Blazers Continue Tour of Texas
Detroit Pistons* at Washington Wizards* (7:00 pm EST); over/under 203 ; Wizards -6. INJURIES: DET: none ; WAS: Al Harrington (OUT).
You can’t play much worse than the Pistons did last night and it would be pushing it to expect a big improvement. The Wizards have developed a more balanced attack, taking the pressure off John Wall and their big men match up well against the Pistons’ frontcourt.
Los Angeles Clippers* at Indiana Pacers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 198.5 ; Pacers -9. INJURIES: LAC: Chris Paul (OUT) ; IND: none.
The Clippers got their three-point shooting sorted out in the fourth quarter, led by Jamal Crawford/LAC. The Pacers will no doubt focus their defensive efforts on Blake Griffin/LAC: if they can contain him they will win easily. If J.J. Redick/LAC finds his shot this will end up being a close one.
Miami Heat* at Charlotte Bobcats* (7:30 pm EST); over/under 193.5 ; Heat -6.5. INJURIES: MIA: Chris Andersen (Q); CHA: none.
Mario Chalmers/MIA is back for the Heat and that should provide a needed secondary option of offense. The Bobcats don’t have the talent to stay with the Heat.
Philadelphia 76ers* at Chicago Bulls (8:00 pm EST); over/under 196.5 ; Bulls -8.5. INJURIES: PHI: Lavoy Allen (Q), Arnett Moultrie (Q) ; CHI: D.J. Augustin (P), Derrick Rose (OUT).
This should be an interesting game due to the diametrically opposed styles of these teams. The Bulls are built on interior defense and rebounding without much of a three-point shooting threat. The Sixers prefer the up tempo but tend to make mistakes and go through long periods of Swiss cheese defensive play. I think this one will be closer than the betting line suggests and it might even be worth betting on an upset if the odds are favorable enough. Joakim Noah/CHI is the best value play among star players in action tonight.
Milwaukee Bucks at Houston Rockets (8:00 pm EST); over/under 199.5 ; Rockets -13.5. INJURIES: MIL: Zaza Pachulia (OUT) ; HOU: Greg Smith (Q), Patrick Beverley (OUT), Omer Asik (OUT)
The Rockets should be steaming after their abysmal second half versus the Thunder, and I expect them to take it out on the hapless Bucks. Dwight Howard/HOU is a good speculative play.
Golden State Warriors* at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EST); over/under 204.5 ; Warriors -4. INJURIES: GSW: Jermaine O’Neal (OUT) ; NOP: Tyreke Evans (Q), Jrue Holiday (OUT), Ryan Anderson (OUT).
The Warriors go as their shooting goes, but last night their defense was burned by Oklahoma City. You can wager that
Andrew Bogut/GSW will feature more prominently against the big Pelicans frontcourt. My bargain speculative play of the day is Alexis Ajinca/NOP.
Utah Jazz* at Minnesota Timberwolves* (8:00 pm EST); over/under 206 ; Timberwolves -10. INJURIES: UTA: Gordon Hayward (Q) ; MIN: none .
The Wolves played catchup all game against the Raptors and lost, while the Jazz handily defeated an underperforming Pistons team last night. Kevin Love/MIN is still rebounding, but his shooting opportunities have diminished and unfortunately for the Wolves, no one has stepped up to fill the gap.
Portland Trailblazers* at Dallas Mavericks* (7:00 pm EST); over/under 213 ; Blazers -1.5. INJURIES: POR: none ; DAL: Devin Harris (OUT) .
Both teams are coming off road wins. This should be a high scoring affair with both LaMarcus Aldridge/POR and Dirk Nowitzki/DAL filling the net.
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $5/$1,000 double up payout GPP at DraftStreet ($99,944 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: Joakim Noah/CHI, Al Jefferson/CHA, Lance Stephenson/IND, John Wall/WAS
Bargain Plays: Chandler Parsons/HOU, Martell Webster/WAS
Speculative Plays: Richard Jefferson/UTA, Alexis Ajinca/NOP
Estimated DraftStreet Points: 220 (+/- 55 )
Others Deserving of Consideration: Stephen Curry/GSW, James Harden/HOU, Dwight Howard/HOU, Eric Gordon/NOP, Kevin Love/MIN, Martell Webster/WAS, Alec Burks/UTA, Trey Burke/UTA, Giannis Antetokounmpo/MIL, Klay Thompson/GSW, Ersan Ilyasova/MIL, Trevor Booker/WAS.
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.