Tastefully curated today by LineStar Fantasy Expert @GLandry on NBA chat.    

5:50PM EST UPDATE: Kevin Love WILL play. Michael Beasley, Enes Kanter, and Allen Crabbe have been ruled out.

5:30 PM EST UPDATE:  Unfortunately, though I'm not surprised, there are still a lot of question marks out there right now.  I'll be honest tonight and probably for the rest of the regular season, it may be wise to scale back how much of your bankroll you're putting in play.  There will most likely be late scratches and you don't want to get completely burned.  Just my two cents.  As far as the injuries themselves we'll start with the Bulls.  Denzel Valentine has been ruled out for the rest of the season.  Sean Kilpatrick has played well since he joined the team so he and David Nwaba should handle the small forward minutes for the remaining games.  The Bulls opponent, Charlotte, ruled out Nicolas Batum and then later upgraded him to questionable and a game-time decision.  Jeremy Lamb, who is also listed as a game-time decision but probable, would start if Batum is ruled out and Lamb plays.  Confused yet?  The Hornets have been another team showing signs up mailing it in recently.  I plan to stay away from this situation.  In Cleveland, Kevin Love is now questionable.  If he were to miss expect Jeff Green, Larry Nance and Tristan Thompson to divide up his minutes.  Kyle Korver will return tonight.  I'm guessing he eases his way back in as he's been away for an extended time.  George Hill is out so Jose Calderon should start with Jordan Clarkson off the bench.  Clarkson has more fantasy appeal despite not starting.  For the Celtics, Terry Rozier, who said he would play, has been ruled out along with Shane Larkin.  I have no idea who's going to play the point for them tonight.  My guess is that Jayson Tatum will do his best to handle the ball and we could also see Kadeem Allen but this is really just speculation.  Tatum, Marcus Morris, and Al Horford are pretty interesting as they should get a ton of minutes and have all the usage.   For the Bucks, Thon Maker is now probable.  This doesn't change much.  For the Warriors, Andre Iguodala, Kevon Looney, and Shaun Livingston are all confirmed out now.  Jordan Bell should be the first off the bench in the frontcourt and Nick Young in the backcourt.  Quinn Cook will play a lot tonight.  It's a great matchup but he's expensive now.  In Dallas, Nerlens Noel has been suspended, Dwight Powell is questionable, Dirk Nowitzki is questionable and Salah Merjri is a game-time decision.  Max Kleber could be an interesting punt play if several of these guys miss tonight.  For the Magic, Jonathan Isaac has been ruled out so look for Mario Hezonja to take over his minutes.  In New York, Kyle O'Quinn is probable, Enes Kanter is still doubtful and Michael Beasley is still questionable.  Not much help there.  Expect O'Quinn to start.  For the Lakers, Lonzo Ball is still out so look for Josh Hart and Alex Caruso to handle the ball.  Brook Lopez is currently questionable.  In Phoenix, Alen Len, Elfrid Payton, Devin Booker, and T.J. Warren are all "unlikely to play" tonight.  Expect the Suns to roll the same lineup out they have been with Ulis, Daniels, Jackson, Bender, and Chriss.  For the Nets, Allen Crabbe was added to the injury report as questionable.  Chris LaVert and Joe Harris should get some extra minutes if he were to miss.  Finally, for the Rockets, Chris Paul is probable, Nene Hilario is probable and Trevor Ariza is out.  Gerald Green is in play with Ariza out.  That's it for now.  There will be more.   Keep an eye on the @LineStarNBA twitter feed for the latest.  

Welcome back!  As expected that was a pretty boring National Championship last night.  Michigan made it a little interesting early on but I think we all knew what was coming after Villanova manhandled Kansas in the Final Four.  With the college hoops season officially behind us, we have just over a week of NBA regular season left and we kick it off tonight with a massive 13 game slate.  A couple of things with a slate of this size.  First, you should weigh ownership in your decision making much less than you normally would for tournaments.  There are enough players available tonight to spread ownership around.  Second, slates of this size can be overwhelming to make decisions.  If you're not feeling it, try one of the express or turbo slates that will take off a handful of games and reduce your player pool.  I often do this myself if I'm feeling like I can't narrow my player pool down enough through my own research. 

The pre-lock update will go up between 5:30 pm EST and 6 pm EST.  I'm expecting a lot of injury news today with so many teams in action so make sure to check back.  Keep an eye on the news, updates, and projections pages at LineStar today and feel free to tag me on the new and improved chat (coming soon to iOS/web) @glandry.  I'm always up for talking DFS.  Good luck!  

Guards

John Wall, WAS [@HOU] (DK: $7.5K, FD: $8K)

Wall made his much-anticipated return to the court on Saturday after a lengthy knee injury kept him sidelined.  He picked up right where he left off putting up 39 fantasy points including 14 assists in 33 minutes of action.  He was given Sunday off as a scheduled rest day in order to ease him back in and then last night everyone was off.  With plenty of rest, I fully expect Wall to see a full workload tonight in a game between two teams bound for the playoffs.  The matchup, admittedly, doesn't look great.  Keep in mind much of that is due to Chris Paul who is an excellent individual defender.  Paul is questionable tonight and given the Rockets have the number one seed in the west wrapped up I see no reason for them to push him back in a game they don't really need.  This means we should get Wall, in a much better matchup then what we are seeing on paper, at a very discounted price.  Yes, please.  

Trey Burke, NYK [vs. ORL] (DK: $6.6K, FD: $6.9K)

I'm actually a bit surprised I'm making this recommendation because when I first saw his price I crossed him off my list.  After doing some research he continued to pop up on my radar and I'm convinced that while he's certainly much more expensive than we'd like he may not be overpriced just yet.  Since becoming the starter, Burke has had fantasy point performances of 34, 31, 65, 31 and 51 (DraftKings scoring) in his last five games.  He's averaging a double-double over the last week with 18 points and 10.5 assists per game.  The floor appears solid enough that even in a dud situation he won't completely kill your lineup and the ceiling gives us plenty of room for a big return on the investment.  Plus, he's got a date with the Orlando Magic tonight.  Orlando ranks 21st on the season giving up 33 fantasy points per game to opposing point guards.  Burke actually put up 45 fantasy points against them back on February 22nd in 30 minutes off the bench. I really want to say no here since the memory of paying under $5K for him is still fresh in my mind.  But the truth is he still may be a bit underpriced for the production he's showing us and the matchup he has tonight.   

Klay Thompson, GSW [@OKC] (DK: $6.6K, FD: $6.4K)

Thompson is another player who recently returned from injury and appears to have picked up right where he left off.  This is one of the better games on this slate tonight.  For those of you into narratives, we've got the Durant/Westbrook rivalry on display and the Thunder are fighting to keep their playoff spot.  This game features a 222.5 O/U and a spread of only 3.5.  It should be high scoring and competitive with plenty of fantasy production to go around.  The Warriors are a bit thin at the guard position tonight with Steph Curry, Patrick McCaw and Andre Iguodala all set to miss this game (Iguodala is doubtful).  With two games now under his belt after the injury and last night off to rest, I like Thompson to play a key role in this game and get his minutes into the mid-30s.  Oklahoma City is a great matchup ranking 29th on the season in fantasy points allowed to shooting guards.   Fire him up with confidence.  

Forwards

LeBron James, CLE [vs. TOR] (DK: $12K, FD: $12.5K)

The thought of paying this much for any player makes me a bit queasy but this is a very important game for the Cavs tonight.  Currently, they are only a half-game up on Philadelphia and one game up on Indiana to keep the third seed in the east.  Both the 76ers and Pacers are in winnable matchups tonight.  Cleveland could find themselves in a tie for fourth place with a week to go in the regular season if they don't pull out the win tonight.  This is, at least according to Vegas, the best game on the slate with the highest total (223.5) and a 1.5 spread in favor of Cleveland.  Expect "The Land" to be rocking tonight as this will have all the feelings of a playoff game atmosphere.  Aside from the game environment, James is averaging nearly a triple-double over the past week with 25.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game.  The Raptors are a good defensive team but their one weakness happens to be the small forward position where they are 19th in fantasy points allowed on the season and 27th over their last ten games.  Last time these teams played James put up 73 fantasy points in 40 minutes of action.  I see no reason he can't produce a similar number tonight as this game should stay close and force him to stay on the court.  There should be more than enough value to fit him in tonight.  

Ben Simmons, PHI [vs. BKN] (DK: $9.6K, FD: $9.9K)

While a playoff-like game is going on in Cleveland the 76ers will look to put away the Nets tonight and possibly find themselves in third place in the east.   I'm going to highlight Simmons here but you could honestly make a case for any of the Philadelphia forwards tonight.  Surprisingly, Vegas has this pegged as a closer game then I would have guessed.  It currently has a very high 223 O/U (second highest on the slate) and a spread of 9 points.  My assumption is the closer spread is due to how banged up the 76ers are at the moment.  As we know, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric are both out and Richaun Holmes is currently questionable.  This would leave them extremely thin in the frontcourt.  Both Ersan Ilyosova and Amir Johnson could draw starts tonight and play heavy minutes in a great matchup.  Ilyosva has seen a major price increase since his 50 fantasy point performance on March 30th but he's still under $6K on both sites.  Johnson is not a guy I typically associate with fantasy production, but he has put up 22 and 18 fantasy points his last two games and is only $3.8K on DraftKings (he's too expensive on FanDuel).  Robert Covington should also see additional opportunities and is coming off a 51 fantasy point game on Easter Sunday.  The true beneficiary of all this, however, is Ben Simmons.  If all of these guys on the injury report miss tonight Simmons sees a 10.87% usage increase adding up to nearly 11 extra fantasy points per game.  Brooklyn gives up nearly 37 fantasy points per game to opposing point guards (remember he's power forward eligible on FanDuel for some reason) and he had 55 fantasy points the last time these teams met.  In a slate full of stud players I think Simmons could carry extremely low ownership tonight being priced below the $10K mark.  People will likely pay up for James, Westbrook, Durant, etc or pay all the way down to available value players.  Simmons is worth keeping an eye on today.

Marquese Chriss, PHO [vs. SAC] (DK: $5.9K, FD: $5.2K)

When I originally started to break down the slate today I told myself to try and avoid teams not playing for anything when there are so many games going on tonight.  Some of these younger guys though, whose teams might not be fighting for the playoffs anymore, are fighting for their careers and trying to take advantage of every extra minute thrown their way.  Chriss is a guy jumping off the page lately.  With Tyson Chandler and Alex Len both out and the Suns not seeming interested in playing Alan Williams more than a handful of minutes each night Chriss has been pushed into the starting center role and is thriving.  He's now had six consecutive starts and scored at least 37 fantasy points in four of those six.  In the two games he scored less than 37 fantasy points he also played less than 25 minutes.  The Suns seemingly have caught on to this as he's had three straight games of at least 30 minutes and fantasy performances of 39, 37 and 37 points in those games.  There's a chance his minutes could dip again but my gut tells me that's not likely.  There is very little depth on this roster right now and absolutely no reason to hold Chriss back.  With the current starting five of Chriss, Bender, Daniels, Jackson, and Ulis it's Chriss who has the highest usage increase of 4.86% and nearly eleven additional fantasy points per game.  If it helps, he's also had success against the Kings this season with 33, 22 and 35 fantasy point performances.  Again, those 22 points were in 23 minutes of action.  The others were over 30 minutes.  If you give him the opportunity he comes through.  I like him tonight. 

Centers

Al Horford, BOS [@MIL] (DK: $6.4K, FD: $7K)

Center is looking like the place to pay down tonight possibly even lower than what Horford costs but I'll still make a case for him.  Most of the higher priced centers are overpriced given their matchups in my opinion.  The only guy that initially popped up on my radar in this range besides Horford is Hassan Whiteside but I recommended him on Saturday and incorrectly predicted his minutes would start to rise back up after returning from injury.  Instead, in a dream spot, he only got 20 minutes and burned us.  He went on a rant about his playing time after the game and was fined by the team.  So, I'm staying far away from that situation for now.  Anyways, back to Horford who is eligible for center on FanDuel.  Bet you can't guess what I'm going to say next.  Anyone? No? Centers. Against. Milwaukee.  I cannot stress it enough even though I know those of you who read these articles regularly are sick of hearing it.  Now I know you are going to say Horford is technically a power forward, and you're right, but he's the offensive force in the frontcourt for this team.  Aron Baynes is only on the floor for rebounding and defensive purposes.  He's no threat to Horford on the offensive end.  In three games this season against the Bucks Horford has 36, 46 and 45 fantasy points.  The Bucks are 23rd in fantasy points allowed per game to both centers and power forwards.  They are 29th in defensive efficiency against centers.  Although I'm not sure I will end up in this pricing tier for center tonight you could certainly make the case for Horford on this slate.  If you want a different approach for GPPs, while everyone is is going stars and scrubs, you could do a more balanced lineup with guys like Ben Simmons and Horford.  It still carries upside but would be a great way to differentiate.  Can't guarantee it will work but something to think about.  

Kyle O'Quinn, NYK [vs. ORL] (DK: $5.1K, FD: $5.5K)

If you've been playing NBA DFS for any length of time then you probably know just how awful it can be to roster this guy.  He has no floor.  None.  But, he does have the ceiling if you catch him on the right night.  I went on a similar rant when I included him in Saturday's article and he came through for us putting up 32 fantasy points in 32 minutes of action and providing a very nice return for his owners that day.  Tonight, we once again find ourselves in a position where it makes sense to consider him no matter how uncomfortable it may make us.  The Knicks are very banged up right now as Enes Kanter is doubtful, Troy Williams is out and Michael Beasley is questionable.  O'Quinn is looking at 30 or more minutes yet again in a favorable matchup against the Magic who rank 26th in fantasy points allowed to opposing centers this season.  Despite being a game between two teams with nothing to play for it does have a solid O/U at 211 and a one point spread.  The confidence level is on the low side here given his history of up and down performances but you can't argue with the matchup or the opportunity given the injuries on the Knicks side.  He's a guy that could give you eight or more times your return for his price point if he plays to his ceiling. 

Ivica Zubac, LAL [@UTA] (DK: $3.3K, FD: $3.5K)

This is a wildcard play with potential upside if everything goes well.  First and foremost Brook Lopez needs to miss tonight's game.  He's currently questionable.  If he plays then just forget I wrote this cause you don't need to take risks like this on a 13 game slate.  If Lopez misses though Zubac has quietly seen an uptick in minutes and is showing the ability to be productive from a fantasy standpoint.  In his last two games, he's had 22 and 27 fantasy points which at his current price point is roughly a seven to eight times return on investment.  Both of these were with only 12 and 18 minutes of playing time.  If he were to suddenly get pushed into 25 or more minutes he could do some serious damage.  Utah isn't the greatest matchup I will definitely give you that.  Gobert is the best individual defender in basketball with a defensive real plus-minus of 5.11.  But good individual defense doesn't always translate to poor fantasy production on the other end.  The Jazz are still just 23rd in fantasy points allowed to opposing centers in their last ten games.  Again, if Lopez plays simply forget this part of the article for tonight.  Keep Zubac in the back of your mind until the opportunity presents itself again.  If Lopez misses I can definitely see myself going here as I still think people will hesitate to play him in this matchup even though the price should always outweigh the possible risk.  He's way too cheap for a guy that could get 25 or more minutes.  It doesn't take much to pay off that salary.  

Injuries 🤕

Brooklyn at Philadelphia

Brooklyn:

• OUT: Isaiah Whitehead - PG

• UPGRADE: Spencer Dinwiddie - PG

Philadelphia:

• QUEST: Richaun Holmes - PF/C

• OUT: Dario Saric - PF/C

• OUT: Joel Embiid - C

• UPGRADE: Ersan Ilysova - PF, Amir Johnson - PF/C

Toronto at Cleveland

Toronto:

• No injuries reported

Cleveland:

• DTD: Kyle Korver - SG/SF

• DTD: George Hill - PG/SG

• UPGRADE: Jordan Clarkson - PG, Rodney Smith - SG/SF, J.R. Smith - SG/SF

Orlando at New York

Orlando:

• QUEST: Jonathan Isaac - PF/C

• OUT: Jonathon Simmons - SG/SF

• OUT: Evan Fournier - SG/SF

• UPGRADE: Mario Hezonja - SF/PF, Wes Iwundu - SG/SF

New York:

• PROB: Frank Ntilikina - PG/SG

• PROB: Courtney Lee - PG/SG

• QUEST: Michael Beasley - SF/PF

• DOUBT: Enes Kanter - PF/C

• OUT: Troy Williams: SF/PF

• UPGRADE: Kyle O'Quinn - PF/C, Lance Thomas - SF/PF, Damyean Dotson - SG/SF

Atlanta at Miami

Atlanta:

• DTD: Jaylen Morris - SG/SF

• OUT: Dennis Schroder - PG

• OUT: Kent Bazemore - SG/SF

• OUT: Malcolm Delaney - PG

• UPGRADE: Isaiah Taylor - PG, Damion Lee - SG/SF, Tyler Dorsey - PG/SG

Miami:

• No injuries reported

Boston at Milwaukee

Boston:

• QUEST: Terry Rozier - PG/SG (he said he'll play)

• OUT: Shane Larkin - PG

• OUT: Kyrie Irving - PG

• OUT: Marcus Smart - PG/SG

• UPGRADE: Xavier Silas - PG/SG

Milwaukee:

• DTD: Thon Maker - PF/C

• UPGRADE: Tyler Zeller - PF/C

Washington at Houston

Washington:

• No injuries reported

Houston:

• QUEST: Nene Hilario - PF/C

• QUEST: Chris Paul - PG

• UPGRADE: Eric Gordon - PG/SG, James Harden - PG/SG

Charlotte at Chicago

Charlotte:

• OUT: Treveon Graham - SG/SF

• OUT: Dwayne Bacon - SG/SF

• OUT: Cody Zeller - PF/C

• OUT: Nicolas Batum - SG

• OUT: Michael Carter-Williams - PG

• UPGRADE: Jeremy Lamb - SG/SF, Malik Monk - PG/SG, Willy Hernangomez - PF/C

Chicago:

• OUT: Antonio Blakeney - PG/SG

• OUT: Zach LaVine - PG/SG

• OUT: Kris Dunn - PG/SG

• UPGRADE: Cameron Payne - PG/SG, Justin Holiday - PG/SG

Golden State at Oklahoma City

Golden State:

• DOUBT: Kevon Looney - PF/C

• DOUBT: Patrick McCaw - PG/SF

• DOUBT: Andre Iguodala - SG/SF

• OUT: Steph Curry - PG/SG

• UPGRADE: Quinn Cook - PG, Jordan Bell - PF/C, Nick Young - SG

Oklahoma City:

• No injuries reported

Portland at Dallas

Portland:

• OUT: Ed Davis - PF/C

• OUT; Moe Harkless - SF/PF

• UPGRADE: Evan Turner - SG/SF, Zach Collins - PF/C

Indiana at Denver

Indiana:

• No injuries to report

Denver:

• QUEST: Wilson Chandler - SF/PF

• OUT: Gary Harris - SG

• UPGRADE: Torrey Craig - SG/SF, Will Barton - SG/SF, Trey Lyles - SF/PF

LA Lakers at Utah

LA Lakers:

• QUEST: Brook Lopez - C

• OUT: Brandon Ingram - SF/PF

• OUT: Lonzo Ball - PG

• OUT: Isaiah Thomas - PG/SG

• UPGRADE: Alex Caruso - PG/SG, Josh Hart - PG/SG, Tyler Ennis - PG/SG, Ivan Zubac - C

Utah:

• OUT: Raul Neto - PG

• UPGRADE: N/A

Sacramento at Phoenix

Sacramento: 

• DTD: Zach Randolph - PF/C

• OUT: Garret Temple - SG/SF

• UPGRADE: Skal Labissiere - PF/C, Buddy Hield - SG/SF

Phoenix:

• DTD: Jared Dudley - PF/C

• DTD: Elfrid Payton - PG

• DTD: Alex Len - C

• DTD: T.J. Warren - SF/PF

• DTD: Devin Booker - SG/SF

• OUT: Tyson Chandler - C

• UPGRADE: Josh Jackson - SG/SF, Tyler Ulis - PG, Try Daniels - SG, Marquese Chriss - PF/C, Dragan Bender - PF/C

San Antonio at LA Clippers

San Antonio:

• OUT: Kawhi Leonard - SF

• UPGRADE: N/A

LA Clippers:

• DTD: Jawun Evans - PG

• OUT: Milos Teodosic - PG/SG

• UPGRADE: Tyrone Wallace - PG/SG, Lou Williams - PG/SG

Phew! Very big slate.  What makes it worse is you could make a case for fantasy production in almost all of these games.  Normally, on a slate like this, you have at least a couple of games between awful teams who play good defensive and a slow pace that you can just cross off right away.  But all these games have mid to high totals and there are only two games with a double-digit spread.  Personally, the games I have the least interest in are the Spurs/Clippers, Hawks/Heat, and Hornets/Bulls.  I think you can eliminate those fairly easily.  I also don't see much in the Lakers/Jazz game unless Lopez misses and then Zubac is in play.  I hope you're finding these articles helpful.  Feel free to leave feedback by either replying to the email or tagging me on chat @glandry.  Always looking for ways to improve and make these worth your time.  Talk to you before lock!

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