DFS Alerts
Arron Afflalo doutbful for Wednesday
Afflalo is listed as doubtful for Wednesday, but is almost certainly out and could end up missing at least another week with a hamstring injury. It’ll be Jerian Grant, Langston Galloway and Sasha Vujacic picking up the slack, with Vujacic the likely starter at SG. The Knicks have played around with Derrick Williams at SG, so we’ll need to get confirmation before tip-off tomorrow night. Even as a starter, Vujacic would not offer any real DFS value.
As reported by: Ian Begley on Twitter
Jarrett Jack officially ruled out, Shane Larkin to start
Jarrett Jack has been officially ruled out for Wednesday’s opener. Per Andy Vasquez, Lionel Hollins has reported that Shane Larkin will draw the start, which makes him a very intriguing punt play at PG on FanDuel for only $4,500. Donald Sloan (minimum priced on FanDuel) is also expected to see a nice uptick in playing time, but as the starter, Larkin is looking like the stronger DFS play.
As reported by: Andy Vasquez on Twitter Kobe Bryant expected to suit up Wednesday
Per Bill Oram, Lakers coach Byron Scott expects Kobe to play on Wednesday “unless something crazy happens.” There is very little doubt that Bryant will be all systems go on Wednesday, but he still may have his minutes capped somewhere around 30. Since he’s the second-highest priced SG on FanDuel, he’s best left untouched in DFS until he’s playing a full allotment of minutes. With Lou Williams and DeAngelo Russell now in the fold, Bryant’s crazy usage rate will likely drop a bit this year.
As reported by: Bill Oram on Twitter Chandler Parsons ruled out for Wednesday
This isn’t terribly surprising, as the Mavericks will want to ease Parsons back in while he’s coming back from knee surgery. It’s unclear who will start in his place, but we’ll likely see more of Raymond Felton, John Jenkins and J.J. Barea. With Deron Williams and Wes Matthews opening the season on a minutes limit, it’ll be worth tracking how the playing time is distributed between the secondary guard/wing options.
As reported by: Earl Sneed on Twitter Rudy Gay's status for Wednesday uncertain
Due to the birth of his child on Tuesday, Gay may not make it back to the team in time to suit up for Wednesday’s game. George Karl has said he’s “hopeful” that Gay will be in uniform. In the event that he’s not able to play, DeMarcus Cousins would become an even stronger play against a Clippers front-court he dominated against last season. Despite averaging a shade under 30 minutes per game against LAC last year, Cousins averaged 27.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.5 blocks and 1.0 steals over two meetings with the Clippers.
As reported by: James Ham on Twitter Al-Farouq Aminu listed as probable for Wednesday
Al-Farouq Aminu is officially listed as probable for Wednesday’s opener against the Pelicans. He’ll enter the year as the Blazers starting small forward, and could be in for a career year statistically based on the amount of playing time he’s expected to receive. There won’t be a ton of depth behind him at the wing spot, with Gerald Henderson (hip) already ruled out for Wednesday. Allen Crabbe and Moe Harkless (who is dealing with an ankle injury but is listed as probable) will provide help behind Aminu. As someone that can contribute statistically across the board, Aminu will be a very intriguing DFS play (cash games and tournaments) while he’s still underpriced. His $5,200 price tag on FanDuel (for Wednesday’s game) will surely rise if he’s able to stay healthy.
As reported by: Casey Holdahl on Twitter Paul Pierce expected to come off the bench Wednesday
Pierce said that he expects to come off the bench to start the season, with Lance Stephenson likely to draw the nod at SF. The wing situation in LA is a little murky, so it’s best to avoid it for DFS purposes until we have more clarity on the situation. Even as a starter, Stephenson will share time with Pierce and Wes Johnson. With the offense running through Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, the Clippers wings will only be viable in tournaments unless an injury frees up playing time.
As reported by: Dan Woike on Twitter Gary Harris listed as probable starter for Wednesday
Gary Harris, and not Randy Foye, will likely draw the start at SG on Wednesday night. The starting five is expected to be rounded out by Emmanuel Mudiay, Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari and Joffrey Lauvergne. Even as a starter, Harris isn’t going to offer any real DFS value on opening night. Instead, you’ll want to target the likes of Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried. Both players should be locked into big minutes with Wilson Chandler on the shelf.
As reported by: Jeff Morton on Twitter No minutes restrictions for Thunder starters
Coach Billy Donovan has reported that everyone is healthy, and no one will enter the season on a minutes restriction. That’s great news for anyone planning on rolling out Kevin Durant on Wednesday. Durant looked great during the preseason and it’s nice to know that he’s capable of playing big minutes if needed. Russell Westbrook’s appeal won’t be quite as strong with Durant back in the fold, but both are top options at their respective positions.
As reported by: Randy Renner on Twitter Nikola Pekovic ruled out Wednesday
No surprise here, but Pekovic has been officially ruled out for the opener, and he may end up missing another month as he recovers from surgery. In his absence, Karl-Anthony Towns will draw the start with Gorgui Dieng expected to back him up. Towns will be an intriguing tournament play against the Lakers at $6,100 on FanDuel. Unless Dieng is able to carve out 25+ minutes off the bench, he’s not going to be a viable DFS target.
As reported by: Kyle Ratke on Twitter Myles Turner questionable for Wednesday
Per coach Frank Vogel, Turner apparently landed and rolled his ankle on a teammate’s foot during Monday’s practice. Turner’s status is still unclear at this point, but the good news is that this appears to be soreness as opposed to a sprain, so Turner likely won’t miss much (if any) time. During the preseason, Turner put up some gaudy stat lines in limited playing time, and will be a blocks and rebounding machine while he’s on the floor. Despite not playing more than 22 minutes in any of his six preseason games, Turner racked up at least two blocks in each game.
As reported by: Nate Taylor on Twitter Tobias Harris, Elfrid Payton likely to start Wednesday
Both Harris (illness) and Payton (hamstring) practiced in full on Tuesday, setting them up to be in the starting lineup Wednesday night. Neither player is expected to be limited, and both can be treated as solid mid-range GPP options against Washington. The line opened with Washington as a 3.5 favorite, with the total at 194, so Orlando will have one of the lower team totals of the night.
As reported by: Josh Robbins on Twitter Wilson Chandler ruled out for Wednesday
Chandler has officially been ruled out for the season opener. This will open up playing time for the likes of Will Barton, J.J. Hickson, Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic, but none of them stand out as strong DFS plays with Chandler out of action. Will Barton, who filled in admirably towards the end of last season, is likely to see the biggest value boost of the bunch. Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried should see heavy workloads against the Rockets.
As reported by: Chris Dempsey on Twitter Jarrett Jack doubtful for Wednesday's opener
Jarrett Jack missed practice again today, and looks very doubtful for Wednesday night’s opener. Assuming he’s unable to go, Donald Sloan will likely see a big workload, with Shane Larkin also expected to be in the mix. Nets beat reporter Tim Bontemps is expecting Sloan to play big minutes on Wednesday night, which would make him a solid punt play at minimum price ($3,500) on FanDuel. Sloan had a 4.7-1 assist to turnover ratio during the preseason.
As reported by: Rod Boone on Twitter Jrue Holiday's minutes cap up to 20
Jrue Holiday will be capped at 20 minutes in Tuesday night’s opener against the Warriors. He’s not going to be a viable DFS play while his minutes are capped below 30, and he may not get there for a few months, as the Pelicans have said he may have his playing time capped until January. With Tyreke Evans also out, Eric Gordon should see a boatload of minutes in the opener, with Nate Robinson likely to carry most of the load at PG in the meantime. Ish Smith, who was signed Monday, will also help out at point guard and may eat into Robinson’s value early in the year.
As reported by: John Reid on Twitter