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Daily Fantasy Basketball Injury News and Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings - 3/21/16
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!
What We Know
Kenneth Faried is out, boost for Darrell Arthur
Thankfully we got word on this well in advance of gametime. That is the good news. The not-so-good news is that while I really want to just give Darrell Arthur the full bump in minutes if he were to start again, this is Mike Malone and the Nuggets. Faried's missed two games. The first Arthur played 18 minutes because Denver was getting blown out by the Hawks. Yesterday he ran 33 against Charlotte and went 13/8/3/2/2 which just crushes his price. Denver comes in as big underdogs against Cleveland so you could see more Nuggets' bench here. But I think Arthur is cheap enough to risk it.
What We're Waiting to Know
What's up with the Magic backcourt?
Elfrid Payton was available to play on Sunday coming off the bench but he never saw the court. Instead, Brandon Jennings played 31 minutes on his way to a 9/7/4 line against the Raptors. It's hard to think that if Payton is back in the mix fully that we'll Jennings get this kind of run again. But this is also Scott Skiles we're talking about so...
Will Pau Gasol play?
There's speculation that he'll finally get back in the court tonight after missing the last four games. Right now I have the system reflecting him starting and playing around 30 minutes with Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis' projections coming down a bit. Obviously this can change and if Gasol can't go both of those guys, plus Nikola Mirotic (ugh) could see projected bumps. Stay tuned, and here's to hoping we get word on this before lock.
Will Kevin Love play?
He's got the sniffles, missed shootaround and hasn't played many minutes over the last two games. If he sat you could expect minutes in the mid 20's for Channing Frye. That boost would put Frye into the punt play discussion on this slate and would also mean somewhat significant boosts for Lebron and Kyrie who see usage rate climbs around 20% each when Love is off the court.
The "Every Lineup" Guys
LeBron James - FD 9500 DK 9200
Opponent - DEN
FD Proj. Pts - 46.11 DK Proj. Pts - 47.95
He's already an every lineup guy and that would only be further solidified if Kevin Love had to sit with an illness. In this superstar tier of pricing Lebron doesn't have the upside of others in his class, but he does have a solid floor. I'd run him in cash games without hesitation against a defensively challenged Denver team.
Ray McCallum - FD 3700 DK 3200
Opponent - PHX
FD Proj. Pts - 21.47 DK Proj. Pts - 22.69
The Grizzlies didn't resign Briante Weber which theoretically clears up most of the point guard minutes for McCallum. He's basically free on both sites would make a must play if we confirmed he'd be starting again. Last game against the Clips Ray played 35 minutes and went 14/3/2, plenty good enough at these salaries.
These are players that show up in each of the top 10 lineups as produced by our lineup optimizer. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're "safe," it just means that their projected weighted-mean point total is a solid building block for a great lineup foundation today.
Good luck out there today! If you want access to all of our numbers, get started with a free trial below of our lineup optimizer, on us!
image sources
- Kevin Love, Pau Gasol: (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
54 Visitor Comments
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Didn’t the griZz sign Farmar? Would that cut into RM’s minutes ?
I had the same question… this is what rotoworld says…
Grizzlies sign G Jordan Farmar to a 10-day contract.
Even with the point guard rotation in flux, Farmar is unlikely to come in and dramatically shake up the mix while operating on a 10-day contract. He’ll start behind Lance Stephenson and Ray McCallum on the depth chart. Mar 21 – 1:39 PM
What about Tristan Thompson? He’s always a sneaky play when love is out. Could this be his night?
Should be an interesting night. Word just came down no one in New York can play FanDuel or Draftkings.
Bogut OUT!
This is bs I just paid my taxes including my 10-99 Misc from Fan Duel and now NY players are locked out
It’s a real shame, though I suspect long term DFS stays in NY
What do you guys think of Smart? He has lost a few minutes recently but put up at least 6x in previous games vs magic
I guess the NY Atty general got burned one too many times by late NBA scratches. I don’t live in NY, but this concerning how fast other states will start to pile on and the Feds with what they did with poker, and money to offshore sports betting sites years ago.
Do you guys feel McCollum is pretty well dialed in for minutes tonight regardless of score to get him some more run/experience regardless whether farmar suits up, or Stephenson is playing well.
I think this is a precursor to a regulatory bill in NY. I think this is the political flesh piece for the AG until a bill is passed. Will make it look like everyone wins (except the players, they lose)
is farmar available??
I think he is available to play, but I’m keeping McCallum’s minutes as is.
Hey, just curious. Have you guys ever consider posting an article with spread/point total/game pace. Would really help with building gpps lines aside from that, everything youve been doing from this update page to the optimizer is just great and really been helping me to turn my game around. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, Jerry – we’ll take your recommendations into consideration!
When is the best time to run the lineup optimizer to get the optima lineup?
5-10 minutes before lineup lock to be safe. We are updating right to the last minute before the main lock.
Anobody like Butler tonight against the hapless Kings. Only getting about 34 mins though!!! Yikes!!!
Minutes are definitely an issue for that price.
@Nicholas: that’s a great question.. optimizer LU changes quite a bit the last 30 minutes.. Maybe Doug can answer that for you.
I do know on 3/17, it wasn’t the last LU the optimizer spit out that won a tournament for me, it was a LU it spit out 30min to 1 hour before I believe that scored 355 for me. I do tend to make changes to the LU though unless it absolutely looks good.
How much does the service cost for LU optimizer?
30/ month
Agree with kwasi… This definitely happened on 3/17… Lineup at 30 mins before tipoff got me 102/108,000 banking $116 on a $2 entry – that was a tie of course with 50 other people but still. I take
Screenshots of the optimal lineup throughout the day then pick the few that I like best. A lot of times I will sub in when they out players like tony Allen, mirotic, or the dreadful Wesley Matthews – hope this helps
I like to hear how different folks use the service in a number of ways. Some nights are different than others with the lineup variations throughout the day.
Love butler tonight – a little worried about the minutes but I highly recommend putting him in ATLEAST 1 lineup cuz his ownership still isn’t gonna be what it once was and dude could go off in 30-35 mins especially if gasol out. Also like rose and nobody is talking about him
The same night I hit 355 maybe all 90 of us used the optimizer. Haha not really that was a short slate I believe. I do the same screen shot throughout the day and use what looks best. I also tweak a few guys here and there based on personal knowledge.
I live in Texas an as of May 1st our attorney general has also said we can not play DFS. We were told that when lawmakers come into session in 2017 they would talk about a bill for 2018 we are looking at least 2 years down the road before we can play it at all. Why can an attorney who works in the legislative branch of government ( not the lawmaking judicial branch) have that kind of power to stop us? Isn’t that outside of his jurisdiction? Would love anyone’s thoughts..
It’s a crime against humanity, Jesse – I honestly have no idea how these assholes pull it off. We have a close friend who works with one of the major sites who is optimistic about regulation (and not banning) winning the day eventually, though.
Rarely will the 6:45 be actually optimal, you really need to see what the optimizer puts out throughout the day and then key in on a few guys you really like and let the optimizer do the dirty work. Most nights it’s not gonna win you a tourney but will help ensure you finish in the money if you did your own homework. That’s what the optimizer does
Hey Dean – this is a good point. The optimizer simply can’t convey “safety” the way the human eye test can. If you played the optimal lineup all season you would win, but you’d have a lot of variance because it’d be giving you lots of boom or bust plays. The optimizer is a tool, and like any tool, it’s most powerful in the hands of a skilled operator.
Except when Doug enters the optimal lineup accidentally in a DK tourney – then he wins $46k and they have some credibility – lots of us have known these guys have been legit for a while though so it is what it is!
The land of the free isn’t so free today with the law makers locking out the NY people. But good luck to all and I like Rose today at point which is kinda funny because I hardly ever play Rose but I’m gonna take a shot at him today
Also I like Arthur at PF today as a great punt
Me too!
I’m thinking Indy stack tonight against the sixers, but the optimizer for draftkings is awful…Any suggestions. I fear the blowout risk, but I may stack Ish and Noel if I can. Thoughts Ya’ll??!!
Brandon Jennings
Monta Ellis
Kawhi Leonard
Z-Bo
K. Towns GS
Ray McCallum
Paul George
Cody Zeller
1 of My Line-ups tonight DK
Love out, Frye starting.
Here is my first lineup: 276.9
Irving
Beal
James
Cousins
Zeller
McCallum
Randolf
Johnson
I also really like the Celt/Mag game, may have to throw a stack in the mix
Gasol is in! Minutes restriction…
Beal in or out?
Beal in from what I saw
Beal is in. System likes zeller at c on DK. He fits good in my lineups. Is he any kind of sorta safe in cash?
Amir Johnson or Arthur for cash. Any opinions please? Other than that my lineup looks decent
I am scared to go with LeBron tonight, too much talk of resting.
Maybe fade lebron in gpp but no
No in cash. He will be very highly owned and could cost u big time if u fade him
Why would they rest him with love out ? They’re only 1 point ahead of my beloved raptors?? They need him
Is Gortat ago?
I’m running this, and the same thing with Frye over Arthur as well.
PG Kyrie Irving 39.34 $7,100
PG Ray McCallum 21.8 $3,700
SG Monta Ellis 30.65 $6,600
SG Tony Allen 23.76 $4,700
SF LeBron James 48.79 $9,500
SF Rudy Gay 32.31 $6,300
PF Zach Randolph 35.85 $6,900
PF Darrell Arthur 20.73 $3,700
C DeMarcus Cousins 52.31 $11,100
Totals 305.54 $59,600
No way the rest Lebron tonight. If anything he plays more.
Good cash lineup James? Even with gay?
It’s go time. Good luck folks 🙂
LeBron isn’t resting tonight. Love resting is about them getting a LONG HARD LOOK at Frye with the starters. Cavs were terrible the other night and plenty of people internally and externally are pointing the finger at Love. Fully expect LeBron and Kyrie to go off tonight if for no other reason than the “see it’s not us” thing.
Ended up fading ZBO. Like him and the spot he’s in but figured he’d be way over owned and looking back at last game Lance was awful and Barnes didn’t play. Just thought there were a few other PFs with a higher ceiling.
Good call on zbo
I’ve got the same line-up as you James except Kyrie and Arthur. Hope it’s a good one. Would like to get a bank going into baseball season before they shut us down in the Lone Star State. Freaking Sycophants. Make me wanna gag.
Broke one of the cardinal rules. I had Amir Johnson, Zeller and Frye rated above Arthur in my own system and last second swapped to Arthur because I saw James had him above. Trust your own research 🙂