DFS Alerts
Andrea Bargnani to play on Thursday
Bargnani will return to the Nets lineup tonight after missing four straight games with a tight left hamstring. He won’t play more than 15 minutes most likely and shouldn’t have much of an affect on Brook Lopez’s playing time, so there isn’t much DFS relevance here. All of the Nets starters are in play against a porous Sixers defense, and they could post some big numbers if the Sixers can stay within striking distance.
As reported by: Devin Kharpertian
Taj Gibson starting again tonight
The Bulls will go with the same starting five against the Clippers that they used last night. Taj Gibson will match up against Blake Griffin with Pau Gasol against DeAndre Jordan. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler will start in the backcourt and Tony Snell will play SF. The Bulls are playing on the second night of a back-to-back so look for some of the bench players to get run as well. Gibson does not score enough and is on the court mainly for defensive purposes.
As reported by: Nick Friedell
Tiago Splitter out Thursday
Tiago Splitter (hip) has been ruled out of Thursday’s contest against the Thunder. Mike Muscala and Mike Scott will get the backup big men minutes for the Hawks tonight. Neither of them are really more than a dart throw tonight and need their three-point shot to fall to have an impact. Look for Al Horford to log extensive minutes tonight in a game that should be close throughout.
As reported by: Chris Vivlamore Bojan Bogdanovic is a value play on a short slate
On short slates it is difficult to find value anyways, and tonight even more so because of the lack of injuries. So far the most notable injury is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson of the Brooklyn Nets and that is at least one place we can look for value tonight. Bojan Bogdanovic had been playing around 20 minutes before the injury to Hollis-Jefferson however in the 2 games the Nets have played since the injury Bogdanovic has averaged 29 minutes. In the game on 12/6 vs. the Warriors Bogdanovic only played 20 minutes, however on 12/8 vs. the Rockets Bogdanovic played 38 minutes. It seemed as if the Nets wanted to go small and played a healthy dose of Shane Larkin vs. the smaller and quicker Warriors team, and when they played a bigger Rockets team they kept Bogdanovic in for much of the game. Bogdanovic started both games and will likely get the start tonight vs. a struggling Sixers squad. This comes with some risk because we are not sure whether the Nets will go small and play a lot of Larkin or big and play a lot of Bogdanovic, but if you really need value on a short slate tonight Bogdanovic could be your guy.
Arron Afflalo potential GPP play tonight
The Sacramento Kings play at one of the fastest paces in the league and are awful at defending SGs allowing almost 42FPPG to opposing SGs. Arron Afflalo is typically a GPP-only play anyways because of the inconsistency of minutes and production, but every once in awhile he does have monster games. This matchup vs. the Kings could very well be one of these monster games if Afflalo gets his shot going early given the pace at which this game will be played and the Kings’ inability to guard opposing SGs. In a night with not many options, the SG position is extremely thin and Afflalo is still fairly cheap for his talent level.
Kendrick Perkins upgraded to probable for Friday
Kendrick Perkins has been out with a torn pectoral muscle, but the Pelicans upgraded him to probable for Friday. The Pelicans host the Wizards and Perkins probably won’t see a ton of minutes unless Omer Asik gets into foul trouble. Perkins is a DFS non-factor Friday with eleven games on the schedule.
As reported by: Pelicans Hassan Whiteside dealing with sprained ankle, did not practice Thursday
Whiteside is dealing with a sprained ankle and wasn’t able to practice Thursday. We’ll consider him questionable Friday against Indiana for now, but we should have more information after tomorrow’s shootaround. Whiteside would be in a nice spot against an Indiana front-court that doesn’t boast much in the way of size, although he’s had a handful of slow games recently and hasn’t been seeing consistent run later in games. If Whiteside sits, Chris Bosh gets a nice bump in value with Chris Andersen likely to draw the start at center.
As reported by: Ira Winderman on Twitter Darrell Arthur questionable, Jameer Nelson probable for Friday
Arthur remains questionable for Friday’s game the Timberwolves. He’s not a DFS option with Kenneth Faried healthy, and a combination of Joffrey Lauvergne and J.J. Hickson would eat up any minutes he leaves behind. As for Nelson, he’s expected to play behind Emmanuel Mudiay on Friday. If Nelson ends up sitting (which would be a surprise), Mudiay becomes a much stronger GPP target.
As reported by: Harrison Wind on Twitter Other tagged players: Jameer Nelson Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried both probable Friday
There isn’t much doubt that Faried and Gallinari will be good to go tomorrow. The Nuggets are in a good spot tomorrow at home against the Timberwolves – this game should stay close and the starters should see their normal allotment of minutes. Faried is a very nice GPP target against a Minnesota team that rolls out a combination of Kevin Garnett, Gorgui Dieng and Nemanja Bjelica at the PF spot. He’s either too quick or too strong for that combination to slow him down. Gallinari remains a safe target at SF, as he remains the focal point of the Nuggets offense.
As reported by: Harrison Wind on Twitter Other tagged players: Danilo Gallinari J.R. Smith questionable for Friday
Smith did not practice today due to an illness and won’t travel with the team to Orlando, but he may catch a flight on his own. The fact that Smith didn’t travel with the team puts a lot of doubt around his status for tomorrow. If he’s unable to play, Matthew Dellavedova and Jared Cunningham would likely eat up the minutes at SG. Cunningham saw 35 minutes of court time off the bench on Tuesday, but wasn’t able to turn them into much, posting just 7 points, a rebound and a steal. Cunningham will be a potential GPP punt target, but he carries a very low floor.
As reported by: Dave McMenamin Other tagged players: Jared Cunningham Klay Thompson will be a GTD on Friday
Thompson will be a game-time decision on Friday against the Celtics. We noted earlier today that Thompson’s ankle is improving and it seems like he has a legitimate shot at playing against Boston in a game that features two teams that like to push the pace. Thompson won’t be playable outside of GPPs given the concern about his ankle and the possibility that his minutes are limited if the game gets even remotely out of hand. If Thompson can’t go, Leandro Barbosa or Ian Clark would likely start in his place, and both would be viable punt plays if that were to be the case.
As reported by: Rusty Simmons on Twitter Drew Gooden, Nene Hilario ruled out for 4-game road trip
Neither Gooden or Hilario will be with the team on the upcoming four-game road trip, which means we’ll continue to see heavy minutes from the few healthy front-court members they still have left. Marcin Gortat returned last night and stepped right back into his normal role, posting 18 points and 13 boards in 36 minutes of court time. Jared Dudley drew another start at PF, but played just 24 minutes while Gary Neal ended up finishing with more court time (26 mins) off the bench. Kris Humphries is questionable for Friday, and he’d presumably take over the starting PF spot if he’s able to play. Gortat will continue to see 33-38 minutes as long as the front-court is shorthanded, so fire him up with confidence in any format on Friday.
As reported by: J. Michael on Twitter Other tagged players: Drew Gooden Andrea Bargnani probable to play tonight
After missing the last four games with a sore hamstring, Bargnani is probable to play tonight for the Nets in their game against the 76ers. While he is minimum salary, Bargnani doesn’t get enough playing time in general to be a viable DFS punt play. Outside of opening night, Bargnani has yet to top 17.5 DraftKings fpts and has played over 20 minutes only once.
As reported by: Devin Kharpertian on Twitter
Tony Wroten to start for 76ers tonight
After being limited to about 15 minutes in his first two games back from injury, the team has announced that Tony Wroten will start tonight in their game against the Nets. Despite a good match up against a team ranked #25 in PG DvP, Wroten is still likely to be on a minutes limitation and given his production level thus far (.44 fpts/minute on DraftKings) since returning, he’s not a viable DFS option.
As reported by: Keith Pompey on Twitter Klay Thompson's ankle feeling better on Thursday
Thompson left Tuesday’s game late in the 4th quarter after coming down awkwardly on his ankle, but it does appear that he has a good shot to suit up on Friday. He’s said that he wants to take the court and given that his prognosis has improved as of this morning, we’d assume at this point that he’ll be in the starting lineup. Golden State takes on a fast paced Celtics team Friday that has played surprisingly tough defense early in the season, but Thompson won’t be playable outside of GPPs given the concern about his ankle and the possibility that his minutes are limited if the game gets even remotely out of hand. If Thompson can’t go, Leandro Barbosa or Ian Clark would likely start in his place, and both would be viable punt plays if that were to be the case.
As reported by: Noah Coslov