Click on this banner to enter $100,000 Christmas Day fantasy contest.
We are just a few days away from one of the biggest days ever at DraftStreet. If you scroll down to the last of the guaranteed NBA contests, you will see the multi-entry $11, $100,000 GPP listed. (You can enter by clicking on the banner to your left.)
All you have to do select players who will dominate that day and you will have a chance at huge prizes, with first place paying out $25,000. If you are interested in saving a bit off the entry fee, there are $2 satellites awarding $11 vouchers for the Christmas Day 100K.
The Raptors played their best game of the year, taking advantage of the fatigue edge to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-98. Earlier, the Pacers destroyed the visiting Celtics with Lance Stephenson/IND posting a triple-double. In the finale, The Clippers and Wolves battled, with Blake Griffin/LAC, Nikola Pekovic/MIN and particularly Kevin Love/MIN producing monster fantasy lines. There are 11 games on tap tonight before the league pauses on Christmas Eve. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Top Performers
1.Kevin Love/MIN. A truly remarkable game, enhanced by an overtime period, unfortunately in a losing cause. There is no more consistently excellent fantasy player in the league.
2.Blake Griffin/LAC. Was the best of a balanced Clippers attack.
3.Nikola Pekovic/MIN. Outplayed one of the league’s best centers.
Sleepers
1.Roy Hibbert/IND. It was good to see him right the ship after a series of poor games.
2.Ian Mahinmi/IND. Got extra minutes due to blowout conditions.
3.Courtney Lee/BOS.
Biggest Busts
1.Jared Sullinger/BOS. Expected due to his less than healthy status entering the game.
2.George Hill/IND.
3.Kevin Durant/OKC. Hasn’t been his usual self in recent games but this was his first poor game in weeks.
Monday NBA contests at DraftStreet
If you are like me, you are asking yourself not if you are going to play the Christmas Day 100K, but how many entries will you put in. Provisionally, I will be entering twice, but I might bump that up to three or four entries. Bear in mind that there is room for 10,000 entries, so overlay is a distinct possibility. If you play in NBA leagues at other daily fantasy sites, my advice is to skip them, pool you wagering funds and put them into the 100K.
Look for information about next week’s freeroll early next week.
While we wait for the big contest, top billing today are the $22 buy in/$8,000 GPP, and the $2 buy in/$4,000 GPP. There are also double-up guarantees with buy-ins ranging from $2 to $109.
A Full Night Before Christmas Eve
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 Cleveland Cavaliers (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 203 ; Cavs -1 . INJURIES: DET: Chauncey Billups (Q), ; CLE: Dion Waiters (Q), Anthony Bennett (Q). Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings continue to be undervalued. Kyrie Irving/CLE should do the bulk of the ball handling and has been consistent the last few weeks. Andrew Bynum/CLE will be needed against the tough Detroit frontcourt.
Milwaukee Bucks at Charlotte Bobcats (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 186; Bobcats -6.5. INJURIES: MIL: Gary Neal (P), John Henson (Q), Zaza Pachulia (OUT), Ersan Illyasova (OUT), Larry Sanders (OUT) ; CHA: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (OUT), Jeffery Taylor (OUT).
New York Knicks at Orlando Magic (7:00 pm EST), Over/Under 192 ; Knicks -1.5 . INJURIES: NYK: Raymond Felton (Q), Metta World Peace (Q), Pablo Prigioni (OUT) ; ORL: Jameer Nelson (P), E’Twaun Moore (Q)
Indiana Pacers* at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 193; Pacers -6.5 . INJURIES: IND: ; BKN: Joe Johnson (Q), Andrei Kirilenko (OUT), Jason Terry (OUT), Brook Lopez (OUT). We saw a healthy Nets squad for a few games but now their best player, Brook Lopez/BKN, is gone for the season.
Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat (7:30 pm EST), Over/Under 207 ; Heat -8 . INJURIES: ATL: Cartier Martin (Q) ; MIA: Michael Beasley (Q).
Lebron James/MIA seems to have escaped the worst injury effects. Interior defense is the Heat’s main weakness, and Al Horford/ATL is someone who could exploit it.
Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under 187 ; Grizzlies -6 . INJURIES: UTA: ; MEM: Tayshaun Prince (Q), Marc Gasol (OUT)
Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets (8:00 pm EST), Over/Under 212; Rockets -5. INJURIES: DAL: Devin Harris (OUT) ; HOU: Jeremy Lin (P), James Harden (D), Patrick Beverley (OUT). If James Harden/HOU doesn’t play, responsibility will fall on Dwight Howard/HOU to carry the team. For the Mavs, Monta Ellis/DAL and Dirk Nowitzki/DAL are solid selections.
Toronto Raptors* at San Antonio Spurs (8:30 pm EST), Over/Under 204 ; Spurs -11. INJURIES: TOR: ; SAS: Kawhi Leonard (Q).
The Raptors are coming off their best win of the year and are bound to suffer a let down against the disciplined Spurs. Avoid all Raptors in this game.
Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns (9:00 pm EST), Over/Under 208 ; Suns -8. INJURIES: LAL: Pau Gasol (P), Jordan Farmar (OUT), Steve Blake (OUT), Kobe Bryant (OUT), Steve Nash (OUT) ; PHO: Emeka Okafor (OUT).
Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets (9:00 pm EST), Over/Under 206; Nuggets -1.5. INJURIES: GSW: Jermaine O’Neal (OUT) ; DEN: Kenneth Faried (Q), JaVale McGee (OUT)
New Orleans Pelicans at Sacramento Kings (10:00 pm EST), Over/Under 209 ; Pelicans -1. INJURIES: NOP: Jason Smith (Q) ; SAC: Carl Landry (OUT).
It’s still too early to deploy Anthony Davis/NOP, but Jrue Holiday/NOP and Isaiah Thomas/SAC are both decent selections.
injury 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 ($99,978 salary spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: Carmelo Anthony/NYK, Kyrie Irving/CLE, Josh Smith/DET.
Bargain Plays: Jodie Meeks/LAL, Andrew Bynum/CLE, Khris Middleton/MIL
Speculative Plays: Manu Ginobili/SAS, Brandon Knight/MIL.
Estimated DraftStreet points: 215 (+/- 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.