Justin Patton (C, HOU): Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 6% of leagues ANALYSIS: How can I say this nicely? Hmm... The Houston Rockets stink. I don't think I can do better, folks. Houston's maladies, though, are all coming from a single event that took place a few weeks ago: Christian Wood getting injured. That's it. Since […]

Daniel Theis (C, BOS): Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 50% of leagues ANALYSIS: It took Daniel Theis a couple of years to get reps as a starter in the NBA, but he finally did so last season when he was part of 64-of-65 starting lineups for the Celtics. That has stayed the same this season, with […]

Kelly Olynyk (PF/C, MIA): Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 35% of leagues ANALYSIS: With Bam Adebayo in town and playing every freaking game for the Miami Heat, odds are Kelly Olynyk has escaped your attention. But the truth is, Olynyk has started 31 of the 36 games he's played this season at the C spot, he's playing around 27 MPG on […]

Robert Williams (C, BOS): Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 47% of leagues ANALYSIS: Robert Williams' rostership is growing--and not slowly--by the day. Every time I check it, it's gone up a couple of percentage points, and at the time of this writing just after the AS break it is this close to reaching the 50% mark. How come, […]

Fantasy Basketball Night In Review: Friday, March 12

Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we will highlight a few key fantasy basketball takeaways from the games played during last night's slate. These viewpoints can be both positive and negative and will hopefully help to provide insight into different roster moves you should consider making based on trends and statistical nuggets […]

Dwight Howard Grabs 10 Rebounds On Friday

Philadelphia 76ers center Dwight Howard scored six points on 2-for-4 shooting in Friday's win over the Washington Wizards. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, plus added an assist and a block. Howard played 18 minutes, but could see an increase in usage going forward after Joel Embiid exited with a knee injury. Keep an eye out […]

Joel Embiid Will Get MRI On Knee

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will have an MRI on his knee after exiting Friday's game against the Wizards. Embiid went to the floor after a dunk, but was able to limp off the floor. It sounds like Embiid hyper-extended the knee and should avoid any long-term issue, but he could wind up missing some […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball (3/13/21) Picks: NBA DFS Lineups

Five of the seven games on the Saturday slate have implied totals over 228 points, so we will have plenty of options to choose from for DFS studs and value. The SAC/ATL game profiles as the top game to target, though POR/MIN and MIL/WAS are very intriguing with their high totals, high pace, and limited […]

FanDuel NBA DFS Lineup Picks (3/13/21): Daily Fantasy Basketball Advice

On Friday evening, we were treated to some spectacular performances. Nikola Jokic led the slate by producing a 28-point, 15-rebound effort against the Memphis Grizzlies. Jimmy Butler delivered another strong showing, finishing with nearly 57 fantasy points against the Chicago Bulls, while Donovan Mitchell had 50.4 against the short-handed Rockets in a game that ran […]

Nikola Jokic With Big Game In Win Over Memphis

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic scored 28 points on 13-for-22 shooting in Friday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies. In addition, he grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out seven assists. He added two steals and was 1-for-2 from three. He'll play the Mavericks on Saturday, who allow opponents to grab the ninth-most rebounds in the NBA […]

Yasmani Grandal To Play Saturday

Chicago White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal (knee) is scheduled to play in the Cactus League game on Saturday against the Angels. Grandal twisted his right knee during running drills on Feb. 24, but he got four at-bats in a B game against the Rangers on Friday. He finished 1-for-4 and will start as the designated […]

John Wall, Christian Wood Could Play Tuesday

Houston Rockets guard John Wall (knee) and center Christian Wood (ankle) could return for Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Hawks. The main factor to this losing streak is the fact that the Rockets cannot stay healthy. Kevin Porter Jr. will have plenty of streaming appeal for Friday's contest. He'll likely be worth adding in most […]

Miguel Amaya Optioned Friday

Chicago Cubs catching prospect Miguel Amaya, ranked No. 89 by MLB Pipeline and the team's No. 3 overall prospect, was optioned to Double-A Tennessee on Friday. Catcher Taylor Gushue was also reassigned to minor league camp, leaving veteran Jose Lobaton and P.J. Higgins as the only catchers in major league camp behind Austin Romine, who […]

Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier Return To Sharks Lineup

San Jose Sharks forwards Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier (lower body) will rejoin the lineup for Friday's road game at Anaheim. Meier missed only a couple of games, while Hertl hasn't played since Feb. 22 while on the COVID-19 list, so he will make a long-awaited return. The two are set to skate on the […]

Joel Embiid To Suit Up Against Wizards

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will suit up against the Wizards on Friday night. Embiid missed the All-Star game and his team's first game of the second half on Thursday while in the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols, but he'll be back out there, presumably at 100 percent. The star big man has scored at […]

Oskar Sundqvist Returns To Action On Friday

St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist will be back in the lineup for Friday's clash with Vegas. The 26-year-old was out for two games with an undisclosed injury. Sundqvist was hot prior to getting hurt with four points in four games. He is set to center the third line between Zach Sanford and Sammy Blais. […]

Austin Romine Battling A Knee Sprain

Chicago Cubs catcher Austin Romine (knee) figures to be the club's backup catcher during the regular season, although when he'll be cleared to do so isn't apparent. Manager David Ross stated Friday that Romine is "day-to-day" with a sprained right knee and that there isn't a timetable for when he is expected back. Through three […]

New York Scratches Tomas Nido From Friday’s Lineup

New York Mets catcher Tomas Nido (foot) was scratched from Friday's Grapefruit League game against Miami after having fouled a ball off of his foot during batting practice Thursday. While X-rays came back negative, Nido is currently day-to-day. The Mets don't have a clear backup plan behind James McCann should Nido be sidelined for any […]

Hassan Whiteside Will Miss Another Game

Sacramento Kings center Hassan Whiteside has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Atlanta Hawks. He continues to be sidelined due to the NBA's health and safety protocols. Whiteside has missed nearly three weeks of action and it's uncertain when he'll get back on the court. Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley will continue to […]

Christian Wood, Danuel House Jr. Out On Friday

Houston Rockets center Christian Wood (ankle) and forward Danuel House Jr. (knee) have been ruled out for Friday's game against the Utah Jazz. Wood has been practicing this week, so there's a good chance that he is able to suit up on Saturday. Until then, Justin Patton will get increased playing time, but is a […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (3/12/21): NBA DFS Lineups

Storylines are aplenty Friday, beginning with Jimmy Butler returning back to Chicago in the midst of a stretch that has reestablished him as an elite DFS commodity. Elsewhere around the league, Washington’s much-maligned interior defense will try to figure out how to slow Joel Embiid, the Rockets will attempt to stitch enough healthy and/or eligible […]

FanDuel NBA DFS Lineup Picks (3/12/21): Daily Fantasy Basketball Advice

We've got a seven-game slate for Friday. CHI, HOU, MIA, NOP, ORL, and PHI are playing the second leg of a back-to-back. There are three games at 8:00 PM ET (PHI @ WAS, CLE @ NO, and DEN @ MEM), two games at 9:00 PM (MIA @ CHI and ORL @ SA), one game at […]

Beau Burrows, Joey Wentz Among Tigers Spring Cuts

Detroit Tigers pitching prospects Alex Faedo (team's No. 10 prospect), Joey Wentz (No. 9), Beau Burrows (No. 15) and Kyle Funkhouser were optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Friday, while catcher Dillon Dingler (No. 8), pitcher Zack Hess (No. 30), Gerson Moreno, Daniel Pinero, Jacob Robson, Aderlin Rodriguez and Danny Woodrow were reassigned to minicamp. Faedo […]

Joel Embiid On Track To Return For Friday’s Game

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been deemed probable to get back into action for Friday's contest against the Wizards as he works his way through the league's health and safety protocols. After being deemed a COVID-19 close contact, Embiid missed both the All-Star Game this past weekend and Thursday's game versus Chicago, which allowed […]

Sean Murphy Closes In On Return To Game Action

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (lung) has resumed taking batting practice in anticipation of making his Cactus League debut in the near future. Murphy has been working his way back from a collapsed lung, but manager Bob Melvin stated Thursday that the backstop was "progressing" toward a return to the field. How quickly Murphy is […]

Fantasy Basketball Week 11 Risers and Fallers

Welcome to the fantasy basketball risers and fallers column, a weekly look at a few players whose stock is rising and a few who've been struggling with some analysis of why that's been the case. As always, this doesn't mean you need to drop these players who are struggling, but this could be a useful piece […]

Yasmani Grandal Logs At-Bats During Sim Game

Chicago White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal (knee) was able to get into the box during a simulated game Wednesday, but manager Tony La Russa has still not provided a timeline as to when the catcher could get into Cactus League action. Grandal sustained a knee injury at the end of February and the team has […]

Evgeni Malkin Notches A Goal And Assist On Thursday

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin recorded a goal and an assist on Thursday. Pittsburgh handed Buffalo their ninth straight loss by the score of 5-2. Malkin has a five-game point streak going with three goals and five assists. The Russian forward is averaging 18:43 minutes of ice time a game and has 58 shots on […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Batting Order

You may be wondering why there aren't any advanced stats aimed at predicting a player's counting stats like runs and RBI. The answer is simple: modern sabermetrics reject the idea of a "clutch RBI guy" and therefore do not bother inventing predictive metrics for it. Runs and RBI are team-dependent stats and are unhelpful in ascertaining […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/12) - Severino Beginning Build Up

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're officially through the first week of spring training games […]