DFS Alerts
Chris Andersen out on Friday
Chris Andersen and Josh Richardson are both inactive tonight. This doesn’t have any DFS implications, and Andersen may be sitting due to Amar’e Stoudemire being active.
As reported by: Jason Lieser on Twitter
Johnny O'Bryant to start, Copeland off the bench
With Giannis Antetokounmpo back in the Bucks lineup, they want to go with a bigger option at PF. O’Bryant saw some starts last season and wasn’t DFS relevant at that point either, as he’s not expected to crack 20 minutes in a crowded Bucks rotation. Copeland did not play well in the season opener as the starter, and he’s not a DFS option off the bench.
As reported by: @Bucks on Twitter Dennis Schroeder starting on Friday alongside Jeff Teague
Schroeder will start alongside Jeff Teague with Kyle Korver out of action. Schroeder should be expected to play somewhere in the range of 25-32 minutes, and is a really nice value play at $4,600 on FanDuel. He’s also a strong option for $4,900 on DraftKings.
As reported by: Rick Bonnell on Twitter Aaron Gordon expected to be the first player off Magic bench
With Evan Fournier starting at SF, the Magic will run into issues defending a long Thunder team, and there’s no way Fournier will be able to handle Kevin Durant. Gordon played only 17 minutes in the Magic’s first game of the season, but we can expect him to climb above the 20 minute mark given the match-up. He’s a deep GPP play if you’re feeling lucky.
As reported by: John Denton on Twitter Nik Stauskas expected to play tonight
The Sixers will roll out the same starting five as they did on Wednesday (Canaan, Sampson, Thompson, Noel, Okafor), but Nik Stauskas is expected to play off the bench. He will eat into the playing time of the Sixers starting wings, and Jerami Grant may also see a little less time off the bench. Stauskas isn’t a DFS option unless he’s playing 25+ minutes. He’s expected to be limited to 20 minutes tonight.
As reported by: Dei Lynam on Twitter Olynyk active, Celts to stick with same starting 5
Kelly Olynyk will return tonight from his suspension that stemmed from last year’s playoffs, which will change how the front-court minutes are distributed compared to Wednesday. Brad Stevens had said during the preseason that he wanted to stick with 4 bigs per game, although it’s not clear who would be the odd man out at this time. The Celtics front-court situation is one to avoid in DFS until we get more clarity on how the playing time will be distrubuted. Just as they did on Wednesday, the C’s will start Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, David Lee and Tyler Zeller.
As reported by: Sean Grande on Twitter Raul Neto will start on Friday
This was believed to be the case earlier today, but it’s now confirmed. Neto is a very intriguing punt play at minimum price against a Philadelphia team that plays at a fast pace and isn’t very interested in defense. This will be a big pace-up game for Utah, which also helps the value of the other starters, most notably Favors and Gobert. Neto is still expected to split time with Trey Burke, but Neto should have the slight edge in terms of playing time.
As reported by: David Locke on Twitter Kobe dealing with an illness, will play on Friday
Although it sounds like he won’t be at 100%, Kobe Bryant is expected to play tonight despite dealing with an illness. His minutes are still expected to be in the 28-32 range, and as long as he’s on the floor, he’ll make sure he’s putting up plenty of shot attempts. If it does turn out that Bryant sits tonight, a bevy of Lakers guards would benefit. Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell would likely see the biggest value bumps as a result, with Lou Williams and Nick Young benefiting secondarily.
As reported by: Baxter Holmes on Twitter Andrew Wiggins dealing with back issue, still expected to play Fri.
This may explain Wiggins’ poor fantasy output on Wednesday. We don’t have any reason to suspect that his playing time will change much due to the ailment, but he’s probably best left alone in DFS tonight with the Wolves roster fully healthy. Karl-Anthony Towns still looks like the top DFS option among Minnesota players this evening, with Ricky Rubio also in play for large-field tournaments.
As reported by: Darren Wolfson on Twitter Raul Neto expected to play vs. Philly
Neto left the season-opener early but did end up returning to start the second-half, so this doesn’t appear to be something that should hamper him going forward. As long as he’s priced at or near the minimum on DFS sites, Neto will be worth a look in plus match-ups assuming he stays on the right side of the platoon with Trey Burke. If Neto can match or exceed his minute total from Wednesday (26), he’ll be a great bet to exceed value against a defensively-challenged Sixers squad that plays at a very fast pace.
As reported by: Jody Genessy on Twitter Jarrett Jack goes through shootaround, probable Friday
We reported Jack’s probable status yesterday, and that is confirmed after he went through today’s shootaround and described himself as feeling “amazing.” Jack will step right into the starting PG role for the Nets and should see heavy usage this season without Deron Williams to sieve playing time from him. Despite a relatively tough road match-up with the Spurs, Jack is a very solid GPP play at $6,200 on FanDuel. That price will surely rise in the coming weeks.
As reported by: Andy Vasquez on Twitter Kyle Korver out on Friday
Korver will sit out on the second half of a back-to-back tonight. Mike Muscala will also miss tonight’s contest, while Thabo Sefolosha is expected to be back in the lineup. The Hawks are playing it safe with Korver after he underwent surgery on his ankle over the offseason, which should lead to a bump in playing time for Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore and Thabo Sefolosha. Schroder has the highest ceiling of the three, and he becomes an interesting GPP candidate with his minutes expected to rise into the mid-twenties. Bazemore is still a viable cash game punt play, but he’s looked over-matched in his first two games of 2015.
As reported by: Chris Vivlamore on Twitter Deron Williams, Wes Matthews out on Thursday
Both Williams and Matthews will sit on the second half of a back-to-back on Thursday. Matthews is sitting more for precautionary reasons, but Williams is dealing with a knee issue that we still don’t have much clarity on. Raymond Felton was already a strong play, but his value spikes with this news. He and J.J. Barea will handle most of the point guard duties, with Devin Harris also providing depth at both guard spots. If you don’t have Felton in your DraftKings lineups at this point, do what you can to pivot to him at the minimum salary of $3,000.
As reported by: Dan Woike on Twitter Andrew Bogut expected to miss two games
Andrew Bogut is not likely to play on the upcoming two game road trip with Houston and New Orleans. He’s dealing with concussion symptoms and may end up missing additional time beyond these two games. Festus Ezeli has warranted a lot of buzz during the offseason and played very well on opening night in limited minutes (13p, 4r, 1a, 1b, 1s). He’s set to see an uptick in playing time and may be an interesting GPP punt play as long as Bogut is out of the lineup. Marreese Speights will also see a slight uptick in minutes, but we can expect the Warriors to play more small ball without Bogut.
As reported by: Diamond Leung on Twitter Arron Afflalo out on Thursday
No surprise here, but Afflalo is not in uniform tonight and will likely miss another few games. In his absence, Sasha Vujacic will draw another start at SG, with Langston Galloway backing him up. Neither are terribly appealing DFS options, despite Vujacic’s relatively full stat line in just under 30 minutes last night. The Knicks are going to be a very volatile team offensively.
As reported by: Steve Popper on Twitter