Two of the elite NBA teams won their games last night, but in neither case was it easy. The Portland Trailblazers looked like they were going down in flames, but rallied and won the game in overtime. The Oklahoma City Thunder built a big lead, only to almost blow it in the final minutes. James Harden/HOU injured his ankle which made it easier for the new look Kings to beat the Rockets. Despite another solid game from Stephen Curry/GSW, the Suns’ backcourt duo of Eric Bledsoe/PHO and Goran Dragic/PHO led Phoenix to a narrow win. Tonight there are eight games on the NBA schedule. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Top performers
1) Kevin Durant/OKC. Nothing new here. 11 of 18 FGA, 4 of 5 FTA, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 TO, 28 points.
2) Josh Smith/DET. He almost carried the Pistons to an impressive victory over Portland.
3) Kevin Love/MIN. Consistent excellence.
4) Stephen Curry/GSW. Consistent excellence.
Honorable mention: Eric Bledsoe/PHO, LaMarcus Aldridge/POR.
Top Sleepers
1) J.J. Hickson/DEN. Took advantage of the weak Pelicans’ interior. 8 of 12 FGA, 3 of 6 FTA, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 TO, 19 points.
2) Austin Rivers/NOP.
3) Rudy Gay/SAC. Gives the Kings a third credible offensive threat.
4) Jeremy Lamb/OKC.
5) Robin Lopez/POR.
Biggest Busts
1) Kevin Martin/MIN. 0 of 3 FGA, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 0 TO, 0 points (19+ minutes).
2) Serge Ibaka/OKC. Got into first half foul trouble and wasn’t need much down the stretch.
3) Kosta Koufos/MEM. A predictably off night in unfavorable circumstances.
4) Terrence Jones/HOU. Limited by illness.
5) Ed Davis/MEM.
If you utilized my recommended picks and entered a lot of double up leagues, you are probably pleased with your results. Your teams would have scored 203.00 DraftStreet points. They would have fallen just short of the money in the $11/$5,000 GPP (215.00 points were needed to cash). Congratulations to “ballfinder”, who scored 247.50 points on the strength of Josh Smith/DET and J.J. Hickson/DEN to take the first place prize of $1,000.
Monday NBA contests at DraftStreet
The Survivor format returns with $5/$1,200 and $22/$2,400 contests. The largest contest of the day is the $2/$4,000 GPP with room for 2,200 entries. I haven’t mentioned it in awhile, but there is action at Draftstreet other than guaranteed prize pool contests. 10 and 20-single entry contests often fill and provide you with a much better chance of taking first place.
Pistons Travel to Indiana; Spurs and Clippers Clash
A look at tonight’s action from a daily fantasy perspective. An asterisk (*) indicates a team playing the second of back-to-back games:
Detroit Pistons* at Indiana Pacers (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 192.5; Pacers -11
The Pistons had all but secured a victory over the powerful Trail Blazers, only to lose in overtime after Portland rallied to tie the game in regulation.
Philadelphia 76ers at Brooklyn Nets(7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 207; Nets -10
The status of Brook Lopez/BKN needs to be monitored up until game time. If he doesn’t play, Andray Blatche/BKN becomes a good value play, as does Spencer Hawes/PHI. Thaddeus Young/PHI and Tony Wroten/PHI are good candidates as well.
Washington Wizards at New York Knicks (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 190.5; Knicks -1.5
Martell Webster/WAS, if fully healthy, is my top bargain play of the night. The setup for John Wall/WAS is excellent: his athleticism should play well against the “slow” and injury-riddled Knicks. I like Trevor Ariza/WAS for similar reasons.
Los Angeles Lakers at Atlanta Hawks (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 204.5; Hawks -6
Kobe Bryant/LAL is still a week or two away from being a major asset for the Lakers. Al Horford/ATL is one of the top candidates for a monster game. The inconsistent Jeff Teague/ATL has a very favorable matchup here and I expect the Hawks to win comfortably.
Minnesota Timberwolves* at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 199; Wolves -1.5
Kevin Martin/MIN bombed last night, but Kevin Love/MIN was on his game as usual and Minnesota handled the Grizzlies. The Celtics are primed to pull an upset tonight. They have the fatigue advantage over the Wolves and their key players either work on the perimeter or are slashing types.
Utah Jazz at Miami Heat (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 198.5; Heat -12.5
I don’t like this betting line, as the Heat haven’t shown much ability to blow opponents out and the Jazz are much improved over their early season form. LeBron James/MIA is a safe lineup anchor.
Orlando Magic* at Chicago Bulls (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under 185; Bulls -7.
The Bulls need to pull together. Nikola Vucevic/ORL has been solid since his return, but Chicago big men Joakim Noah/CHI and Carlos Boozer/CHI should put up very good stat lines.
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EST), Over/Under 203; Spurs -3
It will be fun to watch Tony Parker/SAS versus Chris Paul/LAC, but I would recommend neither in DraftStreet leagues tonight. I would avoid Blake Griffin/LAC tonight, while DeAndre Jordan/LAC and Tim Duncan/SAS are intriguing speculative plays.
Injuries Relevant for Tonight’s Games
Pistons: Chauncey Billups (P); Pacers: Danny Granger (OUT).
Sixers: Michael Carter-Williams (OUT), Daniel Orton (OUT) ; Nets: Brook Lopez (P), Andrei Kirilenko (OUT), Jason Terry (OUT).
Wizards: Nene Hilario (Q), Bradley Beal (GT) ; Knicks: Carmelo Anthony (P), Joe Johnson (P), Tyson Chandler (OUT), Kenyon Martin (OUT), Raymond Felton (OUT).
Lakers: Steve Nash (OUT), Steve Blake (OUT), Jordan Farmar (OUT) ; Hawks: none.
Wolves: Kevin Martin (P), Chase Budinger(OUT); Celtics: Kris Humphries (P), Rajon Rondo (OUT).
Jazz: none ; Heat: Michael Beasley (OUT).
Magic: Glen Davis (Q) ; Bulls: Kirk Hinrich (GT).
Spurs: Tiago Splitter (Q) ; Clippers: Reggie Bullock (OUT), Matt Barnes (OUT), J.J. Redick (OUT).
key: (P) Probable, (Q) Questionable, (D) Doubtful, (GT) Game time decision, (OUT) Out, of course.
My recommended lineup in the $2/$4,000 GPP at DraftStreet ($99,986 salary spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: John Wall/WAS, Carlos Boozer/CHI
Bargain Plays: Martell Webster/WAS, Jeff Teague/ATL, Andrea Bargnani/NYK
Speculative Plays: Thaddeus Young/PHI, Spencer Hawes/PHI, Trevor Ariza/WAS
Estimated DraftStreet points: 205.00 (+/- 55.00)
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.