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January 19, 2025, 11:50 pm
Injury Report
Note: The Bulls and Clippers are on a Sunday-Monday back-to-back, so look out for their injury reports during the day on Monday.
Dallas Mavericks @ Charlotte Hornets
Game Time: 12:00 pm ET
DraftKings Lines
DAL -5 (-218), CHA +5 (+180)
Game Total: 224Key Storylines
Injuries in Dallas: In case you missed the report last week, Kyrie Irving said that he will have to manage the bulging disc in his back throughout the rest of the season, though it doesn’t require surgery. We may see him sitting back-to-backs more frequently. He sat the second leg of a B2B set the night after his initial return last week after saying he would play, but I would guess the Mavs medical staff made that decision for his own well-being.
Brandon Miller out indefinitely: The young swingman has torn ligaments in his wrist. Nick Smith Jr. got the first crack at starting in his absence, giving us 15 points, three triples, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in a little under 26 minutes. I’m not fully convinced of 12-team upside yet, but he might be worth a flier. The Hornets could also opt for different options there like Cody Martin or Seth Curry (who they’ve went to at times this season). They don’t seem to like playing Vasilije Micic and LaMelo Ball together though, and newcomer Josh Okogie (DNP on Friday) will need to earn his stripes.
Stream of the Game
Assuming Spencer Dinwiddie is rostered, one of Quentin Grimes or Naji Marshall is the way to go.
Alternatives:
Nick Smith Jr. as a flier if he continues to start.
Cody Martin–deep league line–
Josh Green
Seth Curry
Moussa Diabate (20-plus teams)Detroit Pistons @ Houston Rockets
Game Time: 2:00 pm ET
DraftKings Lines
DET +7.5 (+260), HOU -7.5 (-325)
Game Total: 222.5Key Storylines
Settling Down: Things seem to be fairly settled in terms of expectations in Detroit. Tobias Harris is ticking along nicely again. Jalen Duren is finally performing like the player many hoped to draft. Tim Hardaway Jr. is back to his “best” streaky ways. Malik Beasley is doing his thing. Ausar Thompson unfortunately just seems to not be getting enough run to deliver consistent 12-team numbers. We need 25-plus minutes consistently, but we aren’t getting it. His defense is valuable, but the Pistons seem to prefer the spacing around Cade Cunningham offered by other players.
No surgery for Jabari Smith Jr.: Smith has been sidelined for almost three weeks now with his left hand/metacarpal fracture, which was deemed a 4-to-8 week injury. Ime Udoka said on Saturday that they were letting it heal naturally, which could add a week onto the timeline at most, if anything at all. Well, the timeline was so broad that I’m not sure if we intepret that as 5-to-9 weeks now, or if it just pushes it closer to a 5-to-8 week injury rather than a four-week one. I would guess that a 5-to-8 week timeline is the most accurate expectation now.Stream of the Game
Get Tari Eason on a roster please. Otherwise, Tim Hardaway Jr. is worth a look for points and threes, also assuming Malik Beasley is rostered.
Alternatives:
Ausar Thompson
Dillon Brooks
Isaiah Stewart (less good recently but might still get you big-man stats on some level)–deep league line–
Cam Whitmore (elevate to fringe 12-team stream if Amen Thompson – questionable – is out)
Simone Fontecchio
Marcus Sasser (20-plus teams)Minnesota Timberwolves @ Memphis Grizzlies
Game Time: 2:30 pm ET
DraftKings Lines
MIN +3.5 (+136), MEM -3.5 (-162)
Game Total: 235Key Storylines
Waiting on Donte: As soon as he was cooking and things were looking up, a toe injury forced DiVincenzo to the sidelines. Mike Conley clearly isn’t good enough anymore though, so I don’t think there will be an issue about DDV reclaiming the starting job whenever he is back. DDV remains out on Monday though.
Please Ja, Aim for Six: Ja Morant has not played more than five games in a row all season, and on top of that, he has only played five games in a row twice. He is already disqualified from any NBA awards since he can’t meet the 65-game threshold and the Grizzlies can win games without him, so I’m not sure if it will get much better as being cautious with his injuries would be my plan if I was a member of their medical staff too. He just gets minor nagging injuries here and there. Such is the drawback of being a speedy, high flyer I guess.Also, GG Jackson II (right foot surgery) is off the injury report completely. However, I would advise against adding him in standard formats. He was barely 12-team relevant last season with big minutes and volume and yes, a young player will improve, but he has a heavily scoring-based fantasy game. For now, he is just a deep-league flier to see what his role evolves into. Honestly, he may take a few games to even break into the rotation…maybe.
Stream of the Game
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