Everyone knew the Knicks would be in tough territory, traveling to Chicago to take on a Bulls team determined to put the thumping they received in Miami behind them. To their credit, the Knicks stayed in it all the way, even taking a one-point lead in the last minute. But it was not to be. The only other game featured a West Coast battle royale between the two finest point guards in the league.
Rose Hits Winning Bucket in Chicago Return
The Bulls kept their noses in front until late in the fourth quarter when the Knicks shut down Chicago’s halfcourt game and took the lead. In the closing moments, Derrick Rose/CHI drove the lane and put up a mid-range floater that went in. The Knicks missed on a final shot before the buzzer and the Bulls escaped with an 82-81 win. Luol Deng/CHI (17 points) and Joakim Noah/CHI (15 rebounds) bounced back from poor games. Jimmy Butler/CHI led the Bulls in minutes and helped out with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals.
I ragged on Carmelo Anthony/NYK in yesterday’s Fantasy Spin, but he came through with production across the board. The one negative was his poor shooting (only 8 of 24). Tyson Chandler/NYK dominated inside with 19 rebounds. After that it got a bit thin. A less than 100 percent Raymond Felton/NYK did as well as could be expected with 13 points and 6 assists. Andrea Bargnani/NYK was almost invisible in the first half but had a string of buckets in the third quarter to keep the Knicks in the game.
Paul Outplays Curry in Shootout
I expected a barn-burner, but I wasn’t quite ready for the brilliance of Chris Paul/LAC. But more on that later. DeAndre Jordan/LAC is fast approaching elite fantasy center status: He had 17 rebounds, though his ongoing poor free throw shooting is cause for concern. Blake Griffin/LAC was a solid 9 for 12 from the field with 10 boards. J.J. Redick/LAC had a larger role than opening night, playing 28 minutes, scoring 17 points and chipping in 5 boards and 2 assists. The bench was led by Jamal Crawford/LAC with 17 points, while Matt Barnes/LAC had an uneventful game.
Stephen Curry/GSW hitting 9 of 14 3-pointers for 38 points would normally be the lead story. Opening night star Klay Thompson/GSW produced a quiet 10 points. David Lee/GSW had a solid 22-point, 5-rebound effort, while Andrew Bogut/GSW chipped in 17 points and 6 boards. As I expected, Andre Iguodala/GSW was more involved in the offense, dishing out 11 assists while Curry concentrated on draining buckets. Draymond Green/LAC saw over 21 minutes off the bench and helped out with 8 boards and 2 steals.
I entered eight Draftstreet contests last night, and my lineups were heavily diversified. On the strength of his dominant opening night performance, I had Thompson in six of the eight. Even though he was one of the few starters in the 126-115 shootout won by the Clippers to have a sub-par game, it was a relatively benign choice. The reason is that a large number of other entrants had the same idea (i.e. selecting Thompson). When logic dictates someone is a “must-start,” you are almost compelled to follow suit, as not having that player could be very costly.
I correctly surmised that both Paul and Curry would be solid plays despite their high salaries, and that Rose wasn’t ready to put up superstar numbers yet. Paul amassed a monstrous 68.50 DraftStreet points on the strength of 42 points, 15 assists and 6 steals, beating the 62.75 total put up by Michael Carter-Williams/PHI for high score of the season so far. Curry didn’t have the steals and turned the ball over 11 times, but otherwise nearly kept up with his rival point guard, accumulating 39.75 points.
My trepidation concerning Anthony was misplaced, as he filled the scoresheet nicely. Though his shooting accuracy left much to be desired (16 misses), he notched 6 steals, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks to total 42.00 DraftStreet points. Chandler dominated inside with 19 rebounds and was among the best value-for-money plays. If you follow me on Twitter, you knew that Green was my bargain play of the day. He had a solid game relative to his $4,500 price tag.
I cashed in two of the eight, winning my first NBA contest this season – a $2/20-entry non-guarantee. My team score of 248.25 points got the job done, even though I had one brick in the form of Taj Gibson/CHI (10.5 points/$9,200 salary). I finished just outside the money in two Double-Up leagues, resulting in a small overall loss for the day. Due to the top-heavy payout structures, you will often be a net loser even when your teams do well (unless you exclusively play in Double-Ups). The aim is to win big on the other days.
DraftStreet NBA Leagues Tonight
For the low rollers, DraftStreet has a $5 multi-entry/$1,500 GPP with room for 330 runners and an $11 multi-entry/$3,000 GPP with a capacity of 300 on offer. If you have the cash, there are $5,000 and $6,000 pools costing $109 and $215 respectively to enter. As always there are plenty of Double-Up leagues, including a $22/$2,000 GPP and a $5/$500 GPP. Don’t forget the smaller 10-entry and 20-entry contests: you have a more realistic chance of taking top spot and that’s always a good feeling. Look for my handle, “RobDudek”, in DraftStreet NBA leagues.
Clippers Play Third Game in Four Nights
Here is a look at tonight’s games from a daily fantasy perspective. Dollar figures are DraftStreet prices. An asterisk (*) indicates the team is playing on the second of back-to-back nights:
New Orleans Pelicans at Orlando Magic (7pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 194.5; Pelicans -4
The Magic have been victimized by Roy Hibbert/IND and F Kevin Love/MIN on the inside, so I’m betting F Anthony Davis/$16,015/NOP has a big game. Bargain bin F Jason Smith/$6,790/NOP is worthy of consideration as well.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Charlotte Bobcats (7pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 190; Cavaliers -2.5
We didn’t see much of first overall pick F Anthony Bennett/$9,750/CLE in the opener. Against a theoretically weaker opponent, we should see more minutes from him. F Tristan Thompson/$11,205/CLE is my top speculative play in this game.
Philadelphia 76ers at Washington Wizards (7pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 196.5; Wizards -9.5
What can you do for an encore? After an emotional win on opening night, the Sixers take to the road and my eyes will be on the new Rookie of the Year frontrunner G Michael Carter-Williams/$10,875/PHI. I expect he will be a popular selection for tonight’s DraftStreet leagues. For the Wizards, G John Wall/$17,585/WAS should do better and G-F Trevor Ariza/$7,790/WAS is a solid play after his superb first game.
Toronto Raptors at Atlanta Hawks (7:30pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 195.5; Hawks -3
The Raptors were far from sharp, but their talent superiority was enough to defeat the Celtics in their opener. The Hawks will be a different story. C Al Horford/$17,200/ATL will be a big test for Toronto big man C Jonas Valanciunas/$12,710/TOR. F DeMarre Carroll/$6,955/ATL is one of my top speculative plays of the night.
Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics (7:30pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 188.5; Celtics -2
Someone has to win this game, and it might as well be the Celtics. I will be watching the relative minutes of opening day starter C Vitor Faverani/$6,475/BOS and erstwhile backup F Kelly Olynyk/$9,235/BOS. F Jeff Green/$13,310/BOS is an excellent speculative play.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves (8pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 202.5; Wolves -2
F Kevin Durant/$21,325/OKC takes his “one-man-show” to Minnesota. I like the Wolves to win and F Kevin Love/$19,981/MIN to fill the statsheet, but Durant will rack up the points.
Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets (8pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 193; Heat -3.5
We’ll keep an eye out for news on G Dwayne Wade’s/$15,795/MIA availability. Without him, I consider the Nets the favorite. I feel a F LeBron James/$22,490/MIA explosion coming on: sprinkle him in a few of your lineups.
Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns (10pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 196; Suns -3
The big surprise for Phoenix, F Miles Plumlee/$9,500/PHO, has a brand new DraftStreet salary closer to his value. He’s still playable, but not the super-bargain he was two nights ago.
Los Angeles Clippers* at Sacramento Kings (10pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 198.5 ; Clippers -3.5
How much does G Chris Paul/$18,895/LAC have left in the tank for his third game in four nights? It’s hard not to stick with him, even if he “regresses” towards his normal numbers.
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers (10:30pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 206.5 ; Spurs -7
F Tim Duncan/$16,045/SAS has a chest contusion and will probably sit this one out, which sets things up nicely for C Tiago Splitter/$11,565/SAS.
Other Games:
Detroit Pistons at Memphis Grizzlies (8pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 188; Grizzlies -7.5
Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets (9pm EDT)- Over/Under Total= 198; Nuggets -5
My DraftStreet team in the $5/$1,500 GPP (subject to change) ($98,866 total salary of $100,000 max):
Stars worth starting: Chris Paul/LAC, Kevin Love/MIN, Anthony Davis/NOP
Top Bargain Plays: Michael Carter-Williams/PHI, Trevor Ariza/WAS, Jason Smith/NOP
Speculative Plays of the Day: Tiago Splitter/SAS, DeMarre Carroll/ATL
The Fantasy Spin is here every day, around noon EDT. Follow me @robdudek for breaking news and pre-game thoughts relevant to NBA daily fantasy.