Injuries that have already been factored into our projections: Danilo Gallinari (ATL, Out), Domantas Sabonis (SAC, Out), Draymond Green (GSW, OUT), Klay Thompson (GSW, Out), Kyrie Irving (BKN, Eligible to play), Luka Doncic (DAL, Out), Malcolm Brogdon (IND, Out), LeBron James (LAL, Out)
Injury situations that will be monitored throughout the night: Bogdon Bogdanovic (ATL, Questionable), Julius Randle (NYK, Questionable), Chris Duarte (IND, Questionable), Tyrese Haliburton (IND, Questionable), Isaiah Jackson (IND, Questionable), Seth Curry (BKN, Questionable), Goran Dragic (BKN, Doubtful), Jimmy Butler (MIA, Questionable), Tyler Herro (MIA, Questionable), Victor Oladipo (MIA, Questionable), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC, Questionable), Wendell Carter Jr. (ORL, Questionable), Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN, Questionable), Talen Horton-Tucker (LAL, Questionable), De’Aaron Fox (SAC, Doubtful)
Lineup scenarios we are seeking confirmation on:
Sacramento: The Kings will be without Domantas Sabonis and likely De’Aaron Fox going into tonight. Davion Mitchell looks to lead the offensive charge assuming Fox cannot go, making him an affordable option on FanDuel priced at $4600 with significant ownership. Donte DiVincenzo should also see a boost in volume and is an enticing option at $4500 if you are afraid of Mitchell’s high ownership. We anticipate for the Kings to run a committee of players including Damian Jones, Alex Len, and Chimezie Metu to full in for Sabonis with Damian Jones looking to see the highest upside out of the three guys.
Golden State: Coming off of an embarrassing loss to Orlando last night, Steve Kerr looks to rest his second and third best players in a bounce-back spot, fun stuff! Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole both look to be the guys that will be running the show with single-digit ownership projections for each guy. While Poole being priced at $7400 may scare players off, he has the ability to get hot and certainly will have the ball in his hands a ton so this could be a risk worth taking. Rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody both should start with affordable salaries with some upside for Kuminga who could potentially fill Draymond’s do-it-all role at times.
Dallas: Luka Doncic will be out tonight which sets up nicely for Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie to both become focal points of the Mavericks offense. Brunson looks to be a very popular play priced at only $5300 on FanDuel and has shown fairly well in games that Doncic has missed this season. You still will not be getting any leverage with Dinwiddie despite his $6600 price tag, but it comes down to a coin flip between these two guys with Brunson being the safer play despite the worrisome ownership because of his solidified role in games where Luka has missed.
Los Angeles: LeBron James will not play tonight for the Lakers, setting up another night where DFS hopes will be placed on Russell Westbrook for a hopeful productive performance. All we know is that the ball will certainly be in Russ’ hands a ton which is all we can really count on when it comes to this season for him. Talen Horton-Tucker likely will be infused into the starting lineup if he is able to play as well in place of LeBron. Dwight Howard could be in line for extended minutes as well given that Joel Embiid will be standing on the other side of the court and Wenyen Gabriel cannot guard him every single possession
Other notes worth highlighting:
- Danilo Gallinari being out for Atlanta along with questions surrounding Bogdan Bogdanovic’s availability could open up value for Deandre Hunter and Kevin Huerter. They will likely see extended minutes in a close game especially if Bogdanovic cannot go instead of relying on a deep bench guy to fill up significant minutes.
- Karl-Anthony Towns being ruled out will simply have Naz Reid sliding in the starting center slot with Jarred Vanderbilt offering some upside as potentially seeing some additional minutes as a small-ball 5.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence will have Tre Mann seeing most of the benefits statistically while seeing an ownership bump. You might be able to find cheaper value with a guy like Theo Maledon instead of losing significant leverage with Tre Mann.
- Mo Bamba will be a very strong play without Wendall Carter Jr. on the floor if he were to be ruled out for Orlando. Chuma Okeke offers some upside as well in that scenario as Orlando will have the ability to run small against Oklahoma City. Getting one or both of Bamba or Okeke at $4500 on FanDuel in such a dense slate would be great for financial flexibility.
