Luke Babbitt Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections
James Johnson and Luke Babbitt will start Saturday; Justise Winslow to the bench
Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington were officially been ruled out and won't play in Saturday's game against the Detroit Pistons after originally being listed as doubtful on the Miami Heat's injury report with their respective left quad contusions that have now forced them to miss two consecutive games. Meanwhile, Bam Adebayo is currently not with the team while he deals with a personal matter but, according to head coach Erik Spoelstra, is only expected to be sidelined for one game. Spoelstra previously confirmed that Kelly Olynyk will come off the bench to serve as the primary reserve at center and power forward, but he was noncommittal on who would actually start alongside Hassan Whiteside in the frontcourt until the announcement that James Johnson and Luke Babbitt will start the forward positions, a move that will send Justise Winslow to the bench and slide Josh Richardson over to the shooting guard spot. Even in his normal bench role, Dwyane Wade may set up as an intriguing tournament option on Saturday's slate, as he owns a massive 39.2% usage rate with Johnson and Ellington off the court, albeit, in an extremely limited sample size, but it does indicate his high probability of seeing increased usage when on the floor and he should continue to be locked into minutes in the mid-20s regardless of lineup combinations.
Kelly Olynyk (shoulder) ruled out Friday; Wayne Ellington (shoulder) questionable; Dwyane Wade and Luke Babbitt available to play
Olynyk has officially been ruled out and won't play in Friday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks after previously being listed as doubtful on the Miami Heat's injury report with a strained left shoulder that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Wayne Ellington has been downgraded to questionable due to a right shoulder injury, putting his availability for tonight's contest in some doubt. Additionally, Dwyane Wade and Luke Babbitt will be available to make their Heat debuts following separate trades on Thursday, and head coach Erik Spoelstra already confirmed that Wade will play off the bench in his return to Miami this evening. This means that either Ellington, Tyler Johnson, or Derrick Jones Jr. will draw the start at the shooting guard spot, though a large portion of that decision hinges on Ellington's status. That said, the main beneficiaries of Olynyk and Dion Waiters' absences continue to be Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic, as each own at least a +2.0% usage rate differential, making them intriguing targets in tournaments, even with Wade, who should soak up a decent amount of usage, available to play off the bench
Luke Babbitt (back spasms) will start Thursday
Babbitt will play and start in tonight's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after previously being listed as probable on the Atlanta Hawks' injury report due to lower back spasms that had forced him to miss three consecutive games. Meanwhile, Mike Muscala will remain sidelined with a sprained right ankle and Isaiah Taylor was removed from the injury report, enabling him to be available to return Thursday night from a torn right retina. With Dewayne Dedmon expected to miss three-to-six weeks with a left tibia stress reaction, John Collins will start at the center spot in his absence, while Miles Plumlee, who was recently recalled from the G-League, should be expected to see his minute workload increase as the backup center until Mike Muscala is able to return from his ankle ailment. With Dedmon and Muscala off the court this season, Kent Bazemore has actually been the primary beneficiary and owns a +4.2% usage rate differential, while averaging 1.16 fantasy points per minute and 1.20 on FanDuel in this scenario, adding to his tournament appeal on Thursday's slate and moving forward.
Luke Babbitt (back) probable for Thursday; Isaiah Taylor (retina) available to play
Babbitt has been upgraded to probable on the Atlanta Hawks' injury report for tomorrow's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to lower back spasms that had forced him to miss three consecutive games, while Mike Muscala will remain sidelined with a sprained right ankle and Isaiah Taylor has been removed from the injury report, enabling him to be available to return from a torn right retina. With Dewayne Dedmon expected to miss three-to-six weeks with a left tibia stress reaction, John Collins will most likely start at the center spot in his absence, while Miles Plumlee, who was recently recalled from the G-League, should be expected to see his minute workload increase as the backup center until Mike Muscala is able to return from his ankle ailment. With Dedmon and Muscala off the court this season, Kent Bazemore has actually been the primary beneficiary and owns a +4.2% usage rate differential, while averaging 1.16 fantasy points per minute and 1.20 on FanDuel in this scenario, adding to his tournament appeal on Thursday's slate and moving forward.
Luke Babbitt, Mike Muscala remain out Saturday
No surprise here. It’s still unclear when either player will return and John Collins should see minutes in the 28-35 range with upside for 37-38 if he can avoid foul trouble. Ersan Ilyasova will also provide depth off the bench.
Luke Babbitt (back) and Mike Muscala (ankle) ruled out for Wednesday
Babbitt and Muscala have both been ruled out and won't suit up for tomorrow's game against the Los Angeles Clippers due to lower back spasms and a sprained left ankle, respectively. The only other player on the Atlanta Hawks' injury report is Isaiah Taylor, who will remain with an eye injury, but head coach Mike Budenholzer will still be left with a significant void to fill at power forward with two of his main rotation pieces sidelined. John Collins started the second half of Monday's loss for the injured Babbitt so one would have to figure that he has the inside track at starting on Wednesday night. Tyler Cavanaugh had been ahead of Ersan Ilyasova in the Hawks rotation up until Monday's contest and saw just two minutes of playing time compared to Ilyasova's seven. So, needless to say, unless one of the two ends up starting, they can be avoided in daily fantasy formats on Wednesday's slate.
Luke Babbitt (back spasms) will start Saturday
Babbitt will play and start in tonight's game against the Boston Celtics after previously being listed as questionable on the Atlanta Hawks' injury report with back spasms he began experiencing during Wednesday's contest. He'll join Mike Muscala and DeAndre Bembry among the Hawks players that will be available to play following an appearance on the injury report prior to Saturday night's game. However, despite being active, it appears that Muscala will only see the court in the event of an emergency. Which means that Babbitt and Ersan Ilyasova should be expected to absorb most, if not, all of the power forward minutes in Saturday's matchup with the Celtics.
Luke Babbitt (back), Mike Muscala (ankle), and Isaiah Taylor (eye) questionable for Saturday; DeAndre Bembry (wrist) probable
Babbitt, Muscala, and Taylor are all officially listed as questionable on the Atlanta Hawks' injury report for tomorrow's game against the Boston Celtics with their respective ailments, while DeAndre Bembry has been upgraded to probable with a fractured wrist that has kept him sidelined for all but one game this season. His role in the rotation will still have to be determined, but Bembry will most likely see some sort of playing time given head coach Mike Budenholzer's propensity to roll with a deep rotation. With Ersan Ilyasova back from injury, Budenholzer has declined to name his starting power forward for Saturday's contest, though Babbitt certainly seems to have the upper hand in that regard, as long as he's healthy, considering Ilyasova came off the bench in his first game back.
Injury Has Created Opportunity For Me
Luke Babbitt played 42 minutes last night against the Cavs, and he's in line for another big workload tonight. With Muscala and Ilysova already ruled out for tonight, the Atlanta front court is short handed. Babbitt is hardly ever in play, but with the minutes he's going to play tonight, he's too cheap.
Believe It or Not...
I feel a little dirty doing this, but Luke Babbitt is actually going to be a popular salary saving option tonight. With both Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Muscala sidelined, there will be tons of minutes available in the frontcourt, and Dewayne Dedmon hasn't been producing all that much this year. Babbitt played a whopping 42 minutes in the last game, and if he is going to get that much court time, he will accidentally run into value with upside for more than that. John Collins is a strong play as well, but his price has risen to an appropriate level. I like both players tonight.