The San Antonio Spurs were all set to suffer a shocking loss to the Utah Jazz, but rallied and pulled away in the fourth quarter. Roy Hibbert/IND confirmed that he is a shot blocking machine as the Pacers barely broke a sweat in beating the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls blew into Toronto and suffocated the Raptors offense. Today, the Bulls and Pacers meet in Chicago for the highly anticipated game two of the their regular season set. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Top Fantasy Performers
1) Derrick Favors/UTA. Remarkable game against the tough Spurs. 10 of 19 FGA, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 2 TO, 20 points.
2) Josh Smith/DET. 6 of 13 FGA, 7 of 10 FTA, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks, 4 TO, 21 points.
3) Roy Hibbert/IND. 8 of 10 FGA, 8 of 8 FTA, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 8 blocks, 5 TO, 24 points.
4) Jeff Teague/ATL. He was one of my top picks against the defensively challenged Sixers. 10 of 16 FGA, 12 of 13 FTA, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 4 TO, 33 points.
5) Marc Gasol/MEM. His brother played well, but Marc was a little better. 6 of 15 FGA, 6 of 6 FTA, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 1 TO, 18 points.
Honorable mention: LeBron James/MIA, Dwayne Wade/MIA, Kevin Love/MIN, DeMarcus Cousins/SAC
Top Sleepers
1) Zach Randolph/MEM. 11 of 18 FGA, 6 of 6 FTA, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 TO, 28 points.
2) Shaun Livingston/BKN. Filled in for the injured Deron WIlliams/BKN. 7 of 12 FGA, 4 of 5 FTA, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 TO, 18 points.
3) J.J. Barea/MIN. ANother quality game from Ricky Rubio’s/MIN understudy. 10 of 14 FGA, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 TO, 21 points.
4) Boris Diaw/SAS. Helped the Spurs rally in the second half. 6 of 9 FGA, 4 of 4 FTA, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 TO, 17 points.
5) Mo Williams/POR. 8 of 13 FGA, 2 of 2 FTA, 1 rebound, 8 assists, 3 steals, 4 TO, 18 points.
Biggest Busts
1) Deron Williams/BKN. He reinjured his ankle early in the game. 1 of 2 FGA, 1 rebound, 0 TO, 2 points.
2) Greg Monroe/DET. He’s been in the shadow of Andre Drummond/DET the past week. 4 of 9 FGA, 0 of 1 FTA, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 TO, 8 points.
3) Paul Millsap/ATL. Getting minutes but not producing. Possibly playing with an injury. 3 of 8 FGA, 2 of 6 FTA, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 TO, 8 points.
4) Damian Lillard/POR. 6 of 15 FGA, 3 of 3 FTA, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 TO, 17 points.
5) Gerald Green/PHO. 3 of 7 FGA, 1 of 3 FTA, 1 TO, 8 points.
Saturday NBA contests at DraftStreet
There is no DraftStreet Basketball Championship qualifier today, but we have plenty of NBA games and a regular assortment of multi-entry and double-up GPPs courtesy of DraftStreet. I’ve entered the $11/100 entry double-up GPP and the $5/330-entry GPP. There’s still room in the latter, as well as in many other large field contests.
Bulls Look for Revenge against Undefeated Pacers
A look at today’s games from a daily fantasy perspective. Dollar figures are DraftStreet prices. An asterisk (*) indicates that the team is playing the second of back-to-back games.
Miami Heat* at Charlotte Bobcats* (7:00pm EST)- Over/Under Total=196.5; Heat -7.5
LeBron James/$23,495/MIA is getting close to the LeBron of old. I expect this to be an easy one for the Heat. Chris Bosh/$14,260/MIA matches up well against the Bobcats.
Dallas Mavericks* at Orlando Magic (7:00pm EST)- Over/Under Total=202.5; Mavs -3
Expect a relatively high scoring game. Arron Afflalo/$14,915/ORL and Dirk Nowitzki/$13,855/DAL are solid plays. Vince Carter/$9,015/DAL has been in a good groove off the bench and is worth a speculative play.
Cleveland Cavaliers* at Washington Wizards (7:00pm EST)- Over/Under Total=195.5; Wizards -7.5
The Wizards will be without Trevor Ariza/WAS, but still have enough talent to handle the Cavaliers. Martell Webster/$9,440/WAS was brilliant filling in for Ariza and I see no reason not to ride the hot and cheap hand. Marcin Gortat/$14,133/WAS is a solid choice at center.
Atlanta Hawks* at New York Knicks (7:30pm EST)- Over/Under Total=202; Knicks -4
Jeff Teague/$15,405/ATL has been very consistent this year and he has a big edge over Knicks point guard Raymond Felton/$11,438/NYK. Andrea Bargnani/$11,573/NYK is a risky play, as Al Horford/$18,130/ATL is more than capable of coming out of the paint to disturb Bargnani’s jump shots. Carmelo Anthony/$18,938/NYK would be a great anchor for your teams, as he figures to do the bulk of New York scoring and a fair portion of the ball handling.
Indiana Pacers* at Chicago Bulls* (8:00pm EST)- Over/Under Total=178; Pacers -2
This figures to be a defensive battle to the end, which means limited fantasy points for almost anyone. If Derrick Rose/$12,398/CHI sits and Kirk Hinrich/$6,520/CHI starts, the latter is my top value play of the day.
Denver Nuggets* at Houston Rockets (8:00pm EST)- Over/Under Total=212; Rockets -8
The Nuggets secured a big win over the Timberwolves at home, but news has it that Ty Lawson/$16,665/DEN suffered an eye injury. Though it appears he will play, I won’t take a chance on him. The Rockets’ strength is that they get production from numerous sources. Chandler Parsons/$13,681/HOU and Terrence Jones/$9,031/HOU are my top spec plays here.
Boston Celtics* at Minnesota Timberwolves* (8:00pm EST)- Over/Under Total=201.5; Wolves -9
The Wolves had to travel to Denver, lose a close one, then fly back to Minnesota to host the Celtics. If the Wolves are on their game, this one will be a done by the middle of the third quarter. If that happens, Kevin Love/$23,593/MIN will again play limited minutes.
Philadelphia 76ers* at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00pm EST)- Over/Under Total=200.5; Pelicans -8
I anticipate a tighter game than the betting line suggests. The Sixers are a decent road team and without Anthony Davis/$21,653/NOP, the Pelicans would be among the worst teams in the league. Eric Gordon/$12,703/NOP is worth a play here. Tony Wroten/$9,803/PHI is still undervalued if Michael Carter-Williams/$15,633/PHI sits as expected. Davis is the quintessential speculative play, especially if this is a close game to the end. I like Evan Turner/$14,610/PHI as well.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Milwaukee Bucks* (8:30pm EST)- Over/Under Total=200; Thunder -8
The Thunder should have no problem with the Bucks, but expect Milwaukee to be buoyed by the home crowd and stay in it. The Thunder’s “Big Three”, Kevin Durant/$23,810/OKC, Russell Westbrook/$17,120/OKC and Serge Ibaka/$14,373/OKC, are all intriguing plays.
Utah Jazz* at Golden State Warriors (10:30pm EST)- Over/Under Total=200; Warriors -15
A tremendous effort from Derrick Favors/$14,258/UTA and the Jazz as they battled the Spurs for most of last night. A next day road game against a potent offensive team is another story. Look for a 20-plus point lead for Golden State in the third quarter and extended garbage time. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
Brooklyn Nets* at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EST)- Over/Under Total=204; Clippers -9
The Nets fell behind early, but stormed back in the third quarter to take the lead, eventually winning in overtime against the Suns. The Clippers have too much fire power. J.J. Redick/$10,548/LAC is my sleeper pick in this one.
I’ll be focusing on double-up leagues tonight. My lineup in today’s $11/100-entry double-up GPP at DraftStreet (subject to change; spent $99,897 of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: Carmelo Anthony/NYK.
Bargain Plays: Kirk Hinrich/CHI (if he starts), Tony Wroten/PHI, Martell Webster/WAS
Speculative Plays: Marcin Gortat/WAS, Serge Ibaka/OKC, Kenneth Faried/DEN, Evan Turner/PHI
If Derrick Rose/CHI starts, replace Hinrich with Jermaine O’Neal/GSW
Expected DraftStreet points: 225.00 (+/-35.00).
The Fantasy Spin is here every day, around noon EST. Follow me @robdudek for breaking news and pre-game thoughts relevant to NBA daily fantasy.