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!
The Nets are in complete tank mode and have decided to rest their 2 best players for the remainder of the season. Brook Lopez and Thad Young play key roles in this offense and will open up some huge opportunity for guys like Thomas Robinson and Henry Sims. Robinson and Sims will take over the starting backcourt and will play around 30 minutes per night. Both of these guys have proved their worth when given time and I expect no different tonight. The Pelicans have an abysmal defense and these guys should be able to hit value and possibly exceed it in 30 minutes.
Knight has been nagged by injuries all season long and is currently dealing with a sports hernia. He has been announced as out for this game and could be held out for the rest of the season. Ronnie Price is the direct beneficiary here as he will get around 30 minutes at point guard. Devin Booker also benefits as the ball will be in his hands more often which will lead to a higher usage %. Last game, Booker shot 6-22 with a usage $ over 30. I am not necessarily enthused to use any of these guys in a very tough match up with the Utah Jazz.
Jose Calderon is a player that opens up a lot of opportunities when out. Jerian Grant immediately steps into a big role and needs to be on your radar. Grant stepped into the starting lineup last game and had no problem getting his shot off. He has plenty of upside as a point guard that can rebound and play defense well above average. Carmelo and the other Knicks veterans have encouraged the young players to shoot and be active on offense. That tells me his shots and minutes are very safe. I look for Grant to get around 30 minutes in this one and be a terrific option.
Porzingis has missed the previous 2 games and it is not looking to good for him to return today. The Knicks have nothing to play for and therefore no reason to force Porzingis back. Derrick Williams has picked up 35 and 24 minutes in the previous 2 games KP missed. I am expecting him to be around 35 minutes in this one against a Pacers team that throws out plenty of big men.
Favors is questionable with knee soreness and it is a true toss-up whether or not he plays. The Jazz are in a tie for 8th place in the West and every game is huge from here on out. If Favors is able to play, he will. If Favors is unable to play, Trey Lyles immediately steps into a huge role and is in a great spot to succeed. Lyles played 35 minutes last game and ended up with over 30 fantasy points and 16 shot attempts. Lyles will step into a situation where he will play over 30 minutes against a team that struggles against athletic forwards.
D-Rose and the Bulls are in a tough spot right now and basically have to win out to have a chance at making the playoffs. The Bulls are coming off a tough loss to the Pistons which may force Rose to play when he is not actually ready to come back. If rose is out, E'Twaun Moore and Aaron Brooks will likely split minutes at point guard and Moore will grab a few at shooting guard. Jimmy Butler is the main beneficiary and will be a very good play. Butler had a triple double last night and the best game of his career. I am slightly worried about Butler being fatigued but with the Bulls needing to win he will force himself to get involved.
The Dallas Mavericks backcourt is a mess right now and is something that is going to have a huge impact on this slate. We need to look at this from a few different angles. If one of these guys play, I am interested in them and J.J. Barea. If both play, I am not going to touch any of the Mavs guards. If both Williams and Felton miss this game, J.J. Barea is a must play and Devin Harris is a great tournament play. In this scenario, Barea is locked into 35 minutes and 15 shots with a ceiling much higher. The match-up with the Timberwolves is a good one as the game will be fast paced and have plenty of peripheral stats up for grabs.
Norris Cole has missed the previous 12 games with a nagging back injury that may end his year. The latest word from coach Gentry is that it is "more and more likely" that Cole will miss the remainder of the season. If Cole happens to make a surprise comeback here, you can expect Tim Frazier and Toney Douglas to take a hit in the minutes and production column.
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.
Opponent - OKC
FD Proj. Pts - 53.76 DK Proj. Pts - 56.87
James Harden and the Rockets will be facing off with the Thunder in game the Rockets need to win. The Rockets are currently on the outside looking into the playoffs, although only 1 game back. Harden will play around 40 minutes in this game and will have a usage % over 35. Harden has averaged over 50 DK points against the Thunder and over 60 this season. Harden is my favorite player to pay up for as you can be certain he will get the minutes and shots. Harden has 60 fantasy points in 4 of his last 10 and I think he gets there once again.
Opponent - IND
FD Proj. Pts - 24.28 DK Proj. Pts - 25.59
Make sure Kristaps Porzingis is out, as mentioned above. Williams is in a spot here where he will be the second option on offense against a team that struggles against physical power forwards. Williams will be able to hit value easily and will likely exceed 6x. I am comfortable with Williams in all formats as he has a safe floor and a huge ceiling when considering his price.
Opponent - MIN
FD Proj. Pts - 29.99 DK Proj. Pts - 31.39
Barea is a must play if Deron Williams and Raymond Felton is out, which is looking likely. Barea has 30 fantasy points in 4 of his last 5 and 40 in 2 of those. You can expect 35 minutes and over 15 shots that will likely be wide open. The Timberwolves play at a fast pace which will give Barea plenty of opportunities to rack up fantasy points in plenty of different ways.
Opponent - POR
FD Proj. Pts - 49.98 DK Proj. Pts - 52.23
Stephen Curry is going to come out with vengeance after being taken down the Celtics last time out. Curry had a horrible game and wants to prove to everyone that he has gone nowhere. The Warriors are still aiming for the all-time win record and should be able to get an easy win here against the Blazers. Curry is going to come out firing early and often.
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!
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View Comments
Your 04/03/16 link goes to a 3/20/16 post !!!!
Wil optimizer continue to update until the evening games lock, or will the updates stop when the afternoon games lock? Thanks!
It update all day, all games until they are all locked.
Been updating the beast all day!
Every lineup hit at least 310 last night. Broke even but I'll take that on a funk Saturday night. Spreading my lineups across lockup times today. I think the optimizer has a huge advantage in those types of sets
Optimizer hit 348.8 last night. Cleaned house.
great night and great pivot off of Mirotic
any idea why draft kings doesn't currently allow anyone to play the nets vs pelicans? i mean i know they are both disgusting but some fun cheap plays there.
The NBA shouldn't allow those two teams to play!
I am guessing it has to do with the huge time disparity between the first and second game. It definitely takes away some great value plays though. I would move onto guys like Derrick Williams and Trey Lyles in place of the Nets value.
Is anyone else nervous about Butler and fatigue? Just got back from injury makes me not have him in more lineups. I like Middleton and the few dollars as a pivot. Have a feeling by game time so will optimizer
As mentioned above, I am definitely a little bit worried about Butler being fatigued. He looked a bit tired at the end of the game yesterday. However, the Bulls are in must win mode and Butler is their only chance. I expect him to tough it out and play close to 40 minutes again. Personally, I am not a fan of Middleton as he will likely be guarded by Butler.
Just posted an update on the Nets situation.
I was so confused why this article kept talking about the Nets and Pelicans until I saw the comments talking about when the game started.
For the early slate is there any good, cheap options I can roll with in order to get Westbrook, Harden and Lebron all on my team? Because I don't see anyone I like that I think would be worthwhile.
Thomas Robinson and Henry Sims are great value plays. Kilpatrick, Frazier, Hamilton and Larkin are very interesting as well.
Thanks Again DFSR scored 340.8 on fanduel thanks to Jimmy Buckets won my Quintuple ups and cashed in my tourneys. Keep it up, this injury and updates page is the best tool there is out there anywhere!