Blazers and Spurs Collide
Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards (7:00 pm EST); over/under 185.5 ; Wizards -4.5. INJURIES: CHI: Derrick Rose (OUT) ; WAS: Trevor Ariza (Q), Al Harrington (OUT) .
Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 211.5 ; Heat -10. INJURIES: MIA: Mario Chalmers (Q), Chris Andersen (Q) ; PHI: Lavoy Allen (Q), Arnett Moultrie (Q) .
The Heat will be motivated to rebound from a poor effort against the Wizards, and the Sixers’ defense should be no match for LeBron James/MIA and Dwayne Wade/MIA. Ray Allen/MIA has been slumping but is ultra-cheap and conditions are very favorable for him tonight.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Toronto Raptors (7:00 pm EST); over/under 205.5 ; Raptors -2. INJURIES: MIN: Kevin Love (P) ; TOR: Tyler Hansbrough (Q) .
The Raptors don’t match up very well against the Wolves. DeMar DeRozan/TOR relies on slashing towards the basket and that will be difficult to do against Nikola Pekovic/MIN and Kevin Love/MIN. They will rely on the outside shooting of Kyle Lowry/TOR. Love has a banged up knee, but will almost certainly play.
Los Angeles Clippers at New York Knicks* (7:00 pm EST); over/under 202.5 ; Clippers -4. INJURIES: LAC: Chris Paul (OUT) ; NYK: Tim Hardaway Jr (Q), Pablo Prigioni (OUT), Amare Stoudamire (OUT), Kenyon Martin (OUT) .
The Knicks have serious injury problems tonight after a tough game last night. I do’t normally call for a blowout in favor of the road team but that seems likely tonight. The Clippers should be favored by about 8 points and Blake Griffin/LAC is one of the top candidates for a monster game, his chances mitigated by possible blowout conditions.
Charlotte Bobcats at Orlando Magic (7:00 pm EST); over/under 188 ; Bobcats -1.5. INJURIES: CHA: none ; ORL: Arron Afflalo (P), Nikola Vucevic (Q) .
AL Jefferson/CHA is the logical choice among the Bobcats: he’s been on his game and the Magic have had difficulty defending in the point since Nikola Vucevic/ORL went down. Monitor the Magic injury situation: if Vucevic and Arron Afflalo/ORL can’t play, Tobias Harris/ORL gets a big boost and Victor Oladipo/ORL gets a smaller one.
Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm EST); over/under 204.5 ; Celtics -6.5. INJURIES: LAL: Jordan Hill (Q), Xavier Henry, Kobe Bryant, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar, Steve Nash, Nick Young (OUT) ; BOS: Rajon Rondo (P) .
Rajon Rondo/BOS will make his season debut. His minutes will be limited to start, but it will be interesting to watch how his reintegration into the starting five affects his teammates. Jared Sullinger/BOS will be a popular choice coming off his monster game and facing the suspect Lakers’ defense. Avery Bradley/BOS would normally join him on the list, but he is dealing with a minor injury. Kris Humphries/BOS is also a good value play.
Utah Jazz at Detroit Pistons (7:30 pm EST); over/under 202.5 ; Piston -6.5. INJURIES: UTA: Gordon Hayward (Q) ; DET: none .
Gordon Hayward/UTA is getting close to returning and if he does tonight it will bump Alec Burks/UTA from bargain play to fair value. Josh Smith/DET has firmly taken the reins of the Pistons and is still reasonably priced.
Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies (8:00 pm EST); over/under 199 ; Grizzlies -5.5. INJURIES: SAC: Ben McLemore (Q), Carl Landry (OUT) ; MEM: Tony Allen (OUT) .
Once again, Rudy Gay/SAC will be the key to the Kings’ success. DeMarcus Cousins/SAC will approach his usual production, but the Grizzlies are set up to limit paint scoring so a monster game for DMC is very unlikely. Marc Gasol/MEM will likely get more minutes, but I don’t expect his offensive game to be sharp. Mike Conley/MEM is my best bet for a big game on the Grizzlies side.
Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs (8:30 pm EST); over/under 213.5 ; Spurs -6. INJURIES: POR: none ; SAS: Tiago Splitter (OUT), Danny Green (OUT) .
LaMarcus Aldridge/POR is one of the few big men that Tim Duncan/SAS should have difficulty guarding. Aldridge lives away from the paint and if Duncan moves out to guard him, the interior will be opened up. The Spurs are missing two important pieces of the puzzle – Tiago Splitter/SAS and Danny Green/SAS – which boost the chances of the visiting Blazers.
Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns (9:00 pm EST); over/under 210 ; Mavs -1. INJURIES: DAL: Devin Harris (OUT) ; PHO: Leandro Barbosa (Q), Eric Bledsoe (OUT) .
Goran Dragic/PHO has been playing major minutes without Eric Bledsoe/PHO to take the pressure off. Gerald Green/PHO is a good value play for the Suns, while Miles Plumlee/PHO is a worth speculative play.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Denver Nuggets (9:00 pm EST); over/under 184 ; Wizards -4.5. INJURIES: CLE: none ; DEN: Darrell Arthur/DEN, JaVale McGee (OUT).
Luol Deng/CLE is a bargain play based on the assumption he continues to integrate himself into the Cavaliers attack. Ty Lawson/DEN is a solid play in what figures to be a high scoring game, while Kyrie Irving/CLE is a riskier play due to his recent scoring slump.
Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City Thunder* (9:30 pm EST); over/under 207.5 ; Thunder -2.5. INJURIES: GSW: Jermaine O’Neal (OUT) ; OKC: Russell Westbrook (OUT) .
After a surprising win in Houston, the Thunder might not be fully rested against a solid Warriors squad who have played effectively on the road all season.
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $11/$2,000 double up payout GPP at DraftStreet ($99,155 spent of $100,000 max). You are required to have 1 center, 3 guards, 3 forwards and 1 wildcard/utility player for a valid DraftStreet lineup:
Stars Worth Starting: Josh Smith/DET, Kyle Lowry/TOR, Tony Parker/SAS
Bargain Plays: Jared Sullinger/BOS, Kris Humphries/BOS
Speculative Plays: Ray Allen/MIA, James Johnson/MEM, Andre Iguodala/GSW.
Estimated DraftStreet Points: 220 (+/- 60 )
Others Deserving of Consideration: LeBron James/MIA, Dwayne Wade/MIA, Avery Bradley/BOS, Gerald Green/PHO, P.J. Tucker/PHO, Luol Deng/CLE, Al Jefferson/CHA, Blake Griffin/LAC
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.