Fantasy Spin December 16, 2014

Will Anthony Davis $11400 return? It’s the critical question for Tuesday night. A chest contusion caused him to leave Friday’s game early and take Sunday off. His official status is questionable; stay on top of breaking news.

Ironically, if AD sits out again, this game is full of interesting plays at DraftKings. Both Jrue Holiday $8300 and Tyreke Evans $8600 are enjoying great seasons and their usage rate would skyrocket. Ryan Anderson $6200 will see an uptick in minutes, points and rebounds. Assuming Derrick Favors $7500 (ankle) is still sidelined, Rudy Gobert $5000 and Enes Kanter $6600 are underpriced starters for the Jazz.

Love was all you needed on Monday. Kevin had 22 points including four triples, plus 18 REB, 5 AST and 4 STL as the Cavaliers swatted away the Hornets. My early/late Clippers play backfired, as garbage time arrived so early that Jordan Farmar outscored Chris Paul. The Blazers won their game but lost Robin Lopez to a fractured hand. As predicted, the Lakers were listless and got routed by Indiana — again, it was ‘too easy,’ so the second unit got way more run than expected.

All that is ancient history in the world of daily fantasy sports. Page turned, there’s a six-pack of NBA games tonight and we’ll try to get back in the black.

Plays of the Day

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ESPN has a beauty, as the irresistible force of the Warriors meets that immovable object in Memphis. Stephen Curry $10200 is the main reason Golden State is 21-2, but far from the only one. Klay Thompson $7000 is having a career year (love those blocks!) and Draymond Green $6500 is my personal choice as Most Improved and Most Underrated in the league. The main advantage for the Grizzlies is the size and skill of Marc Gasol $8700. They all play terrific D, with Mike Conley $7600 and Zach Randolph $7400 scoring just enough to be 11-1 at home and have the second-best record overall. Must-watch basketball for sure, though not necessarily a source of DFS profit. We prefer shootouts to playoff-like intensity.

I’m not predicting an ambush by the Knicks, but if they put up a good enough fight against the Mavericks, several players on both teams are worth considering. They went to overtime Nov. 26 in Dallas and a revenge-motivated Tyson Chandler $7300 was unstoppable — 17 PTS, 25 REB, 2 BLK. My crystal ball sees a similar effort in front of the New York crowd. Chandler Parsons $6600 (back) is questionable, so Monta Ellis $8000 and Dirk Nowitzki $6300 are also worth using. It’s mostly up to Carmelo Anthony $10200 and Amar’e Stoudemire $6000 to keep it close, though Tim Hardaway Jr. $4700 and Jose Calderon $4600 are inexpensive, with scoring potential.

Minnesota has no real chance to beat the Wizards in DC. The question is, can the Wolves hang in there long enough that John Wall $10600 and Marcin Gortat $7200 get a full complement of minutes? I’m more inclined to use Corey Brewer $5800 and Shabazz Muhammad $4300 in hopes that they are playing catchup all night..

Everything that can go wrong for the Heat has done exactly that. LeBron James took his talents home. Chris Bosh is out with a calf injury that could be day-to-day, or take weeks to heal. Dwyane Wade $7200 is questionable with an illness, Josh McRoberts (knee) could miss the rest of the season and Justin Hamilton $3000, one of the mediocre fill-ins for Bosh, has a sore quad. Luol Deng $6300, Mario Chalmers $5400 and Norris Cole $3500 are the healthiest bodies, Shawne Williams $3500 will get extra run but that group is no match for Brooklyn. You can stack Deron Williams $7500, Joe Johnson $6300, Mason Plumlee $5400 and a freshened Kevin Garnett $4400, or ignore this game completely if you expect an 85-75 score. Sergey Karasev $3000 is a live longshot.

Once Kevin Durant $10300 returned, it didn’t take long for OKC to reel off six straight wins and climb right back into the playoff race. KD is still on a short leash, but Russell Westbrook $11000 has been simply incredible since returning from his fractured hand. The second half of the TV doubleheader is a mismatch with a great storyline. The Kings just fired a very good coach who got along extremely well with DeMarcus Cousins (still recovering from a severe illness, but at least practicing) and they have had one weekend to implement a new system under Ty Corbin. In DMC’s absence. Rudy Gay $9300 and Darren Collison $7000 have been stellar, but this is a brutal matchup for both. Beware garbage time! Lesser lights — Carl Landry $3600, Derrick Williams $3600, Jeremy Lamb $3000 and others — could be playing the last 20 minutes.

Pos	Premium	Midrange	Bargain
PG	Russell Westbrook $11300	Deron Williams $7500	Jose Calderon $4600
SG	Tyreke Evans $8600	Klay Thompson $7000	Sergey Karasev $3000
SF	Kevin Durant $10300	Draymond Green $6500	Shabazz Muhammad $4300
PF	Anthony Davis $11400	Amar’e Stoudemire $6000	Kevin Garnett $4400
C	Tyson Chandler $7300	Marcin Gortat $7200	Steven Adams $3900