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About Justin Carter - RotoBaller
Justin Carter is PhD candidate in creative writing at the University of North Texas. He writes about the NFL, NBA, and the WNBA here on RotoBaller. If he's not watching those things, he's either teaching college English or watching NASCAR.
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Justin Carter - RotoBaller has written 4109 articles so far, you can find them below.
Ronald Jones II Questionable To Return With Quad Injury
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones II (quadriceps) is questionable to return in Saturday's wild-card playoff game against Washington with a quadriceps injury. Jones injured himself during pre-game warm-ups and may not even wind up playing on Saturday evening. Leonard Fournette will likely serve as the lead back for the remainder of Saturday's contest, with... Read More
Alex Smith Inactive, Taylor Heinicke To Start Against Bucs
Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith (calf) is inactive for Saturday's wild-card contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Backup Taylor Heinicke will start at quarterback. Smith gave Washington the best chance of upsetting the Buccaneers, but Heinicke was solid as a relief QB in Week 16 in the loss to the Panthers, going 12-for-19 for 137... Read More
Darnell Mooney, Roquan Smith Out For Wild-Card Game
Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney (ankle) and linebacker Roquan Smith (elbow) have been ruled out ahead of Sunday's wild-card game against the New Orleans Saints. With Mooney out, expect to see more of Anthony Miller, who last had more than two receptions back in Week 13. This is obviously a big loss for the... Read More
Rashaad Penny Inactive Against Rams
Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny (knee) is inactive for Saturday's playoff contest against the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round. With Penny out, expect to see Carlos Hyde serve as the primary backup for Chris Carson, with rookie DeeJay Dallas picking up scraps behind Carson and Hyde. Hyde doesn't have much upside against... Read More
Jared Goff Active For Wild-Card Round
Updating a previous report, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (thumb) is active for Saturday's playoff meeting with Seattle in the wild-card game, but Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network cautions that this doesn't necessarily mean that Goff is starting. The Rams have kept things quiet all week about who'll start at quarterback between Goff... Read More
Jared Goff Warming Up Ahead Of Playoff Game
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (thumb) has been spotted warming up ahead of Saturday's wild-card meeting with the Seattle Seahawks. Goff reportedly looks good throwing the ball. There's uncertainty about who will start at QB for the Rams in Saturday's game, and backup John Wolford is also warming up and is ready to go... Read More
Malcolm Brown Has Little Upside Against Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams running back Malcolm Brown has taken a clear back seat to rookie Cam Akers in the pecking order for L.A., leaving him with little upside against the Seattle Seahawks in Saturday's wild-card game on Saturday. Brown did have two touchdowns in the first meeting between these two teams, but he hasn't found the... Read More
Alex Collins Not A Trustworthy Wild-Card Option
Seattle Seahawks running back Alex Collins had five carries for 29 yards and a touchdown in last week's game against the 49ers, but that doesn't mean DFS players need to view Collins as a potential value play on wild-card weekend. Those carries were the first for Collins since Week 10, and while he did find... Read More
Chris Carson Is Middling Wild-Card Play
Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson (foot) is dealing with a foot injury and faces a tough Rams Defense in Saturday's wild-card playoff game, but his projected volume makes him a fine DFS play. He won't be a top option on this slate, but he did have 69 yards the last time he faced the Rams,... Read More
D.K. Metcalf Is Risk/Reward DFS Play Against Rams
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf has struggled against the Rams Defense this season, catching just eight passes in two games against them and failing to find the end zone. Metcalf is one of the NFL's best receivers, but the Rams have bottled him up this season, and he's also coming off a rough Week... Read More
Tyler Lockett Has Low Floor Against Rams
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett had his best game since Week 7 in last week's win over the 49ers, with 12 catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns. But in the Wildcard round, he faces a Rams Defense that held him to eight receptions across two regular-season meetings. Factor in that Lockett has had... Read More
Russell Wilson Carries Some Risk In Wild-Card Round
Never count out Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, but maybe temper your expectations on Saturday when he faces the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round. In what will likely be a low-scoring game between two defenses that are playing excellent football, Wilson has a much lower floor than usual. In two games against the... Read More
Cam Akers Should See Plenty Of Carries In Wildcard Round
Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers saw 21 carries in Week 17 with the Rams starting John Wolford at quarterback. And while Akers didn't get much accomplished with those carries, turning them into just 34 yards, he did add four receptions for 52 yards. Akers has become the clear No. 1 running back on... Read More
Cooper Kupp Should Have Solid Floor On Saturday
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp has five or more receptions in four consecutive games, including catching eight passes for 66 yards last week with John Wolford starting at quarterback. It remains unclear who the quarterback will be on Saturday, but if it is Wolford again, Kupp should be the player who is least... Read More
Recent Struggles Make Robert Woods Risky In Wild-Card Round
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Robert Woods has seen a drop in numbers lately. After topping 70 yards in seven of the first 12 games of the season, he failed to do so in each of the final four games. His receptions per game through 12 games were 5.9, but that dropped to 4.8 over... Read More
Jack Doyle Could Be Interesting Value Play
Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle had a rough start to the NFL season, as he had just 11 receptions through Week 13. But he has 12 catches over the last four games and seems to be peaking at a good time for the Colts. Buffalo allows the eighth-most fantasy points per game to tight... Read More
Zach Pascal Has DFS Upside In Wild-Card Round
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Zach Pascal has been targeted four or more times in three consecutive games and has three touchdowns in that span. He's solidified his spot as the team's No. 2 receiver heading into the postseason. And while Saturday's opponent, the Buffalo Bills, allow the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing wide... Read More
Kyle Kuzma Struggles In Good Spot Against Bulls
With Anthony Davis (adductor) out, it seemed like Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma might be able to find some more offensive possessions and make something happen on Friday against the Bulls. But Kuzma took just five shots, finishing with six points, one rebound, and one assist. His scoring average on the year is a... Read More
LeBron James Powers Lakers To Win Over Bulls
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James scored 28 points on 11-for-21 shooting in Friday's win over the Chicago Bulls. While he was 0-for-5 from three, he did add seven rebounds and seven assists to the ledger as well. It was a pretty classic James game, and it came with Anthony Davis (adductor) out. Still one... Read More
Zach LaVine Goes Off Against Lakers
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine scored 38 points on 14-for-22 shooting in Friday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was 4-for-7 from deep and also added five rebounds and six assists, as well as a pair of steals. LaVine has been on fire for much of this season, averaging 26 points per game through... Read More
Eight 2021 Cup Series Races Will Feature Qualifying
After canceling qualifying last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NASCAR Cup Series plans to slowly return to using it in 2021. Eight races will feature qualifying in 2021: the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, and the season-finale at Phoenix, as well as the five new races on the schedule: the Bristol dirt race,... Read More
Sizing Up NFL Rookies That Flopped In 2020
2020 was a great season for some rookies around the NFL. Justin Jefferson set the rookie receiving yards record. Justin Herbert said a huge year for the Chargers. James Robinson earned the lead-back role in Jacksonville from the start and through Week 15 was the overall RB4 in PPR. But not every rookie was able... Read More
David Ragan To Run Daytona 500
David Ragan plans to run the Daytona 500 in an open car for Front Row Motorsports. The veteran driver retired from full-time competition after the 2019 season but ran three races in 2020 between the Cup Series and Truck Series. In his one Cup start, Ragan finished fourth in last season's Daytona 500. An experienced... Read More
Anthony Alfredo Will Run Cup Series In 2021
Anthony Alfredo has been announced as the new driver for Front Row Motorsports' 38 car for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Alfredo ran 19 Xfinity Series races for Richard Childress Racing last season, with two top-fives and nine top-10s. He led 15 laps and was often a strong DFS option. He won't be nearly... Read More
NY Racing Plans To Run Full Cup Schedule
While no driver or sponsor has been announced, team owner John Cohen says that NY Racing will attempt to run the full Cup Series schedule in 2021. The team hasn't run a Cup race since the 2018 Coca-Cola 600. Regardless of the driver, this should be a backmarker team in 2021 and won't have very... Read More
Daniel Gafford Perfect From Field
Chicago Bulls center Daniel Gafford was 3-for-3 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in Sunday's win over the Dallas Mavericks, finishing with 12 points and also adding three rebounds. Gafford has scored in double figures in two of the past three games and seems to be taking some minutes away from Wendell... Read More
Zach LaVine Has Huge Game Against Mavs
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine scored 39 points on 14-for-25 shooting in Sunday's win over the Dallas Mavericks. He was 3-for-9 from three and also added six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. LaVine is averaging 24.6 points on the season despite a career-low 30.2 percent shooting mark from three. Once he gets that figured... Read More
Jalen Brunson Scores 31 Points
Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson scored 31 points on 11-for-17 shooting in Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bulls. He also added seven assists, five rebounds, and a steal. Brunson was 3-for-7 from deep. While it wasn't the highest-scoring night of his NBA career, it was close. Brunson's performance was aided by the absence of Luka... Read More
Fantasy Basketball 9-Cat Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 3
Happy 2021! It seems strange for it to be a new year and for the NBA to only be entering its third week, but that's how things go in these strange times. This past week's highlights include the Wizards finally winning a game and the Rockets finally getting to see what John Wall could do... Read More
Fantasy Basketball Week 2 Risers and Fallers
Welcome to the fantasy basketball risers and fallers column, a weekly look at a few players whose stock is rising and a few who've been struggling with some analysis of why that's been the case. As always, this doesn't mean you need to drop these players who are struggling, but this could be a useful piece... Read More
