NBA

Daily Fantasy Basketball Injuries and Updates for 3/1/16

Find the best value for your daily fantasy roster by knowing the latest injuries and updates.

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

Evan Fournier is not expected to play tonight for the Magic. Fournier has a sore right wrist and missed last game with the same injury. With Fournier out on Sunday, Mario Hezonja drew the start and played 27 minutes with 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. Victor Oladipo played an insane 44 minutes and tallied 28 points in the process. Look for both Hezonja and Oladipo to benefit the most from Fournier's absence.

It would feel strange to write an injuries and updates article and not include Derrick Rose. He is listed as probable, but he told reporters that he will play tonight. Hoiberg said that Rose will be on a minutes restriction. The minutes restriction does scare me, and worse, his return crushes the temporary value that E'Twaun Moore and Tony Snell received. 

Alex Len is starting tonight alongside Tyson Chandler. Phoenix coach Earl Watson said that they are going to try something new by going with two seven-footers. This bodes very well for Len, as Watson said he wants to give Len experience. Our daily projections have Len as the best value play for both FanDuel and DraftKings tonight.

Kobe Bryant is out tonight against the Nets. The Lakers are on the front end of a back-to-back. Bryant is traveling with the team to Denver for their game Wednesday, so his sore shoulder shouldn't keep him out for long. Anthony Brown will start tonight, but the rest of the Lakers should see some more shots tonight as well because the Black Mamba has a league leading Usage Rate of 30.3%, per NBAWowy.com.

Below is a table comparing some of the Lakers' Usage Rates on the season with their Usage Rates with Bryant on the sideline.

Player Season Usage Rate Bryant Off Court Usage Rate
Lou Williams 22.6% 27.0%
D'Angelo Russell 23.7% 26.4%
Jordan Clarkson 22.8% 25.7%
Julius Randle 22.3% 25.7%


As the table shows, a lot of people see a boost in opportunity with Bryant off the court.

The To-Be-Determined List

Both Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala are questionable tonight for the defending champs. If they both sit, Shaun Livingston will likely see a high number of minutes and should be able to provide great value on his near minimum price tags for both FanDuel and DraftKings. Curry is second in the league in shot attempts, and those will likely be spread around between Klay Thompson, Draymond Green  and Harrison Barnes. Both Curry and Iguodala missed shootaround this morning.

As always, make sure to check our player news section for the latest notes and updates from around the league. Good luck tonight!