Of the three teams that faced elimination on Sunday, only the Mavericks survived. Emergency starters J..J. Barea and Al-Farouq Aminu were outstanding. Tonight we expect the Bulls to wrap up their series and Atlanta to regain command of theirs.
The late game is Portland’s Last Stand. Down 3-0 after Saturday’s 115-109 loss at home, the Blazers have an excellent chance because Mike Conley (face) is out and Beno Udrih $3000 (ankle) is not 100%. Nick Calathes $2600 is actually a good play, along with Courtney Lee $4400 and Marc Gasol $8400. Without Conley’s defense, Damian Lillard $7800 might run wild, with LaMarcus Aldridge $9500 and Nicolas Batum $6600 also playing like there’s no tomorrow. C.J. McCollum $4800 exploded for 26 points off the bench last game, as Arron Afflalo $3400 looked a bit rusty after missing two weeks with a shoulder injury.
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Brooklyn won with defense in Game 3, holding the Hawks to 35.6% shooting and just 83 points. Kyle Korver $5800 was 1-for-8 and Dennis Schroder $3800 1-for-9, but Al Horford $7500 shot only 3-for-12, getting outscored 22-7 by Brook Lopez $8000. Big surprises for the Nets were Thaddeus Young $6400 (18 PTS, 11 REB) and Bojan Bogdanovic $4800 (19 PTS, 3 REB, 3 STL). Tonight, Paul Millsap $7700 and DeMarre Carroll $6200 should play well again, while their teammates improve.
Not sure playoff “momentum” exists in the sense of trends continuing from game to game. Players adjust, coaches change game plans and many series have more of a pendulum effect.
Credit Milwaukee and Jason Kidd for winning a game. Blame Derrick Rose $7600 for eight turnovers. Just don’t expect either to happen again. Back at home, Chicago figures to wrap this up, with Jimmy Butler $8300 and Pau Gasol $8700 leading the way. For the Bucks, it was the second unit — O.J. Mayo $4700, Jared Dudley $4000, Jerryd Bayless $3500 and John Henson $5000 — outscoring the starters; Bayless beat Rose for the buzzer-beating layup.
Butler stands out at SG by a wide margin and the three main Blazers are not overpriced. The sample lineup takes advantage of Calathes’ low, low price to squeeze in the top-ranked center as well. Thus committed to stars-and-scrubs, with $6800 left for the F and Util spots. I’ll try multiple lineups, like Alan Anderson $2800 or Vince Carter $2400 instead of Chris Kaman $2500. Perhaps Nikola Mirotic $2900 at F instead of Dudley and spend a bit more at Util. Sometimes when you enter several variations, they all pay off.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Damian Lillard $7800 | Derrick Rose $7600 | Nick Calathes $2600 |
| SG | Jimmy Butler $8300 | Kyle Korver $5800 | Courtney Lee $4400 |
| SF | Nicolas Batum $6600 | DeMarre Carroll $6200 | Jared Dudley $4000 |
| PF | L. Aldridge $9500 | Paul Millsap $7700 | Nikola Mirotic $2900 |
| C | Marc Gasol $8400 | Brook Lopez $8000 | Chris Kaman $2500 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.