Aided by the absence of Kyrie Irving/CLE, the Pacers narrowly beat the Cavaliers . The Heat held off the Raptors at home to end Toronto’s winning streak. In the nightcap, Pau Gasol/LAL and Kendall Marshall/LAL posted excellent stat lines, but the Lakers’ defense was non-existent and the Nuggets blasted them 137-115. The Thunder didn’t need Kevin Durant/OKC for much of the fourth quarter as they handled the visiting Celtics easily. Overall, the road teams won five out of the seven games on the schedule. There is a light schedule in the NBA, with three evening games on tap. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Fantasy Boom and Bust
Top Performers:
Kevin Durant/OKC. In some ways, this was a better performance than Durant had two nights ago. He played fewer minutes than usual. 6 of 13 FGA, 9 of 10 FTA, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 0 TO, 21 points.
Pau Gasol/LAL. Doing nothing but enhancing his trade value.
Andrew Bogut/GSW. Unfortunately, Bogut has shown he can’t sustain this kind of fantasy performance.
David Lee/GSW. When Stephen Curry/GSW has an off night, you can usually count of the consistent Lee.
Honorable mention: DeMar DeRozan/TOR, LeBron James/MIA.
Sleepers:
Nate Robinson/DEN. A true sleeper, he is soaking up minutes left vacant by the disgruntled Andre Miller/DEN. 7 of 11 FGA, 4 of 5 FTA, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 0 TO, 21 points.
Kendall Marshall/LAL. The silver lining to all the Lakers guard injuries.
Kenneth Faried/DEN. Part of a balanced Nuggets attack.
C.J. Miles/CLE.
Timofey Mozgov/DEN.
Disappointments:
Tyson Chandler/NYK. Not as productive as I expected since his return from injury, but in this case he had to leave early with an upper respiratory infection. 0 of 1 FGA, 1 rebound, 1 TO, 0 points.
Trevor Ariza/WAS. Fading away after a great start to the season. Capable of contributing across multiple categories.
Shawn Marion/DAL. This might be an age-related mid-season fade.
Monday at DraftStreet
Despite the limited NBA action, there are fourteen GPPs in the DraftStreet NBA lobby as I write, all closing at 7:00 EST PM. Most interesting among them is the reasonably priced $11/$5,000 multi-entry standard payout leagues.
Clippers Continue Without Paul
Minnesota Timberwolves at Philadelphia 76ers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 220 ; Wolves -7. INJURIES: MIN: Luc Mbah a Moute (Q); PHI: none.
The Sixers continue to get disrespected by betting lines. The is some concern that Michael Carter-Williams/PHI will not be fully fit. However, Thaddeus Young/PHI and Evan Turner/PHI are playing so well of late that Philadelphia should keep this one close even without MC-W. Given the known Sixers’ weakness in the paint, the Wolves’ interior duo of Nikola Pekovic/MIN and Kevin Love/MIN are close to “must starts”.
Atlanta Hawks at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm EST); over/under 197.5 ; Nets -2.5. INJURIES: ATL: Al Horford (OUT) ; BKN: Kevin Garnett (P), Deron Williams (Q), Brook Lopez (OUT).
Jeff Teague/ATL and Paul Millsap/ATL remain playable as the Hawks rely on them for most of their offensive production. Kyle Korver/ATL is one of my top sleepers. Deron Williams/BKN played full minutes despite ankle trouble and is likely to do so again tonight.
Orlando Magic at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EST); over/under 199; Clippers -9.5. INJURIES: ORL: Nikola Vucevic (Q); LAC: J.J. Redick (OUT), Chris Paul (OUT) .
Darren Collison’s/LAC new status as a full-time starter is now partially reflected in his DraftStreet salary. DeAndre Jordan/LAC is among my top value plays tonight as he seeks to exploit the Magic interior, a task that will be made easier of Nikola Vucevic/ORL doesn’t play. I think a large part of the Clippers’ problems is the continued absence of perimeter threat J.J. Redick/LAC. If you are interested in a risk, high upside play, Blake Griffin/LAC fits the bill.
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $22/$1,600 double-up GPP at DraftStreet ($99,413 spent of $100,000 max):
Stars Worth Starting: Kevin Love/MIN, Nikola Pekovic/MIN, DeAndre Jordan/LAC, Evan Turner/PHI.
Bargain Plays: Kyle Korver/ATL, Jared Dudley/LAC.
Speculative Plays: James Anderson/PHI, Joe Johnson/BKN.
Estimated DraftStreet Points: 205 (+- 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.
I have been a Live fan since about 04 thats when i really got into bbkestaall games and there was no choice for me i had to get Live it was way better than 2K. NBA Live 2005 is still one of the best sports games i have ever played and after it Live started to go down 06, 07, 08, and 09 was about the same 10 was pretty good, could of been better but was good i played 2k10 and thought it was ok but 2K11 made me fall in love with the series and 2K12 was good too its a great series now. But i when i heard Live was back i got so excited i honestly might buy both but i am going with Live first! Dont let me down EA!