NBA Injury Report & Starting Lineups Today

There is already one player on the NBA Injury Report that will have a large effect on this slate. 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 eight games for NBA DFS and eight players on DraftKings with a salary over $10,000.

NBA Injury Report & Starting Lineups Today | Nov. 8

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

New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets

New York Knicks a Philadelphia 76ers

Knicks – Not Yet Submitted

The Knicks likely will not have an official version of the NBA Injury Report until the afternoon today since they played last night. However, Kemba Walker rested last night and it may not be the largest surprise to see Derrick Rose get that treatment tonight. Rose played 29 minutes last night and then New York played both Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley 22 and 20 minutes each. The starting players for the Knicks do not see much of a difference in their usage or fantasy points per minute if Rose were to be out, it would be a few more minutes for Walker, Burks, and Quickley if last night was any indication.

76ers – Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, Matisse Thybulle – Out

Danny Green – Questionable

Even if Green can make it back, the 76ers are still very short-handed. Five players logged over 32 minutes in this past game with Paul Reed and Georges Niang both sitting around 25. It must be noted that Tyrese Maxey is the iron man in the lineup, with 45 and 44 minutes played in the past two contests. The usage rate is super low at 12.8% and the fantasy points per minute are only 0.82 but with that court time, he has to be in consideration.

Shake Milton has identical fantasy points per minute but is not a borderline free square on DraftKings anymore since his salary has come up over $5,000. The fact that Furkan Korkmaz did not start in the past game ended up not mattering, as he played 32 minutes and shot 7-9 from 3-point territory. That could strongly come into play tonight since the Knicks allow the second-highest frequency from 3-point distance to opponents. Lastly, there has been some justified hesitation with playing Joel Embiid with his knee bothering him. This matchup could help him get to a ceiling as he is tied for the highest frequency running a post-up. The Knicks are dead last in points per possession and are allowing a 68% field goal rate. Embiid already leads the league in points in this play type but has only shot 46.2% so far.

Update – The NBA Injury Report threw a curveball today as Embiid is resting tonight since the 76ers play tomorrow as well. Fading Andre Drummond and his 1.36 fantasy points per minute at $5,700 on DraftKings is foolish. Drummond used to be routinely over $8,000 for the role he finds himself in tonight and he is the free square of the slate that has every reason to be.

Brooklyn Nets at Chicago Bulls

Nets – Kyrie Irving, Nic Claxton – Out

The official version is not available, but it is known Claxton will miss another two weeks. This team has some older veterans in Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, so it would not be a shock to the system to see one of them sit out.

Bulls – Coby White, Patrick Williams – IR

The fact that the Nets are in the bottom 10 in both points and rebounds in the paint could come back to bite them in this matchup. DeMar DeRozan sticks out since he drives to the basket over 13 times per game and is fifth in scoring in that play type. That paint data also helps Nikola Vucevic who has a 21% usage rate with 16 rebound chances per night and he only has a 44.2% true shooting rate so far. The Nets are also in the bottom 10 in field goal attempts and makes allowed under five feet away from the basket.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies

Timberwolves – D’Angelo Russell

The guard is listed as questionable, but he did practice this past weekend, so that would trend him toward playing. If he misses another game, Patrick Beverly should draw another start after (somewhat predictably) coming back down to Earth last time with 14 DraftKings points. It is a little difficult to rely on an 11.6% usage rate for fantasy production.

Grizzlies – Dillon Brooks – Out

Brooks is listed as out but he is set to be re-evaluated early this week. That could come as soon as tomorrow, and if he is ready to roll, it will need to be monitored if he is facing a minutes restriction. De’Anthony Melton would likely go to the bench if he can start. This game overall has some strong appeal with the Timberwolves ranking in the top-eight in pace and both teams inside the top half of the league in possessions per game.

New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks

Pelicans – Zion Williamson – IR

Brandon Ingram, Herbert Jones – Questionable

It is hard to think Ingram is ready to come back until there is some type of update on his status since he has missed four straight games. Jonas Valanciunas continues to shine in that scenario with a 24.8% usage rate and 1.22 fantasy points per minute. Dallas in the bottom 10 in points and rebounds allowed in the paint, and Valanciunas is fifth in frontcourt touches and ninth in paint touches. Additionally, he is the other player tied with Embiid in post-up frequency.

Mavericks – Maxi Kleber – Out

With Kleber still out, that leaves some minutes available for Dwight Powell. It is going to be all hands on deck to slow down Valanciunas in the interior and Powell himself has almost seven paint touches per game. He has 0.72 fantasy points per minute when Kleber is off the court and New Orleans is 18th in points allowed in the paint.

Miami Heat at Denver Nuggets

Heat – Victor Oladipo – IR

Max Strus – Questionable

Miami is coming into this game as healthy as can be since Strus only sees about 17 minutes per game and has a negligible impact for fantasy. The same cannot be said about their opponent, and they are one of the keys of the slate.

Nuggets – Michael Porter Jr. – Out

Monte Morris – Probable

Jamal Murray – IR

It is not the easiest of spots for Nikola Jokic as Miami is fourth in defensive rating, fifth in points in the paint allowed, and first in rebounds allowed in the paint. Yes, Jokic is much more than a standard center in the paint but those metrics for the Heat team are worth noting. He still is missing Porter Jr. and in 65 minutes without the forward on the court, Jokic has 2.35 fantasy points per minute which are unheard of. Jokic is already second in the league in touches per game and will need to do everything for the Denver offense.

Not to be forgotten, Will Barton sees his usage bump up by almost 3% to 23.9%, and his fantasy points per minute are 1.04 on just a 44.7% true shooting rate. The minutes should continue to be massive for Barton since he played almost 37 in the last game and that’s around four minutes over his average. There is also a punt opportunity as P.J. Dozier was the immediate sub for Porter Jr. last game. He picked up five minutes to play 23 and when Porter Jr. is off the court, Dozier leads the Nuggets in minutes and has a 0.78 fantasy points per minute.

Atlanta Hawks at Golden State Warriors

Hawks – Not Yet Submitted

It is a bit odd for the Hawks to not have one available yet since they did not play on Sunday, but they had every player active in their last contest. John Collins has been questionable but has yet to play under 30 minutes in the past six games.

Warriors – Not Yet Submitted

Last night, the only player outside of the normal on the NBA Injury Report was Andre Iguodala. The duo of Klay Thompson and James Wiseman remains on the shelf but if Iguodala also continues to sit, Otto Porter is the player to turn to for extra production. He has 0.92 fantasy points per minute, and he flashed some upside last night, even though it took him hitting five 5-point field goals to get there.

Phoenix Suns at Sacramento Kings

Suns – Deandre Ayton – Out

Ayton has played in just one of the past three games and in the two he missed, Frank Kaminsky has logged 28 and 29 minutes while producing 1.10 fantasy points per minute. It would be a surprise if he is not chalky on DraftKings since the salary is still just $4,300. The play-type matchup is fascinating because in his limited action, Kaminsky has been the roll man in the pick and roll at a 51.7% frequency.

Technically, that leads the league and for context, the highest frequency for a full-time player is Vucevic at 41.7%. The Kings have faced the seventh-fewest field goal attempts against that play type and have allowed opponents to shoot 42.9%, sixth-worst. JaVale McGee has slightly higher fantasy points per minute at 1.16 but has played just 17 and 18 minutes. That gap in court time is too much to overcome when the fantasy points per minute are very close.

Kings – Not Yet Submitted

The Kings have not had virtually any injury issues the entire season, so not having the official version of the NBA Injury Report is not a giant red flag at this point. Richaun Holmes could be able to pick on a weakness for the Suns. He is 11th among full-time players in points as the roll man in the pick and roll and Phoenix is 29th in points allowed. The salary on DraftKings is finally over $7,000 for a player that has 1.26 fantasy points per minute.

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Charlotte Hornets at Los Angeles Lakers

Hornets – Not Yet Submitted

The only known issues for the Hornets as of last night were P.J. Washington was out and Mason Plumlee was questionable, but he played for over 20 minutes. This is a situation that has to be updated with the afternoon NBA Injury Report.

Lakers – LeBron James, Trevor Ariza, Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker – Out

Anthony Davis – Questionable

This is likely the most frustrating situation on the slate. In the last game, Davis played all of seven minutes before he was finished for the night due to a stomach bug. Of course, the Lakers neglected to mention that so plenty of DFS players got burned. He is still questionable tonight, but this is a fabulous bounce-back spot. The Hornets are 23rd in paint points allowed and 28th in paint rebounds allowed, while Davis leads the league in paint touches. He also has a usage over 33% and 1.50 fantasy points per minute with James out, as does Russell Westbrook. It will be fascinating to feel what the field does with Davis tonight.

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