One game I tipped to be closely fought ended up being a blowout: the Wizards outplayed the Magic from start to finish. Early in the fourth quarter, with the game not yet out of reach, Orlando threw in the towel and rested their starters in anticipation of today's matchup in Philadelphia. The Pelicans played their hearts out without Anthony Davis/NOP. They beat the Bulls on the road in triple overtime, thanks to a winning bucket by Jrue Holiday/NOP on a brilliantly designed play, and Ryan Anderson's/NOP consistent sharpshooting. The Pacers could not hold off the Trail Blazers, while the Rockets (without Chandler Parsons/HOU) fell to the Jazz. Here is today's Fantasy Spin.
Top performers
1) Tim Duncan/SAS. Returning to dominant form as his plating time is slowly ratcheted up. 10 fo 15 FGA, 3 of 4 FTA, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 TO, 23 points.
2) Taj Gibson/CHI. Was a force inside for the Bulls. 10 of 19 FGA, 6 of 8 FTA, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 0 TO, 26 points.
3) Paul George/IND. Perhaps he didn’t share the ball enough. 16 of 30 FGA, 4 of 4 FTA, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 TO, 43 points.
4) James Harden/HOU. Ran the Rockets offense, but this time it wasn’t enough. 12 of 22 FGA, 10 of 10 FTA, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 4 TO, 37 points.
5) LaMarcus Aldridge/POR. One of the best performances of the year against the tough Pacers defense. 11 of 19 FGA, 5 of 8 FTA, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 9 TO, 28 points.
Honorable mention: Luol Deng/CHI, Ryan Andreson/NOP, Jrue Holiday/NOP.
Top Sleepers
1) Mike Dunleavy/CHI. Benefited from playing every minute of triple overtime. 7 of 14 FGA, 3 of 5 FTA, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 TO, 23 points.
2) Alec Burks/UTA. 7 of 11 FGA, 4 of 5 FTA, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 0 TO, 21 points.
3) Francisco Garcia/HOU. Was a game-time decision. 5 of 10 FGA, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks, 0 TO, 13 points.
4) Kirk Hinrich/CHI. 4 of 15 FGA, 5 of 5 FTA, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 3 TO, 13 points.
5) Al-Farouq Aminu/NOP. 6 of 10 FGA, 1 of 4 FTA, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 TO, 14 points.
Biggest Busts
1) Glen Davis/ORL. The Wizards stout big men shut down Davis. 1 of 8 FGA, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TO, 2 points.
2) Lance Stephenson/IND. One of those nights in which he wasn’t involved in the offense. 1 of 3 FGA, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 TO, 2points.
3) Terrence Jones/HOU. 1 of 5 FGA, 0 of 1 FTA, 4 rebounds, 0 TO, 2 points.
4) Enes Kanter/UTA. 1 of 3 FGA, 1 of 2 FTA, 2 rebounds, 3 TO, 3 points.
5) Martell Webster/WAS. 2 of 6 FGA, 4 rebounds, 0 TO, 5 points.
Tuesday NBA contests at DraftStreet
Tuesday sees one of the largest $5 NBA contests ever offered by DraftStreet – a $7,500 GPP with room for 1650 entries. For those with more money to spend, there is the $55 buy-in/$10,000 GPP. As I write, there are eight double-up GPPs in the lobby and an assortment of standard payout multi-entry contests.
Don’t forget our Friday freeroll. Click on any DraftStreet text link to register and remember to submit your lineup before the NBA games begin on Friday. There are plenty of vouchers to be won with no risk to you.
Bledsoe and Dragic Together Again
A look at tonight’s action from a daily fantasy perspective. Dollar figures are DraftStreet salaries. An asterisk (*) indicates a team playing the second of back-to-back games.
Orlando Magic* at Philadelphia 76ers (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 207.5; Sixers -3.5
The Magic regulars were rested yesterday in anticipation of this game. It should be a high scoring affair, right up the alley for Magic rookie Victor Oladipo/$11,318/ORL and top outside shooter Arron Afflalo/$13,252/ORL. Nikola Vukovic/$15,848/ORL dominated the Sixers last time out but is questionable for this game.
Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 201.5; Heat -10.5
The Heat have been just good enough to win and I expect that to continue against a talented but ultimately flawed Pistons team. LeBron James/$21,234/MIA is a high-risk play due to mile injury concerns, and Andre Drummond/$16,341/DET is coming off a career game and could dominate inside.
Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 186 ; Celtics -7.5
A rematch, this time in Boston. Young Greek import Giannis Antetokounmpo
/$5,911/MIL was a revelation last time out and if he gets significant minutes in this one he becomes a great bargain play.
Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 204.5; Nuggets -4
The Nets are slowly patching up their holes and the rerun to health of Brook Lopez/$14,220/BKN will go a long way in that regard. Timofey Mozgov/$8,255/DEN and Mirza Teletovic/$5,283/BKN are making a strong case for more minutes and are good bargain plays.
Phoenix Suns at Memphis Grizzlies (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under 192.5; Grizzlies -3.5
Word is that Eric Bledsoe/$14,664/PHO will return to the starting lineup, which likely means he will be sharing playmaking duties with Goran Dragic/$15,945/PHO. We’ll see how the two work together. Kosta Koufos/$11,974/MEM has filled in admirably for Marc Gasol/MEM, but he doesn’t have the scoring touch the injured Grizzlies star does.
Charlotte Bobcats at Dallas Mavericks (8:30 pm EST), Over/Under 195; Mavs -8
Dirk Nowitzki/$14,487/DAL is the safest play in what should be an easy victory for the Mavericks.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Sacramento Kings (10:00 pm EST), Over/Under 203 ; Thunder -6.5
Yesterday, I wrote that the Rockets are arguably the bets team in the NBA right now and they promptly lost to the Jazz on the road. Today I could write the same about the Thunder, especially with Kevin Durant/$22,605/OKC coming off one of the best games of his career. I don’t think the Kings have the depth to hang with the Thunder.
Toronto Raptors at Golden State (10:30 pm EST), Over/Under 201 ; Warriors -7.5
The Raptors have fallen on hard times, recently losing to the Nuggets on their home court. Their Achilles’ heel is their poor outside shooting and spotty interior defense. The high-powered Warriors, led by Stephen Curry/$18,710/GSW and Klay Thompson/$12,966/GSW, should have no problem finding their shots.
My recommended lineup in the $5/1650 max entry at DraftStreet ($99,552 salary spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: Serge Ibaka/OKC, Arron Afflalo/ORL
Bargain Plays: Jeff Green/BOS, Kosta Koufos/MEM
Speculative Plays: Victor Oladipo/ORL, Jared Sullinger/BOS, Klay Thompson/GSW, Jordan Crawford/BOS
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.