Kevin Durant, Will He or Won’t He?
Chicago Bulls* at Charlotte Bobcats* (7:00 pm EST); over/under 182; Bulls -1.5. INJURIES: CHI: Kirk Hinrich (D) ; CHA: Kemba Walker (OUT).
Both teams were given a vigorous shake as they landed back on Earth. The Bobcats hope their demolition at the hands of Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks was a one-off. Luckily, the Bulls don’t have anyone like Melo. This will be a rare battle between teams whose best players are centers. Joakim Noah/CHI is a slight favorite over Al Jefferson/CHA in terms of DraftStreet points, as the Bulls half court offense runs through him.
Los Angeles Clippers* at Toronto Raptors* (7:00 pm EST); over/under 197.5; Raptors -1. INJURIES: LAC: Darren Collison (P), Chris Paul ( OUT); TOR: Tyler Hansbrough (D).
The Raptors dynamic guard duo was functioning well enough to lift the Raptors over the Sixers in the fourth quarter last night. DeMar DeRozan/TOR will find it tougher in the paint against the Clippers, so I favor Kyle Lowry/TOR over DeRozan today. I like Blake Griffin/LAC for a monster game, as the Clippers don’t have many other options on offense with Chris Paul/LAC out and Darren Collison/LAC nursing a bum toe. The wildcard is DeAndre Jordan/LAC, who sometimes disappears on offense.
Oklahoma City Thunder* at Philadelphia 76ers* (7:30 pm EST); over/under 206,5; Thunder -6.5. INJURIES: OKC: Kevin Durant (Q), Russell Westbrook (OUT); PHI: Tony Wroten (D), Brandon Davies (OUT), Arnett Moultrie(OUT).
Oklahoma City may decide to sit Kevin Durant/OKC one more game, since the rest of the squad did well against the Celtics and the Sixers are even worse on paper. If so, Serge Ibaka/OKC, Kendrick Perkins/OKC and Perry Jones/OKC get upgrades.
Houston Rockets* at Memphis Grizzlies* (8:00 pm EST); over/under 194.5; Rockets -1.5. INJURIES: HOU: Terrence Jones (P), Greg Smith, Francisco Garcia and Omer Asik (all OUT); MEM: Tony Allen (D).
I love these home and home battles. The Rockets lost narrowly at home, so you know they will be geared up for revenge. Last night’s game was low scoring and that suits Memphis just fine. Houston will try to up the tempo and that suggests James Harden/HOU could surprise on the upside.
Atlanta Hawks* at Milwaukee Bucks* (8:30 pm EST); over/under 194.5; Hawks -2.5. INJURIES: ATL: DeMarre Carroll (OUT), Jeff Teague (OUT), Pero Antic (OUT) ; MIL: Ekpe Udoh (P), Nate Wolters (P), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Q), Zaza Pachulia (OUT).
The injuries pile up for Atlanta – Jeff Teague/ATL probably makes the injured squad better on paper than the healthy Hawks. On the bright side, we will see if Shelvin Mack/ATL can run the team for 35 minutes a game. The Bucks played an uninspired game in Cleveland, but bottom feeders tend to up the effort for the home crowd.
Indiana Pacers* at Denver Nuggets (9:00 pm EST); over/under 200.5; Pacers -2.5. INJURIES: IND: none ; DEN: JaVale McGee (OUT), Darrell Arthur (OUT).
What a terrible defensive effort the Pacers put forward against a Kings team playing without two key players. I don’t know if this is the mid-season scuffles, but this is not the defense that dominated the first quarter of the season. They managed to pull the game out of the fire and win in overtime. The Nuggets play well at home and have the fatigue edge – everything is set up for a Nuggets win.
Washington Wizards* at Utah Jazz (9:00 pm EST); over/under 194; Jazz -1. INJURIES: WAS: Martell Webster (Q), Al Harrington (OUT) ; UTA: Derrick Favors (Q).
Washington played an uneven game but their defense did an admirable job denying the Suns open jumpers. I have no clue what will happen in this game, as the Jazz are capable of great or horrible basketball, while the Wizards are consistently average. Gordon Hayward/UTA is one of the better value plays, as long as you can tolerate some risk associated with his recent hip injury.
Minnesota Timberwolves* at Portland Trail Blazers (10:00 pm EST); over/under 218.5; Blazers -7.5. INJURIES: MIN: Ricky Rubio (P) ; POR: none.
This should be the highest scoring game of the day. On paper the Trail Blazers should win easily, but the Wolves have the firepower to stay close. More importantly, they have a player who might be able to contain LaMarcus Aldridge/POR (Kevin Love/MIN). Aldridge and Love are probably more similar to each other as players than to anyone else in the league. Since Aldridge has been the key to Portland’s offense in recent weeks, Minnesota will keep thing close if they can limit Aldridge’s open shots and defend the three point line.
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $2/$4,000 standard pay out GPP at DraftStreet ($98,976 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: LaMarcus Aldridge/POR, Blake Griffin/LAC, Serge Ibaka/OKC, Lance Stephenson/IND
Bargain Plays: Lou Williams/ATL (if he starts), Perry Jones/OKC (if he starts),
Speculative Plays: Shelvin Mack (if he starts),Kendrick Perkins/OKC.
Estimated DraftStreet Points: 210 (+/- 50)
Others to consider: Nikola Pekovic/MIN, Kyle Lowry/TOR, Gordon Hayward/UTA, Chandler Parsons/HOU, Mike Dunleavy/CHI, Paul Millsap/ATL, Paul George/IND, Trevor Ariza/WAS, Jannero Pargo/CHA.
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