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UPDATE: Aug. 7, 2:37 p.m. — Adams has officially been ruled out vs. the Grizzlies, per coach Billy Donovan. See below for more information on how to proceed in NBA DFS on DraftKings and betting.
Billy Donovan - Steven Adams (leg) will be out today vs Memphis. @News9Sport
— Steve McGehee (@SteveMcGehee) August 7, 2020
Oklahoma City Thunder C Steven Adams is now listed as questionable to play in Friday’s game vs. the Memphis Grizzlies due to a leg injury. Adams joins Terrance Ferguson on the injury report, also with a leg injury. Ferguson has been sidelined for the Thunder and isn’t as impactful.
The good news is Thunder-Grizz is the first game to lock on the main slate, so we’ll get news on Adams before lock time. The bad news is, Adams was shaping up to be a pretty decent play in GPPs with the matchup against a thin front court in Memphis. Let’s take a look at how to approach Adams potentially being out.
Fantasy basketball and betting impact
At $6,100, Adams was going to be an OK mid-range pivot for the center position. If he plays, I wonder how much time he gets on the court given the importance of this game. If Adams is out, upgrade some of the Memphis front court guys like Jonas Valanciunas ($7,300) and Brandon Clarke ($4,900).
As for OKC, Nerlens Noel ($3,500) should start and soak up a lot of minutes down low. The Thunder lack depth at center and at PF, so Noel and Darius Bazley ($3,000) should get at least 20-25 minutes a piece if the game stays relatively close. No Adams seems like a slight downgrade for Chris Paul ($8,100) in the assist category and it may be tougher for OKC to space the floor effectively for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($6,800). Not enough to get me off either of those guards, though.
The Grizzlies are +4 and this is literally do-or-die, must-win for them. Memphis is 0-4 in the bubble and another loss bumps them into a tie with Portland for the 8-seed. If you believe in desperation, the Grizzlies are a must-bet on this slate. If you think Memphis will sink again, OKC at -4 with or without Adams isn’t a bad play. There isn’t much value in Valanciunas’ rebounding prop of 11.5 at -134 on the over. Brandon Clarke isn’t a great rebounder but at 6.5 at +110, maybe I think about it if Adams is out.
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