DFS Alerts
Tyreke Evans (knee) confirmed as out for tonight, Bryce Dejean-Jones likely to start in his place
Tyreke Evans will miss another game with knee tendinitis. There is no timetable for his return and the Pelicans will likely be cautious with the trade deadline approaching. Bryce Dejean-Jones will likely be starting again in his place for the fifth consecutive game. BDJ is a low-end punt option but could surprise and exceed value against the Lakers tonight.
As reported by: Brett Dawson Other tagged players: Bryce Dejean-Jones
Clint Capela (hip) cleared to play tonight
Clint Capela is expected back in the lineup tonight. Capela has not been confirmed as the starter yet after Josh Smith played well in his absence. Look for an update soon in regards to the Rockets lineup. Clint Capela will make for an under-owned mid-range play in an uptempo game with the Suns. Capela has been slumping lately so he is a tournament option only.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen Other tagged players: Josh Smith O.J. Mayo (hamstring) has been ruled out for Friday
O.J. Mayo will miss his eleventh consecutive game with a hamstring injury. With Mayo out Khris Middleton will once again see all the minutes he can handle. Middleton has been playing well but gets a tough matchup with the Jazz on Friday. Middleton’s salary has risen with his consistent play so he is not a must start with ten games on the slate.
As reported by: cfgardner on Twitter Other tagged players: Khris Middleton Nikola Jokic probable, Darrell Arthur doubtful and Jameer Nelson out for Friday
Nikola Jokic was able to play last night with a shoulder injury and is probable to play on Friday. Jokic was playing well coming into the game but against the Jazz was only able to secure eight points and six rebounds. Darrell Arthur is dealing with a quad injury and is doubtful for Friday. Jameer Nelson has been dealing with a wrist injury for some time now and has been ruled out of Friday’s contest against the Bulls.
As reported by: Nate Timmons Other tagged players: Darrell Arthur, Jameer Nelson PJ Tucker will continue to see a ton of minutes with TJ Warren out
PJ Tucker already played a ton of minutes at SF with all of the injuries the Suns have had this year, and now TJ Warren is out for the rest of the season with a broken foot. PJ Tucker will see even more playing time from here on out and his price doesn’t really reflect the minutes and opportunity he has. He was seeing 32-35 minutes per game BEFORE the Warren injury, so it is not out of the realm of possibility that between the injury as well as the new coach Earl Watson that Tucker and Markieff Morris see 40 minutes any given night. We wrote up Morris earlier and the same applies to Tucker as they both get great matchups tonight; the Rockets are 27th in the league at defending opposing PFs. Between his price, his minutes projection, and the matchup, Tucker is simply too cheap to ignore tonight.
Jrue Holiday is a great option vs. the Lakers’ poor PG defense
Jrue Holiday has been hot ever since losing Eric Gordon to a finger injury. He has been playing around 30 minutes a game since Gordon’s exit and is super productive while he is in the game averaging over a fantasy point per minute. He gets a great matchup tonight vs. the Lakers who struggle mightily to guard opposing PGs and Holiday is in a great spot to exceed value tonight again. We have a slate with four of the worst defensive teams in the NBA in the Suns, Lakers, Rockets, and Pelicans so there will be plenty of upside options, but arguably none better at the PG position than Holiday vs. the Lakers. Other than matchups with Detroit and Memphis, two of the toughest teams in terms of PG DvP, Holiday has hit value in every other game over his last ten. He is a safe option tonight and should be considered vs. the Lakers defense.
Stanley Johnson confirmed to start with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ruled out
Stanley Johnson has been confirmed as the starter tonight against the Knicks. Johnson has a low enough salary that he is a strong punt option. Due to the four-game slate, Johnson will be a chalky play but he works for cash games. He might not have the huge upside for tournaments but is still viable due to small slate. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could be out until after the All-Star game so expect Stanley Johnson’s salary to rise after this game as well.
As reported by: Jake Chapman Other tagged players: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Jose Calderon confirmed as starting tonight
Jose Calderon will be back in the starting lineup tonight, moving Langston Galloway to the bench. Calderon is not a high-upside fantasy option tonight but is in play due to the small slate. Calderon will be under-owned so he does present an opportunity to be different while stacking some studs around him. Langston Galloway really has no value coming off the bench.
As reported by: Barbara Barker Other tagged players: Langston Galloway Tim Duncan (knee) ruled out for Friday
Tim Duncan will miss another game with his knee injury and David West will likely start in his place against the Mavs. West has been very volatile since Duncan went down but did have 31.75 FPs last night. While we can’t expect him to explode like that again, it is fair to see him providing value on his punt level salary. Keep in mind Popovich has not played West more than 26 minutes in a game this season, so his ceiling is not as high as other fill-in starters.
As reported by: Jeff McDonald Other tagged players: David West Ian Mahinmi (back) out for Friday
Ian Mahinmi will miss his fourth consecutive game with a back injury but looks like he could be back Saturday. With Mahinmi out, Jordan Hill will start again at center with Myles Turner holding down the PF. Turner offers the most upside of the group against Atlanta, but will have to defend their best player in Paul Millsap. Lavoy Allen is also a solid punt play against the Hawks and is averaging 20.43 FPs in about 22 minutes over his last four games.
As reported by: Candace Buckner Other tagged players: Myles Turner, Jordan Hill, Lavoy Allen Markieff Morris is seeing big minutes again thanks to a coaching change
It looks like Jeff Hornacek was the only one standing in the way of Markieff Morris’s semi-demise that has been going on over the last couple of months. After Hornacek was fired, Earl Watson took over as head coach and he seems to have no qualms with playing Morris pretty much the whole game. Last game Morris played 41 minutes vs. the Raptors and exploded for 30 points and 11 rebounds posting a score of 58.75 on DK. His price increased $900 on DraftKings, but realistically that is not near enough considering the minutes he appears he will be receiving from this points forward. There is no better time to play Morris as he gets a juicy matchup with the Rockets tonight who are dead last in defense against PFs by far. Go ahead and plug him into your lineups and reap the benefits of his low price before it goes up again.
James Johnson without a concrete timetable for a return
Dwayne Casey wasn’t able to offer a timetable on James Johnson’s return, but Johnson is apparently dealing with a badly sprained ankle and isn’t likely to be back in the very neat future. He’ll presumably sit tonight, which will provide Terrence Ross with extra court time. Ross posted 23 FPs in 27 minutes on Tuesday and should see a similar amount of playing time tonight, although the match-up here isn’t as strong. Portland’s backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum may force the Raptors into giving Ross extra playing time in an effort to try to slow them down. Norman Powell figures to pick up about 10-12 minutes of court time at the SG/SF spots.
As reported by: Ryan Wolstat
Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol questionable for Friday
Both Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol are listed as questionable for Friday. Butler was scratched late last night which buried plenty of lineups on FanDuel, while Gasol was his predictably consistent self, posting a double-double with 4 assists and 2 steals in 36 minutes. The wear on Gasol (36 minutes last night and 40 on Monday) may end up causing the Bulls to give him a night of rest, but at this point we’d still expect him to play tomorrow. If Butler is unable to go again, Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol and E’Twaun Moore all receive nice boosts in value.
As reported by: Nick Friedell Other tagged players: Pau Gasol Matt Barnes questionable for Friday
Matt Barnes is questionable for Friday’s game with the Knicks. If Barnes is unable to go, it’ll open up more minutes for Jeff Green and Tony Allen – Green has been red-hot from the field over his past three games, but Allen is the better bet to help defend Carmelo Anthony. Expect Green and Allen both to see in the neighborhood of 30 minutes each without Barnes. This game is coming against Barnes’ public rival Derek Fisher, so we’d bet that he’ll be very eager to suit up if it’s possible.
As reported by: Marc Berman Deron Williams hopeful for Friday; Devin Harris ruled out
Deron Williams is hopeful to play on Friday, and it sounds like he’s closer to probable than to questionable. Assuming he’s able to go, both J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton will become very weak punt plays. Both Barea and Felton see a slight uptick in playing time with Harris out, but it’s not enough to make them DFS viable. The Mavericks are playing on the first leg of a back-to-back on Friday, so it’s very possible they end up resting a start or two either Friday or Saturday.
As reported by: Earl Sneed on Twitter Other tagged players: Devin Harris