NBA DFS Injury Pivots (01/18/26)

Overview

• Volatile slate from a rotation standpoint, with multiple teams showing double digit minute swings tied to a few tags.
• MEM and TOR carry the biggest contingency trees, making late swap discipline a real edge.
• There are also clear minute losers (TOR, SAC), which matters for trimming thin value in fragile builds.

Daily Pivots

Key Pivots

Alpha Pivot

Olivier-Maxence Prosper is the top minutes lever on the slate at +15.1 min, tied directly to the Ja Morant P tag. That is the type of swing that can create true salary relief and unlock different roster constructions, especially if the field is slow to react.

Because this is driven by a probable tag, it is a pure news and late swap spot. If the Morant situation moves the wrong way for your build, you want clean pivots ready, not thin one offs.

Secondary Pivots

• Collin Murray-Boyles sits right behind at +13.2 min if Immanuel Quickley Q is out. TOR also spreads meaningful minutes to Jamison Battle (+10.4 min) and Gradey Dick (+9.6 min), creating multiple viable constructions rather than a single must click.
• Gregory Jackson II has two separate paths to upside: +11.4 min with Santi Aldama Q and +7.7 min tied to Ja Morant P. That profile plays well in tournaments where you want access to multiple news outcomes.
• CHI is more concentrated: Julian Phillips gets +9.6 min if Patrick Williams Q sits, and he also picks up +5.8 min with Josh Giddey D. If you are prioritizing floor in value, this is one of the cleaner minute signals.
• TOR has a clear rotation loser: Alijah Martin is -5.2 min with Quickley Q and -10.7 min with Jamison Battle Q, making him a risky filler unless news breaks perfectly.

Value Targets

• Julian Phillips is the most direct salary saver in the data (+9.6 min contingency, plus an additional +5.8 min path). That is the kind of piece that fits both cash games and chalky builds when you need stable minutes.
• Olivier-Maxence Prosper is the high ceiling value route (+15.1 min) that can separate in GPPs if news forces the field into awkward late swaps.
• TOR value is spread across several names; for leverage builds, prioritize the less obvious minute gainers (for example Jamal Shead at +7.1 min or Ochai Agbaji at +5.7 min) instead of only the top one.

Deep Rotation Notes

MEM - Multi player minutes swing

• The Morant P branch boosts a wide set of pieces: Olivier-Maxence Prosper (+15.1 min), Gregory Jackson II (+7.7 min), Scotty Pippen Jr. (+7.4 min), plus several +5.1 to +6.2 min roles.
• The Aldama Q branch further boosts Gregory Jackson II (+11.4 min) and Scotty Pippen Jr. (+6.5 min).
• Practically, this is the slate’s biggest late swap cluster, with several viable replacements if you miss the first click.

TOR - Big gains, plus a clear fade signal

• Quickley Q creates a broad minutes redistribution led by Collin Murray-Boyles (+13.2 min), Jamison Battle (+10.4 min), and Gradey Dick (+9.6 min).
• Alijah Martin is the key negative (-5.2 min on the Quickley branch, -10.7 min on the Battle branch), which is useful for tightening your player pool.

CHI - Concentrated wing value

• Phillips is the clear beneficiary: +5.8 min tied to Giddey D and +9.6 min tied to Patrick Williams Q.
• This is one of the cleaner spots to plug value without needing three things to go right.

HOU - Small but usable bump

• JD Davison gets +5.3 min if Tari Eason Q sits.
• This is more of a last piece / correlation driven option than a primary build driver.

SAC - Rotation risk on the cheap

• Nique Clifford takes a -5.3 min hit tied to Keon Ellis Q.
• In large field GPPs, this is a spot to avoid negative minute thin plays when better volatility exists elsewhere.

Roster Construction

• Treat MEM and TOR as priority late swap teams: if you are playing Olivier-Maxence Prosper (+15.1 min) or Collin Murray-Boyles (+13.2 min) contingencies, keep flexible salary and positions around them.
• When you need safer value, Julian Phillips is the cleanest minutes signal (+9.6 min, plus another +5.8 min path), and it pairs well with more fragile ceiling swings from MEM or TOR.
• Trim lineups that rely on negative minute role players like Alijah Martin (-10.7 min) or Nique Clifford (-5.3 min) unless your build is explicitly leveraging a specific news outcome.