DFS Alerts
Trevor Ariza (back) out on Wednesday
Trevor Ariza tried to play tonight but was ruled out after his back did not respond well to warmups. Corey Brewer is likely going to start in his place with Marcus Thornton being his backup. Both players are viable punt targets in what should be the highest scoring game of the night. Brewer is not the scorer Thornton is, but Brewer does pick up the defensive stats. Thornton is slightly more expensive than Brewer on DK so it will depend on your build what you need since they both play SF.
As reported by: Jonathan Feigen on Twitter
Dwight Howard to play tonight, will be on soft 26-minute limit
Dwight Howard will play in the second leg of a B2B tonight against Washington, although he’s expected to be limited to around 26 minutes of court time. It’s still somewhat of a soft minutes limit and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him exceed it, but Dwight is a very risky DFS target given this news. The hard part is that with 26 minutes, neither Clint Capela or Terrence Jones is a core play because their playing time shouldn’t increase too much. Avoid the Houston front-court in cash games, but there is some GPP appeal here in a game that is expected to be among the highest scoring of the night.
As reported by: Ben Standig on Twitter
Taj Gibson starting, Nikola Mirotic to the bench
Taj Gibson will be starting tonight against the Celtics and makes for a solid punt option. While his minutes have not been revealed and there is no injury to Mirotic, the Bulls likely wanted to get defensive and avoid losing their third game in a row. Gibson is a solid player but does not have a very high ceiling. Even if he does get a ton of minutes he will need to contribute across the board because he is not much of a scorer.
As reported by: KC Johnson on TWitter Trevor Ariza will test back during warm-ups
Trevor Ariza will test out his injured back during warmups and if he’s feeling okay, he will play tonight per JB Bickerstaff. This would make Corey Brewer and Marcus Thornton much harder to target, and both would be best left alone if Ariza is active. If he’s unable to go, both are in play in any format. It’s unclear who would draw the start if Ariza were to sit, but both players would have upside regardless. Thornton is more of a pure scorer while Brewer is able to rack up defensive stats in addition to providing nice 3PT shooting upside.
As reported by: Craig Ackerman on Twitter Other tagged players: Marcus Thornton, Corey Brewer Luol Deng to play as a reserve tonight
Luol Deng has missed the past six games with a hamstring injury but is going to give it a go tonight. Heat Coach Eric Spoelstra mentioned that Deng will be coming off the bench, meaning that Gerald Green will likely be the starter against the Hornets. Deng will be used in six to seven-minute stretches, therefore he does not hold huge DFS value. Deng’s return puts a cap on Green’s ceiling and diminishes Justise Winslow’s value as well.
As reported by: Ira Winderman Jordan Clarkson is a potential GPP target
Byron Scott and the Lakers are normally a DFS nightmare to target, however sometimes we can use some of this craziness to our advantage. Besides, we are sometimes looking for unpredictability in GPPs looking for someone that is low owned that has the potential to play big minutes and accrue a ton of fantasy points. Scott announced a couple days ago that their two top 10 picks in the last two drafts, Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell, were replaced in the starting lineups for Larry Nance Jr. (played 29 minutes) and Lou Williams (played 31 minutes). Russell and Randle only played 21 minutes each, but with all of this lineup madness it looks like Scott only fully trusts 3 players on the team: Kobe Bryant, Roy Hibbert, and Clarkson. Clarkson has hit a dry spell as of late, but still puts up around 14 shots a game and if he does break out of his slump tonight he could be in for a big night. The Lakers play the Timberwolves who are middle of the road vs. SG in the third highest point total of the day at 205, and while none of the Lakers can be really trusted in cash games at this point we can use the unpredictability to our advantage in GPPs.
Nene, Gooden, and Humphries are out tonight
The Wizards have ruled out Nene, Drew Gooden, and Kris Humphries tonight against the Rockets. Marcin Gortat is back tonight and is expected to start. Dwight Howard is likely playing and will on a minutes restriction after playing last night. Gortat should be able exceed value tonight against Howard and will likely see all the minutes he can handle.
As reported by: J. Michael on Twitter Patrick Beverley has been very consistent in cash games
Although the Houston Rockets have 3 point guards in Patrick Beverley, Ty Lawson, and Jason Terry, Beverley has actually been extremely consistent over the last 8 games he has been a starter. Beverley appears to be locked into 28-30 minutes while Lawson and Terry are very unpredictable in the amount of minutes they play and are playing more of a secondary role to Beverley. Neither Lawson or Terry are DFS options because JB Bickerstaff does not really trust either to play big minutes at this point. The Rockets do love to play with 2 point guards, and with Trevor Ariza out tonight we may see more of that as the Rockets could look to go smaller vs. the Wizards. Cory Brewer and Marcus Thornton will likely eat up Ariza’s minutes and both are great plays tonight at their price point. Beverley has reached value in all 8 games he has started and is hovering around 24FPPG during that time. He has a pretty high floor for his price which is perfect for cash games, however he does have a limited ceiling as he is not the main focus on offense. Look for Beverley to play his 28-30 minutes again tonight and likely reach value against the below-average front court defense of Washington in a high scoring shootout.
David Lee (heel) to play on Wednesday, R.J. Hunter out
David Lee will be returning to the lineup tonight after a two-game absence with a heel injury. Lee was averaging 16 minutes prior to his injury and should see about that much tonight. Amir Johnson had seen a bump with Lee out but will now likely not have as much DFS value with Lee’s return. R.J. Hunter has also been ruled out with a hip injury but his absence doesn’t change much for the Celtics.
As reported by: Sean Grande Ricky Rubio GPP option tonight
Ricky Rubio’s has really picked up in his last two games and hit 37.75 FPs and 38 FPs. Rubio gets a matchup tonight against the Lakers that is more than favorable (30th in PG DvP). Rubio had 55 FPs on DK and 52.40 on FD in his last meeting with the Lake show. Due to him recovering from an ankle injury, Rubio’s price is $800 less than his peak a month ago. If the Lakers are able to keep it close expect Rubio to play 30 minutes.
Klay Thompson and Leandro Barbosa questionable for Friday
Klay Thompson injured his ankle in last night’s victory over the Pacers but was seen shooting jumpers in practice after receiving treatment. Leandro Barbosa missed Tuesday’s game with an illness and is still listed as questionable for Friday. If Klay Thompson misses Friday’s game Barbosa would likely get the start. If Barbosa and Thompson both miss the game, Ian Clark would get the start. With eleven games on the schedule, Clark would be a decent but not great punt option against Avery Bradley and the Celtics.
As reported by: Rusty Simmons Al Jefferson suspended for 5 games
Jefferson reportedly violated the league’s drug policy and will now be suspended five games as a result. He’s missed the last handful of games due to injury, but his absence will now stretch longer and will give Cody Zeller further opportunity to start. Zeller remains a viable punt play with Jefferson out, with Marvin Williams value also rising slightly since he’s not really competing with Zeller for minutes. Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum should see a slight bump in usage with Jefferson out.
As reported by: John Schuhmann Other tagged players: Cody Zeller Tyson Chandler doubtful to play tonight
Despite taking part in this mornings shootaround after missing the last six games, Tyson Chandler is doubtful to play tonight against the Magic. He is looking as if he will return on Friday. Alex Len will continue to benefit from Chandlers absence as he has put up 27.75 and 28.25 DraftKings fpts his last two games. His price has come up a bit ($4,600 on DraftKings) but he’s still a viable value option.
As reported by: Paul Coro on Twitter
Markieff Morris misses shootaround due to illness
The Suns forward missed shootaround this morning and is questionable to play tonight against the Magic. Morris has been a huge disappointment this season and even if he is able to play is hard to trust on DFS rosters. He has not topped 20 DraftKings fpts in his last five games and with his mid-range price tag is best avoided. If Morris does sit, Jon Leuer will be an excellent play as he has put up at least 27 DraftKings fpts the last three games that he has played 30 minutes or more. His price has come up a bit due to those performances ($4,800 on DraftKings) but not enough to the point that he shouldn’t be looked at as a DFS option.
As reported by: Paul Coro on Twitter J.J. Barea hopes to play tonight
After missing the last six games with a sprained right ankle, the Mavericks point guard is hopeful that he will play tonight against the Hawks. Barea is at a low enough price point around the industry to be in consideration as a GPP punt play against a Hawks defense that is middle of the pack in terms of PG DvP (15th). If he does play, it removes Raymond Felton from any consideration on a DFS roster.
As reported by: Earl Sneed on Twitter