Overview
- Tonight's slate is heavily shaped by a few key injury tags, with big minute gains concentrating around secondary pieces from New Orleans and Portland.
- Jordan Poole Q is the single largest hinge point, triggering extreme minute spikes for multiple New Orleans teammates if he sits or is limited.
- Dennis Schroder D and Robert Williams Q further open up mid-tier rotation value in Sacramento and Portland, tightening projections around a small pool of clear pivots.
Daily Pivots
| Team | Injured player | Affected teammate | Minutes +/- |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOP | Jordan Poole Q | Bryce McGowens | +18.5 |
| Karlo Matkovic | +14.8 | ||
| Derik Queen | +12.8 | ||
| Micah Peavy | +10.5 | ||
| Saddiq Bey | +8.9 | ||
| Dejounte Murray | +5.0 | ||
| POR | Robert Williams Q | Blake Wesley | +7.8 |
| Duop Reath | +7.7 | ||
| Javonte Cooke | +6.9 | ||
| Caleb Love | +5.9 | ||
| Sidy Cissoko | +5.1 | ||
| SAC | Dennis Schroder D | Keon Ellis | +9.9 |
| Maxime Raynaud | +8.7 |
Key Pivots
Alpha Pivot
Bryce McGowens is the standout pivot on this slate, picking up a massive projected increase of +18.5 min if Jordan Poole Q does not play his normal load for New Orleans. That kind of jump can turn an afterthought into a core piece in both cash games and large-field GPPs.
With that level of extra floor time, McGowens becomes the most direct way to capture the Poole absence without paying up or guessing among too many teammates. In chalky constructions, he is the cleanest path to raw minutes while still leaving flexibility for late swap around the New Orleans game.
Secondary Pivots
Karlo Matkovic and Derik Queen also see huge boosts from Poole being limited, with +14.8 min and +12.8 min respectively. They profile as strong tournament pivots off a potentially chalkier McGowens, especially in lineups that need lower ownership exposure to the same New Orleans injury outcome.
Micah Peavy and Saddiq Bey gain +10.5 min and +8.9 min in the same New Orleans scenario. They become more attractive in mid- to large-field GPPs where you want to diversify your Poole-fade exposure instead of overcommitting to a single teammate.
On Portland, Blake Wesley and Duop Reath benefit most from Robert Williams Q, with +7.8 min and +7.7 min. These are meaningful jumps that support them as secondary value options, especially in builds that are light on New Orleans pieces but still want injury-driven value.
Keon Ellis and Maxime Raynaud see +9.9 min and +8.7 min with Dennis Schroder listed Doubtful for Sacramento. Given the stronger wording on Schroder's tag, they are high-priority pivots in early builds that assume Schroder is out.
Value Targets
Bryce McGowens at +18.5 min is the premier value unlock. In cash games and small-field contests, he fits cleanly as a foundational salary saver when you are building around a Poole-out assumption.
Karlo Matkovic, Derik Queen, and Micah Peavy form a strong New Orleans value tier with +14.8 min, +12.8 min, and +10.5 min. They work best in leverage builds where you either fade McGowens or limit his exposure and instead spread your risk across multiple beneficiaries.
Keon Ellis and Maxime Raynaud provide Sacramento-based savings with +9.9 min and +8.7 min tied to Schroder being Doubtful. They are particularly useful in lineups that already lean on New Orleans and Portland chalk and need alternative value sources for diversification.
Deep Rotation Notes
NOP - Poole ripple effects
With Jordan Poole Questionable, New Orleans minutes are highly concentrated into a group of six: Bryce McGowens, Karlo Matkovic, Derik Queen, Micah Peavy, Saddiq Bey, and Dejounte Murray (+5.0 min). It is unlikely all of them hit ceiling outcomes in the same lineup, so limit stacks to two or three in large-field formats.
Saddiq Bey and Dejounte Murray, with +8.9 min and +5.0 min, offer a slightly more stable minute bump compared to the extreme spikes of McGowens and Matkovic. They fit better in balanced builds that are not fully dependent on Poole sitting the entire game.
POR - Robert Williams impact
Robert Williams being Questionable drives a clear cluster of Portland value: Blake Wesley (+7.8 min), Duop Reath (+7.7 min), Javonte Cooke (+6.9 min), Caleb Love (+5.9 min), and Sidy Cissoko (+5.1 min). The distribution suggests a more spread-out benefit compared to New Orleans.
In tournaments, rotating through Wesley, Reath, and Cooke is a strong way to get exposure to the Williams-out scenario without overcommitting to any single low-floor option. They are ideal as last-piece fillers in GPP builds that already lock in higher-confidence studs elsewhere.
SAC - Schroder absence
With Dennis Schroder Doubtful, Keon Ellis and Maxime Raynaud become central rotation pieces, jumping +9.9 min and +8.7 min. This is one of the cleaner paths to secure extra guard/rotation minutes without heavy competition from many other beneficiaries.
In single-entry and 3-max, prioritizing one of Ellis or Raynaud when you need a mid-range value makes sense, rather than forcing in multiple New Orleans darts. In large-field MME, you can mix them as correlated pivots in lineups that bet on a full Schroder absence.
Roster Construction
If you are building around a Poole-out assumption, start with Bryce McGowens at +18.5 min, then selectively add one of Karlo Matkovic, Derik Queen, or Micah Peavy rather than loading up on four or more New Orleans value plays in the same lineup.
For balanced exposure to injury value, pair one New Orleans beneficiary with one Sacramento piece (Keon Ellis or Maxime Raynaud) or one Portland piece (Blake Wesley or Duop Reath) to avoid overstacking a single volatile rotation.
Limit exposure to lineups that rely only on smaller minute bumps like Dejounte Murray at +5.0 min or Sidy Cissoko at +5.1 min without pairing them with at least one of the higher delta values, as the largest projected minute gains are where most of the slate's edge will sit.
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