Points were hard to come by in the NBA on Sunday, which meant close but no cigar for my daily fantasy teams. Despite losing a few bucks thanks to Kenneth Faried being ignored by his coach, another successful week is in the books, more than tripling my $100 bankroll. Hope the Spin helped you cash, too.
As a believer in reacting to breaking news and last-minute lineup tweaking, I am reducing my usual investment this evening. Going to the Raptors game — We the North! As always, the depth that has Toronto atop the East can be a DFS negative. For example, Dwane Casey may not use scorching-hot Lou Williams $4500 as much if Terrence Ross $4800 gets off to a better start. Kyle Lowry $8000 and DeMar DeRozan $7100 are the most reliable Raps.
Plays of the Day
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Credit to Phoenix for an excellent road trip (4-1; only loss to the Clippers) but they must be tired. Regular readers know my theory that Gerald Green $4900 and Isaiah Thomas $5600 have their big games when the Suns are trailing, which I certainly hope is the case.
The Bulls have had some bad breaks lately, losing three of four. Taj Gibson $5800 (ankle) is out, Derrick Rose $6400 (hamstring) is forever questionable. Pau Gasol (calf) $7300 and Kirk Hinrich (ribs) $4200 won’t be 100% if they play. You could use Jimmy Butler $7400, Mike Dunleavy $4900, Joakim Noah $7200, Nikola Mirotic $4300 and Aaron Brooks $4900 if you think they will make a game of it.
Or, load up on the Jazz, at home against a weakened opponent. Trey Burke $5400, Derrick Favors $7100 and Gordon Hayward $7600 could all thrive; Rudy Gobert $3500 might be the best value pick. I’m not as high on Alec Burks $7000 tonight because Butler might be guarding him.
Knicks at Houston is hard to figure, beyond Carmelo Anthony $9000 shooting it out with James Harden $10300. With Dwight Howard $9200 (knee) questionable, and Patrick Beverley $5000 (hamstring) less than 100%, maybe Donatas Motiejunas $4400 and/or Kostas Papanikolaou $3600 will step up for the Rockets. It’s impossible to get a better price on Jose Calderon $3000; the question is whether or not he’s fully ready after a less-than-sharp 21 minutes in his season debut.
Last night’s game in Memphis was a big deal for the Clippers, who got thumped by 16. The Hornets lost by one in Miami when they missed three shots in the final seconds, so these clubs are equally tired and I’m not inclined to overpay for anyone tonight.
What’s wrong with Cleveland? Nobody knows. LeBron James $11300 is too expensive for me under these circumstances. Anderson Varejao $5200 is a hunch, as he tries to slow down Nikola Vucevic $8700, off a 33-point, 17-rebound effort. Tobias Harris $7100 is also hot coming in, but LBJ might be on him tonight.
The possibility of garbage time makes the Blazers somewhat risky. They won their seventh straight last night in Boston, but it wasn’t easy. While the 0-13 Sixers aren’t likely to win, they might be competitive. Bargain-hunters can consider Nerlens Noel $5800 and I’m keeping an eye on Robert Covington $3400 after his best game of the young season.
Good luck! See you on the leaderboard.
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season.
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