As I anticipated yesterday, home court advantage wasn’t enough for the Pistons, as John Wall/WAS and Trevor Ariza/WAS led the Wizards to a road win. I also wondered if Portland’s impressive run was nearing an end, and what should happen but they lose their second straight game. Kevin Love/MIN had another solid game but it wasn’t enough to beat the visiting Mavericks. A hobbled LeBron James/MIA led the Heat to another road win, this time over the Nuggets. In the nightcap, the Clippers were unexpectedly horrible against the Suns. The last day of 2013 is upon us and NBA arenas will see action starting with the early afternoon through to the late evening. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Yesterday’s Fantasy Booms and Busts
Top Performers:
Jrue Holiday/NOP. Normally inconsistent, last night he was brilliant. 14 of 28 FGA, 2 of 2 FTA, 7 rebounds, 13 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 TO, 31 points.
Mike Conley/MEM
Kevin Love/MIN.
Anthony Davis/NOP. He seems to be all the way back, as his five blocks last night attest.
Shawn Marion/DAL.
Sleepers:
Goran Dragic/PHO. More polished than his backcourt partner Eric Bledsoe/PHO and could see a boost in production if Bledsoe needs some time off. 10 of 15 FGA, 5 of 6 FTA, 1 rebound, 8 assists, 5 steals, 3 TO, 26 points.
Trevor Ariza/WAS.
Ricky Rubio/MIN. The Wolves usually win when he plays well, but the Mavs got the best of Minnesota last night.
Disappointments:
Blake Griffin/LAC. It had to happen some time. The Clippers stars were awful and the result was a blowout loss. 5 of 15 FGA, 5 of 7 FTA, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 TO, 15 points.
Chris Paul/LAC. What happened?
Jon Leuer/MEM. Didn’t play much.
Zach Randolph/MEM.
Tuesday at DraftStreet
There is no lack of early league action that closes at 1 PM. However, the main action at DraftStreet, in particular the $11/$6,000 GPP and the $109/$8,000, starts at 7 PM EST. As usual, there are lots of double up leagues of a wide buy-in range if you prefer 50/50 payouts.
After a week off, our weekly freeroll returns, this time on Saturday. Click on any DraftStreet text link, register and set your lineup before the league starts. It’s a chance to win valuable entries into DraftStreet contests with no risk to you.
New Years Eve in the NBA
Afternoon:
Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics (1:00 pm EST); over/under 200.5; Celtics -3.5 . INJURIES: ATL: DeMarre Carroll (OUT), Al Horford (OUT) ; BOS: Gerald Wallace (P), Rajon Rondo (OUT).
The extra burden will start to weigh on Paul Millsap/ATL and Jeff Teague/ATL, so I think the Celtics will have a relatively easy time of it.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers (3:00 pm EST); over/under 193.5; Pacers -13. INJURIES: CLE: none ; IND: none .
Golden State Warriors at Orlando Magic (5:00 pm EST); over/under 204; Warriors -6. INJURIES: GSW: Tony Douglas (Q), Jermaine O’Neal (OUT) ; ORL: none.
Stephen Curry/GSW remains a solid lineup anchor, while Andre Iguodala/GSW should fill the stat sheet enough to be a very good value play.
Evening:
Sacramento Kings at Houston Rockets (7:00 pm EST); over/under 212.5; Rockets -10. INJURIES: SAC: Carl Landry (OUT) ; HOU: Greg Smith (Q), Patrick Beverley (OUT) . The Rockets seek to rebound from one of their worst games of the year. Which James Harden/HOU will show up for this one? If you like risk, Harden has the best chance for a monster game among players costing less than $16,000 at DraftStreet.
Brooklyn Nets at San Antonio Spurs (7:00 pm EST); over/under 207.5; Spurs -12 . INJURIES: BKN: Andrei Kirilenko (Q), Andray Blatche (OUT), Brook Lopez (OUT) ; SAS: none. Where will the Nets gets their offense against the Spurs. The logical choice is the perimeter. Joe Johnson/BKN is a good bargain play even though he’s struggled with his shooting the past few days.
Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls* (8:00 pm EST); over/under ; . INJURIES: TOR: none ; CHI: Luol Deng (Q) .
The Bulls are starting to get healthier and still have an impressive frontcourt. The Raptors don’t like facing lock-down defenses, so I would avoid the Raptors interior players. Kyle Lowry/TOR is a defensible choice, while D.J. Augustin/CHI is still cheap.
Portland Trail Blazers* at Oklahoma City Thunder (8:00 pm EST); over/under 211; Thunder -4.5. INJURIES: POR: none ; OKC: Russell Westbrook (OUT) .
The Blazers lost a close one in New Orleans last night when Tyreke Evans/NOP hit the game winner in the final seconds. Though the Thunder are rolling even with Russell Westbrook/OKC, Porland’s outside shooting prowess matches up fairly well against them. Damian Lillard/POR is coming off a solid game and is still dirt cheap. I expect this one top be a tight affair and so Kevin Durant/OKC should play major minutes.
Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 pm EST); over/under ; . INJURIES: MIL: Zaza Pachulia (OUT), John Henson (OUT) ; LAL: Pau Gasol (P), Xavier Henry (OUT), Steve Blake (OUT), Kobe Bryant (OUT), Steve Nash (OUT) .
How low can the Lakers go? The Bucks have reintegrated Larry Sanders/MIL and young players Brandon Knight/MIL and John Henson/MIL (ruled out for tonight) have stepped forward. At the moment, the Lakers are probably the worst team in the league and it’s not a bad idea to load up on Bucks tonight.
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $11/$1,000 double-up GPP at DraftStreet ($99,870 spent of $100,000 max). Note that this league excludes the three afternoon games:
Stars Worth Starting: Kevin Durant/OKC, Damian Lillard/POR, Brandon Knight/MIL.
Bargain Plays: Jimmy Butler/CHI, D.J. Augustin/CHI.
Speculative Plays: Khris Middleton/MIL, Boris Diaw/SAS, Tiago Splitter/SAS.
Estimated DraftStreet Points: 215 (+- 50)
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.