Next Man Up for the Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers at Toronto Raptors (1:00 pm EST); over/under 203 ; Raptors -9. INJURIES: LAL: Xavier Henry, Kobe Bryant, Jordan Farmar, Steve Blake, Steve Nash (OUT); TOR: Tyler Hansbrough (Q), John Salmons (Q).
The Raptors usually play well in Sunday afternoon games and I expect the same today. The Lakers will feature a new player in the starting five – Ryan Kelly/LAL – with Jordan Hill/LAL demoted to the reserve squad. I recommend Kyle Lowry/TOR and DeMar DeRozan/TOR without reservation, while Jonas Valanciunas/TOR and Terrence Ross/TOR are excellent spec plays.
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic (6:00 pm EST); over/under 195.5 ; Celtics -2. INJURIES: BOS: none ; ORL: Darrell Arthur (Q), Nikola Vucevic (D) .
The Celtics lost control and allowed the Lakers to steal one in Boston. They have a much deeper team at the moment than the Magic, so Orlando’s front line players will have to be on their games. predicting who will step forward and have a big day is a fool’s errand: my advice is to either choose seven Celtics or none. For Orlando, Tobias Harris/ORL has looked good and Glen Davis/ORL is a reliable play for double up lineups.
Milwaukee Bucks* at San Antonio Spurs (7:00 pm EST); over/under 198 ; Spurs -16. INJURIES: MIL: Zaza Pachulia (OUT) ; SAS: Matt Bonner (Q), Tiago Splitter (OUT), Danny Green (OUT) .
The Bucks were out gunned by the Rockets last night but put up a good fight. They will face a much tighter defense in San Antonio. My enthusiasm for Spurs players is tempered by the likely blowout.
Sacramento Kings at Oklahoma City Thunder (7:00 pm EST); over/under 211 ; Thunder -8. INJURIES: SAC: Carl Landry (OUT) ; OKC: Russell Westbrook (Out).
How can you not select Kevin Durant/OKC for your lineup after the show he has put on the past two games? Sacramento does not match up well against him (very few teams do) and Durant will score as many points as are necessary to keep the Thunder in the game. Serge Ibaka/OKC and Reggie Jackson/OKC have played well, making the difference the last two games. The Kings will try to run and gun with the Thunder, making for a high scoring game and good fantasy conditions for DeMarcus Cousins/SAC and Rudy Gay/SAC.
Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns (8:00 pm EST); over/under 219.5 ; Suns -1. INJURIES: DEN: Kenneth Faried (P), Darrell Arthur (Q), JaVale McGee (OUT) ; PHO: Leandro Barbosa (Q), Eric Bledsoe (OUT) .
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $5/$500 double up payout GPP at DraftStreet ($99,421 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: Kevin Durant/OKC, Kyle Lowry/TOR, DeMar DeRozan/TOR
Bargain Plays: Terrence Ross/TOR, Ryan Kelly/LAL, Gerald Green/PHO
Speculative Plays: Wesley Johnson/LAL, Jonas Valanciunas/TOR
Estimated DraftStreet Points: 215 (+/- 55)
Others Deserving of Consideration: Serge Ibaka/OKC, Glen Davis/ORL, Goran Dragic/PHO, P.J. Tucker/PHO, Jodie Meeks/LAL, Nick Young/LAL, Kawhi Leonard/SAS, J.J. Hickson/DEN, Avery Bradley/BOS, Tobias Harris/ORL.
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