In contrast to two days ago, all four games played last night were decided in the final minutes. Two of them went to overtime. In the other games, teams that had played the night before won against teams playing on extra rest. The Spurs kept their noses in front against the Mavericks, using their balanced attack to good effect. The Rockets looked like they were going down in flames to the Grizzlies, but when Dwight Howard/HOU got in foul trouble, a smaller more dynamic Rockets lineup took control and caught and passed Memphis. Friday sees the return of the majority of teams. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Yesterday in the NBA
Top Performers:
Chris Paul/LAC. Heroic effort but his Clippers failed to execute at crunch time for the second night in a row.16 of 29 FGA, 0 of 1 FTA, 3 rebounds, 16 assists, 6 steals, 1 TO, 34 points.
Jeff Teague/ATL. Matched Kyrie Irving/CLE all night and hit the game winning shot.
Kyrie Irving/CLE. Slow start in the shooting department, but got hot in the second half.
Blake Griffin/LAC. Foul trouble kept his first half production modest, but he ended up with a solid line.
LaMarcus Aldridge/POR. Dominated overtime.
Sleepers:
Danny Green/SAS. A scoring spurt in the third quarter and a perfect shooting night overall. 7 of 7 FGA, 3 of 3 FTA, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 1 TO, 22 points.
DeJuan Blair/DAL.
Anderson Varejao/CLE.
Shelvin Mack/ATL. Teague’s understudy provided efficient minutes.
Biggest Busts:
Dwight Howard/HOU. Foul trouble, a sore back and difficultly handling the Memphis interior players resulted in limited minutes and poor performance. 1 of 5 FGA, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 TO, 2 points.
Tony Allen/MEM. Hit some buckets but was mostly invisible.
Jon Leuer/MEM.
Damian Lillard/POR. Badly outplayed by Paul.
Friday Contests at DraftStreet
With two NBA games going into overtime last night, the scoring was higher than usual in DraftStreet leagues last night considering only four games were played. I entered an $11 double-up league with the top 50 getting paid out $20. My team scored 244 DraftStreet points to finish 35th, while a score of 235.25 points was needed to finish in the money.
After the excitement of the last few days, the DraftStreet Basketball Championship takes center stage again with Qualifier number 12 tonight – a $22/$16,000 multi-entry GPP. The $2 GPP has drawn my interest and has room for 2200 entries. As I write there are 11 double-up GPPs in the NBA lobby.
Friday in the NBA
Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic (7:00 pm EST); over/under 203.5; Pistons -3.5. INJURIES: DET: none ; ORL: E’Twaun Moore (OUT) .
Oklahoma City Thunder at Charlotte Bobcats (7:00 pm EST); over/under 198; Thunder -8. INJURIES: OKC: none; CHA: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (OUT) .
Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm EST); over/under 195; Nets -5. INJURIES: MIL: Ersan Ilyasova (P), Larry Sanders (P), Zaza Pachulia (OUT) ; BKN: Andrei Kirilenko (OUT), Brook Lopez (OUT).
Toronto Raptors at New York Knicks (7:30 pm EST); over/under 193.5; Raptors -2. INJURIES: TOR: none; NYK: Carmelo Anthony (DT), Pablo Prigioni (OUT), Raymond Felton (OUT).
Washington Wizards at Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00 pm EST); over/under 206.5; Wolves -6. INJURIES: WAS: Al Harrington (OUT) ; MIN: none.
Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EST); over/under 204.5 ; Pelicans -2.5. INJURIES: DEN: Kenneth Faried (Q), JaVale McGee (OUT), ; NOP: Eric Gordon (Q), Jason Smith (GT).
Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz (9:00 pm EST); over/under 197 ; Jazz -4 . INJURIES: LAL: Pau Gasol (OUT), Kobe Bryant (OUT), Steve Blake (OUT), Steve Nash (OUT); UTA: Richard Jefferson (P) .
Miami Heat at Sacramento Kings (10:00 pm EST); over/under 209.5 ; Heat -7.5. INJURIES: MIA: Dwayne Wade (Q), Chris Andersen (Q) ; SAC: Carl Landry (OUT).
Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors (10:30 pm EST); over/under 209 ; Warriors -6. INJURIES: PHO: none ; GSW: Jermaine O’Neal (OUT).
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $2/$4,000 GPP at DraftStreet: ($99,826 spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: Kevin Durant/OKC, Stephen Curry/GSW.
Bargain Plays: Trey Burke/UTA, Harrison Barnes/GSW, Deron Williams/BKN.
Speculative Plays: Serge Ibaka/OKC, Kevin Martin/MIN, Andray Blatche/BKN.
Estimated DraftStreet Points: 210 (+- 50)
Others to consider: Ryan Anderson/NOP, Nick Collison/OKC, Jodie Meeks/LAL, Marvin Williams/UTA, Gordon Hayward/UTA, Terrence Ross/TOR, Goran Dragic/PHO, Eric Bledsoe/PHO, Andre Drummond/DET, Russell Westbrook/OKC.
Let’s begin with the lineup anchors. I don’t think Stephen Curry/GSW will have two off shooting nights in a row and the Bobcats have no one who can guard Kevin Durant/OKC effectively. You can count on a close game where the Warriors are concerned, and the Hornets at home will do their best to keep up with the Thunder. Harrison Barnes/GSW had his first good game since Andre Iguodala/GSW came back and is too cheap to pass up. The Nets are now Deron Williams’s/BKN team to lead and his price is still low. Kevin Martin/MIN is a risky play, but we are looking for explosive potential and he has it. Serge Ibaka/OKC and Andray Blatche/BKN have great upside at their current salaries.
Among alternatives, Andre Drummond/DET has a chance to dominate the Magic interior. With Pau Gasol/LAL not making the trip, the Lakers will need Jodie Meeks’s/LAL offense even more. I don’t think the Suns will be able to do much in the paint against Golden State, so Eric Bledsoe/PHO and Goran Dragic/PHO will be counted on . Russell Westbrook/OKC is a consistent fantasy producer even when his jump shot is off, while Nick Collison/OKC is a cheap fill in and especially valuable if the Thunder blow out Charlotte. As long as Terrence Ross/TOR is in the starting lineups he will remain a good risky/bargain play at his current salary.
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.