Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings – 3/18/17

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

Nicolas Batum will play tonight.
Batum missed the last two games with a migraine, but the Hornets have announced he will be available to play tonight against the Wizards. No word at the moment on any minutes restriction, but just the return of Batum means a hit to Jeremy Lambs fantasy value. Until we know more I'd stay far away from both.

Rodney Hood has been ruled out tonight.
Hood will miss his second straight with a sore right knee. Joe Ingles, who saw 31 minutes Thursday night against the Cavs, looks to be the primary beneficiary of Hoods absence once again. Though I chose the splashier names to write up below, it's worth noting the system currently love Ingles as another "every lineup" play as he shows in the top ten lineups as well. With Derrick Favors and Shelvin Mack already ruled out, this also means good news for George Hill, who sees a 3.3% bump in usage with those three off the court.

Tony Parker is available to play tonight.
Tony Parker is officially available to play tonight for San Antonio as they take on the Grizzlies. This will send Patty Mills back to the bench and diminish his fantasy desirability.

Markieff Morris is out.
Morris was ruled out of last night's contest with the Bulls due to illness. He has just been ruled out again for tonight's game against the Hornets. Jason Smith, who paid 10X points per dollar last night, becomes another phenomenal play and should be used everywhere.

What We're Waiting to Know

Kyrie Irving's status remains uncertain.
Kyrie traveled to Los Angeles with the team but as of now his status for tonight's tilt with the Clippers is still up in the air. He received treatment on the knee yesterday, and a determination should be forthcoming following shootaround, so keep a close eye on this one. Kyle Korver and Iman Shumpert also remain game time decisions, all of this uncertainty could potentially lead to a ton of Cleveland back court minutes being up for grabs tonight.

The "Every Lineup" Guys

James Harden
If you read our picks article linked above, you already know this is the game to target tonight. Vegas has it projected at an insane 240 total and a meager 2.5 point spread. That's a lot of baskets on both ends of the court. At the center of it all is Mr MVP candidate himself, James Harden. Even in games the Rockets lose, like last night against the Pelicans, Harden is out there commanding all facets of the game putting up monster stat lines. His triple double last night (41/14/11), his third straight, led him to paying over 5X value for the second time in three games. Denver and Houston both have explosive offenses, weak defenses, and play among the fastest paces in the NBA. Fade the beard at your own risk. I for one will have him everywhere and then some.

Draymond Green
When I wrote Draymond Green up last night, I didn't have a projection from Vegas on the Warriors/Bucks game. We now know it's projected with a 214 total and an 11 point spread. With that, I stand by my assessment that the Bucks should keep it close enough to allow Dray to get his full run. The Warriors clearly are not the same team since losing Kevin Durant for the season, and even the Sixers gave them a tough time on Tuesday night. Milwaukee is ranked middle of the road defensively against opposing fours and are allowing 2% more scoring and 4% more assists to the position. If he's being chased around by the Freak it could be a long night, but Dray is well adept at taking care of the ball, so as long as he can protect the rock, doling out assists and snagging rebounds, it could also be a big night for anyone that locks Green in to their line ups.

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