Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates - 12/31/17

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What We Know

James Harden is questionable tonight, dealing with a bruised right foot.
Harden struggled mightily on Friday and now we see why, it seems he was playing with a bruised foot which has put him on the injury report as questionable for tonight's game against the Lakers. The team plans to test him out in pregame warmups, so word will probably come just before 7ET. If he is ruled out look for Eric Gordon to make the start in his place.

Lonzo Ball will be reevaluated today to determine his status. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was unable to travel with the the team due to his travel restrictions.
KCP is still not permitted to leave the state of California due to a legal matter and will miss the two game road trip beginning tonight in Houston. Ball meanwhile has missed three straight games with a sprained shoulder and is expected to be checked out prior to today's game. Jordan Clarkson has been excellent in Ball's absence and is a solid play if Ball is held out once again.

Victor Oladipo is not excpected to play this afternoon for the Pacers.
Oladipo has missed two games already with pain and swelling in the knee, and will be kept out of today's game against the Timberwolves. Lance Stephenson has started the past two games in Victor O's spot and has been quite the impressive fantasy play.

Paul George is out for the Thunder's game tonight against the Mavericks.
Both George and Andre Roberson are out tonight with knee injuries. Russell Westbrook will see an increase in usage making him that much more valuable. In addition, Alex Abrines, Raymond Felton, Patrick Patterson, and Jerami Grant will all see a share of George's 35-40 minutes per game.

Joel Embiid is expected to play tonight after a rest day yesterday.
The Sixers held Embiid out of last night's win in Denver, for rest purposes so he should be alright to go tonight as Philly heads into Phoenix for what should be a fast paced high scoring affair with the Suns. As long as he's returned to the starting rotation Embiid is a stellar way to pay up at center tonight.

Austin Rivers is out for the Clippers tonight.
Rivers suffered an achilles strain on Friday against the Lakers and is currently day to day. The Clips will rest him today on the side of caution. Expect CJ Williams to see increased minutes with Rivers held out tonight.

What We're Waiting to Know

Andrew Wiggins is questionable for the TimberWolves this afternoon.
Wiggins is dealing with an ankle injury that he apparently played on in Thursday's game against Milwaukee. He was limited in practice on Friday and is currently questionable, more word on his status should become available following shoot around.

Clint Capela will return for the Rockets game hosting the Lakers tonight.
Cappella suffered an eye injury on Monday against the Thunder and subsequently missed two games, but will make his return to the rotation tonight against L.A. Nene missed the Rockets game on Friday for an undisclosed reason, and his status for tonight is currently unknown, but with Cappella back he makes minimal fantasy impact anyway. Ryan Anderson could see extended minutes backing Cappella up if Nene remains out.

Every Lineup Guys

Russell Westbrook FD - $11900 DK - $11600
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 62.73 DK - 66.58
Our first every lineup guy should be chalk around the industry tonight. Russell Westbrook and the Thunder will host the Mavericks without Paul George who will miss a second straight game. Russ gave us a nearly 6X PPD performance in 40 minutes against the Bucks on Friday with PG riding the bench. Dallas isn't a pushover on defense, but they are ranked worse than Milwaukee in fantasy points allowed at the position. It's a pace-down game for the Thunder which could hurt Westbrooks upside, but if any player in the game can overcome any factor against him to crush value it would be Russell Westbrook. With the limited options on this short slate to spend up at, especially now that Harden may not be available, I'll have total exposure to Russ everywhere.

Trevor Ariza FD - $5200 DK - $5600
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 29.82 DK - 29.97
Next up we have Trevor Ariza in a prime matchup against the worst defense against small forwards playing on tonight's short slate. The Lakers are allowing opposing threes to score 47.7 FP on average this season and 59.6 over their last ten games. Ariza sees a ton of run for the Houston offense, averaging nearly 36 minutes per game and makes the most of his time on the court. Not too shabby for a guy priced in the low $5K range. Ariza is appearing in the top lineups being put out by our system today, and that is with James Harden still factored into the system. If Harden is eventually ruled out, that will just add to the appeal.

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