No Dwayne Wade/MIA and no Chris Andersen/MIA spelled trouble for the Heat. Yesterday I wrote that the Bulls roster was constructed similarly to the Pistons, a team that had just handed the Heat a home loss. I called the Heat-Bulls prime time game a coin toss, but it turned out to be an easy win for Chicago. Miami could not handle the Bulls’ big men and the Chicago defense limited LeBron James‘/MIA effectiveness. In other games, Memphis’s offense sputtered against the Clippers, and the Nets looked pitiful against their crosstown rival Knicks. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Top performers
1) Joakim Noah/CHI. Part of the Bulls domination of the boards – his best game of the year. 6 of 9 FGA, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steals, 0 TO, 17 points.
2) Carmelo Anthony/NYK. Wasn’t needed in the fourth quarter.
3) DeAndre Jordan/LAC. Outplayed Kosta Koufos/MEM.
4) Brook Lopez/BKN. The lone bright spot for the Nets.
5) Chris Paul/LAC. On the low side of his normal performance range.
Honorable mention: Carlos Boozer/CHI.
Top Sleepers
1) Quincy Pondexter/MEM. With Ed Davis/MEM succumbing to injury, Pondexter drew extra minutes in the second half. 4 of 12 FGA, 6 of 6 FTA, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 TO, 15 points.
2) Michael Beasley/MIA. It was his show in the fourth quarter as LeBron sat for most of it.
3) Iman Shumpert/NYK. Excellent fantasy production in only 23 minutes.
4) Antawn Jamison/LAC.
5) Amare Stoudamire/NYK. His minutes are on the rise. I believe he has something left in the tank and will be a key player for the Knicks this season.
Biggest Busts
1) Andray Blatche/BKN. With Brook Lopez/BKN playing well, Blatche sat. 1 of 3 FGA, 0 of 2 FTA, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 TO, 2 points.
2) Mario Chalmers/MIA.
3) Tayshaun Prince/MEM. The Grizzlies needed him to step up.
4) Chris Bosh/MIA. Couldn’t hold back the flood of Bulls rebounders.
The scoring across all DraftStreet leagues was very low, as only three games were played, none of them high-scoring or tight games. In such conditions, I tend to do well and last night was no exception. I cashed in a $22 double-up and in the $5/220 entry GPP (for $40 and $10 respectively).
My double-up team had top performer Joakim Noah/CHI on it (Andrea Bargnani/NYK was my center in my two other lineups). Michael Beasley/MIA racked up the fantasy points in garbage time, while Carlos Boozer/CHI and Taj Gibson/CHI also exceeded my expectations. Among the letdowns, Ed Davis/MEM had to leave the game late in the second quarter and Joe Johnson/BKN had a poor shooting game. It was still enough to amass the fourth highest DraftStreet point total among the 50 teams. , I finished 18th in the $5 multi-entry, twenty points behind the winner “HappyJohnson”.
Friday NBA contests at DraftStreet
With the hardcourts buzzing with action tonight, DraftStreet has rolled out one of its widest assortment of NBA contests this season. To begin, there is a juicy $22/1000 max entry GPP with a pool of $25,000! Then, for only $5 and $2, you can take a shot at a share of $12,500 and $5,000 respectively. In total, that’s $29 to enter all three for your share of $42,500. All of them are multi-entry salary cap contests and use the standard payout method. For those with a bit more coin, qualifier #7 of the DraftStreet Basketball Championship runs tonight as a $109 buy-in/200 max entry contest.
Don’t forget our weekly freeroll, taking place tonight! 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.
Warriors face Hobbled Rockets
A look at tonight’s action from a daily fantasy perspective. An asterisk (*) indicates a team playing the second of back-to-back games:
Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Bobcats (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 196; Bobcats -6
Michael Carter-Williams/PHI has not made the trip to Charlotte. In his absence, Tony Wroten/PHI is likely to fill in at point guard and sees a jump in his value. The Sixers still have plenty of talent to stay in this one, led by Thaddeus Young/PHI. The Bobcats don’t have a lot of talent and so the betting line should be closer to -3.
Milwaukee Bucks at Washington Wizards (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 191.5; Wizards -9.5
The Wizards rely on their starting five, but they are well-rested and do not play on Saturday. Unless the game becomes a blowout in a hurry, John Wall/WAS and company will get plenty of minutes. Trevor Ariza/WAS has looked good since returning from injury and Marcin Gortat/WAS and Nene Hilario/WAS give Washington strength in the paint. If everyone stays healthy, the Wizards are a playoff team.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 195.5; Hawks -6
Last time out, Tristan Thompson/CLE and Andrew Bynum/CLE stepped up to take some of the pressure off Kyrie Irving/CLE. If that trend continues, the Cavaliers will keep this game interesting.
Orlando Magic at New York Knicks* (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 194.5; Knicks -4.5
Though the Knicks had been losing, they were in almost every game and showed their superiority to the current version of the Brooklyn Nets last night. The Magic will be a tougher test: Victor Oladipo/ORL is poised to take advantage on the Knicks’ paint weakness.
Denver Nuggets at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 200.5; Nuggets -4.5
I think the Celtics are the best team in the Atlantic division. That said, they are undersized inside at the moment and I expect J.J. Hickson/DEN, Kenneth Faried/DEN and Timofey Mozgov/DEN to have solid games tonight.
Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under 210; Rockets -5
Houston really needs Chandler Parsons/HOU and a fully healthy James Harden/HOU to stay in this one. Watch for injury news. For the Warriors, Stephen Curry/GSW has been tremendously consistent since Andre Iguodala/GSW went down, while David Lee/GSW has been a touch disappointing.
Oklahoma City Thunder at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under 206; Thunder -5
I will be putting Kevin Durant/OKC in most of my lineups, as I think this games sets up monster game conditions for the Thunder’s superstar. Serge Ibaka/OKC is also a solid play based on the soft Pelicans interior. New Orleans, with big men Jason Smith/NOP and Ryan Anderson/NOP being potent outside shooters, is tough to defend. The Pelicans should fight to the end in front of their home crowd and I expect Jrue Holiday/NOP to carry the load once again.
Toronto Raptors at Phoenix Suns (9:00 pm EST), Over/Under 200.5; Suns -3.5
No team has been in a position to win and lost this season than the Raptors. Goran Dragic/PHO is a safe bet here.
Los Angeles Lakers at Sacramento Kings (10:00 pm EST), Over/Under 204; Kings -3.5
The injury to Jordan Farmar/LAL weakens the second unit and puts more pressure on Steve Blake/LAL. But Blake himself is only probable for this game: monitor this situation and be ready to deploy Jodie Meeks/LAL. That suggest to me that the Kings are solid favorites to win easily.
Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers (10:00 pm EST), Over/Under 200; Blazers -11.5
The Jazz have been playing better but Portland’s depth will overwhelm them in this one. Because the Trail Blazers play tomorrow against the Mavericks, expect the starters to be rested in the fourth quarter if the game is in hand.
My recommended lineup in the $5/2,200 max entry at DraftStreet ($99,511 salary spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: Kevin Durant/OKC, Jrue Holiday/NOP
Bargain Plays: Jodie Meeks/LAL, Tony Wroten/PHI, Victor Oladipo/ORL
Speculative Plays: Tristan Thompson/CLE, Andrew Bynum/CLE, Thaddeus Young/PHI
Estimated DraftStreet points: 220.00 (+/- 45.00)
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.