Just a small four-game NBA slate on Thursday and it appears that all of the main DFS impactful news has already been sorted out with a pair of guards out for the Heat and one for the Lakers. So, if you build those lineups earlier in the day you might not have to change them leading up to lineup lock (note that I said “might not”).
This article will attempt to list all of the relevant injury situations to monitor for the day’s NBA slate and provide guidance on which players will benefit with either an increase in minutes or usage or both if that player is ruled out. I will also place an asterisk (*) by players that I think are worth DFS consideration if that player is ruled out. Players that have been out for at least five consecutive games I will not list as general playing time and usage patterns should be established.
This will NOT be an interactive article that is continually updated throughout the day as I hope to capture all of the potential relevant injury situations that could impact DFS lineups for the night and pre-determine what players benefit. Ideally, you monitor late-breaking news leading up to tipoff, find out a player is ruled out and come check the matrix below to see who the players are you should consider for your DFS lineups based on that news.
NBA What If – Thursday, March 1
| Team | Player | Status | If OUT |
| Cavaliers | Jeff Green | Questionable | Larry Nance (minutes)* Cedi Osman (minutes/usage) Jordan Clarkson (usage) |
| Heat | Wayne Ellington | Out | Dwyane Wade (minutes/usage)* Rodney McGruder (minutes) |
| Heat | Tyler Johnson | Out | Dwyane Wade (minutes/usage)* Rodney McGruder (minutes) Luke Babbitt (usage) Hassan Whiteside (usage)* |
| Kings | Garrett Temple | Questionable | Buddy Hield (minutes) Frank Mason (minutes) |
| Lakers | Josh Hart | Out | Lonzo Ball (minutes)* Isaiah Thomas (minutes/usage) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (minutes)* Ivica Zubac (usage) |
| Nets | Jahlil Okafor | Out | Dante Cunningham (minutes) Jarrett Allen (minutes)* |
| Sixers | Ersan Ilyasova | Probable | Dario Saric (minutes) Robert Covington (minutes) |
| Timberwolves | Jimmy Butler | Out | Nemanja Bjelica (minutes/usage) Jamal Crawford (minutes/usage)* Jeff Teague (usage)* Andrew Wiggins (usage) Karl-Anthony Towns (usage)* |
| Trail Blazers | None |
