Charlotte Bobcats at Detroit Pistons (7:30 pm EST); over/under 204 ; Pistons -4.5. INJURIES: CHA: none ; DET: Josh Harrellson (OUT).
I’m curious to see if the Pistons can continue their pre-ASG form and vault into solid contention. I would avoid Andre Drummond/DET, as he will have his hands full against Al Jefferson/CHA, but Josh Smith/DET is a good value plays.
New York Knicks at Memphis Grizzlies (8:00 pm EST); over/under 182 ; Grizzlies -6 . INJURIES: NYK: J.R. Smith (P), Iman Shumpert (P), Kenyon Martin (OUT), Andrea Bargnani (OUT) ; MEM: Mike Conley (P), Tony Allen (Q), Marc Gasol (Q).
The imminent return of Conley/MEM ends the Nick Calathes/MEM Cinderella story, at least for the time being. Monitor the status of Gasol/MEM leading up to game time: without him, Tyson Chandler/NYK and Amare Stoudamire/NYK get a boost.
Orlando Magic at Milwaukee Bucks (8:00 pm EST); over/under 194 ; Magic -2. INJURIES: ORL: none; MIL: Caron Butler (P), John Henson (P), O.J. Mayo (P), Larry Sanders (OUT) .
I like the way the Magic have played since Nikola Vucevic’s/ORL return: I like the Orlando big man, plus bargain play Jameer Nelson/ORL. Several Bucks are probable starts, so keep an eye on the status of Ersan Illyasova/MIL and Khris Middleton/MIL – if either start they become solid bargains.
Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks (8:30 pm EST); over/under 207.5 ; Heat -2. INJURIES: MIA: Dwayne Wade (P); DAL: Devin Harris (Q).
Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets (9:00 pm EST); over/under 210 ; Suns -2.5 . INJURIES: PNX: Eric Bledsoe (OUT); DEN: Ty Lawson (OUT) .
The Suns should roll over the Lawson-less Nuggets, despite home-court edge. Channing Frye/PNX is a cheap spec play, as he can get his perimeter game rolling and effectively neutralize the Nuggets’ edge in the paint. P.J. Tucker/PNX is recommended as a bargain play.
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EST); over/under 211 ; Clippers -4.5. INJURIES: SAS: Tiago Splitter (Q), Manu Ginobili (Q), Kawhi Leonard (D); LAC: J.J. Redick (OUT) .
The Spurs are returning to health, but here they have a road game against arguably the best offensive team in the league (now that Chris Paul/LAC is back). Blake Griffin/LAC has been on such a roll that he is a solid pick, even at his current salary, even against the Spurs.
My Lineup at DraftStreet
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $11/$15,000 Standard Payout GPP at DraftStreet (closing at 7 pm EST). You are required to have three guards, three forwards, one center and one wildcard/utility player for a legal eight-player lineup in DraftStreet NBA contests:
F-Blake Griffin/LAC-$21,491, G-Kyrie Irving/CLE-$16,715, C-Nikola Vucevic/ORL-$13,521, G-Bradley Beal/WAS-$12,534, F-Khris Middleton/MIL-$10,034, F-P.J. Tucker/PNX-$9,580, F-Ersan Ilyasova/MIL-$8,465, G-Tony Wroten/PHI-$7,446.
Others to consider: LeBron James/MIA, Goran Dragic/PNX, Michael Carter-Williams/PHI, Paul George/IND, David West/IND, Nate Wolters/MIL, Dion Waiters/CLE, Jameer Nelson/ORL, Luis Scola/IND.
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