Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates for FanDuel and DraftKings - 12/31/16

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 play tonight.
The Thunder have confirmed that Oladipo will return from the wrist injury that has kept him sidelined for most of the month. We are still waiting to hear if he will be starting, but should that be the case Jerami Grant and Anthony Morrow will return to the bench and DFS obscurity. In addition, Enes Kanter may see a reduction in minutes as he was averaging 29 per game with Oladipo out.

What We're Waiting to Know

Kyrie Irving is questionable, will be a game time decision
Kyrie will be a true game time decision tonight against Charlotte as the Cavs medical staff continue to monitor the right hamstring he injured against the Celtics Thursday. The injury doesn't seem serious, but there is real possibility they hold him out as a precaution. Watch this one close and if Kyrie does miss look for Kevin Love to push near must play status.

Chris Paul is questionable against the Thunder
Paul is expected to miss another game due to that strained left hamstring. Should he sit, Austin Rivers would most likely draw the start and makes a fine value play at PG with a 24.3% usage rate when Paul and Blake Griffin are off the court this season.

The "Every Lineup" Guys

LeBron James
The Cavaliers and the Hornets kick off the main slate tonight in a game that has the highest projected scoring without any real fear of blow out. At the heart of it all is King James. Look for James to be the play in cash games tonight. I'm expecting a small contingent who were burned by Westbrook's last outing to play the fade there, coupled with LeBron being the bargain priced of tonight's elite plays, but having just as much upside as the others. In games decided by 10 points or less in December LeBron ran the court for 44 minutes. For a player who contributes in every statistical aspect of the game you have to lock him in with that kind of run.

Rodney Hood
Hood was slow coming back from illness last week, but he looked back to form against the Sixers on Thursday night putting up 20 points including 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. For good measure he threw in 2 assists to go with a rebound and a steal. Tonight the Jazz draw the Suns, and while I love playing Jazz players that much more when they're facing a team that will push up the pace factor, it doesnt hurt that the Suns are also in the bottom 5 defensively against opposing guards. All of this combines to make Hood an excellent play in cash games.

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