Daily Fantasy Basketball Injury News and Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings - 2/29/16

Welcome to the daily updates and injury news article. We'll try and update it right up to line-up locks 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!

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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. It's a shorter slate and a light news day, but we'll be updating as stuff rolls in. Also throw out some ideas in the comments and we can take it from there.

What We Know

Jerami Grant is starting
With Jahlil Okafor ruled out, Jerami Grant moves into the starting lineup. Grant put up 37 fantasy points in 38 minutes on Sunday, and has performed well out of the starting lineup in the past. And he's dirt cheap. My suspicion is that he's just become an every lineup guy in a great match-up with the Wizards.

Gallo is out. Barton time?
Like James said in his write up for today's picks, Barton is somewhat speculative. While he's seen minutes before and did when Gallo went down last game, this is Denver where run is never safe. But I think he makes a safer cash game play simply because the Nuggets will need his offense now. Among players with what I would consider significant minutes without Gallo on the court, Barton is the highest usage guy with a 27.7 number. Even at a conservative 34 minute projection today Barton is a top dude at shooting guard and the price has been kept in check by staggered playing time this season.

Lebron will play
This one really wasn't in doubt as the day off Sunday came simply as a rest day for the King. Expect him to put up usual production

What We're Waiting to Know

Will Rudy Gay and/or Rajon Rondo play?
This news has major, major ramifications on lineups tonight. If Rondo sat then Darren Collison instantly jumps up to the top of the value/ must play list. Collison ran 37 minutes last game with an 18/5/3 line that easily paid the day when Rondo sat. Rondo practiced yesterday which points to him playing, but we need to keep an eye on it. Meanwhile, Rudy Gay is also questionable. If he sat then Omri Casspi would look like an excellent small forward play.

The biggest issue here is the Kings' game doesn't go off until 10PM and there's a likely scenario we don't have the news before the early lineup lock. These are the situations that make DFS both exciting and frustrating. If you are setting DK lineups with late swap you may want to keep in mind this situation and give yourself flexibility to pivot if either sat.

The "Every Lineup" Guys

Russell Westbrook - FD 11000 DK 11100
Opponent - SAC
FD Proj. Pts - 53.76 DK Proj. Pts - 55.68
Ever heard of him? He's showing up everywhere on FanDuel today for us which makes sense. Westbrook is that special kind of cash game play whose floor is incredibly high if he stands to see really anything in the mid 30's in terms of minutes. I'm a little concern OKC blows the doors off of Sacramento especially if the latter is missing players due to injury. But I still think Russ can get it done even with a few less minutes simply because the Kings' defense sucks.

Wayne Ellington - FD 3800 DK 4000
Opponent - LAC
FD Proj. Pts - 19.87 DK Proj. Pts - 21.62
God the Nets are a mess. As of right now Ellington is showing up based on his projected minutes following suit from last game. I want to keep it in that mid 30's range but you really can't trust this team even a little bit. That being said, the price on Wayne is so low and allows you to fit some of those other superstars in your lineup that I'm fine with the risk.

The aforemention Will Barton is another guy our system loves and pops up just about everywhere.
Good luck out there today! If you want access to all of our numbers, get started with a free trial below - on us! You can also get started with DFSR pro - our brand new lineup optimizer!