DFS Alerts
Patrick Beverley (hamstring) expected to start Wednesday; no minutes restrictions
Beverley was not able to finish Game 4 in Houston but is expected to start on Wednesday. If Beverley is able to play over 30 minutes tonight, he should be able to exceed value. James Harden should be considered an elite option tonight but is also the most expensive he has been all season. With so much value on the slate, it should be easy to fit a couple top-tier players on to your rosters.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen Other tagged players: James Harden
Nicolas Batum (ankle) to play off the bench Wednesday
Batum will be playing off the bench in Game 5 and does not have a minutes limit currently. Batum’s salary is at a season-low on DraftKings ($6,200) so we do have some potential upside available. The risks currently outweigh the benefit and Batum owners should proceed with caution. Jeremy Lin will see a decrease in value with Batum back because they both will be playing off the bench.
As reported by: Ira Winderman Other tagged players: Jeremy Lin Tyler Johnson (shoulder) active Wednesday, but only available as emergency option.
Tyler Johnson will be active but is not expected to play tonight in Game 5. He is not a viable option but could play Game 6 on Friday or the next round. Johnson has had strong performances this year so he could be a viable tournament dart throw in a week. Briante Weber will be inactive in place of Johnson.
As reported by: Ira Winderman Other tagged players: Briante Weber Nicolas Batum takes part in shoot around; a game-time decision
Hornets Head Coach Clifford stated Batum was a full participant in the team shoot around and is likely to play tonight when the team takes on the Heat – that said the team stated that he will be a game-time decision and his minutes/role could be limited. His return is a slight hit to the value of Jeremy Lin, and a bigger one to Frank Kaminsky (who had started in Batum’s absence). Batum, himself, is in play as SF is always a thin position – especially on a small three game playoff slate like today. If anything changes regarding Batum, we’ll update you as soon as we learn of it.
As reported by: Charlotte Hornets official Twitter feed Other tagged players: Frank Kaminsky, Jeremy Lin
Carl Crawford is back from injury, batting 7th for the Dodgers
Carl Crawford was activated from the DL today and has been slotted in the 7 hole tonight against RHP Tom Koehler. While he isn’t overly appealing when he is hitting low in the order, he should get a fair share of AB’s against righties throughout the season (.346 wOBA – 114 wRC+ career vs RHP). As for Tom Koehler, he is a pretty easy pitcher to avoid tonight, given he is a -300 underdog going up against Clayton Kershaw. Koehler has also struggled against lefties in the past, making Adrian Gonzalez (.380 wOBA – .229 ISO vs RHP) and Corey Seager (.380 wOBA vs RHP) targets at their respective positions. The Dodgers 1-7 hitters actually all make for a very solid GPP stack tonight, especially given their power potential.
As reported by: Fangraphs Other tagged players: Corey Seager
Austin Rivers and Jeff Green listed as probable starters for Wednesday
Rivers is expected to replace Chris Paul in the starting lineup and will likely be an extremely chalky play on Wednesday. Jeff Green is expected to replace Blake Griffin in the starting lineup and should be rostered because of the position scarcity at SF on Wednesday. Green had 24.3 fpts in 31 minutes in Game 4 and should be able to play over 30 minutes again in Game 5. Green played over 29 minutes five times towards the end of the season and averaged 26.48 fpts in those games.
As reported by: Ben Bolch Other tagged players: Jeff Green, Chris Paul Patrick Patterson replaces Luis Scola in the starting lineup
Patterson will start against the Pacers and Luis Scola will be playing off the bench. Patterson averaged 23.25 DraftKings fpts in the two games in Toronto so far in this series and should be considered an elite punt option for this game. This will be Patterson’s first start of the season so expect him to come out looking to make an impact. Expect Patterson to play 30+ minutes as he did in the Game 2 victory. Scola is not a viable option off the bench and should be removed from any lineups that contain him.
As reported by: Raptors MR Other tagged players: Luis Scola Patrick Beverley (hamstring) will play on Wednesday
Beverley was not able to finish Game 4 with a hamstring injury but is expected to start in Game 5. Beverley is a viable option on Wednesday and will likely be overlooked with the masses expected to roster the Clippers newly presented value. With the Rockets season on the line, expect them to have a strong showing in Oakland.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen Blake Griffin (quad) out for the rest of the postseason; Chris Paul (hand) out at least 4-6 weeks
The Clippers have basically ruled out both their stars for the remainder of the playoffs. Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford see the biggest bump in value with Chris Paul sidelined. Crawford averaged 44.84 DraftKings fpts in five starts this season and there is a chance that he starts in Game 5. Rivers averaged 23.04 fpts in seven starts this season so if he starts he is a strong punt play with his minutes secure and his salary only $3,300 on DK. DeAndre Jordan will also see a bump in value with Griffin out but he does not have as much upside with his salary at $8,000. We will continue to monitor this situation and pass along any lineup updates that come available.
As reported by: Rowan Kavner Other tagged players: Chris Paul Ian Mahinmi (back) expected to play Tuesday
Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel said that Mahinmi is good to go tonight and should be expected to start again. Mahinmi had his best performance of the season in Game 4 (48.5 fpts) but still is a risky punt play in Game 5. He averaged only 10.7 fpts in the three games prior to Saturday’s explosion. Mahinmi played 33 minutes in that game and will need to play over 30 minutes again to exceed value. Mahinmi is also averaging 3.75 fouls in this series so there is a risk he could be in foul trouble like he was in Game 1. Mahinmi is still a viable punt option with his salary so cheap and only two games on the slate. Expect Jonas Valanciunas to rebound at home after his lackluster performances in Indiana. Valanciunas’ salary is at a season-high on DraftKings and this could lower his ownership after the two duds.
As reported by: @Pacers Other tagged players: Jonas Valanciunas Nicolas Batum (ankle) listed as questionable for Wednesday
The Hornets are listing Nicolas Batum as questionable for Game 5 in Miami. Jeremy Lin played great in both games that Batum was out, averaging 30.25 DraftKings fpts, easily exceeding value. We expect his price to spike and the masses to go back to the well on Wednesday. Lin scored 15 fpts in Game 1 and had 13 fpts in Game 2, making him an option that comes with considerable risk on the road. If Batum is not able to play there, fading Lin in tournaments could be a viable strategy because he only averaged 14.15 fpts in four regular season contests against the Heat.
As reported by: @Hornets Other tagged players: Jeremy Lin Everyone good to go for Hawks in playoff game tonight
Atlanta Head Coach Mike Budenholzer stated that Al Horford, Dennis Schroder, and Kent Bazemore were all ready to go for the teams playoff game tonight against the Celtics. None of the three had been expected to miss this game so this is just confirmation of that. Horford and Bazemore have DFS appeal on a small two-game playoff slate while Schroder should be used only if you want to try and differentiate your roster (which is a very viable strategy on small slates like this).
As reported by: Chris Vivlamore on Twitter Other tagged players: Kent Bazemore, Dennis Schroder Justin Anderson starting not J.J. Barea
The Mavs made a last minute change as they have already done in this series. Anderson will be getting his first playoffs start. With the information coming basically at lock, there is not much we can do from a DFS standpoint. Barea is playing off the bench but is likely to be limited as well with a groin injury.
As reported by: Bobby Karalla Other tagged players: J.J. Barea J.J. Barea starting for Deron Williams in Game 5
Barea was listed as the starter but the Mavericks made a lineup change at the last second, as we thought they would. Justin Anderson is starting and J.J. Barea will play off the bench.
As reported by: Earl Sneed Other tagged players: Deron Williams Salah Mejri (hip) confirmed out Monday
Mejri has been officially ruled out of Game 5 even though he is in uniform. Zaza Pachulia is the starting center tonight and is a viable tournament play.
As reported by: Earl Sneed