Fantasy Spin: Wednesday, January 15, 2014

The Knicks battled the Bobcats until fading in the final minutes. The Kings were cooled off by the Pacers in a surprisingly high scoring game in Indiana. DeMarcus Cousins/SAC didn’t get much help from his teammates while Paul George/IND poured in 31 points. Despite an injury Kevin Durant/OKC played 41 minutes and scored 37, but he didn’t get enough support and the Thunder fell to the Grizzlies. The Cavaliers and Lakers lit up the scoreboard, with Cleveland narrowly winning 120-118. It’s a busy night in the NBA as we wait to see if the new members of the Golden State Warriors show up and play. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.

Fantasy Boom and Bust

Top Performers:
DeMarcus Cousins/SAC. As solid as any player in the league when it comes to posting fat stat lines against good opponents. 12 of 21 FGA, 7 of 7 FTA, 13 rebounds, 2 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 TO, 31 points.
Al Jefferson/CHA.
Anderson Varejao/CLE. After Andrew Bynum left, Varejao has had solid production in solid minutes.
Kevin Durant/OKC. It turns out Durant can’t always carry the Thunder to victory. The Thunder without Russell Westbrook/OKC are a lot like the old Bulls without Scottie Pippen.
Kemba Walker/CHA.

Sleepers:
Wes Johnson/LAL. A bunch of Lakers on this list, which reflects the fact that they were in the game to the end. 7 of 13 FGA, 2 of 2 FTA, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 TO, 17 points.
Courtney Lee/MEM.
Nick Young/LAL
Jodie Meeks/LAL.

Disappointments:
Isaiah Thomas/SAC. Normally good for decent production, but has the occasional hiccup. 3 of 9 FGA, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 TO, 7 points.
Kosta Koufos/MEM. With Marc Gasol/MEM now back, Koufos will be a fantasy afterthought.
Jason Thompson/SAC. One of my picks who had been hot.

DraftStreet NBA Leagues

Wednesday has a full slate of NBA games and DraftStreet is offering a chance to win big with an investment of a mere $2. There is $5,000 guaranteed and room for 2,750 players. A step up is the $5 buy in/$5,000 GPP, with room for 1,100 entries. As usual, is a wide range of double up leagues with guaranteed prize pools.

The day has arrived for the DraftStreet Basketball Championship Qualifier #16, a $22 buy-in with room for 800 entries. Win the qualifier and earn one of 30 places in the final round and a shot at the big money, including $100,000 for top spot.

Lakers, Sixers, and Magic Continue Tankapalooza

Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic (7:00 pm EST); over/under 181 ; Bulls -5.5. INJURIES: CHI: Derrick Rose (OUT-SEASON) ; ORL: Nikola Vucevic (OUT), Arron Afflalo (OUT) .
The limping Magic finally return home and that should give them a boost. Joakim Noah/CHI is expensive but is still good value. Taj Gibson/CHI is also a solid play. Even against a decidedly mediocre visiting team, it’s tough to win when your two best players are on the sidelines.

Miami Heat at Washington Wizards (7:00 pm EST); over/under 196 ; Heat -6.
INJURIES: MIA: Shane Battier (P), Mario Chalmers (Q); WAS: Al Harrington (OUT) .
Charlotte Bobcats* at Philadelphia 76ers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 207; Sixers -1. INJURIES: CHA: none ; PHI: Lavoy Allen (OUT).
No one has had much trouble scoring against the Sixers, and though the Bobcats prefer a slower tempo, they have enough weapons to do damage. Al Jefferson/CHA has been at the top of his game and is a decent bet even though he will be playing on the second of back to back nights. Several Sixers have had their salary fall to where they are solid bargains.

Toronto Raptors at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm EST); over/under 197; Raptors -3.5. INJURIES: TOR: Tyler Hansbrough (Q) ; BOS: Jared Sullinger (P), Rajon Rondo (OUT) .
The Raptors have proven they can beat mediocre teams at home, now they look to do it on the road. Kyle Lowry/TOR and DeMar DeRozan/TOR form a solid foundation, with Jonas Valanciunas/TOR providing more effective minutes in the paint.

Houston Rockets at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EST); over/under 204.5; Rockets -5.5. INJURIES: HOU: Patrick Beverley (OUT) ; NOP: Tyreke Evans (Q), Ryan Anderson (OUT), Jrue Holiday (OUT).
I’m looking forward to the battle between Dwight Howard/HOU and Anthony Davis/NOP, though there is no guarantee they will be guarding each other. Davis is much more likely to put up big fantasy numbers. The Rockets’ front line talent matches up well against almost every team, especially if Chandler Parsons/HOU can play at full strength.

Sacramento Kings* at Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00 pm EST); over/under 218.5; Wolves -9.5. INJURIES: SAC: Carl Landry (OUT) ; MIN: none.
This betting line looks a bit steep, but the Wolves have a tendency to either play mediocre games or blow teams out. The Kings will be tired and their main strength (Cousins) will be up against Nikola Pekovic/MIN. Kevin Love/MIN is a great candidate for a big game.

Memphis Grizzlies* at Milwaukee Bucks (8:00 pm EST); over/under 186.5; Grizzlies -6. INJURIES: MEM: Tony Allen (OUT) ; MIL: Zaza Pachulia (OUT) .
The surprise return of Marc Gasol/MEM for 24 minutes playing time helped Memphis to a victory over the suddenly struggling Thunder. Fatigue and home court edge fall to the Bucks, but the Grizzlies are solid fundamentally and should secure the road win.

Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs (8:00 pm EST); over/under 201.5 ; Spurs -13. INJURIES: UTA: Gordon Hayward (Q); SAS: Danny Green (OUT), Tiago Splitter (OUT).
We will once again be on the Hayward watch. If he can’t start and Alec Burks/UTA does, the latter becomes my top bargain play of the night. Tony Parker/SAS has been brilliant though he may not play his usual 32+ minutes if blowout conditions apply.

Los Angeles Lakers* at Phoenix Suns (9:00 pm EST); over/under 211.5; Suns -10. INJURIES: LAL: Xavier Henry, Jordan Farmar, Steve Blake, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash (OUT) ; PHO: Eric Bledsoe (OUT) .
The Lakers got good news in the form of the return of Pau Gasol/LAL. Other Lakers are close to returning, but not soon enough to help them against the Suns. Goran Dragic/PHO has been playing major minutes and should do well against the low-ranked Lakers defense.

Cleveland Cavaliers* at Portland Trail Blazers (10:00 pm EST); over/under 210.5 ; Portland -10.5. INJURIES: CLE: none ; POR: none.
LaMarcus Aldridge/POR is the top candidate for a monster game tonight. The main risk is blowout possibilities, as the Cavs were blown out a few days ago by the Kings and played a close game in Los Angeles last night.

Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors (10:30 pm EST); over/under 212.5; Warriors -7. INJURIES: DEN: Darrell Arthur (OUT), JaVale McGee (OUT); GSW: Jermaine O’Neal(OUT).
The Warriors pulled off a major trade in the wake of tonight’s game. Joining Golden State is former Celtics point guard Jordan Crawford/GSW, who will come off the bench to ease the minutes of Klay Thompson/GSW and Stephen Curry/GSW. MarShon Brooks/GSW also goes west, while reserve guard Toney Douglas/BOS goes the other way. The Nuggets are a classic Jekyll-and-Hyde home and road team. As such, the rested Warriors should have no problem tonight. For a decent sleeper play, consider  Andre Iguodala/GSW, who has been more involved in the offense recently.

Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EST); over/under 207.5; Clippers -4.5. INJURIES: DAL: Dirk Nowitzki (P), Shawn Marion (Q), Shane Larkin (Q) ; LAC: Chris Paul (OUT).

My Lineup

The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $22/$3,000 double up payout GPP at DraftStreet ($99,662 spent of $100,000 max):

Stars Worth Starting: Joakim Noah/CHI, Goran Dragic/PHO, Al Jefferson/CHA
Bargain Plays: Terrence Ross/TOR, Alec Burks/UTA (if he starts)
Speculative Plays: Trevor Ariza/WAS, Taj Gibson/CHI, Kawhi Leonard/SAS.

Estimated DraftStreet Points: 215 (+/- 60 )

Others Deserving of Consideration: Kris Humphries/BOS, Gerald Henderson/CHA, Giannis Antetokounmpo/MIL, Tony Wroten/PHI, LaMarcus Aldridge/POR

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.