Friday night saw an inordinate number of blowouts, but that changed last night. Most of the games stayed close well into the fourth quarter. The Pacers held a 22-point lead over the Spurs entering the final frame and held on for the win. LeBron James/MIA dominated all aspects of the Heat-Wolves game and Golden State’s shooters got hot and the Grizzlies couldn’t keep up. Detroit took advantage of Luol Deng’s/CHI injury and outmuscled the Bulls to earn a precious road win 92-75. The seemingly invincible Trail Blazers lost a close one to the visiting Mavericks. Sunday sees a lighter schedule with one early game and four evening tilts. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Top performers
1) Stephen Curry/GSW. My view is that the Warriors play best when Curry concentrates on playmaking. 7 of 16 FGA, 6 of 7 FTA, 6 rebounds, 15 assists, 1 block, 1 TO, 22 points.
2) Brook Lopez/BKN. For better or worse, the Nets currently sink or swim on his back.
3) LeBron James/MIA. With a weakened frontcourt, the Wolves could not stop LeBron. The rebounding explosion is the most intriguing aspect of his stat line.
4) David West/IND.
5) DeMarcus Cousins/SAC. Overcame a slow start to post his typical numbers.
Honorable mention: Dirk Nowitzki/DAL, Isaiah Thomas/SAC.
Top Sleepers
1) Tristan Thompson/CLE. Another solid game for the young Canadian. 7 of 15 FGA, 6 of 11 FTA, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 0 TO, 20 points.
2) Patrick Mills/SAS.
3) Josh Harrelson/DET. An incredibly productive 13 minutes.
4) Trey Burke/UTA. He looks like a keeper.
5) Klay Thompson/GSW. While Curry was dishing, Thompson was filling buckets.
Biggest Busts
1) Rodney Stuckey/DET. Left the game early with a sore knee. 0 of 3 FGA, 2 of 2 FTA, 1 assists, 1 TO, 2 points
2) James Anderson/PHI.
3) Evan Turner/PHI.
4) Mike Conley/MEM.
5) Ricky Rubio/MIN. Without Kevin Love/MIN, Rubio had to come through with a big game for the Wolves to compete.
My recommended team scored 203.50DraftStreet points, a middle of the road total. LaMarcus Aldridge/POR was a bit below expectations and Kirk Hinrick/CHI and Tony Wroten/PHI retreated towards their normal stat lines. The $1,200 first place prize in the $5/600-entry went to “bbqribbies” 272.25 points, who had three 40+ point scorers (Isaiah Thomas/SAC, Brandon Jennings/DET and David West/IND) and no player that produced less than 22.00 points in his lineup.
Sunday NBA contests at DraftStreet
Sunday finds a lone early start in New York as the Knicks entertain the Celtics. DraftStreet has plenty of leagues closing at noon, but the larger field events have a 6 pm EST deadline and include only the player population from the last four games. The featured evening contests are a $22/$5,000 GPP and a $5/$2,500 GPP with room for 550 contestants.
Kobe’s Return Leads to More Questions
A look at tonight’s action from a daily fantasy perspective. Dollar figures are DraftStreet prices. An asterisk (*) indicates a team playing the second of back-to-back games:
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks (12:00 pm EST), Over/Under 192.5; Knicks -5
The Knicks are starting to roll and if they beat the Celtics today they will be a short hop from the top of a historically bad division. Andrea Bargnani/$12,862/NYK has been a great fill in for Tyson Chandler/NYK, taking some of the pressure off Carmelo Anthony/$18,531/NYK. If you are inclined to place a wager, taking the Knicks side minus the points isn’t a bad idea.
Miami Heat* at Detroit Pistons* (6:00 pm EST), Over/Under ;
The Timberwolves without Kevin Love/MIN are not going to beat a Lebron James/$18,535/MIA-led very often. The Pistons are a different matter: they handled the Heat easily in Miami by dominating the rebounding. Another solid game from Andre Drummond/$18,412/DET is highly likely and Greg Monroe/$14,664/DET is a decent speculative play.
Indiana Pacers* at Oklahoma City Thunder (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 192.5; Thunder -4.5
Another clash of the titans. The Pacers passed the first test by defeating the Spurs in San Antonio. The schedule maker has done the Thunder a favor by having the Pacers play a tough opponent the night before. The winner of the game will be crowned as the new “best team in the league” by me tomorrow.
Orlando Magic at Houston Rockets (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under ;
Both teams have had to deal with injuries recently, but the Rockets have a deeper team and have withstood them better. Victor Oladipo/$13,674/ORL continues to be undervalued, but the Magic really need a healthy Nikola Vucevic/$15,403/ORL. Dwight Howard/$15,044/HOU should take advantage of Orlando’s weakness in the paint.
Toronto Raptors at Los Angeles Lakers (9:30 pm EST), Over/Under 205.5; Lakers -5.5
The anticipated return of Kobe Bryant/$14,612/LAL will be the story everyone is following. The main issue as far as daily fantasy is concerned is how the offense will change due to his return. The effects on the guards and perimeter players in general will be overall negative, as Kobe soaks up the bulk of the touches.
My recommended lineup in the $2/$600 early-bird GPP at DraftStreet ($98,859 salary spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: Dwight Howard/HOU, Andrea Bargnani/NYK.
Bargain Plays: Jameer Nelson/ORL, Reggie Jackson/OKC.
Speculative Plays: Terrence Jones/HOU, Jordan Crawford/BOS, David West/IND, Victor Oladipo/ORL
Estimated DraftStreet points: 210.00 (+/- 50.00)
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.