A little over a week is left until the biggest individual DraftStreet NBA contest since Christmas Day. The winner of the 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.
The shocker last night was the ease with which the Dallas Mavericks dismantled Oklahoma. They return home to face the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were witness to one of the great individual performances of the season, namely, Anthony Davis’s/NOP domination of the court. But perhaps the most intriguing matchup will be the Phoenix Suns, coming off an impressive road win over the Raptors, against the surging Brooklyn Nets. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
What’s Happening at DraftStreet
Survivor: $22/$4,000, $11/$1,200 (Pickem format)
Salary Cap: $55/$10,000, $11/$8,000, $2/$5,000, $215/$8,000.
50K satellites (for Wednesday): three, ranging from $1 to $5 buy in; 150K satellites (for March 26 main event): three, ranging from $1 to $11 buy in.
Pick’em: $22/$2,400, $2/$2,000.
Remember to register at least 10 minutes before the roster deadlines. Monday’s contests start at 7 PM EDT.
My Lineup at DraftStreet
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $11/$8,000 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-Al Jefferson/CHA-$18,981, F-Paul Millsap/ATL-$16,145, F-Kenneth Faried/DEN-$13,971, G-George Hill/IND-$11,185, F-Matt Barnes/LAC-$10,467, G-D.J. Augustin/CHI-$9,795, G-Tony Wroten/PHI-$9,782, F-Evan Turner/IND-$9,173.
Thunder Try to Shrug Off Bad Game
Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers (7:00 pm EDT); over/under 203; Pacers -20. . INJURIES: PHI: James Anderson (OUT); IND: Donald Sloan (P), C.J. Watson (Q) .
With Anderson/PHI out, the mercurial Tony Wroten/PHI enters the starting lineup at shooting guard. It remains to be seen how the offense will operate with Wroten and Michael Carter-Williams/PHI on the floor together. Note also that Wroten is always a risky play given his erratic performances. A twenty point betting line is huge and the Pacers are not playing well, but the Sixers have been hit by a combination of weak depth and the demotivation that comes with a long losing streak.
Atlanta Hawks at Charlotte Bobcats* (7:00 pm EDT); over/under 199; Bobcats -3.5. . INJURIES: ATL: none; CHA: none.
Phoenix Suns* at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm EDT); over/under 205; Nets -5.5. . INJURIES: PNX: Leandro Barbosa (OUT) ; BKN: Kevin Garnett (OUT).
Eric Bledsoe/PNX return has shifted Gerald Green/PNX back to his sixth man role, and it appears the team is better off for it. A healthy Deron Williams/BKN has provided the glue the Nets needed and they’ve been among the best teams in the NBA the last month.
Oklahoma City Thunder* at Chicago Bulls (8:00 pm EDT); over/under 193; Thunder -2.5 . INJURIES: OKC: Thabo Sefolosha (OUT), Kendrick Perkins (OUT); CHI: .
After am embarrassing home defeat, the Thunder will welcome back Russell Westbrook/OKC. The Bulls play the toughest brand of defense in the league, but no one can stop Westbrook and Kevin Durant/OKC when both are on their games. This should be an exciting one.
Utah Jazz* at Houston Rockets* (8:00 pm EDT); over/under 203.5; Rockets -13.5. . INJURIES: UTA: none; HOU: none.
The Rockets couldn’t keep pace with the Heat yesterday but return home for an easy matchup against the Jazz (on paper). James Harden/HOU should have room to operate and Enes Kanter/UTA will have his hands full with Dwight Howard/HOU.
Boston Celtics* at Dallas Mavericks* (8:30 pm EDT); over/under 203; Mavs -10. . INJURIES: BOS: Rajon Rondo (Q); DAL: none.
Boston is liable to a down game due the tension-filled overtime loss to the Pelicans last night. Dallas cut up the Thunder defense and will not have much resistance tonight, especially if Rajon Rondo/BOS sits the second of back to back games as expected.
Los Angeles Clippers* at Denver Nuggets (10:30 pm EDT); over/under 222; Clippers -5.5. . INJURIES: LAC: Darren Collison (Q), Jamal Crawford (OUT), J.J. Redick (OUT) ; DEN: none.
What a difference a few weeks make. You may recall how the Nuggets were flailing until the return of their leader, Ty Lawson/DEN, reinvigorated the team. Now they have three big men, Kenneth Faried/DEN, J.J. Hickson/Den and Timofey Mozgov/DEN, all contributing productive minutes and Lawson himself has been consistent and at times spectacular. If Collison/DEN has to sit, the Clippers will have a weak second unit and may lose this game.
Yesterday’s News
TOP GUNS:
Anthony Davis/NOP. To think that the Pelicans barely won in overtime, despite Davis’s brilliance.
Kyle Lowry/TOR. Given the quality of opposition, one of his best fantasy games of the year.
Nicolas Batum/POR. I tipped him to be Portland’s main man when LaMarcus Aldridge/POR went down.
Dwight Howard/HOU, Derrick Favors/UTA, Jeff Green/BOS, Blake Griffin/LAC.
SLEEPERS:
Gorgui Dieng/MIN. He got the start for the injured Nikola Pekovic/MIN and was a defensive force.
Derrick Williams/SAC. Another case of extra minutes due to the usual starter taking a day off.
Kris Humphries/BOS. He couldn’t stop Anthony Davis/NOP but was able to post excellent stats himself.
Jose Calderon/DAL. Part of a devastating Mavs attack that exposed Oklahoma’s defensive weaknesses.
LET DOWNS:
Kyrie Irving/CLE. Was having an off shooting night and then suffered a bicep injury that will likely end his season.
Tristan Thompson/CLE, Monta Ellis/DAL, Dante Cunningham/MIN
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