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.
The Definites
This time of year is crazy for the NBA season. Mediocre teams are fighting for playoff spots, good teams are balancing between rest and keeping players in form, and bad teams are trying to stay healthy and see what young players can do. The opportunities that pop up for daily fantasy basketball this late in the season are endless.
The Chicago Bulls are shutting down Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, E'Twaun Moore, and Taj Gibson for the remaining two games of the season. This news helps pretty much everyone else on the Bulls for fantasy purposes. Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio will both see a large number of minutes and have excelled in similar situations this season.
Felicio is coming off of a 23-minute and 26 fantasy point performance.
With Gasol and Rose off the court, Jimmy Butler's Usage Rate jumps 25 percent to 31.6 percent. He is more expensive that his teammates but is also the most reliable of the bunch if you think his minutes can be trusted.
The To-Be-Determined List
John Wall and Bradley Beal have technically not been ruled out yet, but I really doubt they play tonight. With nothing left to play for, there is no reason for the Wizards to play their best two players who are dealing with minor injuries.
With Wall and Beal out, that opens up a lot of opportunity for Marcus Thornton and Ramon Sessions. Sessions has been fantastic the last three games without Wall and is averaging 33.6 fantasy points per game. He will cost you just $4,200 tonight on FanDuel.
Thornton is the minimum price and is coming in at one of our algorithm's favorite plays of the night. Last game, Beal exited early with an injury, and Thornton jumped in and contributed 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assist, across 31 minutes of action. His minutes will probably be even higher tonight, and once you mix in his minimum price and that he plays the Nets, you almost can't afford not to roster him.
Derrick Favors was a late scratch on Sunday and remains questionable for tonight's game. The Jazz are playing an important game, so if he is close to ready, they will play him. However, if he does sit, Trey Lyles will draw the start and did very well with the same opportunity last game. He played 32 minutes and accrued 31 fantasy points on a basement salary of $3,600.
Rajon Rondo has sat out of the last two games so that he can rest up and get healthy for next season. His status for tonight hasn't been decided yet. If he is sidelined again, Darren Collison will benefit the most, but Seth Curry has been playing well recently and will see a bump in value as well.
Thomas Robinson is doubtful for tonight after exiting last game early. In his absence, the Nets decided to go with a smaller lineup. Surprisingly enough, Markel Brown went off for 52 fantasy points in one of the best daily fantasy performances of the year. I don't expect anything close to that to happen again, but at just $3,800 he is a decent punt option who won't be owned heavily in a big tournament.
As always, make sure to check our player news section for the latest notes and updates from around the league. Good luck tonight!