Saturday wasn’t my night. Though it was great to watch Lou Williams score a career-high 36 in Cleveland, who could have predicted that? When you identify a “key” game correctly and pick the right players from it, profits ensue. When your key game goes opposite to form — I thought the Mavs would beat Houston by 20, but they lost — just shrug and turn the page.
Anthony Davis is incredible. 43 points, 14 rebounds, 11-12 from the line in a back-to-back on the road? What a beast. Congratulations if you used him last night and won my money. Just keep in mind that his salary at DraftKings is sure to rise even more, and he’ll need to be that spectacular every night to earn it.
Plays of the Day
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For a change, the 5-game slate on Sunday does not include a very early start, so contests close at 6:00 ET and include all five, two of which are of particular interest.
We don’t care who wins, as long as games are high-scoring. Blazers at Celtics offers that potential. LaMarcus Aldridge $9500 and Robin Lopez $5900 will be hard to stop, and the PG matchup of Damian Lillard $9000 and Rajon Rondo $8000 could be win-win. Be careful with Nicolas Batum $6600, who missed four games with a knee bruise and played only 21 minutes in his return. Jeff Green $6500 is the safer play tonight.
The Lakers score, and allow, plenty of points. Kobe Bryant $8900 is not overpriced, Jordan Hill $6500 is underrated and and Nick Young $3500 is on my bargains list. While the Nuggets are no powerhouse, Ty Lawson $8800 could run wild and Kenneth Faried $6300 is a sleeper. I’m guessing that Arron Afflalo $5800 will be busy trying to slow Kobe down, so Wilson Chandler $5900 might be more active at the offensive end. Both are playable at those prices. Danilo Gallinari $3900 is far from 100% and remains on a minutes limit, but Friday was his best game yet.
In the most significant real-life matchup, the Grizzlies are 10-1, unbeaten at home. The Clippers will provide a very good test. Mike Conley $7600, Marc Gasol $8200 and Zach Randolph $7700 can earn those salaries; Courtney Lee $4000, one of the young season’s fantasy surprises, should be recovered from the flu.
Predict the style of Golden State’s game in OKC and choose players accordingly. Stephen Curry $9600, Klay Thompson $7100 and Andrew Bogut $6200 is the core of a good lineup, with Harrison Barnes $5200 a value pick. If the visitors romp or the tempo is slow, they aren’t as strong a play. The Thunder rely heavily on Reggie Jackson $7700 and Serge Ibaka $7000 — ironically, the better those two perform, the longer the Warriors’ starters will be needed.
Al Jefferson $8000 has turned it on in his last two, while Kemba Walker $7100 just flirted with a triple-double. Miami played very well last night in Orlando, led by Chris Bosh $8500 and Mario Chalmers $5800. Not using Bismack Biyombo $3200 just yet, but his latest (6 BLK, 4 PTS, 4 REB in just 12:22) puts him on the radar for more minutes.
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season.
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