With the first big slate after the All-Star break on Friday night (11-games) there are more players expected to return from injury than those who might not play. This could make finding good value options difficult on Friday’s slate.
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 – Friday, February 23
| Team | Player | Status | If OUT |
| Bucks | John Henson | Probable | Tyler Zeller (minutes) Thon Maker (minutes) |
| Cavaliers | None | ||
| Celtics | Marcus Smart | Probable | Terry Rozier (minutes) Jayson Tatum (usage) |
| Celtics | Shane Larkin | Out | Terry Rozier (minutes) |
| Clippers | Danilo Gallinari | Questionable | Wes Johnson (minutes) Sam Deckker (minutes) Austin Rivers (usage) Tobias Harris (usage)* |
| Clippers | Avery Bradley | Doubtful | Tyrone Wallace (minutes)* Milos Teodosic (minutes) |
| Grizzlies | Wayne Selden | Out | Ben McLemore (minutes) |
| Grizzlies | Chandler Parsons | Out | Dillon Brooks (minutes) |
| Grizzlies | Mario Chalmers | Questionable | Andrew Harrison (minutes)* |
| Hawks | Malcolm Delaney | Out | Isaiah Taylor (minutes) Tyler Dorsey (minutes) |
| Hawks | Dennis Schroder | Probable | Isaiah Taylor (minutes/usage) Tyler Dorsey (minutes/usage)* Kent Bazemore (usage)* Taurean Prince (usage) |
| Hawks | Kent Bazemore | Probable | Tyler Dorsey (minutes/usage) Andrew White (minutes) Dennis Schroder (usage)* Taurean Prince (usage) |
| Hawks | Ersan Ilyasova | Probable | John Collins (minutes)* Dewayne Dedmon (minutes/usage) Kent Bazemore (usage) |
| Hawks | Isaiah Taylor | Questionable | Tyler Dorsey (minutes) |
| Heat | Kelly Olynyk | Doubtful | James Johnson (minutes) Bam Adebayo (minutes/usage) |
| Hornets | None | ||
| Jazz | Ricky Rubio | Questionable | Royce O’Neale (minutes) Donovan Mitchell (usage)* Joe Ingles (usage) |
| Lakers | Channing Frye | Out | Kyle Kuzma (minutes) Ivica Zubac (minutes) |
| Lakers | Lonzo Ball | Probable | Tyler Ennis (minutes) Gary Payton II (minutes) Josh Hart (minutes)* Julius Randle (usage)* |
| Mavericks | None | ||
| Nuggets | Will Barton | Questionable | Malik Beasley (minutes/usage) Wilson Chander (minutes) Devin Harris (usage) Gary Harris (usage)* |
| Nuggets | Kenneth Faried | Questionable | Darrell Arthur (minutes) |
| Pacers | Darren Collison | Out | Cory Joseph (minutes/usage) Joe Young (minutes) Victor Oladipo (usage)* Domantas Sabonis (usage) Bojan Bogdanovic (usage) |
| Pacers | Glenn Robinson III | Probable | Lance Stephenson (minutes) |
| Pelicans | None | ||
| Pistons | Reggie Bullock | Probable | Langston Galloway (minutes/usage) Luke Kennard (minutes) |
| Raptors | None | ||
| Rockets | Trevor Ariza | Probable | Luc Mbah a Moute (minutes) PJ Tucker (minutes) James Harden (usage)* Chris Paul (usage)* |
| Rockets | Eric Gordon | Questionable | Joe Johnson (minutes) Gerald Green (minutes/usage) Clint Capela (usage) |
| Spurs | Manu Ginobili | Probable | Bryn Forbes (minutes) Patty Mills (minutes/usage) Dejounte Murray (usage)* |
| Spurs | LaMarcus Aldridge | Probable | Davis Bertens (minutes/usage)* Rudy Gay (usage) Dejounte Murray (usage)* Manu Ginobili (usage) |
| Spurs | Rudy Gay | Probable | Kyle Anderson (minutes) Dejounte Murray (usage) |
| Suns | Tyson Chandler | Doubtful | Alex Len (minutes)* Dragan Bender (minutes) Marquese Chriss (minutes) |
| Suns | Tyler Ulis | Questionable | Troy Daniels (minutes) |
| Timberwolves | None | ||
| Trail Blazers | None | ||
| Wizards | None |
