NYK @ BRK: The latest round in the heavyweight battle for NYC supremacy would be more interesting if the Nets were playing better. Brook Lopez practiced yesterday and is officially a game-time decision; his replacement Andray Blatche has put up excellent numbers, but the team is 1-4 without Lopez. Tyson Chandler will be a handful for either one. MVP candidate Carmelo Anthony has Brooklyn roots and fan support in every borough. Expect another stellar performance. Former Net Jason Kidd had perhaps his best game of the year on Sunday and Raymond Felton has played well all season; both will be needed to contain Deron Williams. This should be intense and exciting; don’t count on it being high-scoring.
DEN @ DET: The schedule has not been kind to the Nuggets, who are in the middle of a 5-game road trip and have yet to enjoy a real home stand. They have been playing well, only to fall short in the late stages against very good teams like the Knicks and Hawks. This is a winnable game, because the Pistons will be tired after losing in Philly last night. I’m going to key on Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari, but the sleeper in daily leagues is Corey Brewer, who is quietly averaging 18.3 points in four December games, as the ‘instant-offense’ guy off the bench. Andre Iguodala matches up pretty well against Singler, too.
WAS @ NOH: The NBA can be a war of attrition. Who will be the last Wizard standing? The oft-delayed return of John Wall is becoming more vague, and his replacement A.J. Price (hand) will miss at least a month. Shaun Livingston is the only PG on the roster, but if he’s the answer, you’re asking the wrong question. It means both SG will handle the ball a lot. Rookie Bradley Beal is the starter, with leading scorer Jordan Crawford usually coming off the bench. Expect them to be on the court together much of the time. Washington’s bigs are no match for the Hornets, and the imbalance will be that much worse if Anthony Davis (ankle) is ready for game action after yesterday’s practice. Even without the Unibrow, look for Robin Lopez to dominate inside and Ryan Anderson to stretch the floor. Greivis Vasquez could also have a bounce-back night after being shut down in Miami.
LAC @ CHI: Riding a six-game winning streak, the Clippers have superstar Chris Paul going up against either an injured Kirk Hinrich (elbow) or backup Nate Robinson. They have DeAndre Jordan to tie up Joakim Noah, and the athletic Blake Griffin matches up very well against Carlos Boozer. The biggest advantage for the visitors is depth. Jamal Crawford (17.9 PPG) leads the race for Sixth Man of the Year, Eric Bledsoe has made the most of his opportunities and Matt Barnes brings a defensive intensity to the second unit. For the Bulls, SG Marco Belinelli is trying to pick up the scoring slack for injured Richard Hamilton (foot) and the Italian is a $9,532 bargain on DraftStreet tonight after averaging 20 PTS over his last three starts.
The Spin is here by 9:00 EST, every day. Follow us on Twitter — @SheridanFantasy — for updates and roster advice. The DraftStreet Diary will now be posted later each day, after I’ve combed the player list for ‘live’ bargains.