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Daily Fantasy Basketball Injury News and Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings - 4/8/16
Welcome to the daily updates and injury news article. We’ll update this article right up to lineup lock with all information that comes across our desks. You’ll probably find an ongoing discussion below in the Comments section – please jump in with questions, thoughts, etc. All input welcome!
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
Editor's note: Sorry for pulling this article! Tons of news came out all at once and we wanted you to be fully caught up. Enjoy!
The Clippers Are Sitting Most of Their Starters
Coach Doc Rivers announced yesterday that four key starters will sit out tonight’s game. They did this a few games back, so we have a pretty good idea what the rotations and minutes will look like. You’ll see them in lots of optimal lineups, and need to take advantage of this in cash games. See one caveat below.
Rivers is out too Give Crawford an event bigger bump, and we're now firmly in Pablo Prigioni territory as well. I like Crawford best by far for safety from this group, but some bizarre Clippers punt stacks are now in play as well.
The Zinger is Doubtful
All signs point to KP sitting another game. This makes Derrick Williams a strong option, given his tremendous production in the Unicorn’s stead.
The Spurs are resting everyone except for Tim Duncan
They did this against the Thunder (albeit the circumstances were slightly different, since the Thunder blew them out), so we at least have some precedent. The big winners from the lineup optimizer's perspective seem to be Patty Mills (who becomes the top overall points per dollar play at point guard) and David West, with an honorable mention to Kyle Anderson. I'd be fine with any of these guys in any format, which just makes tonight totally confusing.
Aaron Gordon is Sitting
We know he’s not going to take the court. We don’t know if Jason Smith or Andrew Nicholson will be starting in his place, but both should get plenty of minutes, with the starter an intriguing option, especially for big tourneys.
Nic Batum will play tonight. When Batum sits, Courtney Lee tends to see a lot of court time, sometimes upwards of 40 minutes. That’s a lot of potential for fantasy production. Jeremy Lin is also seeing mid-thirties minutes, and while he sucked last game, he's shown serious upside on big minutes in the best. Definitely one to watch for big tournaments, and is probably a cash game play if he's starting.
Kristaps Porzingis and Jose Calderon are out
And Derrick Williams paid better than 6x points per dollar in his last game in 32 minutes. If we get word that he's starting, he's probably safe in any format with huge upside. The point guard situation remains a little murkier. Grant has been starting and paying out decently on his prices, but Langston Galloway has been getting more minutes. I wouldn't feel safe with either.
What We're Waiting to Know
John Wall's status
He missed last game, and Ramon Sessions was a revelation - putting up 40 fantasy points in 29 missions. Sessions would be a punt to prioritize if we get definitive news on Wall.
Will Wall play tonight? If Wall sits again, Bradley Beal will see his usage and minutes go through the roof. He in turn becomes a very strong option. SG is stacked tonight, so this may be more of a pivot play, but he could also be an every-lineup guy if the salary plays out right. Check the Optimizer close to lineup lock.
Is Ennis going to start again?As Doug pointed out last night, you need to keep an eye out to see if Ennis is in the starting lineup again for the Pelicans. If so, he has to be under strong consideration, given his salary and the minutes potential. He’s gotten about 30 for the past several games, and that could go up if he starts. He put up a 6x last game as a starter, and came off the bench for a 9x and 4x the previous times out. His ceiling goes up if he beings the game on the court, and he has a great floor for a punt in any event. There are lots of cheap options on Friday, and this is yet another solid one.
What will Pop do?We know lots of people are going to sit, just not who exactly. Kawhi Leonard often plays, even on Rest Nights. If he does, he's got to be under strong consideration on a night with so few alternatives to invest your full budget.
The "Every Lineup" Guys
Giannis Antetokounmpo - FD 9700 DK 9700
Opponent - BOS
FD Proj. Pts - 45.82 DK Proj. Pts - 46.99
With so many cheap options, you're going to have to spend up somewhere. Today, that looks like it's Giannis. He's put up 50 fantasy points in three straight games, he'll have a fast paced match-up with the C's, and the Bucks don't show any sign of slowing him down. With so much uncertainty among big money guys right now, he's the one guy you can at least guarantee will be out there for his full run. Famous last words and all, I know.
Crawford is another player showing in every lineup on both sites. The last time the Clips rested their starters, he went off. The Optimizer sees the same happening again, and highly advises he be in your lineups tonight.
Another Clipper reserve benefitting from Rest Night, Aldrich is recommended across the board.. He’s the chalk play of the night, and you can expect high ownership percentages. He's very attractive for cash games for sure, as he put up 24 points in 30 minutes against OKC the last time he started.
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
- Chris_Paul_dribbling_20131118_Clippers_v_Grizzles: By Verse Photography (Flickr: 20131118 ClippersvGrizzles41) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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Austin Rivers OUT!
Please post if ANYONE else plays Aces. I take a lot of time and post FantasyAces L/U’s for people that have been on FIRE the past month. I’m not going to waste everyone’s space/reading if I’m the only one playing on that site…
Current FantasyAces top L/U
G J.Crawford 22.26 4,300.00
G J.Barea 20.13 4,500.00
G R.Jackson 28.56 4,950.00
F G.Antetokounmpo 40.04 6,500.00
F Z.Randolph 30.55 5,300.00
F J.Randle 28.49 5,100.00
C J.Parker 28.09 4,800.00
Util Mc.Morris 25.40 4,800.00
Util R.Lopez 26.79 4,750.00
Hey Justin! I do play at FantasyAces, but not nearly as much as FD or DK. In fact, I did place 1st in last nights $1k Bounce Pass. I simply used many of the guys in the DFSR write-up and the projections from the tool. Appreciate that you do share your lu’s!
Barea
Crawford
D Williams
J smith
Rolo
Walker
Giannas
Drummond
Thoughts? (DK) last quarter in my bank x_x really need this to hit in order to keep my Draftkings fix in check haha. Thanks in advance. -Broke student
Trey, wanted to say something earlier, but didn’t have any good ideas for you. But some news coming in says Ersan Illyasova will start at PF in Orlando. May want to consider dropping J smith (assuming you mean Jason of Orlando) as i think Skiles will divvy up minutes pretty evenly between Smith, Ersan, Nicholson and Vuc.
Potential changes….
Smith turns into Thomas Robinson
Move Drummond to C
UTIL turns into…. Kevin Martin.
It’s a flyer. Maybe not the way you want to spend your last lineup. But I see low ownership and big game potential out of Martin. Someone has to shoot the ball in San Antonio, and he put up 23 fantasy points in just 15 minutes last night. May be your ticket to some more contests before season’s end. Could also look at other cheap players for that Utility slot. or maybe a different PF other than Robinson (he’s probably somewhat highly owned, but i think he has big game potential).
Tough decisions tonight! Anyone else feel like they always find their perfect lineup, but it’s $100 over the limit? Have $6,600 in my DK Utility spot, and want Z Bo so, so badly.
Every single night! This is what the optimizer is for!
FantasyAces mid-day update…note that John Wall is now doubtful
G J.Barea 20.13 4,500.00
G T.Frazier 16.25 4,300.00
G R.Sessions 15.41 3,750.00
F G.Antetokounmpo 40.04 6,500.00
F Z.Randolph 30.55 5,300.00
F J.Parker 28.09 4,800.00
C H.Whiteside 38.43 6,200.00
Util N.Vucevic 38.24 5,950.00
Util T.Robinson 15.63 3,700.00
How many minutes will George play tonight?
Wall DOUBTFUL!!!!
Jeff Green will PLAY!!!!
Is anyone else worried about playing Aldrich since hes going against the Jazz and Gobert?
Parker, Harris & Robinson at PF. Who looks the be the best options?
Robinson
Parker, Harris probably safer
Any thoughts on Frazier tonight as a punt play? Guy is real cheap and has been making value and has put up and 30 plus points in 4 out of his last six contest. Not to mention they are playing the lakers at home! Seems like a diamond in the rough to me.
He’s been playing great, but be a little bit careful – he rolled his ankle on Wednesday and is only probable. Wouldn’t be shocked to see him on a minutes limit. But if he’s confirmed as all good, he is quite interesting. We may adjust his minutes as the day proceeds.
Kawhi out
is Frazier playing tonight?
Thomas
Larkin
Beal
Hood
The Alphabet
Babbitt
Robinson
VuceVucejic
GPP play tonight! Any suggestions or changes?
gotta get crawford in there
Frazier is a GTD as of right now. hes listed as probable
Don’t know about Larkin, he hasn’t been doing anything for me.
Hey guys – I am going to be doing some major minutes overhauls right now. Stay tuned for quite different projections at like 4ish.
JD
I wouldn’t be doing my duty as an avid DFSR reader if I didn’t mention Jusuf Nurkic starting tonight in place of Kenneth Faried that’s getting rest. He’s going against SA which doesn’t sound appealing but they’re resting all their guys, making him at least a GPP candidate for sure.
Don’t trust dirk nowadays going Morris and Randolph at Pf
Vuk, Whiteside, or Drummond? Tough m/u for Vuk.
On the flip side to my last comment (as far as punt plays are concerned) Luke Babbit has been playing just as good as Frazier. minutes are there even if he’s coming off the bench. I think I might roll him out in a lineup or two! Thanks for getting back @James
So is Duncan worth taking a flyer on tonight? No one is really jumping out at me at center tonight. Thoughts.
anyone havea good feeling on Dragic? hes had good back to back games…
How come T. Robinson is getting no love? He’s been killing it!
And is Duncan worth considering?
Thanks for everything DFSR and all!
I love Robinson. And i’d personally stay away from Duncan. Other, better value to be had on this slate and i doubt he sees more than 20 minutes.
Not seeing much positive mention about Hood, but he’s playing against backups in a must win game, and has hit value in 6 straight games. Is there something I’m overlooking?
Hey Doug, James and dfsr…
In MLB no mariner players except for walker are showing up in the optimizer anywhere. No hitters. Please update. Thanks
Everyone be patient……I’ll have your guaranteed disaster of a lineup shortly….just standby.
I, too, am looking hard at Frazier and Babbit. I think both are good cash plays as i think 30 fpts each is a very reasonable expectation tonight.
For what it’s worth, after watching the replay of Frazier’s ankle roll (it was all over social media as a “broken ankles” play – don’t get me started on this social media trend), it didn’t look that bad. Minor tweak. Frazier himself said he’s fine, and he finished that game with a nice line.
What i’m trying to figure out is this: at what point in the game did it happen? (i.e. mid 3rd quarter? end of 4th quarter? etc) so i can have some insight on how well and how much he played after rolling the ankle. If he still played a quarter or more of basketball and continued to put up numbers during that time, then i think any concerns of the ankle slowing him down can be put to rest.
Anyone able to help with this piece? When did the ankle roll occur? The stupid vines i keep seeing don’t have a scoreboard / time stamp in the frame!
Well bummer, i found the highlight video. Rolled his ankle on essentially the last possession of the game. So It’s hard to tell how or if the ankle will effect him. I may start looking elsewhere for cash purposes. So many options, no need to go down a path of uncertainty. Could be into a babbit/frazier stack for gpp though…
Hey Adam it’s funny you mention hood I have him in a few of my lineups I think he’s safe tonight I’m actually using him as a closer.
@Reid
Happened near the end of the fourth quarte, with a minute or two left. Not sure if he ever came back in tho.
Ha, just saw your follow up post Reid. Took him out of my lineup for the same uncertainty. Too bad, he’s been solid
Thanks for the response though. Nice to get some help sorting through all this. I still think he could make a real nice play, but just so hard to make decisions right now. Haven’t had this many good looking plays in a long time.
Good luck!
i don’t think many will play him (Frazier) just because he rolled his ankle, but if he says he’s good I gotta take the chance on at least one lineup!
Optimizer seems to have dropped a bit on Sessions. Is that a matchup thing with Detroit?
Whiteside is great place to spend, gonna be huge tonight.
Anyone know why Sessions only played 29 minutes last game even with Wall out? I wonder if that’s why his protections are dropping tonight. Plus playing in Detroit. And with Wall out, how do you feel about Beal? I know that KCP is usually pretty solid on defense. Kinda worries me a bit about plugging in Beal/Sessions.
My thoughts are that Sessions’ 29 minutes were tied to a blowout. Despite no Wall, the Wizards crushed the Nets.
I, personally, am staying off Beal. He strikes me as a GPP play more than a cash play. Very scoring dependent, and KCP is legit. But now that i say that, he probably posts a monster tonight. We all know how that goes…
Back to Sessions for a minute. I’m looking at the box score from that game against the Nets. There are literally 0 other point guards on that roster. When Sessions sits, they will have to use Beal or Garrett Temple as the de facto point guard (maybe this boosts Beal? I don’t know, i’m staying away). What this tells me is that, if the game isn’t a total blowout, Sessions should play more than 30 minutes. He just has to. If they are trying to win, they need a PG on the floor.
Oh of course! I did not watch the game so I didn’t realize it was a blowout! Well that’s reassuring. At only $4.1k, he seems like a very safe cash game play, expecially with the uncertainty of Frazier. With the savings, I could use Sessions over Frazier, and Oladipo over Hood. But then again, I’m not sure Oladipo will pay off his price tag, especially with Vucevic around and moving back in to the starting lineup. Lots of tough decisions to make tonight.
I can’t fathom Aldrich being a highly popular play as you say – just because he’s cheap doesn’t mean he’s gonna crush value.
Utah is fighting the the last spot in the playoffs and they are already a tough defense down low and have been most of the season.
Horrible MU IMO regardless of the lack of players on LAC – you will be lucky if he gets or nears 20 points at his 3,700
Do you want to rethink this statement?
The hardest decision for me tonight is deciding where to spend up outside of The Greek Freak.
My SGs are pretty much locked at Jamal Crawford and Brad Beal.
I also love Barea at PG.
So much value everywhere else… Where to spend up? Who are the best top dollar PGs? Isaiah Thomas and Kemba Walker? Mine as well throw Paul George in the lineup…
Which of these games has the best stacking possibilities?
To further complicate tonight’s slate, I just read on fantasyalarm that Cannon and Landry are out tonight and Noel is back and starting at C. Lol.
Larkin is kinda scaring me tonight. Who would be a good replacement? I’m thinking if Wall sits again then Sessions looks great. Thoughts?
Anybody else wary of melo? Seems to show up quite a bit in optimal.
I’m with you Michael. I’d rather have PG13 instead of Melo. Escprically since the younger guys are getting more minutes now down the stretch for the Knicks. PG13 still scares me a little though too if I’m being truthful.
I’m thinkin George Ellis stack (fighting to make playoffs) despite Toronto being a tough match up I think they both go hard tonight as well as a Sessions/Drummond.
Who has must win games tonight?
Anybody liking JJ. Tonight?
I played him and could have won 12k if I don’t!I had 341 on DK with him in! You just never know
Potential GPP flyer…
Kevin Martin
had 23 fantasy points in 15 minutes last night. Someone has to shoot the ball for the spurs tonight, and he’s a scorer at heart.
Just more thoughts to keep your head spinning.
Really good idea Reid, but I don’t know if I have enough faith in anything called K Mart. I definitely expect him to put up a good amount of shots if he gets the time.
Absolutely, he’s far from safe, but i just talked myself into a $3 scratch ticket featuring Boban and Martin. Fun times.
Sorry ment JJ Barea
Per the lineups i just posted, i’m in on JJ
OK, asking for a little help here. I’ve whittle things down to these being my two favorite cash lineups. Nurkic makes me quesy, so i’m currently prepared to go all-in on Sessions. Is it smart, at all, to go 50% with the Sessions lineup, and the other 50% of my money on the Nurkic lineup? Or better move to just pick one and stick with it?
K. Walker
J. Crawford
G. Antetokounmpo
T. Robinson
C. Aldrich
J. Barea
P. George
R. Sessions
or
K. Walker
J. Crawford
G. Antetokounmpo
T. Robinson
C. Aldrich
J. Barea
P. George
J. Nurkic
System prefers the latter for sure, but like i said Nurkic just makes me nervous.
Thanks all, and good luck tonight.
Second lineup is risky. I like them both though.
Thanks Steven.
Oooooooh, every time Boban comes up, I forget he exists. Actually, I forget he exists every day, but yeah. Boban sounds like a great Aldrich-alternative if you think he gets the looks down low/rebound opportunities. He hasn’t played a minute in the past three games though, so….
Is anyone else here slightly worried about Kemba? I’m liking Barea + R Jackson…
ok guys…….it’s here……the lineup that will ruin your night…..avoid at all cost
Walker
Thomas
Crawford
Matthews
Hayward
Greeky Freeky
Williams
Randolph
Gobert
you’ve ben warned
Ennis starting according to Basketball Monster…
So who are the “must-avoids” tonight?
my thoughts for tonight is forget about value and focus on the teams that have good starters that are playing for something
Wish they would let us know if Wall is playing
Fanduel said that it was very unlikely for Wall. Had fluid drained from his knee today. Missed shoot around.
Wall is out
Thanks Doug!
Thanks
I. Thomas tonight? Yay or nay?? I got him in 2 lineups.
Isaiah? For my tastes, i’m staying off. I freaking love Isaiah as a player (he’s like a half inch shorter than me and plays like i always dreamed i could, but i digress..) and hop on him frequently in DFS. But he has performed below his season averages in 3 games against milwaukee this year. Statistically insignificant sample size, i know, but I think the length of their team bothers him. I’ve faded him every time he’s played milwaukee and i’ve been right so far. So that means he probably crushes tonight.
But with news of Batum playing, he may now be closer to Kemba in terms of value. Tough call.
thought wall was a game time call?
nevermind, see a confirmation from wizards twitter
Final FantasyAces L/U for tonight. Please note that Crawford has replaced Frazier (Frazier maybe on a minutes limit after spraining ankle? System prefers Crawford as insane usage? Could be either/both)
G J.Barea 20.13 4,500.00
G J.Crawford 22.26 4,300.00
G R.Sessions 15.41 3,750.00
F G.Antetokounmpo 40.04 6,500.00
F Z.Randolph 30.55 5,300.00
F J.Parker 28.09 4,800.00
C H.Whiteside 38.43 6,200.00
Util N.Vucevic 38.24 5,950.00
Util T.Robinson 15.63 3,700.00
help kemba or PG13?!!?
Sessions
Ellis
Williams
J smith
Drummond
Walker
PG13
White side thought? Hurry!
Is DeRozan playing
Lowry, DeRozan, Scola are out.
Going to stick with PG and hope he gets in enough points before the blowout to pay his salary. They till need to win this game. Not touching any Raptors as there are other, better, value plays in my opinion.
Last night of NBA for me till the playoffs. 5 minutes before lock TOR waives the white flag and it screws up so much of what I liked about the slate.
Yeah it’s brutal. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Hoping to clean up on other’s missteps. Hopefully i don’t trip on something myself…
Hope so. But history tells me in GPP this is the sort of night the multiple lineup guys clean up. All of the days research out the window if you only run one lineup like I do.
Pushed out a couple of updates as fast as I could with that news. Joseph and Powell bumps. James Johnson too.
Where did you hear the DeRozan news, I took him out cause u said he was playing
kept walker and went with PG13, and barea instead of isiah thomas and hayward….. yay?
sessions
crawford
greek
t-rob
aldrich
barea
pg13
kemba
Walker ownership decently low and great 1st qtr. Good stary
Crimes! Of course I got the Lowry news 5 minutes too late!
And by “crimes”, I mean CRIPES!
Session off to a slow start
Opinions on my last guard slot in late slate: Mudiay, Hood, or Patty Mills?
Detroit players are ballin
Yikes sessions may be my undoing. Nice work anyone who went Beal/Jackson or maybe Frazier now with that news.
Giannis with 29 FP in first qu. Insane.
I have to ask, would it be so hard for these companies to send out alerts to injuries or players being rested to anybody who has them in their lineups? ESPN does it for their Season Long Fantasy Games. Would be such a help to DFS players, especially on DK where you can change after the first game tips… Just an idea…
you think Matthews is gonna play basketball tonight?
please dont tell me Hayward is gonna just piddle around tonight
Jim:
Probably because I’ve got him in my lineup too!
I guess Matthews is gonna take the night off……what a disgrace
FanDuel top lineup looks like it’s home easy in cash games. Tournaments maybe. DraftKings going to be close.
Charlie Brown Ugh!
No JJ was a disgrace, I used him in almost all my lineups smh
Switched Kemba for IT and PG over Melo, other than that top FD LU cashing good. Would be even better had I left Kemba. Both Melo/PG were under value.
Good night for optimal on dk, got me my money back on other 2 lineups I put in
Keep the picks coming like this DFSR!!! Great night!!!!!!!
Very good on FD. Was even good enough to cash in bronze fdp free play. Not much better then free cash.
Thanks guys! Just took down the 25k hotshot on draft kings with a lot of the picks and a few of my own research! Turned $3 into 2k tonite!
took home some decent cash tonight thanks to the optimal. great job tonight guys