Kyle Lowry sitting out Friday vs. Kings

Toronto Raptors PG Kyle Lowry has been ruled out for Friday’s game vs. the Sacramento Kings due to personal reasons. This comes as a bit of a surprise with a few hours until lock. The Raptors and Kings game doesn’t tip until 10:00 p.m. ET. The Raptors have been reeling this season and this doesn’t help them much against an improved Kings team on the West Coast.

The Lowry news makes us have to rethink a few things on this slate. We’ve got 10 games so that means a ton of options. Fred VanVleet ($8,100) becomes an elite GPP play as a result. Prior to last game, FVV had been on fire with back-to-back games of over 50 fantasy points. I De’Aaron Fox is ruled out for the Kings, then this becomes an even better matchup for VanVleet.

The line on this game has already moved from 3.5 to 2.5. The Raptors are still favored but I like the Kings at home. Toronto isn’t the same team without bigs Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol. Now the Raps are down Lowry and won’t have much of a rotation on the road. So usually taking the home team getting points in this scenario would be wise. Sacramento isn’t even that bad. If Fox ends up playing, this line will shift plenty before tip-off.