In daily fantasy basketball, every edge matters.
One of the easiest ways to find an edge is to understand what happens to a team when injuries occur. Who stands to benefit? Who might struggle as a result? That's all vital information during the lineup-building process.
What should you know about tonight's slate of games? Let's break it down.
As always, you should make sure to double-check our NBA Player News page before finalizing your lineup.
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The Definites
Pau Gasol has already been ruled out for tonight's game against the Raptors. Gasol's absence will likely mean a heavy dosage of Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis, and Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic recently came back from his own injury and is the biggest question mark out of the three. Gibson will likely get the most minutes and has been very productive in games this season without Gasol.
Gordon Hayward will not play due to a right foot injury. This will open up opportunities for Rodney Hood the most, but the rest of the Jazz starters will likely see an increase in usage. Joe Ingles will see some extended court time but isn't fantasy relevant, so I'd suggest staying away from him. Point guard Shelvin Mack may get a few extra minutes tonight, and he has been fantastic of late as he has paid at least six times his price tag five of the last six games on FanDuel.
Zach Randolph is going to miss his fifth straight game for the Grizzlies. JaMychal Green is the clear beneficiary with Z-Bo's absence. Green's daily fantasy price has risen dramatically over the last few days, but it is justified. He is averaging 11 points and 8 rebounds over the last five games. I will keep suggestion Green until either Randolph comes back or his price gets to the point where he is no longer a good value. For now, he still has a good opportunity to be a low to mid-range value.
The To-Be-Determined List
Lance Stephenson is questionable for Memphis tonight. Pretty much everyone on the Grizzlies are hurt right now, but that bodes well for newly signed Ray McCallum and Briante Weber. McCallum is $4,100, and Weber is a minimum price tag of $3,500. Both players could be great values tonight if Stephenson is sidelined.
Stephenson has been very productive the last two games, and he has really excelled with running the offense. He is averaging 34 minutes and 16 shots over the last two games, and that usage will have to go somewhere -- most likely to McCallum and Weber -- while Tony Allen will see extra minutes as well and could be a good play at $4,600 on FanDuel. The Grizzlies take on a bad Houston defense that is in the bottom-six in the NBA in terms of points, rebounds, and steals to opposing guards.
As always, make sure to check our player news section for the latest notes and updates from around the league. Good luck tonight!