Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates - 12/10/17

***Updated for the 7PM Main slate***

Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NBA optimizer, our NFL Optimizer, and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below.

First time with NBA or NFL? Be sure to read our free NBA and NFL Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.

What We Know

Jameer Nelson has been ruled out for the Pelicans.
Nelson will miss the game against the Sixers tonight with an ankle issue. Rajon Rondo will return to action following a rest day on Friday, while Anthony Davis, who passed his 25 minute restriction on Friday with 30 by the end of the night, will have no restriction tonight.

Dennis Smith Jr. will miss a second straight contest as the Mavericks head to Minnesota.
Smith is dealing with a hip strain, and was questionable heading into Friday's tilt with the Bucks, before the team ultimately ruled him out of that game and tonight's contest with the Wolves. JJ Barea, Devin Harris and Yogi Ferrell were all likely candidates to see a bump in workload with Smith sidelined, but none lit the world on fire with their performances on Friday.

Robert Covington and T.J. McConnell are both out for the Sixers trip to New Orleans.
Covington fell into the stands in the fourth quarter of last night's loss to the Cavaliers, and bruised his back in the process. The team will rest him on the tail end off the back to back as they play the Pelicans tonight. McConnell has missed four of the last five games with a shoulder injury and will be sidelined once again tonight. Jerryd Bayless has seen extended time in McConnells absence but hasn't done much with it, though if with both RoCo and T.J. out, that could add to his playing time, while Timothy Luwawu-Cabarot will start in Covington's spot. In positive Sixers news, Joel Embiid, who was rested last night, will play the tail end of the B2B set tonight.

Nikola Jokic remains out for the Nuggets.
The Joker will miss game number five with a sprained left ankle, Mason Plumlee and Kenneth Faried will continue to absorb the bulk of Jokic's minutes.

Willie Cauley-Stein will not rejoin the Kings when they host the Raptors today.
WCS was held back from the Kings recent two game road trip with a lower back strain, and is apparently still nursing the injury. Look for the Kings to keep Zach Randolph at the center spot with JaKarr Sampson starting once again at power forward with Cauley-Stein out for a third straight. He'll be joined on the bench by George Hill, who will miss for personal reasons.

Marcus Morris is out against the Pistons.
The Celtics have been monitoring Morris' knee all season after he missed several games early on due to strain, and will hold him out once again, likely leading to Jayson Tatum seeing some extended playing time.

Every Lineup Guys

EARLY
Victor Oladipo FD - $9600 DK - $9000
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 43.66 DK - 43.68
As we await word on the number of questionable plays the Pacers may have unavailable for this afternoon's contest with the Nuggets, we know Victor Oladipo is available and ready to go, and on the early set of games he is appearing everywhere in our system for the early slate. 'Dipo has been playing a whole different game since his knee held him out of a game against the Celtics a couple of weeks back. James broke down the specifics of his stats in the picks article, so I won't retread that info. Oladipo's price has been steadily on the rise, but there is still room for it to climb if he's going to continue playing at the current level. In six games back from that missed game, he has paid 5X or better at these current prices four times. Today he plays in the early game with the highest projected total, and may be one of the only starters the Pacers have available so he should have no problem pushing the minutes to the max. In the early slate I think you definitely want to make sure you have exposure to Oladipo in cash games.

MAIN
Ben Simmons FD - $10300 DK - $10100
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 53.17 DK - 53.9
The main slate of three night cap games begins with two 7ET tip-offs, one of which sees Ben Simmons and the Sixers heading to the Bayou to visit the Pelicans. Simmons is showing himself to be a exceptional young talent in his rookie campaign with superstar potential, and is very exciting to watch, He'll have Embiid back on the court with him tonight, which on most night's might hurt his value, but tonight actually helps his case, as Boogie and Davis will be occupied with keeping Embiid in check. Though listed as a power forward, Simmons is more of a new generational "point forward", and New Orleans has no one that can match both Simmons' size AND speed, so he will basically have free run of the court all night. The likelihood that Philly will be playing without Robert Covington just adds to Simmons' appeal. This game has the highest projection from our friends in Vegas by nearly 15 points and features two of the fastest offenses in the game. Simmons will be the play of the night, and I for one will have him locked in for all formats.

Jeff Teague FD - $7000 DK - $6500
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 34.67 DK - 34.9
Simmons has fallen out of "every lineup" territory since my early post, and is now appearing in just over half of the top lines put out by our optimizer, I'm leaving him here as I feel he is still the best way to pay up in cash games tonight. Now showing up everywhere as we draw closer to lock we have Jeff Teague of the Timberwolves. Teague comes to us much cheaper than Simmons, and plays the Mavericks who are the second worst team at defending the point in the game, behind only the Pelicans and will be without Dennis Smith Jr. tonight. Teague returned from a four game absence due to an achilles injury and hasn't missed a beat. Since rejoining the rotation, he's averaging 34.5 minutes per game and outside of a tough game against a Grizzlies team that are the stingiest defense in the game at the position, He's consistently paying value at these prices. Teague may not have tournament upside, but he, along with Simmons, is an excellent way to go in cash on this three game micro main slate.

GRAB A FREE TRIAL OF OUR PROJECTION SYSTEM, AND CHECK OUT DFSR PRO!