Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates - 1/4/18

Sure, football has everyone's attention tonight, but there is still basketball to be played this afternoon. Before you set those lineups we at DFSR have been monitoring all of the latest breaking news, and have all you need to know right here. Also, don't forget to check out our position by position breakdown of today's top plays. Good luck, enjoy the big game, and Fly Eagles Fly!

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

Kyrie Irving remains out for the Celtics.
Irving is dealing with a serious quad bruise and will be held out of a third straight game. Marcus Smart remains out along with Shane Larkin, so Terry Rozier will draw the start once again. In the Boston front court, Marcus Morris is dealing with a hip bruise which will hold him out of his second game in a row. Jayson Tatum will continue to see an increase in time and usage with several of the Boston starters out.

Lonzo Ball remains out for the Lakers.
Ball is still trying to work his way back from a knee sprain and has yet to go through a full practice. The Lakers will keep him out at least until they return home on Tuesday depending on how he progresses. Jordan Clarkson will continue to benefit from Balls absence.

Tyreke Evans will continue to be held out by the Grizzlies.
Memphis is looking to move Evans who has played exceptionally well this season, and until they can finalize a deal they will continue to let him ride the pine to eliminate the risk of injury. With Evans on the shelf and Mario Chalmers also out with an injury, Andrew Harrison, and Wayne Selden will continue to see added usage.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will miss a fifth straight game.
The Nets have ruled out RHJ who has missed four games already with a right groin strain. Look for Qunicy Acy to continue to start in his place until he is able to make his return.

Marquese Chriss is serving a one game suspension for an altercation Friday night.
Chris only played 14 minutes Friday night, and it seems there was some altercation between him and an assistant coach, resulting in him being held out of today's game against the Hornets. With Alex Len also questionable, this could mean big minutes for both Tyson Chandler, and Dragan Bender.

Marvin Williams will miss game number three.
Williams has been sidelined a week now with an ankle sprain and will sit out a third straight contest as the Hornets travel into Phoenix today. Frank the Tank Kaminsky will continue to start in Williams absence and is reasonably priced if he stands to see another 29 minutes against a weak Phoenix defense.

What We're Waiting to Know

Brandon Ingram is a GTD for the Lakers game against the Thunder.
Ingram looked good against the Nets on Friday night posting a 16/8/10 line in 36 minutes but came out of the game with tightness in his groin. At the moment we view Ingram as a game-time decision, but with this game starting two hours after all of the other games today, we may not have definitive word on Ingram's status prior to lock.

Evan Turner is probable for the Trailblazers.
E.T. tweaked his calf Friday in Toronto but has been designated probable heading into today's contest with the Celtics. Turner has been inconsequential this season, and can only really be considered as a large scale GPP play, but really, theres plenty of better value on the slate.

Every Lineup Guys

Kyle Lowry FD - $7000 DK - $7400
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 36.71 DK - 38.24
Kyle Lowry is showing up in all of the top lineups being put out by our NBA optimizer for FanDuel, and all but one on DraftKings, making him about as universal a play as you can find on today's super short slate. Lowry's price has come down significantly on both sites in the short term compared to where it sat just a couple of weeks ago, and is a much more appealing value for what he brings to the table. He's hovered around the 5X PPD mark in three of his last four games while lighting up the Wizards for 7.5X in the fourth. Memphis has the second toughest defense for the position this season, but over the last five games, having shelved their back court star Tyreke Evans, they've fallen to a bottom ten defense. This game has only a 208 O/U coming out of Vegas, but none of today's games have ridiculously high projections so that's not something to deter us.

DeMarre Carroll FD - $5600 DK - $5500
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 30.97 DK - 31.29
DeMarre Carroll has burned some people over the past few games, myself included. However he is in a great spot today as the Nets host Giannis and the Bucks. Carroll has seen his minutes climb back up into the thirties in each of his last two games and should be all but guaranteed to see similar run as the Nets count on him to contain the greek freak. These two teams met in Milwaukee just last Friday night and in only 28 minutes Carroll was a board shy of a double double, with 14 points, three assists, and two steals which paid 6.1X on today's price tag. Despite the recent letdowns Carroll has been a cash game rock throughout most of the season and should bounce back nicely today against a Milwaukee team that has allowed small forwards to put up nearly 45 FPPG over their last ten contests.

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