The Wizards thought they had an easy game ahead of them, but the Bucks are starting to sort out their talent and they showed grit in downing Washington in overtime. Tony Wroten/PHI took the wheel of the 76ers offense, but the defense was Swiss cheese and the Bobcats pulled away for an easy win. Portland demolished the Jazz, with LaMarcus Aldridge/POR leading the way in limited minutes. Chandler Parsons/HOU returned for the Rockets and they had no trouble with the Warriors. The distressed Cavaliers couldn’t keep up with the Hawks. The Knicks displayed renewed confidence in manhandling the Magic for their second blowout win in a row. There were plenty of one-side games last night; let’s see if that story repeats tonight. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Top performers
1) Kevin Durant/OKC. As predicted, he carried the Thunder to a win. 11 of 17 FGA, 5 of 5 FTA, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 2 TO, 29 points.
2) Trevor Ariza/WAS. When he is on he fills the statsheet and drains threes.
3) Dwight Howard/HOU. Once every so often, Howard takes the reins from James Harden/HOU.
4) John Henson/MIL. A talented youngster flying under the radar.
5) LaMarcus Aldridge/POR. All that in less than 30 minutes.
Honorable Mention: James Harden/HOU, Carmelo Anthony/NYK, John Wall/WAS.
Top Sleepers
1) Tony Wroten/PHI. Due to a low salary and his starting role last night, he was the most popular choice in daily NBA fantasy. He went well beyond expectations. 10 of 22 FGA, 1 of 4 FTA, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 TO, 21 points.
2) Khris Middleton/MIL.
3) Andrew Bynum/CLE.
4) Kris Humphries/BOS.
5) Jeffery Taylor/CHA.
6) Terrence Jones/HOU. Bounced back nicely from a poor game.
Biggest Busts
1) Kyrie Irving/CLE. The biggest one-day bust of the season. Hopefully this is a one-time thing. 0 of 9 FGA, 0 of 3 FTA, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 TO, 0 points.
2) Klay Thompson/GSW.
3) Martell Webster/WAS. Hurt his ankle taking a desperation shot from mid-court at the end of the first quarter.
4) David Lee/GSW. The Warriors are feeling the impact of Andre Iguodala’s/GSW absence.
5) Patrick Beverley/HOU.
I spent $12 on buy-ins for NBA contests at DraftStreet and made the money in two of three GPPs. It was a high-scoring day, with several inexpensive players going off for 40.00+ DraftStreet points. I was spot on in tipping Kevin Durant/OKC to have a big game and for the Pelicans to keep it relatively close. Two of my picks, Tony Wroten/CLE and Andrew Bynum/CLE, were among the top sleepers of the night. Trevor Ariza/WAS was dazzling in an overtime loss to the Bucks. My top team accumulated 264.75DraftStreet points, good for 63rd place out of 1803 entries.
My recommended team did well, and would have been exceptional if I had recommended Ariza (he was in all three of my actual lineups) instead of Thaddeus Young/PHI. As is stands, that lineup would have scored 246.50 points, good enough to finish tied for 243rd and a minimum cash in the large $5 GPP. Props to “JL003” who decimated the $12,500 GPP field with a 318.50 DraftStreet points score to take $2,500.
Saturday NBA contests at DraftStreet
Last night the huge capacity in the featured GPPs went unfilled, which meant that you received that rare gift of overlay if you entered the $2 or $5 league (as I did). In the $5/$12,500 GPP, the overlay nearly reached $3,500 – a staggering 27.9%! It may happen again tonight, as DraftStreet contests will be larger than usual due to the frenzied Saturday night action in NBA arenas across the continent. My prime focus will be the $11/600 max entry $6,000 GPP, but for those with bigger bankrolls, the $55/$8,000 GPP could be even better value.
Our weekly freeroll finished up with 866 entrants. “Tebowshow” won the top spot with a score of 328.50 to claim the $109 voucher. I will announce details of the next freeroll early next week. There are plenty of vouchers to be won with no risk to you.
Spurs Return to Action with Pacers as Guests
A look at tonight’s action from a daily fantasy perspective. An asterisk (*) indicates a team playing the second of back-to-back games.
Denver Nuggets* at Philadelphia 76ers* (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 216; Nuggets -6
The Nuggets let the Celtics romp out to a gigantic lead in the first quarter and were not able to climb all the way out of the hole. The Sixers lost to the Bobcats, but Tony Wroten/PHi was dynamite as Michael Carter-Williams’/PHI fill in. MC-W will sit this one out too, so Wroten remains a tremendous bargain play. For the Nuggets the big men should do well, but floor general Ty Lawson/DEN is a game time decision.
Los Angeles Clippers at Cleveland Cavaliers* (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 196.5; Clippers -6
What happened to Kyrie Irving/CLE? Cleveland wasted solid performances by Tristan Thompson/CLE and Andrew Bynum/CLE because Irving couldn’t score. The Clippers’ offensive prowess should steer them to an easy win.
Golden State Warriors* at Memphis Grizzliess (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under 192.5; Grizzlies -1
Miami Heat at Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under ; Heat
Kevin Love/MIN will not play due to personal leave. The Heat will be solid favorites if Dwayne Wade/MIA is able to play his usual minutes.
Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under 188.5; Bulls -4.5
Two “old school” teams will battle for control of the paint. Andre Drummond/DET is on the cusp of being a fantasy beast. If he can improve his free throw shooting over the next few years he may become the second best big man in the game next to Anthony Davis/NOP.
Indiana Pacers at San Antonio Spurs (8:30 pm EST), Over/Under 188; Spurs -3.5
In my view, this is a clash between the second and third best teams in the league. With the days off and the smoke scare, the Spurs could be rusty from having too much rest.
Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks* (8:30 pm EST), Over/Under 189; Nets -3
With the Bucks winning in overtime over the Wizards, the Nets are now my new “worst team in the league”. Counterbalancing that is the fatigue factor. On the face of it, John Henson/MIL and Khris Middleton/MIL are superb bargain plays, but I worry about the effect of the extra minutes these two played yesterday. I’m recommending Henson, but with tempered enthusiasm.
Sacramento Kings* at Utah Jazz* (9:00 pm EST), Over/Under 193; Jazz -2
Utah is much better at home and both teams are traveling into town to play this one. I’ve been calling for Isaiah Thomas/SAC to move into the starting lineup and get extra minutes since the first week of the season. You can wager that Kings’ fans were not pleased to see Thomas riding the bench down the stretch as the Lakers ousted the Kings. Sacramento is not a good road team to begin with; adding disharmony to the mix is only making things worse. This should be a relatively easy Jazz win.
Dallas Mavericks at Portland Trail Blazers* (10:00 pm EST), Over/Under 206; Blazers -5.
The betting line looks right. I’ll be watching with keen interest to see if LaMarcus Aldridge/POR and Dirk Nowitzki/DAL guard each other.
My recommended lineup in the $11/$6,000 GPP at DraftStreet ($99,077 salary spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: LaMarcus Aldridge/POR, Blake Griffin/LAC, Damian Lillard/POR
Bargain Plays: Tony Wroten/PHI, Andrew Bynum/CLE
Speculative Plays: Kirk Hinrich/CHI, J.J. Hickson/DEN, John Henson/MIL
Estimated DraftStreet points: 230.00 (+/- 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.