DFS Alerts
Kevin Martin, Kevin Garnett, and Nikola Pekovic all doubtful Saturday
All three players will most likely be out tonight, but as right now they are listed as doubtful. With these players out Gorgui Dieng and Zach LaVine will continue to see a ton of minutes. Dieng is a great play in all formats today. He has a great matchup against the Bulls interior especially if Pau Gasol is out. He is just $6,100 on DK and $5,600 on FD. LaVine has struggled recently, but is still a nice GPP play tonight.
As reported by: Star Tribune
Tim Duncan remains out Saturday
Duncan will miss his seventh straight game Saturday with a knee injury. David West will continue to start for Duncan, but he is only a GPP play only. His minutes are up and down from game-to-game. Boris Diaw and Boban Marjanovic will also see more minutes with Duncan out. The player that has really stepped up his game with Duncan out is LaMarcus Aldridge. He is averaging 38 FD points over his last five games.
As reported by: Spurs Ian Mahinmi questionable Saturday
Mahinmi has missed the last four games with a back injury, but he is questionable for today’s game against the Pistons. If Mahinmi plays he isn’t a DFS option, because you can’t trust his minutes with him returning from injury. Also if he returns this would hurt the value of Jordan Hill.
As reported by: Indiana Pacers Noah Vonleh doubtful Saturday
Vonleh missed Thursday’s game and is doubtful for today’s game against the Rockets. With Vonleh out, Maurice Harkless started, but he isn’t a DFS option. He played just 16 minutes and finished with 8 FD points.
As reported by: Casey Holdahl Trey Burke out Saturday
Burke won’t play on Saturday, because of the flu. There really isn’t one player that will benefit with Burke being out. He did leave last game early, and Raul Neto did see a season high 33 minutes. However, he only finished with 17 FD points. He is just $3,700 on FD and $3,400 on DK. He is a GPP punt play only.
As reported by: David Locke O.J. Mayo (hamstring) out Friday, expected to play on Tuesday
O.J. Mayo will miss another game but looks like he will be ready to return on Tuesday. Khris Middleton will likely see over 30 minutes tonight with Mayo out again. John Henson will also be out of the lineup with a sore back.
As reported by: cfgardner on Twitter Other tagged players: John Henson
Deron Williams will be playing tonight
Deron Williams has been confirmed as active tonight but has not been confirmed as the starter. With the game the last one of the night look for confirmation soon. Williams will be an under-owned option tonight and should only be used in tournaments.
As reported by: Earl Sneed Cameron Bairstow will start for Pau Gasol
Cameron Bairstow will be joining the starting lineup with Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, E’Twaun Moore, and Taj Gibson. Bairstow is a tournament option only and a late swap DK eligible play. He is at the minimum salary but with so many good centers in play today will be hard to fit into the lineup. Jimmy Butler should be an elite option tonight against the Nuggets.
As reported by: Vincent Goodwill Other tagged players: Jimmy Butler, E'Twaun Moore, Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose Pau Gasol (hand) out on Friday
Pau Gasol has been ruled out of tonight’s contest against the Nuggets. Gasol was questionable coming into the game with a hand injury but is looking to play tomorrow. Cameron Bairstow will get the start in his place but is a risky fantasy option. Bairstow should only be used sparingly in GPPs.
As reported by: Vincent Goodwill Other tagged players: Cameron Bairstow Darrell Arthur and Jameer Nelson confirmed out on Friday
Darrell Arthur and Jameer Nelson have both been ruled out due to their injuries on Friday. Arthur is dealing with a quad injury and Nelson is dealing with a wrist injury. There is no timetable for their return. Jusuf Nurkic and Jusuf Nurkic both split the backup big man minutes and should look to do the same tonight.
As reported by: Chuck Swirsky Other tagged players: Joffrey Lauvergne, Jusuf Nurkic Nikola Jokic is still cheap despite his recent production
Nikola Jokic had a career night a few nights ago vs. Toronto posting 27 points and 14 boards in 30 minutes. He has been averaging around 29 minutes in the last four games and it looks like the Nuggets are beginning to trust him more as their primary center. He is only $5,900 on DraftKings and offers some big upside vs. a Bulls team that struggles to defend the center position and even more so with Joakim Noah out for the season. They are 26th in DvP vs. centers and Jokic should be able to take advantage of that tonight. Pay attention to the status of Pau Gasol, because he would get a slight boost if Gasol is ruled out making him an even stronger DFS option. Jokic is a great mid-range center tonight with a relatively high floor and plenty of upside to go along with it.
Ish Smith is a GPP option with a high-scoring matchup vs. the Wizards
The Sixers-Wizards game has the highest projected total of the night at 215, and Ish Smith has been performing pretty well lately. The Wizards are middle of the road vs. opposing PGs, but Ish Smith has a high enough upside that he is a viable GPP option. He is somewhat volatile as he will have some games when he puts up 50+ fantasy points, and then other nights where he has under 20. He is not really a cash game consideration because of that, but we like to take advantage of that volatility in terms of pricing for GPPs. He will likely see around 30 minutes and it is not out of the realm of possibility that he goes for 40+ fantasy points. While he does have a low floor given his price, he will be low-owned and has the upside to reach 6x or 7x value.
Bradley Beal starting on Friday
Bradley Beal will be returning to the starting lineup tonight against the 76ers. Beal will still be on a minutes limit and will likely not see over 30 minutes tonight. Beal’s has been progressing well since returning from his injury and is averaging 23.87 FPs on DK over his last four games. Beal’s salary is that of a starter so he will need over 30 FPs to exceed value.
As reported by: Jorge Castillo Austin Rivers (hand) has now been ruled out on Friday
With Rivers out, look for Jamal Crawford to potentially see a few more minutes off the bench with Chris Paul potentially seeing an extra handful of minutes as well. It’s also possible that Rivers’ minutes are eaten up by Pablo Prigioni and/or Lance Stephenson, so this news doesn’t have any real DFS relevance.
As reported by: Ben Bolch on Twitter Jordan Hill is a good choice as he starts for Mahinmi again
Jordan Hill has been filling in for Ian Mahinmi at center over the last few games for the Pacers, and other than last game when he got into foul trouble and in turn burned a lot of DFSers he has been performing pretty well. Hill generally thrives on the boards and he gets one of the best matchups for rebounders in the Hawks as they are 25th in DvP vs. PFs. Atlanta has the worst rebounding differential in the league at -5 and between Hill and Myles Turner they should have a field day on the boards. Both Hill and Turner’s prices have come up quite a bit on DraftKings, but on FanDuel they are both still great options because their price hasn’t really caught up to their production. Try to ignore the recency bias of last game when he rode the bench for the 4th quarter with foul trouble and go ahead give him a look especially until Mahinmi comes back or his price rises a bit more.
Other tagged players: Myles Turner