Derrick Favors, tipped here yesterday because Al Jefferson is away this weekend, scored 23 points and grabbed 17 boards in a spot start. Get Favors in your lineups again today, and file away the knowledge of how good he will be in the future. I never expected Richard Jefferson to get 38 minutes in his Warriors debut. RJ was ice-cold (2-14) but this doesn’t bode well for Brandon Rush, who can safely be cut.
HOU @ LAC: We expected Goran Dragic would get heavy minutes with no backup PG; he played 44:37, scoring 11 points and dishing out 14 assists. Courtney Lee poured in 25 despite a dislocated finger in a start for Kevin Martin, still sidelined with a shoulder injury. Chandler Parsons was out sick, so Chase Budinger (19 PTS) also started. The Clippers eked out a narrow home victory behind Chris Paul (23) and Blake Griffin (18) while Randy Foye, soon to lose his starting SG job to Nick Young, chipped in 15.
NYK @ IND: The infamous, subsequently deleted tweet about “two winnable games” sent by Danny Granger (or someone using his account) inspired the resurgent Knicks to sweep the home-and-home. Jeremy Lin had 19 PTS, 6 AST and 7 REB to lead the way last night. Roy Hibbert rebounded from Friday’s embarrassment with 24 & 12, but it wasn’t enough, as David West (3 points) and Granger (11) were outplayed again by Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, who each scored 16.
TOR @ CHA: The exhausted Raptors had a flight cancellation in Memphis, got back to their hotel at 2:00 a.m., arrived in Charlotte just two hours before game time and had their pregame stretch interrupted by a fire alarm. That Jerryd Bayless scored 29 to keep his team in the game is quite remarkable. The Bobcats got 24 from Gerald Henderson, 23 from D.J. Augustin and 21 from Corey Maggette for the rare win, just their seventh of the season.
PHI @ CHI: Jrue Holiday followed up one of his worst games of the year with a 30-point outburst, but the Bulls shut down the rest of the Sixers. Spencer Hawes, gradually getting back into game shape, had 10 PTS and 7 REB in 22 minutes. C.J. Watson, starting again for Derrick Rose, led Chicago with 20 and Joakim Noah double-doubled.
NOH @ NJN: The Nets’ debut of Gerald Wallace (11 PTS) was overshadowed by the surprise return of Deron Williams (20 & 12) and Gerald Green stayed hot off the bench with 16, but the visiting Hornets won anyway. Chris Kaman and Marco Belinelli each scored 20 and it was great to see big Jason Smith back on the floor after a long battle with post-concussion symptoms.
SAS @ DAL: Without Brendan Haywood for the next few games, Ian Mahinmi (7 PTS, 8 REB) started at C, and with Shawn Marion (knee) unavailable, Rodrigue Beaubois (16 PTS, 8 REB) started at SG. The Mavs’ big guns Dirk Nowitzki (27) and Jason Terry (17) were enough to beat the fatigued Spurs. Manu Ginobili was quiet in his return, and Stephen Jackson saw less than 17 minutes off the bench in his debut with his new teammates, but I expect both to become more involved in the near future.
BOS @ DEN: JaVale McGee didn’t play for his new team, but Kenneth Faried sure did: 18 points on 5-5 shooting from the floor and 8-8 from the line, with 16 rebounds. Danilo Gallinari had 20 and appears 100% recovered. The Celtics are old, tired and really struggling on this road trip. Brandon Bass was simply destroyed by Faried and Ray Allen missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
Today’s Games
ATL @ CLE: This is a 3:00 Eastern start; you should generally set daily lineups early on Sunday. Marvin Williams (hip) had been demoted to sixth man even before the injury and Joe Johnson has been stellar at SF, averaging 25 PPG in his last six. Tristan Thompson, a slender 6’9” rookie, is the new starting C for the Cavs.
DET @ LAC: In the other matinee, the Pistons (4-17 on the road) shouldn’t pose too much problem for the Clips, who aren’t exactly on fire themselves.
MIN @ SAC: It’s the middle of a long, tough road trip for the Timberwolves, whose playoff hopes were dashed by the knee injury to Ricky Rubio. The Kings trounced Boston on Friday with Marcus Thornton scoring 36; they are rested but may still be without Tyreke Evans (ankle) making this one a tossup.
WAS @ MEM: The Wizards still don’t have new acquisition Nene, who won’t play until “at least” Wednesday. The Grizzlies finally have Zach Randolph, who was excellent (25 & 9) in his return from 37 missed games with a torn MCL.
ORL @ MIA: This is a rematch. On Tuesday, the Magic came from behind to win in overtime at home as “MLP” (Most Loyal Player) Dwight Howard had 24 points and 25 boards. The Heat will be out for revenge, but they still don’t match up well at C. By far, the game of the day.
HOU @ PHO: Kyle Lowry will be out for a while, Marcus Camby has yet to play for his new team and the Rockets gave their all in L.A. last night. I like the Suns quite a bit tonight, particularly Jared Dudley and Marcin Gortat.
UTA @ LAL: We’re expecting Ramon Sessions to get more minutes than “starter” Steve Blake tonight and every game the rest of the season. This is a very tough matchup for the Jazz without Big Al.
POR @ OKC: What’s the likelihood of the Blazers beating both the Bulls and the Thunder on the road in 48 hours? Not great. Portland did play extremely well in their first game after the coaching change and trade deadline, when both Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum gained fantasy value.
Season Winding Down
There are now just six weeks left in the NBA regular season. That means only two more weeks in most head-to-head regular seasons (just one in others) followed by playoffs. Games played can make a critical difference. Let’s go around the league, quickly:
ATL 5-4-3-3-4-2 Hawks are great to own if you’re trying to make the H2H playoffs, less so once you’re there.
BOS 4-4-4-5-3-2 Three more tough games on this nightmare road trip. I’ve soured on owning Celtics, but they may still turn this around.
CHA 3-4-4-5-4-3 There are some sneaky pickups here for H2H playoffs, when the Bobcats play 16 games.
CHI 3-4-3-3-4-2 The Bulls have just 12 games during the most typical H2H playoff weeks. A much better team in reality than fantasy the rest of the way.
CLE 4-4-4-5-4-3 Another team with 16 GP in the last four weeks of fantasy leagues. Kyrie Irving has shown no sign of hitting the proverbial rookie wall.
DAL 4-3-4-4-4-1 The next four games are tough and the playoff schedule isn’t great.
DEN 4-4-3-4-4-2 Even if Wilson Chandler signs, he may be just a role player. He’s still worth a speculative FA pickup in midsized leagues.
DET 3-4-4-4-4-2 Keep your Pistons benched this week with only three games, none easy.
GSW 5-4-4-4-5-2 The busiest team in basketball in the upcoming week and a very good finishing slate. Klay Thompson is a must-start and even Richard Jefferson could be useful.
HOU 3-4-3-4-5-1 Only three games this week, just 13 in the H2H playoffs. Not encouraging.
IND 4-5-4-4-4-2 Four games in five nights including a back-to-back-to-back, hardly an easy week.
LAC 4-4-4-4-4-2 Like the Pacers, all four games coming up are in five nights, three of them consecutive in three different cities.
LAL 4-4-4-4-4-1 A back-to-back in Texas, then two at home. Too bad about that final “week” with one game.
MEM 4-3-5-5-4-2 Hitting the road after today but they are at full strength and have a terrific schedule in the H2H playoffs.
MIA 3-4-4-4-5-2 After this 3-game week, Heat players are theoretically good to own; it’s just hard to recommend anyone but the Big Three.
MIL 4-4-4-4-3-3 Yet another team with a 4-game slate that has to play three of them in three nights.
MIN 4-4-3-4-4-1 Four tough games coming up, only 12 in the fantasy playoffs.
NJN 4-4-4-3-3-2 Especially if D-Will plays, a few Nets could be OK to own the next couple of weeks, but they don’t play enough to help in the postseason tournament.
NOR 3-5-3-4-4-2 Only three games this week, though they are all at home. Playoff slate is mediocre.
NYK 4-4-3-4-4-2 Nothing too noteworthy here; wish they played more than 13 times in the final four weeks.
OKC 4-3-4-4-4-2 The schedule is OK, finding fantasy bargains more difficult. Maybe Thabo Sefolosha will contribute in deep league playoffs.
ORL 3-4-3-4-4-2 An easy remaining slate for the Magic, not so great for their fantasy owners.
PHI 4-3-4-3-4-3 I like these guys down the stretch. Evan Turner has really come on as a starter.
PHO 4-3-4-4-4-2 The next four are on the road; beware. The Suns play much better in Phoenix.
POR 4-4-4-4-3-2 Seemingly rejuvenated, with a new coach and a roster shakeup, the Blazers may have a few fantasy bargains.
SAC 3-4-5-4-3-2 Not the greatest week on deck, but a solid 14 GP during the playoffs, nine of those in the critical early rounds.
SAS 4-3-4-4-5-3 Get your Spurs before the H2H playoffs, but keep in mind Pop’s rotations are tricky to predict and some players will receive random games off.
TOR 4-4-4-4-3-2 Home-and-home vs. both the Knicks and Bulls this week, just 13 GP down the stretch.
UTA 4-4-4-4-3-2 Just an average schedule, but maybe the kids like Gordon Hayward will get extra run as the season winds down.
WAS 4-4-4-4-3-3 I’ll take 14 playoff games from Jordan Crawford, John Wall and Trevor Booker.
The Spin is here six mornings a week, by 8:00 Eastern; we sleep in on Sundays. Follow me on Twitter anytime.
DraftStreet Spirit
| Sure Things | Over $14,000 |
| L. James | $22,458 |
| D. Howard | $21,711 |
| K. Durant | $19,358 |
| M. Gortat | $14,355 |
| Bargains | Under $9,000 |
| W. Matthews | $7,368 |
| C. Lee | $7,096 |
| G. Hayward | $8,626 |
| D. Favors | $8,198 |
| Hunches | $9,000 to $14,000 |
| J. Harden | $13,055 |
| J. Dudley | $11,998 |
| R. Sessions | $9,075 |
| M. Thornton | $12,382 |
So close. I almost had another sensational Saturday. Finished 13th of 220 in a $5 Salary Cap league (thanks to Jerryd Bayless and Derrick Favors) for a $20 payout and was just out of the money — 23rd of 275 — in a similar $2 pool.
I also managed to win a 6-team Snake Draft, my $5 entry fee returning $17.55, by a whopping 39-point margin. The more I play it, the more I like that format, so I’ll try one or two more today.
The $100 bankroll for Week 2 is now back up to $67, so why not go for the gusto? I’ve joined my usual $5 GPP Salary Cap with its $1,000 prize pool, plus an $11 league, limited to 150 teams, that pays out a guaranteed $1,500.
Given that my team in a free weekly league is currently in first place (though I expect to finish third) I’ll invest $2 in a 10-team Salary Cap pool for the upcoming week. However, the daily “action” seems way more exciting.
If you aren’t on Draft Street yet, it’s free to join and you can get started playing free games for credits and prizes.