Fantasy Spin: Friday, January 10, 2014

Battle of LA Features Teams Headed in Opposite Directions

Washington Wizards at Indiana Pacers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 185 ; Pacers -9.5. INJURIES: WAS: Al Harrington (OUT) ; IND: none.
A low scoring game is not conducive to fat fantasy stat lines. It appears as though Lance Stephenson/IND will play and so Danny Granger/IND is no longer a good bargain play.

Detroit Pistons at Philadelphia 76ers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 215.5 ; Pistons -2.5. INJURIES: DET: Chauncey Billups (Q); PHI: Tony Wroten (P), Lavoy Allen (Q) .
Since returning home the Sixers have been blown out twice. The Pistons are on a long losing streak but this will be their best chance to snap it. Rodney Stuckey/DET is back and that should help, but the Pistons need Josh Smith/DET and Brandon Jennings/DET to drive the team. Andre Drummond/DET is a good speculative play.

Houston Rockets at Atlanta Hawks (7:30 pm EST); over/under 206.5 ; Rockets -3. INJURIES: HOU: Chandler Parsons (D), Greg Smith (Q), Patrick Beverley (OUT); ATL: Al Horford (OUT-Season) .
James Harden/HOU is a solid lineup anchor, but he won’t be able to slice up the Hawks as easily as he did the Lakers. Look for a reversion to the mean. Dwight Howard/HOU is a worthy speculative play, as the Hawks interior is exploitable.

Miami Heat* at Brooklyn Nets (8:00 pm EST); over/under 194.5 ; Heat -5. INJURIES: MIA: Mario Chalmers (Q), Shane Battier (Q), Dwayne Wade (Q); BKN: Deron Williams (OUT), Brook Lopez (OUT-season).
The Heat suffered a disappointing loss to the Knicks last night. Based on Dwayne Wade’s/MIA poor game and his history of sitting out the second of back to back games this season, it is very likely he will miss this one entirely. More responsibility will fall on LeBron James/MIA and he becomes a good lineup anchor in double-up leagues for that reason.

Phoenix Suns at Memphis Grizzlies (8:00 pm EST); over/under 196 ; Grizzlies -2.5. INJURIES: PHO: Eric Bledsoe (OUT); MEM: Tony Allen (OUT), Marc Gasol (OUT) .
With Eric Bledsoe/PHO out for the medium to long term, Gerald Green/PHO slots into a starting role alongside Goran Dragic/PHO. Though I think Dragic will thrive without having to share point guard duties, this isn’t the best fantasy matchup for him.

Dallas Mavericks at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EST); over/under 200 ; Mavs -2 . INJURIES: DAL: Shawn Marion (OUT); NOP: Jrue Holiday (OUT), Ryan Anderson (OUT) .
The Pelicans haven’t had much of a home court edge. Jrue Holiday/NOP is out, which means more responsibility will go to Eric Gordon/NOP (one of my sleeper picks). Brian Roberts/NOP takes over at point guard and becomes a solid bargain play.

Charlotte Bobcats at Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00 pm EST); over/under 202.5 ; Wolves -9.5. INJURIES: CHA: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (OUT); MIN: Luc Mbah a Moute (Q).
Kevin Love/MIN had one of his worst games of the year last time out. While the potential for explosion is there, the Bobcats tend to slow down the pace of the game and so all the variance is on the downside. Starter Chris Douglas-Roberts/CHA remains a great bargain play.

Chicago Bulls at Milwaukee Bucks (8:30 pm EST); over/under 178 ; Bulls -4 . INJURIES: CHI: Mike Dunleavy (P) ; MIL: Ersan Ilyasova (P), John Henson (Q), Zaza Pachulia (OUT).
Despite the injuries and the departure of Luol Deng/CLE, the Bulls are still solid in the paint. The Bucks desperately need a healthy John Henson/MIL and will struggle until he returns.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Utah Jazz (9:00 pm EST); over/under 192 ; Jazz -2.5 . INJURIES: CLE: Kyrie Irving (P) , Jarret Jack (P); UTA: none.
The debut of Luol Deng/CLE in a Cleveland uniform is upon us. I expect there to be a transition period as Kyrie Irving/CLE and the other Cavaliers adjust to his presence. The Jazz are a far cry from the sad sack squad that began the year. Gordon Hayward/UTA is on the path to stardom and Derrick Favors/UTA has improved his consistency. Look for the Jazz to win easily.

Orlando Magic at Sacramento Kings (10:00 pm EST); over/under 205.5; Kings -7.5. INJURIES: ORL: Nikola Vucevic (OUT); SAC: Carl Landry (OUT) .
Without Nikola Vucevic/ORL, the Magic have had a tough time slowing down opposing big men. DeMarcus Cousins/SAC is at the top of the big man fantasy food chain, so conditions are prefect for a monster game.

Boston Celtics at Golden State (10:30 pm EST); over/under 204 ; Warriors -11.5. INJURIES: BOS: Rajon Rondo (OUT) ; GSW: Jermaine O’Neal (OUT) .
The wheels have fallen off the Celtic’ cart. Not long ago sitting atop the Atlantic Division, Boston seems to be sliding towards a lottery pick. Golden State returns home after a tremendous road trip and should have no difficulty handling the Celtic. Blowout conditions are likely to apply.

Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EST); over/under 208.5 ; CLippers -10.5. INJURIES: LAL: Xavier Henry, Kobe Bryant, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar, Steve Nash (all OUT) ; LAC: J.J. Redick (P), Chris Paul (OUT).
This will be a shootout and the Lakers are outgunned. Jodie Meeks/LAL is my best bet on the Lakers side, but I like a trio of Clippers, DeAndre Jordan/LAC, Blake Griffin/LAC, and Darren Collison/LAC, to exceed their norms against the flimsy Lakers defense.

My Lineup

The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $5/$10,000 standard payout GPP at DraftStreet ($99,617 spent of $100,000 max):

Stars Worth Starting: DeMarcus Cousins/SAC, DeAndre Jordan/LAC, Josh Smith/DET
Bargain Plays: Chris Douglas-Roberts/CHA, Brian Roberts/NOP
Speculative Plays: Jodie Meeks/LAL, Thaddeus Young/PHI, Jason Thompson/SAC.

Estimated DraftStreet Points: 220 (+- 55).

Others Deserving of Consideration: Darren Collison/LAC, Blake Griffin/LAC, LeBron James/MIA, Andre Drummond/DET, C.J. Miles/CLE, Dwight Howard/HOU, Gordon Hayward/UTA.

The Fantasy Spin is up at Sheridan Hoops every day, around 1 PM EST. Follow me @robdudek for breaking news and pre-game thoughts relevant to NBA daily fantasy.