Thursday’s NBA trades at the deadline will have a significant impact on Friday’s slate. Many of the players changing addresses will likely not play tonight opening up playing time and DFS consideration for numerous players. There are also a few injury situations to watch, so be sure to check out the What If Matrix as news rolls in.
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.
This article series will be a work in progress and I welcome any and all feedback on its usefulness and format either in the Comments below or directly to me on Twitter @Rotopilot.
NBA What If – Friday, February 9
| Team | Player | Status | If OUT |
| Bucks | Matthew Dellavedova | Out | Eric Bledsoe (minutes) Sean Kilpatrick (minutes/usage) Jason Terry (minutes) |
| Bucks | Malcolm Brogdon | Out | Tony Snell (minutes) Sterling Brown (minutes) Sean Kilpatrick (usage) |
| Bucks | John Henson | Probable | Thon Maker (minutes) Tyler Zeller (minutes) Eric Bledsoe (usage) Jabari Parker (usage) Khris Middleton (usage) |
| Bulls | Lauri Markkanen | Probable | Bobby Portis (minutes)* Paul Zipser (minutes) Justin Holiday (usage) Denzel Valentine (usage) |
| Cavaliers | George Hill | Doubtful | Jose Calderon (minutes/usage) |
| Cavaliers | Jordan Clarkson | Doubtful | JR Smith (minutes/usage)* LeBron James (usage)* |
| Cavaliers | Rodney Hood | Doubtful | Kyle Korver (minutes/usage)* Cedi Osman (minutes/usage)* LeBron James (usage)* |
| Cavaliers | Larry Nance Jr. | Doubtful | Jeff Green (minutes/usage)* |
| Celtics | None | ||
| Clippers | Milos Teodosic | Questionable | Avery Bradley (minutes/usage) Tyrone Wallace (minutes) |
| Clippers | Austin Rivers | Questionable | Avery Bradley (minutes) Tyrone Wallace (minutes) Danilo Gallinari (usage) Lou Williams (usage) |
| Hawks | Marco Belinelli | Probable | Tyler Dorsey (minutes) John Collins (usage) |
| Heat | Kelly Olynyk | Out | Bam Adebayo (minutes)* James Johnson (minutes)* Tyler Johnson (usage) |
| Heat | Wayne Ellington | Probable | Dwyane Wade (minutes) Tyler Johnson (minutes) |
| Heat | Dwyane Wade | Probable | Wayne Ellington (minutes) Tyler Johnson (minutes) |
| Hornets | None | ||
| Jazz | Jae Crowder | Doubtful | Joe Ingles (minutes) Royce O’Neale (minutes) |
| Jazz | Derrick Rose | Questionable | Raul Neto (minutes) |
| Kings | De’Aaron Fox | Questionable | Bogdan Bogdanovic (minutes)* |
| Kings | Garrett Temple | Questionable | Buddy Hield (minutes) Justin Jackson (minutes) |
| Nuggets | Mason Plumlee | Out | Trey Lyles (minutes/usage) Darrell Arthur (minutes/usage) |
| Nuggets | Torrey Craig | Probable | Will Barton (minutes) Malik Beasley (minutes) |
| Pacers | Darren Collison | Out | Cory Joseph (minutes/usage) Joe Young (minutes) Victor Oladipo (usage)* Domantas Sabonis (usage) Bojan Bogdanovic (usage) |
| Pacers | Victor Oladipo | Probable | Lance Stephenson (minutes/usage)* Bojan Bogdanovic (minutes/usage)* Domantas Sabonis (usage) Thaddeus Young (usage) Cory Joseph (usage) |
| Pelicans | None | ||
| Pistons | Jameer Nelson | Questionable | Langston Galloway (minutes) Dwight Buycks (minutes) |
| Pistons | James Ennis | Questionable | Stanley Johnson (minutes) |
| Rockets | Eric Gordon | Questionable | Gerald Green (minutes/usage)* Markel Brown (minutes) Clint Capela (usage) |
| Rockets | Ryan Anderson | Questionable | PJ Tucker (minutes) Luc Mbah a Moute (minutes) James Harden (usage)* Chris Paul (usage)* Gerald Green (usage) |
| Sixers | Joel Embiid | Questionable | Amir Johnson (minutes) Richaun Holmes (minutes/usage)* Dario Saric (usage)* Ben Simmons (usage)* Robert Covington (usage)* JJ Redick (usage)* |
| Timberwolves | None | ||
| Trail Blazers | None |
