Several games played last night turned out differently than I had expected. I thought the Nets would blow out the Sixers, but the return of Michael Carter-Williams/PHI and the absence of Joe Johnson/BKN balanced the scales and ultimately resulted in a Sixers’ overtime win. I thought the Jazz would stay close but they were blown out by the Hawks. The Bobcats surprised the Pistons, the injury riddled Lakers defeated the visiting Timberwolves on the strength of Pau Gasol/LAL superb performance, and the Raptors won over the Mavericks in overtime. Eastern powers Indiana and Miami rolled over their opponents as expected. Saturday sees a pair of rare afternoon games among the 12 games on tap. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Top performers
1) Kyrie Irving/CLE. Was supposed to be ill, but turned in another brilliant games. 13 of 25 FGA, 11 of 12 FTA, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks, 4 TO, 39 points.
2) Kemba Walker/CHA.
3) Brandon Knight/MIL.
4) Pau Gasol/LAL. WIll have to carry the Lakers’ burden for the next several weeks.
Honorable mention: Paul Pierce/BKN, Paul George/IND, Kevin Love/MIN.
Top Sleepers
1) Jose Calderon/DAL. 8 of 13 FGA, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO, 23 points.
2) Alan Anderson/BKN.
3) Lou Williams/ATL.
4) Markieff Morris/PHO. Carried the Suns to a crucial win over Denver.
5) Enes Kanter/UTA.
Biggest Busts
1) James Harden/HOU. When he has a poor game the Rockets almost always lose. 3 of 14 FGA, 5 of 6 FTA, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 5 TO, 12 points.
2) Trey Burke/UTA.
3) Eric Bledsoe/PHO.
4) Vince Carter/DAL. An off game after a good stretch of games.
5) Giannis Antetokounmpo/MIL. Extra minutes don’t guarantee extra production.
Saturday NBA contests at DraftStreet
In less than a week, after a day off on December 24th, ten NBA teams will take the floor on Christmas Day. It will also be your chance to turn $11 into $25,000 by finishing first in a mammoth $100,000 GPP DraftStreet is offering that day. Be on the lookout in the DraftStreet lobby for $2 qualifiers for the Christmas Day 100K.
I hope you had a chance to participate in our weekly freeroll at DraftStreet yesterday. 1174 players took part and 100 of them earned vouchers for the upcoming $100,000 GPP on Christmas Day. Look for information about next week’s freeroll early next week.
Aside from the 100 K qualifiers, the marquee NBA contests today exclude the two afternoon games. The largest prize pool is an $8,000 GPP with a $55 buy-in. For the low roller, the $5/$4,000 GPP has room for 880 entrants. There are scores of other contests, both standard payouts and double-up structures, some beginning at noon and others with 7 PM deadlines.
Can the Spurs slow down OKC?
A look at tonight’s action from a daily fantasy perspective. An asterisk (*) indicates a team playing the second of back-to-back games:
Afternoon:
Memphis Grizzlies at New York Knicks (12:00 pm EST), Over/Under ; .
Beno Udrih/NYK will be a great value play if he gets the start again. Carmelo Anthony/NYK is overpriced against the defensively minded Grizzlies. Andrea Bargnani/NYK is another decent speculative play.
Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics (1:00 pm EST), Over/Under 193 ; Celtics -1.
Jordan Crawford/BOS is one of my top sleeper picks. Martell Webster/WAS has great upside as a perimeter shooter.
Evening:
Sacramento Kings* at Orlando Magic (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 201.5; Magic -3.5.
If you’re looking for a speculative plays, consider Victor Oladipo/ORL. If Arron Afflalo/ORL can’t play, more scoring responsibility will fall on Oladipo. Centers Nikola Vucevic/ORL and DeMarcus Cousins/SAC are fair value.
Utah Jazz* at Charlotte Bobcats* (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 188 ; Bobcats -4.5.
Trey Burke/UTA was a big let down for me last night and I won’t recommend him until I see him bounce back. Why? Because sometime a poor performance is indicative of a minor injury that has not yet come to light. It’s best to avoid these situations when there are plenty of other players to choose from.
Houston Rockets* at Detroit Pistons* (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 211.5; Rockets -2 .
The Rockets suffered a pasting in Indiana last night. James Harden/HOU played but I suspect he is still not 100%. Josh Smith/DET, Brandon Jennings/DET and Andre Drummond/DET have been consistent fantasy stat line producers. I like Smith and Jennings tonight, but Drummond will have to deal with Dwight Howard/HOU.
Cleveland Cavaliers* at Chicago Bulls (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under ; .
Most of the Cavaliers should be approached with caution, as they played an overtime game last night and the Bulls have the fatigue edge. Andrew Bynum/CLE is an exception: he is still undervalued. Joakim Noah/CHI has become the leader of the Bulls and Taj Gibson/CHI has a good matchup tonight.
Philadelphia 76ers* at Milwaukee Bucks* (8:30 pm EST), Over/Under 201.5; Bucks -2.5.
MC-W was the tonic the Sixers needed last night. Evan Turner/PHI and Thaddeus Young/PHI seem to play much better with Carter-Williams on the floor. The Bucks regulars played extra minutes and are therefore risky plays. John Henson/MIL is a prime example of a player who has tremendous upside and downside tonight. O.J. Mayo/MIL and Brandon Knight/MIL remain good value plays.
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs (8:30 pm EST), Over/Under ; .
This game was the reason Manu Ginobili/SAS and Tim Duncan/SAS sat out against Golden State. Though Tony Parker/SAS is unlikely to play, this should be a tightly contested game. There is considerable downside risk for the expensive Kevin Durant/OKC. and Russell Westbrook/OKC.
Dallas Mavericks* at Phoenix Suns* (9:00 pm EST), Over/Under ; .
The Mavericks suffered a surprising defeat to the Raptors at home, while the Suns triumphed over the Nuggets. Eric Bledsoe/PHO had an off-game and Goran Dragic/PHO has cooled off considerably. It’s always going to be a fluid situation when a team has two premium point guards who have to share the floor.
New Orleans Pelicans at Portland Trail Blazers (10:00 pm EST), Over/Under 210.5; Blazers -9.
Anthony Davis/NOP will likely see a slightly heavier workload than in his surprise return. His DraftStreet salary is much to high at this stage of his recovery. Damian Lillard/POR will try to provide further proof he is an elite point as he battles Jrue Holiday/NOP.
Denver Nuggets* at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EST), Over/Under ; .
DeAndre Jordan/LAC and Blake Griffin/LAC are my lineup anchors today.
Los Angeles Lakers* at Golden State Warriors (10:30 pm EST), Over/Under 209.5; Warriors -11.5.
The rested Warriors should be able to handle the depleted Lakers. Xavier Henry/LAL is a good value play.
Relevant Injuries
Grizzlies: Mike Conley (P), Tayshaun Prince (D), Marc Gasol (OUT) ; Knicks: Amare Stoudamire (Q), Metta World Peace (Q), Raymond Felton (OUT), Pablo Prigioni (OUT).
Wizards: Al Harrington (OUT); Celtics: Rajon Rondo (OUT).
Kings: Carl Landry (OUT) ; Magic: Arron Afflalo (P).
Jazz: none ; Bobcats: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (OUT).
Rockets: Jeremy Lin (Q) ; Pistons: Rodney Stuckey (Q).
Cavaliers : Anthony Bennett (Q), Dion Waiters (Q) ; Bulls: Kirk Hinrich (Q), Jimmy Butler (OUT), Luol Deng (OUT).
76ers: none ; Bucks: Caron Butler (Q), Gary Neal (OUT), Ersan Ilyasova (OUT), Larry Sanders (OUT), Zaza Pachulia (OUT).
Thunder: none ; Spurs: Tony Parker (Q).
Mavericks: Devin Harris (OUT) ; Suns. Emeka Okafor (OUT).
Pelicans: none ; Blazers: none.
Nuggets: JaVale McGee (OUT) ; Clippers: Matt Barnes (P), J.J. Redick (OUT).
Lakers: Kobe Bryant (OUT), Steve Blake (OUT), Jordan Farmar (OUT) ; Warriors: Jermaine O’Neal (OUT).
key: (P) Probable, (Q) Questionable, (D) Doubtful, (GT) Game time decision, (OUT) Out, of course.
My Lineup
My recommended picks in the $2/Xmas Day Satellite at DraftStreet ($99,631 salary spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: David Lee/GSW, Damian Lillard/POR, DeAndre Jordan/LAC .
Bargain Plays: O.J. Mayo/MIL, Brandon Knight/MIL, Xavier Henry/LAL.
Speculative Plays: Josh Smith/DET, Evan Turner/PHI.
Estimated DraftStreet points: 225 (+/- 60.00)
The Fantasy Spin is here every day, around 1 PM EST. Follow me @robdudek for breaking news and pre-game thoughts relevant to NBA daily fantasy.