Fantasy Spin: Thursday March 8

Ouch. The Celtics were crushed 33-17 in the opening quarter and never made a run. In just his second game as a starter, Evan Turner poured in 26 points and grabbed 9 boards to lead the Sixers. This is not good news for Jodie Meeks owners, but it makes Turner a very hot pickup, especially in keeper leagues. Thaddeus Young (illness) didn’t play, so Nikola Vucevic (14 & 12) got a little extra burn.

In Other Action

UTA @ CHA: Corey Maggette had 25 and Byron Mullens added 16 off the bench, but the Bobcats were unable to win two in a row. Boris Diaw is the forgotten man in Charlotte and has no value until he finds a new home. Al Jefferson led the Jazz with 31 PTS, 9 REB and 5 AST.

HOU @ TOR: The Rockets looked tired, though Chandler Parsons (19 PTS) played well, so the Raptors enjoyed a rare easy win. Amir Johnson is fine after bruising a knee the other night; he had 14 PTS, 8 REB and 3 BLK. Jose Calderon (17 & 12) looked sharp while backup Jerryd Bayless was quiet in 13 minutes.

LAL @ WAS: Kobe Bryant had 30, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol 19 each but the Lakers lost anyway. Nick Young came off the bench for 19 to lead the Wizards and Trevor Booker (18 PTS, 38:04) was far more valuable than Andray Blatche (4 PTS in just 9:55).

ATL @ MIA: Dwayne Wade may not be 100%, but still contributed 18 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL and a BLK while LeBron James had 31 & 11 as the Heat held off the tenacious Hawks.

POR @ MIN: Ho-hum, another 29 PTS and 16 REB for Kevin Love. Luke Ridnour, perhaps auditioning for a trade, scored 22 points and Wes Johnson had a season-high 19. For the Blazers, all is not well. Raymond Felton led the way with 23.

LAC @ NJN: Chris Paul had 22 & 10, Deron Williams 21 &10, so the PG battle was even, but the Nets dug deep on their home court to edge the Clippers. Shelden Williams, now starting at C, had 15 & 10 and Jordan Farmar added 16 in 19 minutes off the bench. Blake Griffin has a sore left leg (knee and ankle) but does not plan to miss any time.

CHI @ MIL: A near triple-double and a game-winning shot for Derrick Rose, plus 20 & 10 from Joakim Noah, led the Bulls. For the Bucks, Ersan Ilyasova had a 32-point outbust and 10 boards while Drew Gooden added 27.

PHO @ OKC: Marcin Gortat put up a a career-high 28 PTS, 11 REB and 3 BLK, but the Thunder had three 30-point scorers. Russell Westbrook (31 PTS, 10 AST, 4 STL) was particularly impressive, and James Harden had his 30 off the bench. Serge Ibaka (18 PTS, 20 REB, 3 BLK) was useful too. If he’s your fourth-best player, that’s a strong team.

NYK @ SAS: Carmelo Anthony bounced back from a horrible game with 27 points, Jeremy Lin added 20 and J.R. Smith (18) was hot, but without Tyson Chandler (wrist) the Knicks were no match. Tony Parker played through some aches and pains to score 32 and Manu Ginobili had 17 for the Spurs.

CLE @ DEN: Nene is back in the starting lineup (13 PTS in 22 min.) and Danilo Gallinari (5 PTS in 22 min.) isn’t quite up to speed yet. The Cavs pulled off a road upset behind Antawn Jamison (33 & 9) and the underrated fantasy asset Alonzo Gee (19 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 4 STL).

NOH @ SAC: Marcus Thornton had another 25 points, Chuck Hayes started for DeMarcus Cousins (food poisoning) and the Kings won a close one. Jarrett Jack had 25 to lead the Hornets, with Chris Kaman close to a rare triple-double — 18 PTS, 11 REB, 8 AST. Trevor Ariza (20 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 4 STL) also had a nice line.

MEM @ GSW: Marreese Speights, already cut in some leagues, had 18 points and remains a starter until Zach Randolph returns, possibly next Tuesday. Rudy Gay (26 & 12) was the difference in this one. For the Warriors, Stephen Curry played 24 minutes, scored 15 points and should be starting soon. Dorell Wright was awful, and Klay Thompson is coming on.

Tonight on TNT

The Magic visit the Bulls in the feature attraction. Dwight Howard is shrugging off all the trade rumors and Ryan Anderson is a fantasy MVP, but Chicago has plenty of weapons. Derrick Rose should have another good night and Joakim Noah has been energetic. Ronnie Brewer gets a boost in minutes with Richard Hamilton out, and Kyle Korver may also benefit.

Dallas is in Phoenix for the nightcap. The Mavs have Dirk Nowitzki and an extra day of rest, but the Suns have been playing well at home. It figures to be the higher-scoring game.

The Spin is here six mornings a week at 8:00 Eastern; on Sundays we sleep in until noon. Follow me on Twitter between posts.

Across Draft Street

Sure Things	Over $14,000
D. Howard	$20,752
D. Rose	$17,427
M. Gortat	$16,771
D. Nowitzki	$15,105
Bargains	Under $9,000
I. Mahinmi	$8,881
S. Brown	$5,539
R . Brewer	$7,700
C. Duhon	$4,757
Hunches	$9,000 to $14,000
R. Beaubois	$9,313
L. Deng	$13,224
R. Anderson	$13,334
C. Boozer	$11,386

I finally decided to try a Snake-Draft league. It didn’t take long to queue up some players (in case I missed the live draft). You do have to be on standby if you don’t want to rely on pre-rankings, as an “Instant” league starts five minutes after it becomes full. My $5 league had six entries and a $27 prize pool. We chose ten players each, but you start only eight. The biggest difference is, a player can be owned by only one team. It was fun, and my only disappointing pick was Nicolas Batum. I’ll be trying that format again for sure, starting tomorrow.

There are leagues on the Street tonight despite the 2-game NBA calendar. I’m going to play in a $2 Salary Cap league and save the remaining $53 of my $100 weekly bankroll for the weekend. It’s particularly hard to find “live” bargains with only four teams in action.

So far, I haven’t finished in the money, but that’s not a concern. I’m getting more familiar with the site, the rules and what it takes to win. It’s a bit like a baseball player with a .300 batting average going 0-4 a couple of times. Just keep taking good swings, and the hits will eventually drop in.

You can join Draft Street for free and play for credits and prizes in up to two free leagues per day. Give it a try.