will return to the starting lineup tonight against the Hornets. He was rested on the second night of a back-to-back against the Cavs. Russell does not have any minutes restrictions, so there is a chance he can reach 30 minutes. While it’s pretty unlikely that he will, Russell remains a GPP target due to his ability to exceed value. Russell gets a 25th ranked DvP matchup against Kemba Walker and should be able to at least meet salary-based expectations. Brandon Ingram will be playing his first pro game in his hometown off the bench. He should still see about 24 minutes but had a higher ceiling as a starter.
As reported by: @Hornets Other tagged players: Brandon Ingram Michael Beasley ruled out for tonight
Beasley will not play in tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as questionable on the Bucks’ injury report due to a sprained left foot. This is the third consecutive game that Beasley will be sidelined with the aforementioned injury, and we should expect Mirza Teletovic to continue seeing extra usage and minutes with the second unit in his absence. However, it’s difficult to recommend Teletovic as anything other than a tournament dart throw on an 11-game slate that is not dearth of viable value options.
As reported by: Eric Nehm Cory Joseph (illness) confirmed as playing tonight
Joseph will play in tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, after missing the Raptors previous game due to an illness. In his absence, Fred VanVleet played 23 minutes off the bench but will likely see his role eliminated or, at the very least, significantly reduced. Joseph could be a viable tournament option in a dream matchup against the Nets, as the blowout probability is extremely high. Joseph’s tournament viability depends solely on whether he gets blowout run, as it’s difficult for him to reach his ceiling in closely contested contests with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan monopolizing a majority of the available minutes in the guard rotation.
As reported by: Blake Murphy Dirk Nowitzki (Achilles) questionable for Wednesday; Andrew Bogut (knee) remains out
Nowitzki has officially been upgraded to questionable in advance of tomorrow night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers after being sidelined for the Mavericks’ previous 13 games due to a strained right Achilles. If Nowitzki is ultimately able to play, his presence in the lineup would be a knock to the fantasy value of Dorian Finney-Smith, who would eventually find his way back to the bench, and even Harrison Barnes, as he would spend substantially less time at power forward. Nowitzki will almost certainly be on a strict minutes restriction in his return, but his effect on the Mavericks rotation is worth monitoring.
As reported by: Earl Snead Other tagged players: Andrew Bogut