Austin

Daye

He started the second half after Rodney Stuckey left with a hamstring injury, and could be in line for more minutes going forward. Will Bynum also came alive with eight points, three rebounds and a steal on 3-of-9 shooting. Both players are worth a look if Stuckey is going to miss much time, but it’s tough to tell which player might benefit most. Since Daye was the second-half starter, we’re going to give the nod to him.

Stuckey suffered a hamstring injury on Wednesday night and did not return to the game after leaving in the first quarter. With Ben Gordon also nursing a sore groin, Will Bynum and Austin Daye stand to see increased minutes if neither Stuckey nor Gordon can play.

Keith Langlois of Pistons.com says that “it seems nearly certain” that both Stuckey and Gordon will sit out Friday. We’ll know more after the morning shootaround, but owners should be making other plans. Austin Daye started the second half of Wednesday night’s game and has a roto-friendly style for deep-league vultures.

It was the middle leg of a back-to-back-back for the Pistons. Austin Daye started at small forward but scored four points on 1-for-11 shooting. There’s no word on Prince’s status for Thursday yet.

The Pistons appear ready to give Daye some run over the course of the final few games this season, but he likely won’t accumulate any fantasy value. Just monitor for now.

Daye had a nice stretch in late January but has since fallen completely out of the picture. It doesn’t help his case that his DNPs coincide with the Pistons’ unlikely three-game win streak.

Gordon is expected to play against the Magic Tuesday and Stuckey’s likely absence gives him solid upside. In 18 starts this year, Gordon is averaging 16.1 points and 1.8 3-pointers per game while playing 33.4 minutes. He sees just 22.7 minutes as a reserve.

The timing is odd considering Lawrence Frank said he wanted to get a look at Jerebko playing small forward, but apparently the Pistons wanted to see the underwhelming Austin Daye in action. Daye had 11 points on Monday, but picked up five fouls despite playing just 18.5 minutes.

The Pistons’ next game will be on a busy night on Thursday, but if you’re in a deeper format and you’re looking for a sleeper then Daye could be worth a look. Jonas Jerebko was given a DNP-CD tonight so the coaching staff could get a look at Daye, and they might be willing to do it again on Thursday.

Daye couldn’t overcome early foul trouble, disappointing owners who plugged him in as a spot-starter after Friday’s game (11 points, three steals, two blocks). Stuckey and Gordon are both day-to-day, so don’t hang onto Daye at the expense of a more stable option.