DFS Alerts
Brook Lopez confirmed as the starter on Tuesday; Wayne Ellington starting with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson coming off the bench
Brook Lopez will return to the starting lineup against the Hornets on Tuesday. Wayne Ellington will also be in the starting lineup despite Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s return from injury. Hollis-Jefferson will be on a minutes limit and isn’t a viable DFS option tonight, but his presence also eliminates the likes of Ellington and Sergey Karasev (who will be inactive). Bojan Bogdanovic should also be knocked down a tier due to RHJ’s return. Lopez and Thaddeus Young are the two viable targets on the Nets side, with Donald Sloan being viable as a deep-GPP target.
As reported by: Mike Gallagher Other tagged players: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sergey Karasev, Wayne Ellington, Bojan Bogdanovic
Alvin Gentry says Ryan Anderson won't play tonight
Alvin Gentry was speaking to the media prior to the game and was asked about Ryan Anderson’s status. Gentry confirmed that Anderson would not play against the Heat on Tuesday. Dante Cunningham will benefit the most with Anderson out of the lineup. Cunningham played 40 minutes on Sunday and should be expected to see 35+ minutes again on Tuesday. Cunningham is one of the top projected value plays, which will likely lead to him being heavily owned. Cunningham is a stronger cash game play due to his expected high ownership.
As reported by: Pelicans Pregame Media Session Other tagged players: Dante Cunningham
Reports now have Ryan Anderson listed as out; will continue to update
Pelicans beat John Reid had reported that Anderson was not on the team’s injury list for tonight’s game with the Heat, but it’s looking like that may have been a clerical error. There was talk that Anderson may end up missing the rest of the season as recently as last night, so we’d tentatively expect him to sit, which would keep Dante Cunningham squarely in play. We’ll update as more news becomes available.
As reported by: Scott Kushner Other tagged players: Dante Cunningham Enes Kanter is a great option to spend down at center
The center position is looking like a spot where you could spend down today, and while a lot of people will be rostering Omer Asik at under $4,000, Enes Kanter seems to always get overlooked as a DFS option. Many think of Kanter as a GPP-only play because of his volatility, but over the last few weeks he has been one of the most consistent options to plug into your rosters. He has eight straight games over 24 DK points and is averaging 32 DK points over this span. He is $5,200 on DK and $5,400 on FD and is a great option if you don’t want to spend up at center. He is averaging a double double (14 points and 11 rebounds) in their two match ups with Houston this season and we wouldn’t be surprised if he does that again vs. the soft Houston interior. He is also seeing a slight bump in minutes over the last five games, averaging four more than his season average of 20.6. Kanter isn’t necessarily going to play a ton of minutes, but he is a high fantasy point per minute guy and is a lead candidate to exceed value at center for a relatively cheap price.
Marvin Williams (ankle) ruled out on Tuesday; Frank Kaminsky to start in his place
Marvin Williams has been officially ruled out of Tuesday’s contest with the Nets. Frank Kaminsky will start in his place and does have GPP appeal on a four-game slate. In his only start of the season, Kaminsky scored 10.5 DKFP in 24 minutes. He should still be considered a viable GPP punt option because he has scored over 30 fantasy points multiple times this season. Spencer Hawes will also see minutes tonight but he is a low-end punt option after not seeing the court for over a month.
As reported by: Rick Bonnell Other tagged players: Frank Kaminsky, Spencer Hawes Ryan Anderson not on injured list vs. Heat
Ryan Anderson (groin) was not listed on the injury report for Tuesday’s matchup with the Heat. Anderson was originally ruled out for this game but there is a possibility that he could play now. As of yesterday, Anderson was ruled out. With the Pelicans dealing with so many injuries, it is possible that Anderson is simply on the active roster. The game starts thirty minutes after lineups lock for FanDuel, so hopefully we have an update prior to that.
As reported by: John Reid Thaddeus Young is a nice PF option in good form
Thaddeus Young has been playing really well as he is averaging 46 DK points per game in his last three. Both him and Brook Lopez have seen a nice bump in production over the last month after Joe Johnson signed with the Heat. As you can see on our RotoGrinders’ CourtIQ page, over the last two weeks Young is averaging 1.19 fantasy points per minute which is 0.18 above his season average. While this may not seem like a lot, if he plays 35 minutes per game it is the difference in 35 DK points as opposed to 42 DK points. Those seven points could make a huge difference in tournaments where he is a great pivot off of the likely higher-owned Zach Randolph. Randolph is a great option as well, but especially on DK where Young is only $300 more expensive, he makes for a great option in any format. There seems to be a bit of a pricing inefficiency on DK when it comes to Young because he has had games of 52, 45, and 44 DK points in his last three games and his price has actually gone down in both of the last two. We are a little higher on Young on DK just because of the price discrepancy, but wouldn’t blame you for rostering him on FD as well.
As reported by: RotoGrinders CourtIQ Jakarr Sampson questionable for Wednesday
Sampson is questionable for Wednesday’s game with the Sixers. If he’s unable to go, look for some combination of Will Barton, Darrell Arthur and Axel Toupane to see extra court time. The Nuggets did experiment with some different lineups last night, using Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic on the court together for a period of time (with Darrell Arthur at the 3), so it’s anyone’s guess what Mike Malone might choose to do against Philly. We’ll update Sampson’s status after tomorrow’s shootaround.
As reported by: Keith Pompey on Twitter Allen Crabbe (illness) is probable for Wednesday; Meyers Leonard (shoulder) continues to be out
Allen Crabbe is dealing with an upper respiratory infection but has been listed as probable for Wednesday. Crabbe played 36 minutes on Sunday and was able to put up 32.8 DKFP on his near minimum salary. Crabbe’s fantasy value was boosted by a season-high six 3-pointers made in an overtime loss on Sunday. Crabbe has not been consistent all season, making him a tournament option only against the Mavericks. Meyers Leonard will miss his fourth consecutive game with a separated shoulder, meaning Ed Davis should see 20+ minutes on Wednesday.
As reported by: Joe Freeman Other tagged players: Meyers Leonard, Ed Davis Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (ankle) will be available on Tuesday
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has been out since mid-January with a fractured ankle but should return to the lineup against the Hornets. RHJ has been practicing with the team since March 7th, so there is a possibility that he could start for Wayne Ellington. With the Nets playing in the first game of the night, we should have an update before lineups lock. Hollis-Jefferson’s has produced when given over 28 minutes this season, but he is still a risky DFS option in his first game back.
As reported by: Rick Bonnell Other tagged players: Wayne Ellington Jeff Green cleared to play on Wednesday
Jeff Green was practicing with the Clippers on Tuesday and has been cleared to play against the Warriors on Wednesday. With twelve games on the slate, Jeff Green will not be an option for the all day docket. Green will likely start and has some tournament appeal for the late slates. If Green starts, Paul Pierce will likely head back to the bench, making him an unreliable fantasy option. Look for an update tomorrow on whether or not Green is starting.
As reported by: Rowan Kavner Other tagged players: Paul Pierce E. Moore, Bairstow still out, but the rest of the Bulls look to be fine for Wednesday
The Bulls came out of Monday’s game without suffering any new injuries, which seems to suggest that Pau Gasol will play tomorrow against the Knicks. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler also appear to be fully healthy, so there is no longer much available value on the Chicago side. Taj Gibson goes back to being a low-end GPP target with Gasol active (and not on a minutes limit), as does Nikola Mirotic. Gasol and Butler are both fine GPP targets tomorrow, but the rest of the Bulls roster is relatively unexciting at this point.
As reported by: Nick Friedell Other tagged players: Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, E'Twaun Moore, Cameron Bairstow Larry Nance (rest) will not play tonight
Nance will get a night of rest with the Lakers on the front-end of a back-to-back – he’ll be back in uniform tomorrow night against the Suns. With Nance out tonight, look for Julius Randle and Brandon Bass to eat up basically all of the minutes at the 4 (in addition to some time at the 5) with Tarik Black likely to see a handful of minutes as well. Randle is a viable GPP target tonight and Bass can be utilized as a contrarian GPP punt, but Black isn’t a DFS option.
As reported by: Mark Medina Other tagged players: Julius Randle, Brandon Bass Kobe Bryant plans to play tonight
Kobe will travel with the Lakers to Phoenix and is fully expected to play tonight. His presence does muddy the waters for D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, but Byron Scott has said he’ll be closing games with the youth movement (Russell, Clarkson, Randle) going forward which should help keep their minute totals at a respectable level. Lou Williams’ value also takes a hit with Kobe active, and at this point none of the Lakers guards are recommended plays outside of GPPs. Russell’s usage rate sits at 27.2 with Kobe off the floor this season, but that number drops to 21.3 when both players are on the floor together. Clarkson sees a similar downturn in production, as his usage rate sits at 23% on the season but falls to 20.9 with Kobe on the floor (25.7% with Kobe off the floor).
As reported by: Mark Medina Other tagged players: D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson Kevin Love will play for Cavaliers on Wednesday
After missing the teams game Monday night due to illness, Love will return to action tomorrow for the team according to media reports. If anything changes with Love’s status, we’ll update you as soon as we learn of it.
As reported by: Fred McLeod on Twitter