The Raptors continued their surge with a road win over the Wizards. Kyle Lowry/TOR and DeMar DeRozan/TOR have emerged as one of the top guard duos in the league; last night they were supported by 18 points off the bench from Patrick Patterson/TOR. The Warriors shrugged off fatigue and beat the Hawks by a point. Continuing the theme of close games, James Harden/HOU poured in 37 points leading the Rockets to a 102-100 win over the Knicks. The Clippers beat the Mavericks, but lost Chris Paul/LAC to injury. There are nine games on the NBA schedule tonight. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Fantasy Boom and Bust
Top Performers:
Pau Gasol/LAL. I speculated that the Lakers needed a big game from Gasol to win and they got exactly that. 10 of 17 FGA, 3 of 4 FTA, 17 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 block, 2 TO, 23 points.
DeAndre Jordan/LAC.
Kendall Marshall/LAL. The new point guard was an important feature of my lineup.
Blake Griffin/LAC.
James Harden/HOU.
Honorable mention: Kyle Lowry/TOR, Anthony Davis/NOP, Stephen Curry/GSW.
Sleepers:
Iman Shumpert/NYK. If he can maintain this level of play, the Knicks will find themselves fighting for the division. 9 of 14 FGA, 2 of 2 FTA, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, o TO, 26 points.
Nate Robinson/DEN.
Enes Kanter/UTA
DeMarre Carroll/ATL. He was a risky pick coming back from injury, but came through with a big game.
Disappointments:
Jrue Holiday/NOP. 2 of 11 FGA, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 TO, 4 points.
Trevor Ariza/WAS.
Jordan Hill/LAL. Fading now after displaying solid rebounding skills earlier in the year.
John Wall/WAS. Lowry and the Raptors did a great job defending Wall and this was a key factor in their win.
Saturday at DraftStreet
The feature multi-entries today range from $5/$5,000 GPP to the $109/$8,000 GPP, with a $22/$8,000 GPP in between. For those preferring 50/50 payouts, there are twelve double-up GPPs in the DraftStreet NBA lobby.
After a week hiatus, our weekly freeroll returns today. If you haven’t registered, click on any DraftStreet and set your lineup before the tipoff of the first game tonight. First prize is $100 cash and the top 50 get paid.
Sixers Measure Themselves Against the Blazers
Miami Heat at Orlando Magic (7:00 pm EST); over/under 200.5 ; Heat -9. INJURIES: MIA: Dwayne Wade (D); ORL: Nikola Vucevic (Q) .
New Orleans Pelicans* at Indiana Pacers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 192.5 ; Pacers -11. INJURIES: NOP: Jason Smith (Q), Ryan Anderson (OUT); IND: none.
It’s difficult to justify taking any Pelicans, noting that they will face a tough defense after playing in Boston last night. Lance Stephenson/IND is my top play among Pacers.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm EST); over/under 194.5 ; Nets -7. INJURIES: CLE: Kyrie Irving (OUT) ; BKN: Andray Blatche (ACTIVE), Brook Lopez (OUT).
With no Irving for the Cavs, Tristan Thompson/CLE and Anderson Varejao/CLE will have more scoring opportunities and match up well against the Nets. Shaun Livingston/BKN (if he starts) and Paul Pierce/BKN are playable bargains.
Atlanta Hawks* at Chicago Bulls (8:00 pm EST); over/under 190; Bulls -4.5. INJURIES: ATL: Al Horford (OUT); CHI: Taj Gibson (P), Carlos Boozer (Q).
With neither Gibson nor Boozer at full health, the Bulls will rely on Joakim Noah/CHI and Jimmy Butler/CHI for control of the paint.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00 pm EST); over/under 208; Wolves -2. INJURIES: OKC: Russell Westbrook (OUT); MIN: Luc Mbah a Moute(Q), Chase Budinger (OUT). The franchise players for each team, Kevin Love/MIN and Kevin Durant/OKC, are expensive but solid lineup anchors, eminently playable in double-up leagues.
Los Angeles Clippers at San Antonio Spurs (8:30 pm EST); over/under 205.5; Spurs -8. INJURIES: LAC: J.J. Redick (OUT), Chris Paul (OUT); SAS: none.
Chris Paul/LAC will miss the next several weeks and this allows Darren Collison/LAC to display his prodigious point guard skills. With the extra minutes and his low salary, Collison becomes the top value play of the day by a wide margin.
Milwaukee Bucks at Phoenix Suns (9:00 pm EST); over/under 200; Suns -9. INJURIES: MIL: John Henson (OUT), Zaza Pachulia (OUT); PHO: Eric Bledsoe (Q).
Monitor the Bledsoe situation. If he doesn’t play, Goran Dragic/PHO and Gerald Green/PHO get a value boost. Brandon Knight/MIL is a good speculative play for standard payout leagues.
Philadelphia 76ers* at Portland Trail Blazers (10:00 pm EST); over/under 225; Blazers -12.5. INJURIES: PHI: none; POR: none. This is one of highest total lines of the season. The Sixers’ core is getting expensive, but Thaddeus Young/PHI and Evan Turner/PHI remain decent value plays. However, much more value can be found on the Portland side, most notably, Damian Lillard/POR, Nicholas Batum/POR, and Robin Lopez/POR.
Charlotte Bobcats at Sacramento Kings (10:00 pm EST); over/under 200.5; Kings -5. INJURIES: CHA: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (OUT) ; SAC: Carl Landry (OUT).
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $5/$5,000 multi-entry GPP at DraftStreet ($99,861 spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: Evan Turner/PHI, Damian Lillard/POR, Lance Stephenson/IND.
Bargain Plays: Darren Collison/LAC, Paul Pierce/BKN.
Speculative Plays: Nicolas Batum/POR, Shaun Livingston/BKN, Anderson Varejao/CLE.
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.