Tuesday’s NBA Injury Report: Betting, DFS Impact of Celtics and Bulls Injuries

Tuesday’s NBA Injury Report: Betting, DFS Impact of Celtics and Bulls Injuries article feature image
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USA Today Sports. Pictured: Kyrie Irving, Zach LaVine

  • The NBA Injury Report details the slate's key injuries and their betting and DFS impact.
  • We'll break down the impact of various injuries the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics are dealing with on Tuesday.

Tuesday night's NBA slate features 10 games with injuries and questionable players. We'll analyze the following two:

  • Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers: 7 p.m. ET
  • Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors: 7:30 p.m. ET

Note: The information below is as of 2 p.m. ET. For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out our live news feed and follow us on Twitter.

Celtics PG Kyrie Irving (Rest) Is Out, C Al Horford (Knee) Is Probable, SF Jayson Tatum (Back) Is Probable

Injury background: Irving will rest despite Tuesday's game not being part of a back-to-back. He was been held out of the prior two games against the Cavs this season, too.

Horford and Tatum both participated in shootaround on Tuesday after missing the previous game, and coach Brad Stevens said they are "questionable-to-probable" to suit up.

Tonight's impact: Terry Rozier is expected to replace Irving in the starting lineup and has averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 11 starts this season.

Even with an increased role, Rozier isn't necessarily a cash game lock as both DraftKings and FanDuel aggressively raised his salary ahead of time. However, his individual matchup is exceptional as opposing point guard Collin Sexton ranks 100 out of 101 point guards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus this season.

In the last two matchups against the Cavs without Irving, Gordon Hayward has averaged 31.6 DK points. In addition to Irving being absent, Horford missed one game and Marcus Morris missed the other. In 11 total games played without Irving this season, Hayward has benefitted from a team-high +3.7% usage rate increase, per our NBA On/Off tool.

Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Tatum have also seen an uptick in usage rate with Irving off the court, while Horford has led the team with 36.5 DK points per game.

The Celtics have dropped four games in a row and are favored by only 5.5 points against the second-worst team in the league as of writing (see live odds here). While the game total is disappointing at 216.5 points, value can still be found with Irving's 29.5% usage rate spread out to teammates.

With Irving off the court, the Celtics' Offensive Rating drops from 112.6 to 105.0, but Boston has won the last seven games without Irving. In three games against the Cavs this season, the Celtics have an average margin of victory of 20 points.

Bulls SG Zach Lavine (Thigh, Knee) Is Out, PG Kris Dunn (Back) Is Doubtful, SF Otto Porter (Shoulder) Is Out

Injury background: Coach Jim Boylen confirmed that LaVine and Porter will not suit up on Tuesday while Dunn is doubtful due to a strained mid-back.

With only eight games left, the Bulls will likely opt to play it safe with injuries down the stretch of the season.

Tonight's impact: Both LaVine and Porter have missed the last two games and Shaq Harrison and Antonio Blakeney have entered the starting lineup. Blakeney has struggled to provide much upside, while Harrison has averaged 29.4 DK points in 39.1 minutes per start.

With all injured players off the court, Lauri Markkanen has averaged a team-high 1.08 DK points per minute with a +4.2% usage rate increase. After a prolonged slump, he has now exceeded his salary-based expectation in three straight games and has accumulated 56 field goal attempts in that span.

Ryan Arcidiacono has started 28 games this season and is the main candidate to draw the start at point guard on Tuesday. With Dunn sidelined this season, Arcidiacono has averaged 18.0 DK points with an abysmal 10.7% usage rate. His $3,600 salary on FD carries little risk for his increased role, as the lowest score can be dropped from the lineup.

The Bulls are currently implied to score 103 points and are 13.5-point underdogs. The Raptors are tied for seventh with a 107.3 Defensive Rating and the Bulls rank 27th in Offensive Rating on the road this season.

Toronto will also be at full strength for Tuesday's island game for just the fourth time in 75 games this season. Assuming no players are limited due to rest, the current spread is likely too low with a plethora of injuries for the Bulls.

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Sean Treppedi
Mar 28, 2024 UTC