Ian Clark Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

AD ruled out, Jahlil Okafor to start in his place. With Frank Jackson out of action, Ian Clark is going to start at SG alongside Elfrid Payton, although Clark is not known as much of a per-minute producer for fantasy purposes. Still, with the Pelicans lacking guard depth, he is firmly on the DFS radar. With Christian Wood in the fold after a strong debut, it's tough to count on guys like Jahlil Okafor and Chieck Diallo, who have been underwhelming lately even in games without AD.

E'Twaun Moore out for the Pelicans tonight. It now seems like they'll have to work a guy like Ian Clark back into the rotation, although the DFS-viable members of this team are pretty clear. AD, Randle and Holiday are your viable high-end spends here with Tim Frazier setting up for a more secure role as a starter, making him viable in any format. Chieck Diallo is also on the GPP radar with Mirotic out.

Randle has been upgraded from probable and will play off the bench in Monday's matchup against the Denver Nuggets despite battling plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Meanwhile, in the absence of Anthony Davis and Elfrid Payton, head coach Alvin Gentry has opted to roll with an unconventional starting lineup consisting of Jrue Holiday, Ian Clark, E'Twaun Moore, Nikola Mirotic, and Jahlil Okafor, which is a bit surprising since Okafor has yet to log more than 15 minutes in any game this season. Okafor could certainly be worth a look in tournaments, but his range of outcomes for playing time could legitimately range from 10-25 minutes, making him the epidemy of a high risk-reward play. The Pelicans sample size with Davis, Payton, and Darius Miller all off the court together this season is fairly limited, but in that time, both Holiday and Mirotic have seen at least a +7.7% increase in usage rate, though Holiday has been much more efficient in converting this usage into fantasy production, averaging 1.48 DraftKings and 1.55 FanDuel points per minute in the aforementioned scenario.

Clark still technically remains questionable for Monday's matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, but head coach Alvin Gentry confirmed with reporters during his pregame media availability that he doubts Clark will be able to play this evening. Gentry shortened his rotation to just eight players in the New Orleans Pelicans previous game with Clark sidelined, but the recently-resigned Jordan Crawford is still available off the bench to absorb some of the guard and wing minutes should Gentry so choose to utilize him. That said, Jrue Holiday, Anthony Davis, and Nikola Mirotic all logged 40 minutes or more in Saturday's win and should be in line to continue seeing a heavy minute share with the Pelicans in a battle to secure their playoff positioning, regardless of Gentry's possible decision to extend the rotation.

Draymond Green has been ruled out of tonight's contest after he suffered a shoulder contusion in last night's game. According to CourtIQ, Stephen Curry is the starter that is the main beneficiary with a 4.5% usage rate increase with Green off the court. Patrick McCaw also sees a 4.7% usage rate increase but is not expected to play 24+ minutes tonight. Kevin Durant will likely slide over to PF with David West and Zaza Pachulia out for the Warriors as well. Shaun Livingston is also considered doubtful, which opened the door for Ian Clark to play 15 minutes last night. McCaw also played 18 minutes and both players will be tournament dart throws against the Clippers.

The team will rest their veteran forward tonight which will lead to more playing time for Patrick McCaw and Ian Clark - neither of whom are particularly attractive options unless their game against Miami turns into a blow out and they get extended run.

The Warriors guard is dealing with personal matters and is away from the team. He'll miss tonight's battle with the Thunder and it'll likely be Patrick McCaw getting the start in his absence with Ian Clark continuing to come off the bench. Both are low ceiling plays but are viable if you're looking for some value to fit in some of the higher priced studs on this nine-game slate.