Wednesday at DraftStreet means another chance to win $10,000 for a modest investment of $22, or less if you have qualified through a satellite. You can register for daily fantasy’s premier weekly NBA contest here if you already have a DraftStreet account. If you don’t have a DraftStreet account, you can sign up using this link . The Wednesday 50K is about half full as I write, and overlay is a possibility. You don’t want to miss this one.
The NBA hardwood floors will be teeming with twenty teams in action, giving you a wide assortment of players from which to build your world-beating lineup. My eyes will be on a clash of Eastern playoff contenders, the Pacers and the Bobcats. Both teams are coming off losses and will wish to right their ships as the playoff push starts down the home straight. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Featured DraftStreet Contests
Salary Cap: $22/$50,000 (2,500 max) aka the Wednesday 50K, $5/$5,000 (1,100 max), five other standard payout GPPs.
Pickem: $22/$4,000 (200 max), $2/$1,000 (550)
50K Satellites (for next week): $1/$110 (5 tickets – 120 max), $11/$220 (10 tickets – 21 max) and two others.
Register by 6:45 PM EST and set your lineups by 7 PM EST.
My Lineup at DraftStreet
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $22/$50,000 Standard Payout GPP aka the Wednesday 50K at DraftStreet (closing at 7:00 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:
G-Isaiah Thomas/SAC-$15,979, G-Ty Lawson/DEN-$15,670, F-Nicolas Batum/POR-$14,431, C-Robin Lopez/POR-$13,232, G-Jimmy Butler/CHI-$12,922, F-Kenneth Faried/DEN-$10,939, F-Ersan Ilyasova/MIL-$10,268, F-Amar’e Stoudamire/NYK-$6,530.
Lopez/POR has been rock-solid and is bargain priced, while teammate Batum/POR has boosted his all-court game. Lawson/DEN will get major touches in a high scoring game, while Butler /CHI can be relied upon for major minutes. Stoudamire/NYK is the most uncertain of the bunch – he’s a super bargain play if he starts.
Rockets Seek to Build on Win Over Heat
Indiana Pacers at Charlotte Bobcats (7:00 pm EST); over/under 189.5 ; Pacers -5 . INJURIES: IND: Andrew Bynum (OUT) ; CHA: Gerald Henderson (OUT) .
Houston Rockets at Orlando Magic (7:00 pm EST); over/under 208; Rockets -6.5 . INJURIES: HOU: Greg Smith (OUT) ; ORL: Jameer Nelson (Q), Arron Afflalo (P) .
This looks like a perfect setup for James Harden/HOU and I recommend him if you have the cap space. Chandler Parsons/HOU is one of my dark horses.
Utah Jazz at Washington Wizards (7:00 pm EST); over/under 199.5; Wizards -8 . INJURIES: UTA: none ; WAS: Martell Webster (D), Kevin Seraphin (OUT), Nene Hilaio (OUT) .
The Wizards don’t often blow out opponents, but the scuffling Jazz might prove to be an exception. John Wall/WAS and Trevor Ariza/WAS are capable of monster games if this one stays relatively close. Gordon Hawyard/UTA is a nice speculative play as he will carry the Jazz offense, what there is of it.
Memphis Grizzlies at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm EST); over/under 189; Grizzlies -1.5 . INJURIES: MEM: James Johnson (P), Beno Udrih (Q) ; BKN: Kevin Garnett (Q) .
Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons (7:30 pm EST); over/under 192.5; Bulls -4 . INJURIES: CHI: none ; DET: Josh Harrellson (OUT) .
Not the best matchup for Andre Drummond/DET, but we can’t ignore his monster game last time out (26 rebounds). Joakim Noah/CHI is overpriced against the Detroit front court, while none of the other Pistons look like good value plays against the staunch Bulls defense.
Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm EST); over/under 200.5 ; Warriors -5 . INJURIES: GSW: Andre Iguodala (Q) ; BOS: Kelly Olynyk (Q), Avery Bradley (OUT).
Golden State plays its third game in four nights and, coming off a big win in Indiana, there is bound to be a letdown.
Sacramento Kings at Milwaukee Bucks (8:00 pm EST); over/under 206; Kings -3.5 . INJURIES: SAC: Carl Landry (Q) ; MIL: Larry Sanders (OUT) .
The Bucks should win this one, despite what the betting line says. The current configuration of Bucks has shown energy and smarts. The Kings aren’t much better than the Jazz, whom Milwaukee destroyed last time out.
New York Knicks at Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00 pm EST); over/under 211.5 ; Wolves -8.5 . INJURIES: NYK: Kenyon Martin (OUT), Andrea Bargnani (OUT) ; MIN: Ronny Turiaf (OUT) .
This will be an up tempo game and that’s good news for Carmelo Anthony/NYK and Kevin Love/MIN, as they will be the focal points for each offense.
Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets (8:00 pm EST); over/under 219.5; Mavs -4.5 . INJURIES: DAL: none ; DEN: none .
Tipped to be the highest scoring game of the night and that means it’s a good place to look to uncover the coveted monster game performances. Ty Lawson/DEN is back and that was enough to cure the Nuggets previously moribund offense, but the defense needs a lot of work. I like Lawson and Kenneth Faried/DEN on the boards, but also Dirk Nowitzki/DAL and Vince Carter/DAL for the Mavs.
Atlanta Hawks at Portland Trail Blazers (10:30 pm EST); over/under 217; Blazers -8.5 . INJURIES: ATL: Pero Antic (Q), Paul Millsap (Q) ; POR: Damian Lillard (P), Thomas Robinson (D), Joel Freeland (OUT).
Portland will be smarting from a narrow low against the lowly Lakers at home court. Nicolas Batum/POR has been a stat omnivore of late and is still undervalued at his DraftStreet price of $14,431. LaMarcus Aldridge/POR and Damian Lillard/POR are much riskier plays, while cheap sixth man Mo Williams/POR is a good bargain play. Of course, my top play in this one if center Robin Lopez/POR, who has been a rebounding monster and faces a weak Hawks’ interior.
Yesterday’s News
TOP GUNS:
Kevin Durant/OKC. No prizes for guessing the top spot. Durant took the fourth quarter off as the Thunder made a mockery of the betting line.
Anthony Davis/NOP. The lanes leading to the bucket were wide open all night as neither team was interested in defense.
Pau Gasol/LAL, Russell Westbrook/OKC, Tyreke Evans/NOP, Paul George/IND, David West/IND.
SLEEPERS:
Eric Gordon/NOP. He stepped up to make join Davis and Evans to make a formidable trio.
Matt Barnes/LAC. He was on fire the third quarter and turned the game in favor of the Clippers.
Michael Beasley/MIA, Danny Green/SAS, Perry Jones III/OKC, Kent Bazemore/LAL, Byron Mullens/PHI.
LET DOWNS:
Thaddeus Young/PHI. The first sign that Young is getting tired of leading this bunch of Sixers to nowhere.
Tony Parker/SAS. More injury concerns?
Evan Turner/IND, Chris Paul/LAC, Markieff Morris/PNX.
Click on any of the links to take you to our daily fantasy partner, DraftStreet. I’ve tried many sites and my honest opinion is that DraftStreet is the most challenging, therefore the most fun. Help support the Fantasy Spin by spending your daily fantasy dollars at DraftStreet. The Fantasy Spin is up at Sheridan Hoops every day, around 2 PM EST. Follow me @robdudek for breaking news and pre-game thoughts relevant to NBA daily fantasy.