There are six NBA games on Sunday, but the 1:00 Eastern start (Dallas at Cleveland) is included at DraftKings only in a few All-Day offerings for early risers. Late contests are available at 8:00, covering just two games; the majority of big-money guaranteed pools close at 6:00, with ten teams getting our attention.
Two of the best young centers in basketball square off, with DeMarcus Cousins $11200 and the well-rested Kings visiting Andre Drummond $9900 and the improving Pistons. Brandon Jennings $7400 has been very sharp in three of his last four and Jodie Meeks $4700 is in the zone. Rudy Gay $8600 and Darren Collison $6800 are almost always playable. Best bang for the buck? Derrick Williams $3500 started at PF in Thursday’s road victory, contributed in five categories (17 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK) and actually costs $100 less tonight.
Plays of the Day
Open a new account at DK and get a FREE entry for the $40K Layup — the winner earns $5,000 and 4,600 of 23,000 teams receive cash prizes. Your initial deposit ($5 or more) is matched 100% up to $600 with bonus money, earned a dollar at a time as you play. Compete for higher stakes in the $60K Crossover — $27 to enter, maximum 2,520 teams, top 502 get paid and first place is worth $10,000.
The 6-sport, $2.7 MILLION January Jam is featured this month. Each sport’s final costs $100 to enter, but you can win tickets in Satellite contests for $5, $2 or even a quarter. Those tickets let you choose which sport’s Jam final(s) to enter, like the $2 Million NFL Millionaire Maker on January 10, or my target: the $500,000 NBA Slam Dunk on January 28. Top prize in that one is $100,000.
The Raptors faded in the fourth quarter against Portland and could not slow down Golden State. Now they try to earn a split of this challenging road trip. I’m a big Dwane Casey booster but disagree with starting offensively-challenged Landry Fields $3000, who will have a tough time trying to slow down Eric Bledsoe $9300. A standout when these teams met in November, Jonas Valanciunas $6300 barely played against the Warriors because the pace of that game was so fast; he matches up better with Alex Len $4900. At least two of Terrence Ross $4800, Lou Williams $4300 and Greivis Vasquez $4200 need to get hot. Phoenix is getting solid production from Goran Dragic $7900 and Markieff Morris $6600. Their two big guns off the bench are Isaiah Thomas $6500 and Gerald Green $4800, both of whom fire earlier and more often when the Suns are trailing.
The Knicks are a disaster. Carmelo Anthony $10000 (knee) is doubtful and a shutdown may be looming. Amar’e Stoudemire $4500 (knee) has missed four straight, Samuel Dalembert $3000 (ankle) is questionable and ever-fragile Andrea Bargnani $4300 lasted 22 minutes before suffering another calf injury. J.R. Smith $5900 is suddenly the #1 option (22 PTS in 36 minutes on Friday) and Cole Aldrich $6200 is their best big man. Tim Hardaway Jr. $4900 (concussion) is supposed to return. The Bucks have the best PG on the court in Brandon Knight $8000, an underrated C in Zaza Pachulia $4900, with shot-blocker John Henson $5500 and exciting sophomore Giannis Antetokounmpo $6500 also on the radar. Jason Kidd has them at .500, which in the East is playoff-bound.
George Hill (groin) is out and C.J. Watson $5000 (foot) is questionable, so Donald Sloan $4700 may get another start at PG for Indiana. C.J. Miles $4500 is hot off the bench, and Roy Hibbert $6500 looked better in the last two wins, but the Pacers are not exactly a powerhouse. Kobe Bryant $9500 triple-doubled in Denver then almost did it again vs. Memphis. Ed Davis $5400 and Jeremy Lin $5300 were both outstanding in that narrow defeat and remain attractively priced.
Brooklyn used Deron Williams $5800 and Jarrett Jack $5800 together to close out each half, and D-Will played his best game in a while to help beat Orlando. Brook Lopez $7300 was productive (16 PTS) in just 18 minutes backing up Mason Plumlee $7700. Oddly enough, the Nets are the better-rested team, though a Saturday night “off” in Miami can be a lot of fun. The Heat had to play in Houston last night, lost by 36 and are hard to recommend. Hassan Whiteside $3500 has emerged recently as a factor of the bench but everyone else was disappointing. Don’t count on a high score in this one.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Kyle Lowry $10900 | Brandon Knight $8000 | Donald Sloan $4700 |
| SG | Eric Bledsoe $9300 | J.R. Smith $5900 | Lou Williams $4300 |
| SF | Rudy Gay $8600 | C.J. Miles $4500 | Derrick Williams $3500 |
| PF | Greg Monroe $7400 | Markieff Morris $6600 | Amir Johnson $4900 |
| C | Andre Drummond $9900 | Jonas Valanciunas $6300 | Zaza Pachulia $4900 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.