DFS Alerts
Ben McLemore ruled OUT for tonight's game
As expected, McLemore has been ruled out for the Kings tonight when they take on the Magic. Marco Belinelli will likely get the start and while not an elite option, he is a viable punt play. The Magic, however, are 5th in SG DvP so it’s a tough match up.
As reported by: James Ham on Twitter Other tagged players: Marco Belinelli
Jahlil Okafor out for remainder of season
The 76ers announced that star rookie Jahlil Okafor has a small tear in the meniscus in his right knee and will have arthroscopic surgery. He’s expected to be six weeks so likely done for the season. Jerami Grant is the biggest beneficiary as he’ll likely continue to start at the 4 with Nerlens Noel moving to the 5.
As reported by: Tim Reynolds on Twitter Rudy Gay sees a huge bump with DeMarcus Cousins out
DeMarcus Cousins will be on the bench for their game vs. the Magic as he is serving a one-game suspension brought about by the Kings for “conduct detrimental to the team.” Whenever a superstar like Cousins is out that obviously leaves a ton of usage up for grabs. Rudy Gay’s usage rating goes from 22.4% with Cousins to 27.7% without him, and at $6,000 on DK and $6,700 on FD he is a great candidate to exceed value. When 27 points and 12 rebounds per game are up for grabs we need to take advantage and deploy some of the other high-usage players, in this case Gay, as he sees a significant boost when Cousins sits out. Cousins puts up 21 shots per game and a majority of those shots will likely gravitate towards Gay. Even before we found out Cousins would be out tonight, Gay’s stats have been trending up and would have been a solid option at SF regardless. Now Boogie’s suspension is just icing on the cake for Gay’s value.
Dion Waiters will not play Friday
Waiters’ brother passed away in Philadelphia this week, so he remains away from the team. Anthony Morrow, Andre Roberson and Randy Foye will help fill Waiters’ void, but neither of the three are recommended DFS options. It’s still unclear when exactly the Syracuse product will return.
As reported by: Anthony Slater
Jimmy Butler ruled out for Friday, Derrick Rose listed as questionable
Jimmy Butler has been officially ruled out for tonight, while Derrick Rose is listed as questionable. If Rose is able to go, he’ll be a solid GPP target as his usage rate skyrockets with Butler out of the lineup. Pau Gasol is an elite option with or without Rose, but he’d be an even stronger target if Rose was unable to go. The match-up isn’t great and the Bulls are on the back half of a B2B, but the Bulls will need to funnel the offense through Gasol and his upside is arguably as high as it’s ever been. E’Twaun Moore will continue to see ample run at the SG spot.
As reported by: Chuck Swirsky Other tagged players: Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, E'Twaun Moore Alan Anderson will play tonight, status for tomorrow still uncertain
Anderson will take the floor tonight against the Jazz, but he may end up sitting out tomorrow on the back half of the Wizards B2B. He’s a very low end punt play on a full slate even with Bradley Beal questionable, as he’d likely need 26-30 minutes of court time (at least) in order to make himself valuable.
As reported by: Jorge Castillo Elfrid Payton OUT tonight for Orlando Magic
Payton was questionable heading into today but has been ruled out by the team for their game tonight against the Sacramento Kings. Victor Oladipo will get a bump in usage and it’ll be up to C.J. Watson and Brandon Jennings to take care of the rest of the PG minutes. With Scott Skiles it’s hard to know how he’ll roll. Jennings only played 4 minutes last game out – he’d make for a great value option if we could know for sure that he’d get the minutes. Watson on the other hand has been more consistent in his minutes having played at least 20 in five of the last six games so he’s the safer option (with less upside) – he will also be the starter for Payton per media reports.
As reported by: John Denton on Twitter Bradley Beal misses shootaround this morning to get treatment
No definitive word yet on whether this will impact Beal’s ability to play tonight against the Jazz but it’s worth noting so that you can keep the possibility of him sitting in mind. Not that you would want to roster him anyway against a tough as nails Jazz team that is 4th in SG DvP and 2nd in fantasy points allowed per game. We’ll update you on his status later today.
As reported by: Jorge Castillo on Twitter Norris Cole likely out; Toney Douglas to start for Pelicans
Cole appears as if he will miss the game as Douglas is getting the start for the Pelicans. Douglas will be a top value option at the PG position even going the defensive-minded Memphis Grizzlies. He played 37 minutes in the teams last game and put up 23 FanDuel fpts. At under $4K on both sites, those are numbers DFS players will definitely take. We’ll update you if anything changes regarding Cole.
As reported by: Brett Dawson on Twitter Other tagged players: Toney Douglas Rodney Hood goes through shootaround; questionable for tonight's game
Hood missed the teams last game but did make it through shootaround today and will be a game-time decision for the Jazz when they take on the Washington Wizards. If he is able to go, it’s a fairly solid match up as the Wizards are 20th in SG DvP and he’s at a relatively affordable price and has good upside (he’s scored 30+ fpts in 6 of his last 15 games). If he can’t go, Chris Johnson would be the biggest beneficiary and would be a reasonable punt play. That said, he did only play 19 minutes and produced little when Hood sat out the last game, but it was against Golden State so the match up was a tough one. We’ll keep you updated on Hood’s availability as we learn more.
As reported by: Tony Jones on Twitter Other tagged players: Chris Johnson Arron Afflalo and Lance Thomas OUT for Knicks; Sasha Vujacic to start
Afflalo will miss another game giving DFS players another opportunity to roster Sasha Vujacic who will get the start in his place. He’ll most certainly be higher owned than he was his last game out when he put up 30+ fpts, but buyer beware as that performance was more of an outlier and was more likely a result of the match up against Phoenix more than anything. The Clippers are a much tougher match up (6th in SG DvP) and while there is definitely merit to taking a GPP flyer or two on Vujacic, don’t go overboard with your exposure to him.
As reported by: Ian Begley on Twitter Other tagged players: Sasha Vujacic, Lance Thomas Indiana Pacers injury report for Saturday's game
Only Ty Lawson is listed on the injury report (as questionable), which means we’ll likely see C.J. Miles return to action. Miles has only played once since February 10th so it’s probably best to wait and see what his role is initially (as well as any minutes limitations) before he’s worth rostering in DFS. We’ll update the status of Miles and Lawson tomorrow when official word becomes available.
As reported by: Jeremiah Johnson on Twitter Other tagged players: Ty Lawson Stanley Johnson and Anthony Tolliver say they will play tonight
Pistons Head Coach Stan Van Gundy stated that the two are game-time decisions for their game tonight against the Charlotte Hornets but both players stated that they would be playing. With Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris both healthy and playing well, however, these two have little DFS relevance other than perhaps taking a few minutes from those two. We’ll update their status later today when more information becomes available.
As reported by: David Mayo on Twitter Other tagged players: Anthony Tolliver Dwyane Wade misses shootaround; questionable for tonight
Wade is dealing with a bruised thigh and was unable to take part in the team shootaround this morning. He’s considered questionable for tonight’s game against the Bulls. If he is unable to go, Josh Richardson would likely be the biggest beneficiary and would be a great value option as he is under $4K on both major sites. We’ll update Wade’s status when we learn more later today.
As reported by: Ira Winderman on Twitter Grizzlies injury report for Friday's game
The Grizzlies will once again be depleted when they take on the Pelicans tonight. They waived recently injured Mario Chalmers and are in the process of (or have already) signing Briante Weber to a 10 day contract. He should be able to play tonight and would likely split PG duties with Lance Stephenson and Vince Carter (both make for intriguing GPP options if they’ll be running the point). Zach Randolph is also listed as questionable – if he is unable to go again, JaMychal Green will again be in line for big minutes but his price has now risen to the point where he is no longer an automatic play. We’ll update you on the status of all the Grizzlies when more information becomes available.
As reported by: Ronald Tillery on commercialappeal.com Other tagged players: Mario Chalmers, Mike Conley, JaMychal Green, Briante Weber, Lance Stephenson