Last night, $150,000 was split among 400 fortunate entries in the NBA Big Score in one of the biggest one-day contests in the 2013-14 NBA season. Those who participated enjoyed significant overlay. “naapstermaan” came away with the top prize of $50,000, while runner up “bw5126” had to be content with $20,000. Look for more chances to win thousands of dollars in upcoming NBA contests at DraftStreet. If you don’t have a DraftStreet account, you can sign up using this link. Here is today’s Fantasy Spin.
What’s Happening at DraftStreet
Salary Cap: $22/$8,000, $2/$4,000, $109/$6,000, and three others.
Pick’em: $11/$2,000, $5/$500.
Remember to register at least 10 minutes before the roster deadlines. Thursday’s contests start at 7:30 PM EDT.
My Lineup at DraftStreet
The following is my recommended lineup, subject to change, for the $2/$4,000 Standard Payout GPP at DraftStreet (closing at 7:30 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:
F-Blake Griffin/LAC-$21,016, F-Dirk Nowitzki/DAL-$14,875, C-Chris Kaman/LAL-$11,735, G-Ramon Sessions/MIL-$11,120, C-Zaza Pachulia/MIL-$10,466, G-Jamal Crawford/LAC-$10,395, G-Darren Collison/LAC-$9,705, F-Xavier Henry/LAL-$9,619.
Clippers in Tough Against Dallas
Portland Trail Blazers at Atlanta Hawks* (7:30 pm EDT); over/under 207.5; Blazers -4.5 . INJURIES: POR: LaMarcus Aldridge (P), Joel Freeland (SEASON) ; ATL: Pero Antic (P), Kyle Korver (Q), Al Horford (SEASON) .
There was a time early in the season when Portland was playing the best basketball in the NBA. Now, they are in danger of slipping out of the playoffs. The probable return of LaMarcus Aldridge/POR boosts their chances. The Hawks lost badly in Minnesota last night and are vulnerable in the paint. Look for Robin Lopez/POR to have a solid game on the glass.
Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks (8:00 pm EDT); over/under 219; Bucks -3 . INJURIES: LAL: Steve Nash (OUT), Jordan Farmar (OUT), Pau Gasol (OUT), Kobe Bryant (SEASON); MIL: Ersan Ilyasova (Q), Larry Sanders (SEASON), Nate Wolters (SEASON) .
The Lakers cruised to an easy win over the Knicks, led by stand in center Chris Kaman/LAL and Xavier Henry/LAL. Both players are cheap and playable tonight. Jodie Meeks/LAL and Kendall Marshall/LAL have been relatively quiet but are decent dark horse plays.
Philadelphia 76ers at Houston Rockets (8:00 pm EDT); over/under 215; Rockets -20 . INJURIES: PHI: Tony Wroten (OUT); HOU: Dwight Howard(P).
A tricky one to judge, as the talent superiority is so large anything less than a blowout would be a surprise. If you are content with three quarters of production, James Harden/HOU is a good speculative play.
Los Angeles Clippers* at Dallas Mavericks (8:30 pm EDT); over/under 209; Clippers -1 . INJURIES: LAC: J.J. Redick (OUT); DAL: Samuel Dalembert (Q) .
The Clippers are coming off a tough loss, during which their three point shooting wasn’t enough to overcome the Pelicans’ pounding inside game. They play a more conventional opponent, one that they can use their interior strength to good effect. Blake Griffin/LAC is my top lineup anchor today, as I expect he will break loose after being frustrated last night by Anthony Davis/NOP. Many other Clippers are good value plays, including Darren Collison/LAC and DeAndre Jordan/LAC. Dirk Nowitzki/DAL is very cheap for an all-star quality player.
Yesterday’s News
TOP GUNS:
DeMarcus Cousins/SAC. Without Isaiah Thomas/SAC, it was inevitable that Cousins drew the bulk of touches. Even so he had a great game in a losing cause.
Tim Duncan/SAS. The ageless wonder is still arguably the best player on the best team in basketball.
Al Jefferson/CHA. Another great game from one of the two best centers in the league.
LeBron James/MIA. With Dwayne Wade/MIA not fully healthy, LeBron led the way in a narrow loss versus the Pacers.
Anthony Davis/NOP. Early foul trouble limited him in the first half, but he dominated his matchup against Blake Griffin/LAC in the second half.
Brandon Jennings/DET, Kenneth Faried/DEN, Josh Smith/DET.
SLEEPERS:
Aaron Brooks/DEN. With Ty Lawson/DEN playing poorly, Brooks led the Nuggets’ ultimately futile comeback.
Anthony Morrow/NOP. He was the top shooting option for the Pelicans all night as they went big due to several smalls being scratched.
Gorgui Dieng/MIN. No longer a true sleeper, he can do more than Nikola Pekovic/MIN. It’s a pity he only got a chance to shine late or else he’d be the hands down rookie of the year.
Matthew Dellavedova/CLE, Jared Sullinger/BOS, Terrence Ross/TOR.
LET DOWNS:
Jeff Teague/ATL Played poorly and was benched.
Chris Paul/LAC. Couldn’t make a bucket.
Kevin Love/MIN. A slow start and he took the fourth quarter off in a blowout.
Andre Drummond/DET, Ty Lawson/DEN, Jeff Green/BOS, Marco Belinelli/SAS.
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