Marreese Speights Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections
Aaron Gordon (hip) ruled out Wednesday; Marreese Speights will start
Gordon has officially been ruled out and won't play in tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers after previously being listed as questionable on the Orlando Magic's injury report with a strained left hip flexor that has now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Head coach Frank Vogel has opted to start Marreese Speights at power forward ahead of Mario Hezonja, who was solid from a daily fantasy perspective in 24 minutes of action, but he was outproduced by Speights in his 21 minutes off the bench. Despite the "promotion" to the starting unit, it's unlikely that Speights see a significant increase in playing time, and Hezonja is still expected to log big minutes off the bench to match up with the Lakers small-ball lineups. With Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, and Jonathan Isaac off the court this season, Jonathon Simmons and D.J. Augustin own a +3.3% usage rate differential, while Simmons trails only Speights with a 26.4% usage rate in this scenario.
Marreese Speights (personal) ruled out Tuesday
Speights is a late-scratch and won't play in tonight's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to personal reasons, despite never appearing on the Orlando Magic's injury report at any point throughout the day. Speights has consistently been logging between 15-18 minutes on a nightly basis as the backup center behind Bismack Biyombo with Nikola Vucevic still sidelined indefinitely with a fractured hand, and his absence will leave the Magic extremely thin in the frontcourt, likely forcing Biyombo into extended playing time and enabling Adrien Payne to enter the rotation out of pure necessity given the matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota frontcourt. Aaron Gordon has spent time at center in small-ball lineups at times, but it's difficult to imagine that happening much, if at all, in this matchup.
Jonathan Isaac (ankle) ruled out Friday; Marreese Speights will start at PF
Isaac has been ruled out and won't play in tonight's game against the New Orleans Pelicans after previously being listed as questionable on the Orlando Magic's injury report with a sore right ankle, while Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier both remain sidelined with their respective ailments, as expected, following their brief status upgrade to doubtful. Marreese Speights will be inserted into the starting lineup at power forward to matchup better with Anthony Davis on the defensive end, sending Mario Hezonja back to the bench for at least one game, while D.J. Augustin will replace Wesley Iwundu at the shooting guard spot. As long as Speights stays out of foul trouble, a tall task against Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, he'll be an elite option in tournaments and smashed his salary-based expectations in 21 minutes in Orlando's earlier matchup with New Orleans this season. The other starters that stand to continue benefiting the most from Gordon and Fournier's absences are Jonathon Simmons and Nikola Vucevic, as each own at least a +3.9% usage rate differential and have seen substantial increases to their per minute production in this scenario.
Injury Has Created Opportunity For Me
With the injury to Jonathan Isaac, it has opened up about 20 minutes per night in the Magic front court. Marreese Speights has been playing about 15 minutes per night, and while that doesn't sound great, he's a guy that can scores fantasy points in a hurry. On FanDuel he's tough to play with only one center, but on DraftKings, I don't mind taking a shot at his current price. He's put up at least 15 DK points in four straight games, and two of those games he went over 20.
Let's Hope It Wasn't Garbage Time
Marreese Speights is min salary on DraftKings tonight, and I think he's a very interesting punt in large field GPPs. He's played 16 and 18 minutes in the last two games, and he played in the first half of both of those games. With Jonathan Isaac already ruled out for tonight's game, I like Speights to see 15ish minutes tonight, and I think he's worth the risk at that point. He's a guy that can score 20+ DK points in 15 minutes, and would get all the garbage time if this game turns ugly.
Marreese Speights will "probably" start tonight in place of Blake Griffin
This hasn't been confirmed - coach Doc Rivers provided the "probably" quote - but it's the expected move as Speights started the second half of Game 3 following Griffin's toe injury. Los Angeles won't give him heavy minutes, he'll probably be in the low 20s tonight. Even so, he's a very intriguing value option as he can score fantasy points in a hurry. Across the 178.3 minutes he shared the floor with Chris Paul, he had a usage rate of 26.1% and returned 1.06 FD ppm. In 11 games with at least 20 minutes this season, Speights scored over 23 FD points in nine, and he exceeded 36 on three occasions.
Austin Rivers and Marreese Speights will start for Blake Griffin (rest) and DeAndre Jordan (rest) tonight
Rivers and Speights will be inserted into the Clippers starting lineup for tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets in place of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, who have already been ruled out in advance of tonight's contest for rest purposes after not traveling with the team to Denver after Wednesday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at home. Speights is a virtual must play in all formats for his low price tag across the industry, as he has always been a fantastic fantasy point per minute producer and draws an exploitable matchup against the Denver frontcourt defense. Not to bury the lead, but Chris Paul is also an outstanding option considering he will need to shoulder most of the offensive load in a pace up game environment.
Reminder - Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan both OUT for Clippers tonight
Late last night it was reported that two of the big three for the Clippers, Griffin and Jordan, would rest. Chris Paul should have extremely high usage with that pair out and look for Marreese Speights, Brice Johnson and Brandon Bass to carry the load in the frontcourt. Speights figures to be the biggest beneficiary and will be a viable DFS option tonight. Paul, needless to say, is the Clipper to own though.
Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan (rest) will both miss Thursday's game
With Griffin and Jordan both resting, Chris Paul, who at this point doesn't appear to be resting, should carry the load offensively with Marreese Speights, Brice Johnson and Brandon Bass likely to pick up the slack in the frontcourt. Diamond Stone may also find his way into the rotation if his knee issue doesn't keep him out of action, but Speights figures to benefit the most among the bigs from a DFS perspective. He's played a hair over 800 minutes on the year without those two on the floor - second on the team to Jamal Crawford - and carries a healthy 25.5% usage rate and 1.04 FPPM mark, so he'll carry a considerable ceiling at or near minimum price across the industry. Chris Paul is averaging 1.46 FPPM with Griffin/Jordan off the floor this year, albeit in a limited sample size (57.5 minutes) with an oddly low usage rate (16.5%). Paul will be an elite target industry wide assuming he suits up, while the other guards (Redick, Rivers, Crawford) will be forced to pick up the slack offensively, making all three viable punt plays. Especially if Diamond Stone isn't going to play, Speights is an option in all formats.
Marreese Speights replaces Raymond Felton in starting lineup
Speights will start at power forward in tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets, sending Raymond Felton to the bench to assume a reserve role. This is likely a matchup-based lineup decision by Clippers head coach Doc Rivers in an effort to matchup with Denver's length in the frontcourt. Speights is a fantastic option on the late slates, as anytime he can be guaranteed minutes, his likelihood of exceeding value exponentially increases given his elite fantasy point per minute production.