The NBA Injury Report is already busy. With this article, the work of the other staff members and the amazing NBA DFS projections, those scenarios can be handled much more easily. That allows for pivoting at the drop of a hat, and the NBA Starting Lineup page is an extremely important tool as well. There are 10 games for NBA DFS tonight and features some excellent game environments.
NBA Injury Report & Starting Lineups Today | Oct. 27
Remember to always place players from the later games in guard, forward, and utility slots on DraftKings. Allow maximum flexibility to react to the news that comes out after lock, which will happen in NBA. Additionally, take advantage of the wealth of Awesemo NBA content to get ready for these slates.
Teams Playing the Second of a Back-to-Back
Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder
Charlotte Hornets at Orlando Magic
Hornets – P.J. Washington – Out
Terry Rozier – Doubtful
Rozier has hardly played, so Kelly Oubre has been taking his minutes, which should not change. He has only had 0.89 fantasy points per minute and in the last game, he had to shoot 5-10 from 3-point distance to hit 35 DraftKings points in 43 minutes. Jalen McDaniels could present some value at just $3,200 since he played 22 minutes and that was without the benefit of overtime against the Celtics. He left the floor with about 4:30 left in the fourth quarter and was the backup to Miles Bridges. They only overlapped for a handful of minutes and the price is certainly right.
Magic – Markelle Fultz, Michael Carter-Williams, Chuma Okeke – Out
Gary Harris made his way into the lineup his past game for the Magic, but only played 18 minutes. Jalen Suggs maintained his role with another 28 minutes and the true shooting rate remains very low at 42.3% so there is a bigger upside than he has shown so far.
Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics
Wizards – Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant – Out
Raul Neto – Questionable
Neto has been playing on the second unit mostly and has an 18.4% usage rate and 0.88 fantasy points per minute, so it is not the most vital role. However, Aaron Holiday would likely slide into that role a little bit more and Spencer Dinwiddie could possibly pick up a little bit of usage.
Celtics – Al Horford – Probable
Romeo Langford – Questionable
Langford has 0.63 fantasy points per minute and is averaging around 19 minutes, and Josh Richardson or Payton Pritchard will likely take a small bump. That still does not make them meaningful fantasy plays but Horford could wind up being very popular. Washington is 20th in points allowed in the paint and Horford averages six paint touches a game so far and he has had 15 rebound chances per game. It is only two games, but the 24.8% usage rate and 1.47 fantasy points per minute catches the eye, knowing the latter number has to come down a little bit.
Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets
Heat – Victor Oladipo – IR
Nets – Kyrie Irving – Out
Atlanta Hawks at New Orleans Pelicans
Hawks – De’Andre Hunter – Probable
Lou Williams, Danilo Gallinari – Questionable
Gallinari is still waiting to make his season debut and has been questionable every game, so there is not much to go on as far as guessing if he is going to play. With Hunter almost certainly back, Williams is not likely to see minutes regardless of his status. The only time he has played in three games was 17 minutes last time since Hunter was out.
Pelicans – Zion Williamson – IR
Josh Hart – Questionable
The absence of Hart has not done much for Herbert Jones, who has been starting. The quartet of Jonas Valanciunas, Devonte’ Graham, Nickell Alexander-Walker, and Brandon Ingram are all over a 21% usage rate and have at least 1.00 fantasy points per minute.
Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors
Pacers – Caris LeVert – Questionable
T.J. Warren – IR
For the first time on the NBA Injury Report, LeVert is questionable heading into a game which at least gives him a chance to play. Reports suggest it may be a little early for him to play, but there will be a clearer picture in the afternoon. If he does suit up, either Justin Holiday or Chris Duarte would exit the starting lineup. The probability would lie with Duarte coming out, but confirmation would come in plenty of time. If LeVert is not quite ready, both Duarte and Holiday have been logging serious minutes and Duarte has the advantage in usage at 21.6% and fantasy points per minute at 0.83.
Raptors – Pascal Siakam – IR
Toronto remains status quo on the injury front without Siakam.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Milwaukee Bucks
Timberwolves – None
Bucks – Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo – Out
Semi Ojeleye, Bobby Portis – Probable
The secondary players for Milwaukee are getting healthier, casting some doubt on just how much Jordan Nwora will play. He has been averaging 24 minutes but that is almost certainly the role Portis will occupy. He may not reclaim all of those minutes right away, but the situation is murkier than it has been.
With Holiday out, George Hill entered the starting lineup and did about what was expected. He played a little over 26 minutes and scored 20.8 DraftKings points. There is not much reason to expect differently tonight. The sample is only 88.5 minutes this year, but Hill has a 13.5% usage rate. A large part of that is Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are at 35.5% and 33.3%, respectively. Giannis is still under $11,000 on DraftKings, and Minnesota is 28th in paint points and rebounds allowed. While Giannis is much, much more than a typical big man in the paint, Karl-Anthony Towns defense is not anything to fear, ever.
Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder
Lakers – Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker, Trevor Ariza – Out
LeBron James – Questionable
The official NBA Injury Report has not been submitted at this point. However, multiple staff members have pointed out that this back-to-back scenario would be a perfect time to rest Anthony Davis tonight. He played 42 minutes in an overtime game last night and they travel, so with James sitting out last night, it would make a lot of sense. Look for an update when the official report comes in.
Update – Well, that did not unfold as we thought. James is officially out but the twist also includes Davis being listed as questionable as well. Russell Westbrook is unavoidable now even if Davis plays. If not, Westbrook would have the entire Lakers offense in his hands heading back to Oklahoma City.
Malik Monk stared last night for James and we should assume that happens again. He played 39 minutes and took 15 shots and while it’s not always ideal to play shooters with minimal peripheral stat possibilities, he’s too cheap as a starter.
Thunder – None
Just like the Lakers, the official version is not in yet. Derrick Favors was out yesterday but it was just for rest. That was the only player with any designation, so as of now the Thunder would be expected to be healthy.
Sacramento Kings at Phoenix Suns
Kings – None
Suns – Cameron Payne – Out
Do not mistake the presence of Payne on the NBA Injury Report as a big deal. Elfrid Payton took the spot of Payne as the backup point guard and some may see he played 25 minutes and get excited. That would be a poor conclusion to draw because 16 of those 25 minutes came at the end of the game in blowout run. He only played nine minutes in the first half, so it stands to reason that he’s filling the Payne role exactly, which has been 16 minutes this year.
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
Grizzlies – Dillon Brooks – Out
DraftKings has neglected to price De’Anthony Melton or Desmond Bane over $5,000 despite both players having a usage rate over 19.5% and over 1.00 fantasy points per minute. Portland has played at the fastest pace in the league so far and the Grizzlies are tied for 11th and this game has an O/U of 234, representing the only game of the eight posted that is over 230 points.
Trail Blazers – Norman Powell – Questionable
Powell dodged a serious knee injury, and if he is back already, that would push Nassir Little back to the bench and not interesting for fantasy.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Clippers
Cavaliers – Isaac Okoro – Doubtful
It would appear that Okoro will not suit up and Cedi Osman probably takes those minutes but would not be anything worth chasing for fantasy. There are too many players in front of him in the pecking order to be valuable. Even if he took Okoro’s exact role, which would be 11.5% for the usage rate and 0.59 fantasy points per minute.
Clippers – Serge Ibaka, Marcus Morris – Out
Kawhi Leonard – IR
Batum will almost certainly start but the sample without Morris across 40 minutes does not inspire anything with 10.2% for the usage rate and 0.74 fantasy points per minute. The trio of Paul George, Reggie Jackson, and Eric Bledsoe have soaked up virtually all the usage. Bledsoe has 22.3% while the former two are matching at 32.6%. Ibaka remains out and that opens up Isaiah Hartenstein as a risky punt since he has played just 16 and 17 minutes after a DNP – Coach’s decision in the first game. Hartenstein has scored over 21 DraftKings points with 1.27 fantasy points per minute. Cleveland is 25th in rebounding but fifth in points in the paint allowed.
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