NBA DFS Injury Pivots & Minute Adjustments (12/08/25)

Overview

• Multiple questionable starters are swinging heavy minutes toward cheaper role players, especially on New Orleans, Phoenix and San Antonio.
• The biggest individual boosts sit in the mid tier and below, creating a stars-and-scrubs leaning slate with clear chalk vs leverage forks.
• Several negatively hit rotation guys carry real downside, so trimming exposure to -7.0 min profiles is important in tighter contests.

Daily Pivots

Key Pivots

Alpha Pivot

Bryce McGowens is the clear headline pivot with a massive projected swing of +19.4 min tied to Herbert Jones being questionable. That kind of jump typically moves a player from fringe rotation to core minutes, which is exactly the profile that becomes chalk on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

If his salary sits in a value range, he will function as one of the most efficient ways to unlock high priced studs. In large field GPPs, you can embrace the ceiling created by that much extra run while being mindful of ownership by correlating him with other New Orleans pieces or fading some of the more marginal NOP beneficiaries.

Secondary Pivots

• Jalen Green gains +16.2 min and Nick Richards gains +12.3 min if Dillon Brooks misses for Phoenix. Both profiles look like high impact tournament plays, with Green offering a usage-driven ceiling and Richards providing access to scarce big-man minutes at what is likely a softer price point.
• The Phoenix injuries also create landmines: Isaiah Livers (-5.3 min), Rasheer Fleming (-6.4 min), Nigel Hayes-Davis (-8.8 min) and Collin Gillespie (-11.0 min) all project significantly worse. These are easy fades in all but the largest fields.
• In Sacramento, Dennis Schroder being questionable boosts Keon Ellis by +10.4 min and Maxime Raynaud by +8.4 min, but Keegan Murray being questionable reverses a lot of that with -7.4 min to Ellis and -6.4 min to Raynaud. Treat these Kings values as volatile GPP-only pieces whose viability depends heavily on which tags break.
• For San Antonio, Bismack Biyombo picks up +16.2 min and Jeremy Sochan +6.6 min if Luke Kornet sits, which could make Biyombo a core value center. Kelly Olynyk suffers a -7.1 min hit in that same scenario and becomes a poor per-dollar option.

Value Targets

• Bryce McGowens at +19.4 min is the elite salary saver. He fits optimally in chalkier builds in both cash and single entry, where you want to lock secure minutes and let projections carry the slot.
• Bismack Biyombo with +16.2 min and Nick Richards with +12.3 min profile as strong center pivots, especially in tournaments where you can gain leverage by choosing the lower owned of the two. These are ideal for large-field GPPs that reward embracing volatility at the big positions.
• Keon Ellis (+10.4 min) and Maxime Raynaud (+8.4 min) work as thinner values, best used as leverage against more popular cheap guards/forwards when ownership condenses elsewhere. They should be limited in tighter contests given the competing Keegan Murray impact.

Deep Rotation Notes

New Orleans - Herbert Jones ripple

• Beyond McGowens, Karlo Matkovic (+11.2 min) and Micah Peavy (+7.8 min) move into meaningful rotational roles if Herbert Jones sits. They are viable salary punts in MME but thin for small field play.
• Jordan Hawkins (+7.7 min), Saddiq Bey (+6.1 min) and Jeremiah Fears (+6.0 min) gain enough minutes to matter as secondary stacks with McGowens. Prioritize Hawkins for shooting-driven ceiling, using the others mainly as correlation pieces.

Phoenix - Dillon Brooks absence

• Jalen Green and Nick Richards are the primary beneficiaries and make strong one-off or mini-stack options in Phoenix-heavy lineups. Their minutes spikes also justify playing both together in game stacks when chasing ceiling.
• The negatively affected Phoenix role players are easy trims from your pool. With Hayes-Davis, Fleming and Gillespie all losing at least -6.4 min, their floors are too low to justify exposure outside of extreme MME dart throws.

Sacramento - Guard and wing volatility

• The opposing forces of Dennis Schroder and Keegan Murray being questionable create a wide range of outcomes for Keon Ellis and Maxime Raynaud. If both sit, the upside in minutes is real; if both play, you are holding a fragile rotation piece.
• Treat Kings values as late swap leverage: be ready to pivot into or off Ellis and Raynaud once news clarifies, especially in mid to high stakes formats where field reaction time is slower.

San Antonio - Frontcourt shift

• With Luke Kornet questionable, Bismack Biyombo's +16.2 min boost can turn him into a near must-have value center in optimizers. Jeremy Sochan also gets a meaningful +6.6 min bump, supporting his role in balanced builds.
• Kelly Olynyk's -7.1 min hit makes him a clear fade when Kornet is out, while Dylan Harper's -5.1 min from Stephon Castle being questionable further pushes Harper into non-viable territory for most contests.

Roster Construction

• Start builds by deciding how you want to handle Bryce McGowens at +19.4 min. If you play him heavily, prioritize uniqueness through secondary value choices like Biyombo or Richards instead of stacking every obvious chalk piece.
• At center, avoid overloading on negatively impacted bigs such as Kelly Olynyk (-7.1 min) and instead rotate between the strong gainers Biyombo (+16.2 min) and Richards (+12.3 min) across your lineups. This keeps your ceiling high without overcommitting to one fragile value.
• Use Sacramento pieces as late swap flexibility: if Ellis and Raynaud are live for +10.4 min and +8.4 min boosts, they can replace stale early value. If news swings them to the -7.4 min or -6.4 min side, be ready to pivot into more stable NOP or PHO options.