Another Wednesday, another shot at chance at $10,000 in the 50K . Registration is open and the contest is a little over half full, so overlay is a distinct possibility. If $10,000 isn’t quite enough, how about $50,000? The winner of the DraftStreet NBA Big Score will win $50,000 out of a total prize pool of $150,000, with the top 400 finishers winning at least $100. All it takes to enter is a DraftStreet account and $55. If you don’t have a DraftStreet account, you can sign up using this link.
Wednesday finds a full slate of NBA games, 11 in all. Feature matchups include an interesting battle between the rising Nets and the champion Heat, as well as a possible playoff preview between the Warriors and Clippers. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
Featured DraftStreet Contests
The highly anticipated DraftStreet Fantasy Basketball Championship is underway, with 30 qualifiers playing for a share of $500,000. This event is a multi-day affair, with the bottom finishers falling out of the competition. Tuesday was Day 1, and the bottom 10 entries earned $2,000 for their troubles while the top 20 moved on to Day 2. Some of the biggest names in daily fantasy are gunning for the top prizes, and you can follow the action HERE. Check back here for a Day 2 update tomorrow.
Salary Cap: $5/$5,000, $2/$5,000, $22/$50,000.
50K satellites (for next week): $1/$110 (5 tickets), $5/$220 (10 tickets), $2/$110 (5 tickets) ; 150K satellites (for March 26 main event): $11/$440 (8 tickets), $2/$220 (4 tickets).
Pickem: $11/$2,500, $22/$1,000.
Remember to register at least 10 minutes before the roster deadline. Wednesday’s contests start at 7 PM EDT.
My Lineup at DraftStreet
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $22/$50,000 Standard Payout GPP at DraftStreet (closing at 7:00 pm EDT). 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-DeAndre Jordan/LAC-$16,076, G-Michael Carter-Williams/PHI-$14,825, G-DeMar DeRozan/TOR-$14,260, G-Kemba Walker/CHA-$13,967, F-Kenneth Faried/DEN-$12,957, F-Maurice Harkless/ORL-$10,358, G-Tony Wroten/PHI-$9,849, F-Kyle Singler/DET-$7,205.
Spurs Beating All Comers: Portland Next
Brooklyn Nets at Miami Heat (7:00 pm EDT); over/under 202; Heat -9 . INJURIES: BKN: Andrei Kirilenko (P), Kevin Garnett (OUT) ; MIA: Dwayne Wade (P) .
Despite nagging injuries affecting the Nets’ elderly squad, they are playing their best ball of the season and will give the Heat all they can handle. As usual, we will need to watch the status of Dwayne Wade/MIA.
Detroit Pistons* at Toronto Raptors (7:00 pm EDT); over/under 207 ; Raptors -9. INJURIES: DET: Josh Harrellson (OUT) ; TOR: Patrick Patterson (OUT).
A sweet setup for the Raptors, as they face a tired Pistons team. Energy level will be the telling factor here. Both DeMar DeRozan/TOR and Kyle Lowry/TOR are good plays tonight, though I favor DeRozan/TOR.
Sacramento Kings* at Philadelphia 76ers (7:00 pm EDT); over/under 215; Kings -9. INJURIES: SAC: none ; PHI: none .
If the Sixers play with verve and Michael Carter-Williams/PHI takes firm control of the offense, Philadelphia will win this game despite their terrible defense. Sacramento is mentally done and is no more than a collection of individuals at this point.
Denver Nuggets at Orlando Magic (7:00 pm EDT); over/under 211.5; Magic -1. INJURIES: DEN: none ; ORL: none.
Charlotte Bobcats at Washington Bullets (7:00 pm EDT); over/under 198.5; Wizards -4.5. . INJURIES: CHA: Gerald Henderson (P) ; WAS: Kevin Seraphin (P), Nene Hilario (OUT).
The probable return of Henderson/CHA spells the end of Chris Douglas-Roberts/CHA as a premium value play. Al Jefferson/CHA is a touch over fair value.
New York Knicks at Boston Celtics* (7:30 pm EDT); over/under 201 ; Knicks -3 . INJURIES: NYK: Tyson Chandler (D), Amar’e Stoudamire (OUT), Kenyon Martin (OUT), Andrea Bargnani (OUT) ; BOS: Avery Bradley (OUT), Rajon Rondo (OUT) .
Super cheap Cole Aldrich/NYK gets bumped up from third string center due to Chandler’s/NYK personal issue and a routine rest day for Stoudamire/NYK. He’ll get some attention from DraftStreet players, but the knock on effect should be more shots for J.R. Smith/NYK and Carmelo Anthony/NYK. Kris Humphries/BOS is worth a look, though he comes with a lot of risk due to Boston’s erratic playing time tendencies.
Memphis Grizzlies at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EDT); over/under 189.5; Grizzlies -3. . INJURIES: MEM: none ; NOP: none.
Anthony Davis/NOP will get his production, but his chances of a monster game are very slim against Marc Gasol/MEM and his teammates.
Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz (9:00 pm EDT); over/under 203; Mavs -5.5. INJURIES: DAL: Devin Harris (Q), Jae Crowder (OUT) ; UTA: none .
Portland Trail Blazers* at San Antonio Spurs (9:30 pm EDT); over/under 211 ; Spurs -6.5 . . INJURIES: POR: Mo Williams (Q), Joel Freeland (OUT) ; SAS: Danny Green (Q) .
The Spurs are a machine in high gear, providing full justification for Popovich’s conservative approach to playing time throughout the season. The shine has faded from Portland, and their three point attack has fizzled in recent weeks.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Phoenix Suns (10:00 pm EDT); over/under 208.5; Suns -7.5. . INJURIES: CLE: Kyrie Irving(P), C.J. Miles (OUT) ; PNX: Eric Bledsoe (P), P.J. Tucker (OUT), Leandro Barbosa (OUT)
This game is going to make or break a lot of DraftStreet lineups. Even though Eric Bledsoe’s/PNX minutes will be limited, his return casts doubt on the fortunes of various Suns players. If Bledsoe plays , most affected will be Goran Dragic/PNX and Ish Smith/PNX. As Russell Westbrook/OKC illustrated earlier, the return of a key player can create disharmony in the talent configuration until everyone adjusts to their new roles. Tucker/PNX will serve his one-game suspension, which should mean a lot more shooting opportunities for Gerald Green/PNX.
Golden State Warriors* at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm EDT); over/under 214 ; Clippers -7 . . INJURIES: GSW: ; LAC: Jared Dudley (Q), Jamal Crawford (OUT), J.J. Redick (OUT).
Playing last night and traveling to Los Angeles, I don’t think Golden State will put up much of a fight against the Clippers. Avoid Stephen Curry/GSW.
Yesterday’s News
TOP GUNS:
Kevin Love/MIN. Recovered after a slow first half to gain the top spot. No player reached the 50 DraftStreet point mark.
Kevin Durant/OKC. His super-monster games will be rare now that Westbrook/OKC is back.
James Harden/HOU. When Dwight Howard/HOU is ineffective, Harden is asked to carry the team.
Damian Lillard/POR, Russell Westbrook/OKC, Marc Gasol/MEM, David West/IND.
SLEEPERS:
Rodney Stuckey/DET and Kyle Singler/DET. When the Pistons’ perimeter shooting is on, they are a winning team.
LET DOWNS:
Dwight Howard/HOU.
Stephen Curry/GSW. Carrying a minor injury.
Taj Gibson/CHI and Danny Green/SAS.
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