Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings – 12/21/16

Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings - 12/21/16

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

Victor Oladipo will remain out against the Pelicans

Oladipo has been held out for the past 4 games, and will likely miss at least a couple more. This game against the Pelicans should be full of fantasy goodness, and I am glad Oladipo will not be able to take any looks. Westbrook and Adams are my favorite, though the role players are interesting as well in tournaments.

What We're Waiting to Know

Kevin Love is officially questionable against the Bucks

Love missed last game, and both LeBron and Kyrie took advantage. They both had good games, and will likely do so against the same opponent tonight. If he does play, I think they are all restricted to tournament options. These guys are playing 2 days in a row, so it could be a fun one to see how both teams adjust.

Dwight Howard is questionable with a sore back against the T-Wolves

Howard ended up missing last game, and both Millsap and Schroder took advantage. If he misses again, I like both of them once again. Karl-Anthony Towns also gets a bump up if Dwight Howard is forced to sit. If he does play, I think everyone is downgraded just a little bit.

Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi are questionable against the Jazz

Either way, I have no interest in this offense. They are coming off of a back to back and facing off with a top 5 NBA defense. Outside of large field tournaments, I have no desire to target anyone on this side. If Gay comes back, he will take minutes from mostly Garrett Temple and Omri Casspi, who is also questionable.

Rodney Hood is questionable with "gastric distress"

I assume this just means the flu, but it could be anything. Either way, most stomach viruses tend to wear you down for at least a full day or two. If he just had something bad to eat, I could see him returning tonight. In the case that he does miss, I look for Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward to get the biggest bump. Both will have the ball in there hands more often and get more shot attempts. They can be targeted across the board.

The "Every Lineup" Guys

Russell Westbrook

Westbrook has more upside than anyone, and the floor follows right along. The Pelicans are a very average defensive team, but their high pace forces them to struggle. They have ranked in the bottom third against PG’s since Holiday came back and I see no reason to think they improve on that. Westbrook is basically a lock for 55, with a ceiling that is probably about 90. That may seem crazy, but we have seen it before, and it is a CEILING. He will cost you an arm and leg tonight, but it should be worth it when he has a monster game.

Kent Bazemore

Bazemore returned from injury and was supposed to play “limited” minutes. Instead, he played 40 minutes and was a big part of the offense. He looked good and supposedly felt good following the game. I expect him to get another good load of minutes here, and against the T-Wolves, he should be able to get open enough. They run a fast paced offense, and their defense runs about average. They do struggle mostly against guards, as LaVine and Rubio are worse defenders than Towns and Dieng. Bazemore should look to penetrate the paint tonight and he should have some success doing so. He is cheaper than he should be, which also plays a big part in everything.

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image sources

  • Kevin Love, Pau Gasol: (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Austyn Varney