Daily Fantasy Basketball Injury News and Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings - 3/27/16

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

Deron Williams is out

The Dallas Mavericks have announced that Deron Williams will be out for a minimum of 2 games with an abdomen injury. With Chandler Parsons already sidelined, this open up some huge opportunity in the offense. The 2 main beneficiaries will be Raymond Felton and JJ Barea, as well as Wesley Matthews. I expect the Mavs to run a lot of 3 guard offenses with Matthews at the 3. Devin Harris will likely also pick up around 20-25 minutes and could be a great value at min. price around the industry. The Kings struggle to guard anyone and all of these guys mentioned above are in great spots.

Nerlens Noel is out

Nerlens Noel is going to miss his 2nd straight game here on the back end of a back to back. Jerami Grant and Carl Landry are going to be great options against a Warriors team who likes to run small. I could the 76ers moving Grant down to the 5 and getting both of these guys close to 30 minutes with Grant way over that mark. Sticking Grant at the 5 will give the 76ers a fast lineup that will be able to run with the Warriors. This will also benefit Robert Covington as he will pick up a minutes boost if they run small. He is always a candidate to get hot from the perimeter and have a huge game.

What We're Waiting to Know

Will James Harden play?

Harden missed practice on Saturday with an illness not yet disclosed. The Rockets are fighting tooth and nail for the playoffs and Harden knows how bad they need him. I fully expect Harden to play unless he knows he is a liability to the team given his condition. Harden is such a huge part of the offense that you really need to break down what will happen if Harden is not gonna be out there. You can expect Patrick Beverley to become the main ball-handler with Trevor Ariza, Michael Beasley and Dwight Howard taking the majority of shots. I do not think it is a bad idea to run out a few of these guys if Harden is out. Beasley will have an insane usage off the bench and may be a little sneaky. Remember, I expect Harden to be in but keep an eye out.

Will D'Angelo Russell play?

D'Angelo Russell is currently listed as doubtful which leads me to believe he is going to miss this one against the Wizards. This news opens about 30-34 minutes and 15 shots up in the Lakers backcourt. Jordan Clarkson is a terrific play with solidified minutes and a guaranteed usage % over 25. Marcelo Huertas also becomes a very intriguing option at the minimum price around the industry. The Wizards are not a strong defensive team and whoever gets the minutes will put up value. My favorite play of the bunch is definitely Clarkson and will be keeping a look out for any Byron Scott quotes on getting some other guys run.

Will Markieff Morris play?

Markieff was pulled from the game Friday with calf strains and that is all we know for now. The team has not released anything yet on the sattus for Morris tonight. If I had to make a guess I think he sits due to the game being against the Lakers and the Wizards knowing how important Morris is to a playoff run. Nene Hilario will likely play around 25-30 minutes and Jared Dudley will see around the same. Otto Porter may move down to the 4 for some of the game which will give him a better ceiling with rebound upside. Nene and Porter are my favorite plays of the bunch as they are guaranteed production when given minutes against a weak Lakers defense.

The "Every Lineup" Guys

James Harden FD 11000 DK 10700

*Note* - Make sure Harden is available for this one. He missed practice with a bug but should be good to go.

Harden and the Rockets enter this game as the 7 seed in the West. They are only 1 game back from the 9 seed and will need to fight their way into the playoffs. Harden knows this and will be doing whatever he can to get his team into the playoffs. I expect him to shoot the ball over 20 times in this one and get his usual amount of of peripheral stats. Monta Ellis is a very bad defender and Harden should be able to get to the rim with ease as well as find as many open perimeter shots as he desires. Harden is a great cash game and tournament play with a great floor and huge ceiling.

Lets just quickly take a look at who is going to cover Draymond Green in this one. We have Jerami grant and Carl Landry as the only big men on the 76ers. Draymond is going to absolutely destroy this game for however long he is in there. i can see a scenario where Green hits 5x value in around 25 minutes due to his uncanny ability to put up peripheral stats in a hurry. The Warriors will likely blow this game out of the water early but not without the help of Draymond Green. You can expect green to be somewhat low owned with people scared away due to the blowout and wanting to pay up in different spots.

Wesley Matthews - FD 4400 DK 4800
Opponent - SAC
FD Proj. Pts - 23.38 DK Proj. Pts - 26.93
Wesley Matthews has been a terrific option for the better part of the past week. The Mavericks enter this game hobbled as ever with Parsons out for a while and Deron Williams out for a few games at the very least. This is going to be a fast paced game that will have a ton of possessions, turnovers and open 3 points shots. Matthews usage % jumps over 25 with this active roster and I expect it to tbe even higher than that tonight. Matthews is a terrific option in all types of games and is a near lock to hit value. You can expect a great floor around 25 with a ceiling over 40.

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!