Daily Fantasy Basketball Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings - 2/6/16

We're back with our daily updates article! We'll give you what you need to know for tonight's NBA slate, and try to update this piece right up until line-ups lock with as much information as comes across our desks. Let's get to it!

Last night's picks can be found here, so you can wrap your mind around what you need to be looking at before lineups lock tonight.

By the way - we keep our projection system updated with all of the changes as they occur throughout the day right up until lineup lock. Every day. If you want access to that system so you can cut out a lot of the research element, click the button below!

Now let’s look at some news that’s come in throughout the day to see if anything’s changed in our minds or in the NBA landscape.

What We Know

Ian Mahinmi is IN.
Adios, Jordan Hill. Myles Turner slightly downgraded.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is out. Give me all the Stanley Johnson
Wrote about this is in the main picks article, but it's worth reiterating here. Johnson will probably be the most widely-owned player on the slate. It makes sense. There's good reason to believe SVG will run him major minutes in this one. Plus he was a huge start last game when he subbed for KCP and dude went parabolic. I'm guessing ownership on FD to be 80%+ at least. I've been wrong about these things before (as James will attest) but he isn't worth the fade.

Trey Burke is out. Bumps for Hood and Neto
We have a decent historical reference for what happens when Burke doesn't play and that came last game. He left after only three minutes because of the flu and he didn't travel with the team to Utah. Hood played 41 minutes last game and Neto played 33. That pieces together just about the 20 minutes per Burke was playing. The minutes' bump really helps both of these Jazz guys who are coming very cheap. I much prefer Hood at a shooting guard position I already planned on going cheap with. Even at a somewhat conservative 37 projected minutes he's coming into optimal lineups. If you think he plays more against a weak Phoenix team then he's becoming an "every lineup" guy.

Tyreke Evans is Out. Jrue and Norris Dice Roll Time
If you can figure Alvin Gentry's "process" out then let me know. I'd love to get inside that head to figure out what the hell is going on. There are times when I can't find rhyme or reason behind his rotations or deployment of minutes. I know the Pels are playing short-handed and without two of their better players in Gordon and Reke. But that should only buoy the minutes for both Cole and Jrue. But instead it becomes an "either/or" thing. I like them both for tournaments, but the cash perspective is too risky.

Garnett and Martin Out. Dieng and Lavine Up
Great to get this news early. I really like Dieng tonight who is close to an "every lineup" guy considering he should see minutes in the low-to-mid thirties. Lavine is a little more up and down with his minutes and I don't totally trust him while he's coming off the bench. Those are the guys with the volatile minutes, at the whim of the coach. But Dieng is a near lock.

What We’re Waiting to Know

Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol are Questionable
These guys have major impacts on the DFS slate tonight. There are at least four other players majorly impacted by Gasol and Butler. E'Twaun Moore, Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis all would become excellent plays if both sat out. I'd give Derrick Rose a huge, huge usage bump as well. You saw what he did last game when it was basically his team, a 30/9/8 in return to MVP form for the guy. Of all four guys, Taj is a dude I'd feel okay with even if both Pau and Buckets played. But the other three are player dependent. I suspect this is the news everyone is chomping for leading into lock. Update: Butler is out. Big bumps for Rose and Moore. 

EDIT: Jimmy Butler is now OUT! This makes Rose a fantastic play, and E'Twaun Moore as well.

Kevin Love's Status
Love said he hopes to play which is all well and good, but much different than the team coming out and saying he's definitely going to be on the court. Interestingly enough, Iman Shumpert was the guy who saw much of Love's minutes when the latter went down in the second half. Mozgov got a bump as well. A little too early to know about this situation, but we are monitoring it.

Will Ish Play?
This would have implications for the point guard slot in Philly. Both T.J. McConnell and Isaiah Canaan are basically min-priced guys who'd see a ton of minutes (or at least one would) if Ish didn't run. Smith is playing more than 30 per which would mean a lot of ball-handling getting passed off (pun intended) to very cheap players.

The "Every Lineup" Guys

Take these with a moderate grain of salt. It's really hard to know right now. There are simply too many pieces of news hanging out there in the ether to get a full gauge of the landscape.

Kyrie Irving
He led the picks article and it's no surprise he's showing up everywhere today. The price hasn't fully caught up to what he's doing on the court. I'd also like him more if Love sat, but either way I'm all over Uncle Drew tonight.

Thaddeus Young
Oh baby, the system just adores this guy tonight. Both sites. Even with a loaded power forward field, it's loving the value mid tier value you get on Thad against the Sixers. Philly's been starting Okafor at the four, though he's no plus defender. Thad will be outsized, but quickness could prevail here.

Russell Westbrook
I kind of put him as an afterthought in the picks article last night which was probably a mistake. He is showing up in every FD lineup today. Not the case with DK where it's a little tougher to fit his big price tag without taking a hit somewhere else. Now that assumes some more punt plays don't enter the fold as we get closer to lock.

Bryce Dejean-Jones
Opponent - CLE
Ugh. I hate doing it but he's so cheap on FanDuel that there's next to no risk unless. Tyreke is already ruled out and BDJ's been getting major run while coming at the minimums.

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