Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates - 12/22/17

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What We Know

Chris Paul is out and Clint Capela is "highly doubtful" against the Clippers

Chris Paul has missed most of this season, so we know what to expect. James Harden is going to take over as the primary ball-handler and Eric Gordon will slide in and try to fill the scoring hole.

Damian Lillard has been ruled out against the Nuggets

This is obviously huge news and a lot of different guys will benefit. Shabazz Napier will pick up the most minutes and should end up around 35. He's active when on the court and a near lock to hit value. C.J. McCollum will pick up the most usage and has an enormous amount of value in all formats. I'll likely have 100% of both of those guys. Aminu, Turner, and Connaughton will also pick up some traction and are great options in tournaments. Aminu can be played in cash games as well due to the scarcity at PF. The Nuggets are a bad defense and we will see 4 or 5 Blazers come through and hit value.

Milos Teodosic has been ruled out against the Rockets

Teodosic has played exactly 27 minutes in each of the last 3 games. I expect Austin Rivers to get to around 35 minutes, pushing him into play against a Rockets squad that's missing CP3. The rest will likely be split evenly between Evans, Thornwell, and Lou Williams. Williams is in play, but you can do better with the other 2.

Goran Dragic has been ruled out against the Mavericks

Dragic has been sidelined for the last 2 games, joining Whiteside and James Johnson. The Heat are extremely short-handed and the minutes have been a lot more concentrated. Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson will both be over 35 minutes and are phenomenal plays in all formats. Ellington, Waiters, Olynyk, Mickey, and Adebayo are all very interesting as they will see around 30 minutes and are under-priced with the current usage their seeing.

What We're Waiting to Know

Dennis Schroder is questionable with an ankle injury

He went through shootaround this morning, so you'd assume he plays, but it's far from a sure thing. Assuming he does play, I doubt he gets a full allotment of minutes against the toughest cover in the league. The problem here is that the Hawks are very comfortable with both Isaiah Taylor and Malcolm Delaney at the 1. I don't think either get over 30 minutes even if Schroder misses, but either could hit value in 28 with ease. Kent Bazemore may also pick up some extra usage and would be an interesting play against a fast-paced Thunder squad.

Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier have been downgraded to doubtful against the Pelicans

These guys have both been out a ton, so we know what to do. Simmons, Vucevic, Payton, and Hezonja are all in play vs a Pelicans team that doesn't play any defense. Simmons and Vucevic have been shooting a ton and you have to love them in every format with a 220 O/U. This game is expected to stay close and the Magic have no problem running these guys up to 36 minutes on rest.

Every Lineup Guys

Shabazz Napier FD - $3700 DK - $4300
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 26.66 DK - 26.66

This is one of the more straight-forward plays of the season so far. Even before Lillard went out with injury, Napier was seeing 20 minutes off the bench at both the 2 and 3. With Lillard out, you can lock in 35 with the potential for more. He's trusted by Stotts and for good reason. He's been at 1.08 FP pe rminute on the season and faces off with the only team in basketball allowing over 50 FP per game to point guards. Napier is an easy play at the price in every lineup.

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