Another Big Wednesday has ended and several DraftStreet players are thousands of dollars richer. The third Wednesday 50K went off with 2,107 runners, not enough to avoid several thousand in overlay. The Magic ended their road losing streak and completed the Sixers’ February bagel (no wins, 11 losses). Golden State was manhandled by the Bulls, further proof that Chicago will be a danger team come playoff time. The Thunder lost their third straight home game, coinciding with the return of Russell Westbrook/OKC. The Suns missed their star point guard and fell to the Utah Jazz. Four NBA games are on tap tonight, two of them nationally televised. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Fantasy Boom and Bust
TOP GUNS:
Kyrie Irving/CLE. The Cavs could actually make the playoffs if Kyrie can play near this level the rest of the season.
Kevin Durant/OKC. It wasn’t quite vintage KD and the team seemed to suffer when Russell Westbrook/OKC ran the offense.
Andre Drummond/DET, Blake Griffin/LAC, Nikola Vucevic/ORL, DeAndre Jordan/LAC.
SLEEPERS:
Will Barton/POR. Injuries and a blowout opened up playing time for scrub Trail Blazers.
Mo Williams/POR.
Archie Goodwin/PNX. Was promoted to backup point guard after Goran Dragic/PNX sat out.
Jameer Nelson/ORL, Ish Smith/PNX, Brandon Wright/DAL, Alexis Ajinca/NOP.
LET DOWNS:
Stephen Curry/GSW. The Bulls did a great job defensively all-around.
Brandon Jennings/DET. Knocked out early with a toe injury.
Jamal Crawford/LAC. Knocked out early with a calf injury.
Mike Scott/ATL, Enes Kanter/UTA, James Harden/HOU.
DraftStreet NBA Contests
The third Wednesday 50K has concluded and it took nearly 300 DraftStreet points to take home the top spot. “tbellevue25” took home $10,000 for first place, amassing 287.75 points. Elton Brand/ATL and Kyrie Irving/CLE were his standouts while none of the other six disappointed. The top eight received $1,200 or more for a $22 investment. Make sure you enter next week’s Wednesday 50K – satellites run every day.
Normally, this column focuses on salary cap leagues at DraftStreet, where you have a free choice of players as long as you fulfill position requirements and keep total salary under $100,000. This week, DraftStreet is running a huge Pick’em contest on Friday. The Pick’em format gives you a list of players in eight predetermined tiers to choose from. The total pool is $40,000 with $10,000 for first place and room for 2,000 entries.
The end of the month is near, so regular DraftStreet players should ensure they earn enough DraftStreet Credits to make it to their desired level. I have my eye on 1,500+ Street Creds, which would renew my Silver status. If you don’t have a DraftStreet account, you can sign up HERE and begin accumulating DraftStreet Credits.
LeBron versus Melo in Prime Time
Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers (7:00 pm EST); over/under 196.5 ; Pacers -15 . INJURIES: MIL: Larry Sanders (OUT) ; IND: Andrew Bynum (OUT).
The Bucks are in the middle of a mini-resurgence, as they have gotten healthier. The Pacers are solid at home and should win easily, but the betting line is a little steep. Lance Stephenson/IND is a relatively safe bet because he always gets his share of minutes and touches and contributes in multiple categories.
Washington Wizards at Toronto Raptors (7:00 pm EST); over/under 197 ; Raptors -5.5 . INJURIES: WAS: Kevin Seraphin (OUT), Nene Hilario (OUT) ; TOR: none .
The Wizards have not beaten the Raptors this year and are a dog to do so in this one. Marcin Gortat/WAS will have to contend with multiple Toronto big men and it will be difficult for any Wizards to stop DeMar DeRozan/TOR dribble drive.
New York Knicks at Miami Heat (8:00 pm EST); over/under 202; Heat -9 . INJURIES: NYK: Iman Shumpert (OUT), Kenyon Martin (OUT), Andrea Bargnani (OUT) ; MIA: LeBron James (P).
LeBron/MIA is all but certain to play and that will decrease the value of Dwayne Wade/MIA. If James guards Carmelo Anthony/NYK, the latter will have a difficult time producing the stats needed to justify his DraftStreet salary.
Brooklyn Nets* at Denver Nuggets (10:30 pm EST); over/under 202; Nets -2 . INJURIES: BKN: Kevin Garnett (Q) ; DEN: Ty Lawson (OUT), Darrell Arthur (Q), Wilson Chandler (OUT).
The Nets were trounced in Portland, but will have better chances against the Nuggets. Ty Lawson/DEN is out again and that means Randy Foye/DEN will handle the offense and is an excellent value play.
My Lineup at DraftStreet
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $5/$5,000 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:
C-Chris Bosh/MIA-$15,999, G-DeMar DeRozan/TOR-$14,002, F-Trevor Ariza/WAS-$13,996, F-David West/IND-$13,842, F-Kenneth Faried/DEN-$11,361, G-Randy Foye/DEN-$10,806, G-J.R. Smith/NYK-$9,568, G-George Hill/IND-$9,445.
Others to consider: LeBron James/MIA, Carmelo Anthony/NYK, Paul George/IND, Kyle Lowry/TOR, Deron Williams/BKN, Brandon Knight/MIL, Marcin Gortat/WAS, Tyson Chandler/NYK, Lance Stephenson/IND, Bradley Beal/WAS, Timofey Mozgov/DEN, Patrick Patterson/TOR.
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