Melo, LeBron, Durant all in Action.
Brooklyn Nets* at Indiana Pacers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 188.5; Pacers -10 . INJURIES: BKN: Andray Blatche (Q), Andrei Kirilenko (Q), IND: none.
Oklahoma City Thunder* at Washington Wizards (7:00 pm EST); over/under 202.5; Thunder -4.5. INJURIES: OKC: Russell Westbrook (OUT), WAS: Al Harrington (OUT).
Philadelphia 76ers* at Detroit Pistons (7:30 pm EST); over/under 216.5; Pistons -8.5. INJURIES: PHI Arnett Moultrie (OUT); DET: none.
The Pistons match up well in the interior against the Sixers and a number of them will feature in my lineup today, including risky plays Josh Smith/DET and Brandon Jennings/DET.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Atlanta Hawks* (7:30 pm EST); over/under 205.5; Hawks -3.5 . INJURIES: MIN: Nikola Pekovic (OUT); ATL: Pero Antic (OUT).
Cleveland Cavaliers at Houston Rockets (8:00 pm EST); over/under 206.5; Rockets -11. INJURIES: CLE: Anderson Varejao (Q); HOU: James Harden (Q), Francisco Garcia (Q), Omer Asik (OUT), Greg Smith (OUT).
With the exception of the Bucks, the Cavs are currently the worst team in the league. Their offense continues in “watch-Kyrie” mode and their defense is uninspired. Despite Houston’s injury concerns, if their frontline players show up to play it should be an easy win for the home side. Terrence Jones/HOU is my best value play here.
Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EST); over/under 182.5; Bulls -1.5 . INJURIES: CHI: Kirk Hinrich (P); NOP: Anthony Davis (Q), Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday, Jason Smith (all OUT).
Milwaukee Bucks* at Memphis Grizzlies (8:00 pm EST); over/under 181; Grizzlies -12.5. INJURIES: MIL: John Henson (D), O.J. Mayo (OUT) Zaza Pachulia (OUT), Ekpe Udoh (OUT) , MEM: Mike Conley (D), Tony Allen (OUT).
Miami Heat at New York Knicks (8:30 pm EST); over/under 202.5; Heat -5 . INJURIES: MIA: Dwayne Wade (P); NYK: Iman Shumpert (P), Andrea Bargnani (OUT), Amare Stoudamire (OUT).
The Knicks are in the zone right now, with J.R. Smith/NYK and Tyson Chandler/NYK playing well in support of Carmelo Anthony/NYK. LeBron James/MIA is one of the few defenders that matches up well against Melo, and for that reason I don’t expect an offensive explosion from either player. If LeBron and Melo are matched up against each other, it will be great fun.
Sacramento Kings at San Antonio Spurs (8:30 pm EST); over/under 206.5; Spurs -10 . INJURIES: SAC: DeMarcus Cousins (Q); SAS: Tiago Splitter (Q), Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Manu Ginobili (all OUT).
The betting line looks distorted in favor of the Spurs, given how poorly they have played the last few games. The Kings will hang in this one if Rudy Gay/SAC is on his game.
Charlotte Bobcats* at Phoenix Suns (9:00 pm EST); over/under 204.5; Suns -8.5 . INJURIES: CHA: Kemba Walker (D); PNX: Eric Bledsoe (OUT).
Toronto Raptors* at Portland Trail Blazers (10:00 pm EST); over/under 205.5; Blazers -7. INJURIES: TOR: Patrick Patterson (P); POR: none.
The Raptors have an underrated defense, vulnerable only to skilled centers underneath. LaMarcus Aldridge/POR prefers to post up and hit mid range jumpers and should be successful with that. The Raptors lost in overtime to the Blazers early in the season when Portland was at their best and the Raptors were struggling. This one should be tighter and lower scoring than the betting lines suggest: my top plays are Terrence Ross/TOR and Robin Lopez/POR as a speculative play.
Utah Jazz* at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EST); over/under 205.5; Clippers -12 . INJURIES: UTA: Marvin Williams (Q), Derrick Favors (Q) ; LAC: Chris Paul (OUT).
The Jazz are carrying an assortment of niggling injuries, enough to put them at a severe disadvantage against the Clippers. Los Angeles will want to recover from a sub-par defensive effort against the Warriors and tighten up. I would recommend Blake Griffin/LAC here, with blowout possibilities the only caveat.
My Lineup
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $11/$7,000 standard pay out GPP at DraftStreet (99,896 spent of $100,000 max). You are required to have one center, three guards, three forwards and one wildcard/utility player for a valid DraftStreet lineup:
Stars Worth Starting: Andre Drummond/DET, Josh Smith/DET, Thaddeus Young/PHI
Bargain Plays: Ronny Turiaf/MIN, Terrence Ross/TOR, Terrence Jones/HOU
Speculative Plays: Darren Collison/LAC, Brandon Jennings/DET,
Estimated DraftStreet Points: 215 (+/-50)
Others to consider: Serge Ibaka/OKC, Blake Griffin/LAC, George Hill/IND, Lance Stephenson/IND, Robin Lopez/POR, Kyle Lowry/TOR, Kevin Durant/OKC, Kevin Love/MIN, Al Jefferson/CHA, Rudy Gay/SAC, Lavoy Allen/PHI, Jimmy Butler/CHI, Goran Dragic/PNX, Greg Monroe/DET.
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