While there is the usual assortment of DraftStreet NBA contests tonight, the big news is that DraftStreet is ready to blow the competition away with a monster contest in just a few weeks. On March 26, 2014, $55 will buy-you in to a $150,000 guaranteed prize pool aka the NBA Big Score, with a shot at $50,000 if you finish with the top score. The top 400 finishers will win at least $100, with the top seven getting $1,000 or more. The format is the familiar 100K salary cap, in which you choose eight players with a total virtual salary not exceeding $100,000. For a shot at entering the Big Score for a discount, you’ll find satellites open for registration in the NBA lobby at DraftStreet, priced from $1 to $11.
Friday is traditionally the busiest night of the NBA, and tonight is no exception. The struggling Pacers visit the formidable Rockets and the Bulls host the Grizzlies in what should be a bruising battle in the paint. If you don’t have a DraftStreet account, you can sign up using this link. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Featured DraftStreet Contests
Salary Cap: $22/$10,000 (500 max), $5/$5,000 (1,100), $2/$5,000 (2,750) and four other standard payout GPPs.
50K satellites (for next week): $1/$110 (5 tickets- 120 max), $5/$220 (10 tickets – 48 max) and two others; 150K satellites (for March 26 main event): $5/$440 (8 tickets, 96 max) and three others.
Pickem: $11/$2,500 (250 max), $2/$1,000 (550)
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 $5/$5,000 Standard Payout GPP 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-Kyrie Irving/CLE-$16,274, F-Tyreke Evans/NOP-$14,672, F-Greg Monroe/DET-$14,231, G-Kemba Walker/CHA-$13,385, F-Kenneth Faried/DEN-$12,739, C-J.J. Hickson/DEN-$10,985, G-Eric Gordon/NOP-$10,025, G-Chris Douglas-Roberts/CHA-$7,595.
Fresh off tremendous performances, I’m going with Nuggets front court duo Hickson/DEN and Faried/DEN. Wilson Chandler/DEN and Ty Lawson/DEN are also possible Denver plays. Douglas-Roberts/CHA will get another chance at running the Bobcats offense after helping Charlotte to a convincing win over the Pacers.
Lakers Travel to Denver after Historic Trouncing
Cleveland Cavaliers at Charlotte Bobcats (7:00 pm EST); over/under 196.5 ; Bobcats -4.5 . INJURIES: CLE: Anderson Varejao (OUT), C.J. Miles (OUT) ; CHA: Gerald Henderson (OUT) .
Memphis Grizzlies at Chicago Bulls (7:00 pm EST); over/under 178; Bulls -1 . INJURIES: MEM: Zach Randolph (Q) ; CHI: Joakim Noah (P) .
Two defensive minded teams, with the Bulls having an edge due to home court and the uncertain status of Memphis catalyst Randolph/MEM.
Sacramento Kings at Toronto Raptors (7:00 pm EST); over/under 205 ; Raptors -6.5 . INJURIES: SAC: Carl Landry (OUT) ; TOR: Terrence Ross (P) .
On paper, DeMarcus Cousins/SAC should have a good day, but I’ve noticed it can be hard to motivate him if he doesn’t get off to a good start. Rudy Gay/SAC should be primed to shine in front of his former team’s fans.
Utah Jazz at New York Knicks (7:30 pm EST); over/under 197 ; Knicks -7 . INJURIES: UTA: none ; NYK: Kenyon Martin (OUT), Andrea Bargnani (OUT) .
Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm EST); over/under 196 ; Nets -4 . INJURIES: BKN: Kevin Garnett (OUT) ; BOS: Avery Bradley (OUT) .
Detroit Pistons at Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00 pm EST); over/under 217.5 ; Wolves -9 . INJURIES: DET: none ; MIN: Nikola Pekovic (P) .
Lots of value here on the Pistons, notably Greg Monroe/DET and Josh Smith/DET and the more speculative Brandon Jennings/DET. Kevin Love/MIN is risky due to salary, but has the best chance of notching a 60+ point fantasy night.
Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EST); over/under 201 ; Pelicans -8 . INJURIES: MIL: Larry Sanders (OUT) ; NOP: none .
I will be interested to see if the Bucks give John Henson/MIL extra minutes to try to neutralize Anthony Davis/NOP. I don’t think any other Buck has the athleticism and size to do it. Davis himself is a speculative play, very capable of a monster game under these circumstances.
Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks (8:30 pm EST); over/under 217 ; Mavs -3 . INJURIES: POR: Thomas Robinson (Q), Joel Freeland (OUT) ; DAL: Wayne Ellington (Q).
Nicolas Batum/POR has been on a remarkable run in recent games, not curtailed even by the return of LaMarcus Aldridge/POR. Robin Lopez/POR had a tough fantasy night last game, largely due to the blowout conditions in favor of Portland. Both are solid plays tonight.
Los Angeles Lakers* at Denver Nuggets (9:00 pm EST); over/under 193.5 ; Bobcats -5 . INJURIES: LAL: Nick Young (OUT), Kobe Bryant (OUT) ; DEN: Ty Lawson (P) .
Humiliation is never good and that is what the Lakers suffered in a quasi home game last night. Facing a lesser opponent, I expect them to bounce back. It’s difficult to discern who the playable guards for the Lakers might be, as D’Antoni goes with the hot hand of the minute.
Indiana Pacers at Houston Rockets (9:30 pm EST); over/under 200 ; Rockets -4 . INJURIES: IND: C.J. Watson (Q), Andrew Bynum (OUT) ; HOU: Patrick Beverley (Q).
Contrary to popular belief, the Pacers are not very strong in the paint. Roy Hibbert/IND can be slothful and occasionally gives up big numbers to more athletic centers. Dwight Howard/HOU is a decent speculative play for that reason. My guess is that the Pacers will try to blunt the James Harden/HOU weapon and force the Rockets into a half court game.
Atlanta Hawks at Golden State Warriors (10:30 pm EST); over/under 209 ; Warriors -9.5 . INJURIES: ATL: Paul Millsap (Q) ; GSW: none.
The Hawks may have some good news in the possible return of Paul Millsap/ATL, but Golden State has too much firepower. David Lee/GSW is a decent value play, as his price has fallen into bargain territory.
Yesterday’s News
The Clippers’ historic blowout of the Lakers ruined a lot of my picks last night, as the Clippers core sat out much of the second half. The game of the night saw the Suns’s rally to overtake and hang on to beat the Thunder. Gerald Green/PNX took over the game in the third quarter, while Russell Westbrook/OKC had one of the best point fantasy stat lines from a point guard we’ve seen this season. Earlier, the Heat looked sluggish against the Spurs and were buried in the home stretch.
TOP GUNS:
Russell Westbrook/OKC. Westbrook was Mr. Everything last night, but the Thunder (curiously) didn’t win.
Gerald Green/PNX. An inconsistent but valuable weapon for the Suns.
Matt Barnes/LAC, Blake Griffin/LAC, Chris Paul/LAC, Kevin Durant/OKC, Tim Duncan/SAS
SLEEPERS:
Matt Barnes/LAC. Making his case for major minutes, even when Jamal Crawford/LAC returns.
Hedo Turkoglu/LAC. Major blowouts always bring someone out of the woodwork.
Darren Collison/LAC. Another solid game for the fill in shooting guard.
LET DOWNS:
Jordan Farmar/LAL, Jodie Meeks/LAL, and the entire Lakers team.
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