Fantasy Spin January 10, 2015

Finishing in the top 500 out of more than 31,000 entries, I managed to beat Chris Sheridan — as did many of you — and won a few dollars at DraftKings on Friday. Let’s try to keep it rolling.

Two of Saturday’s nine NBA games are matinees. Hornets at Knicks (1:00 ET) and Mavericks at Clippers (3:30) are playable only in ‘All Day’ contests. Kemba Walker $10100 and Blake Griffin $10000 are the big guns, Gerald Henderson $5700 is hot and a few relative unknowns — Travis Wear $3500, Langston Galloway $3500 and Cleanthony Early $3600 — are in the rotation for New York.

Sheridan shrugs off last night’s $2 loss. “For the most part, I need to stick to $27 contests.” He’s with me on at least one guy tonight. “Ride the Galloway train now that he’s in the database.”

DK also offers ‘Late’ action at 8:00 Eastern, spanning just four games. The biggest guaranteed prize pools close at 7:30 and cover seven games; that’s our focus in today’s sample lineup and Short List.

Plays of the Day

Open a new account and get a FREE entry for tonight’s $35K Layup — the winner earns $5,000 and 4,030 of 20,125 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.

The 6-sport, $2.7 MILLION January Jam costs $100 per team, but you can win tickets in Satellite contests for $5, $2 or even a quarter. Best of luck if you qualified for today’s $2 Million NFL Millionaire Maker for a shot at a million bucks. My target is the $500,000 NBA Slam Dunk on January 28. Top prize in that one is $100,000.

Trades have altered the landscape for a few clubs. The Celtics are in the process of trading Jeff Green, and played very well without him last night. Jae Crowder $3400 started at SF, can be used again and should be picked up in deep traditional leagues. Marcus Smart $4300 got 31 minutes off the bench in an OT loss, and Avery Bradley $4100 led all scorers with 23. Brandon Bass $3300 was the biggest surprise, in part because Tyler Zeller got a quick hook and Brandan Wright was also traded. Evan Turner $5300 managed 41.25 FPTS despite missing 12 of 15 shots. Toronto-born Kelly Olynyk $4900 had 18 points and 13 rebounds the last time he faced the Raptors.

There could be an emotional letdown for Boston in this back-to-back after that excellent effort. Kyle Lowry $10200 will be determined to get his team back in the win column after four straight losses. Jonas Valanciunas $6000 is capable of a big night and James Johnson $4400 deserves more minutes. The return of DeMar DeRozan (groin) will help soon, but until then Lou Williams $4600 is a key component. Mired in a 3-23 slump from 3-point range, Sweet Lou is due.

Roy Hibbert $5900 had his best output since November (19 PTS, 11 REB, 5 BLK) as the Pacers prevailed in OT; now he gets to face the 76ers, who won a shocker in Brooklyn. A late dunk by Nerlens Noel $4800 decided it, but Robert Covington $5600 was the star and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute $3000 was solid after missing a couple of starts with turf toe. Do not expect a high score in this one.

Those struggling Nets will have a tough time snapping their 4-game losing streak against the Pistons 2.0, who mounted a fourth-quarter comeback last night to give the Hawks a scare. Andre Drummond $9300 (illness) played only 17 minutes and isn’t recommended until he’s feeling better, but Greg Monroe $7500 and Brandon Jennings $7600 surrounded by shooters can get the job done. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $3800, Kyle Singler $3000 and Anthony Tolliver $3000 are dirt-cheap and worthy of consideration.

One of the few teams that didn’t play on Friday is the Rockets, at home to Utah. James Harden $10400 is worth the money, as the Jazz are very thin at SG. I’m a big fan of Rudy Gobert $6100, just not in a back-to-back against Dwight Howard $8400. Likewise, Trey Burke $5400 would be a nice price if he didn’t have to battle Patrick Beverley $5000. Surprisingly, the addition of Josh Smith $5900 hasn’t affected the value of Donatas Motiejunas $5000, who led Houston with 36 minutes in a Thursday romp vs. the hapless Knickerbockers.

Also rested and at home, the Trail Blazers are banged up — Damian Lillard $9800 is playing despite a sore back — but LaMarcus Aldridge $10000 is too good for the Magic, who have their own problems. Tobias Harris $6900 and Nikola Vucevic $8400 each rolled an ankle in last night’s embarrassing loss to the Kobe-less Lakers, and Evan Fournier $4700 (knee) is questionable.

In a rare off-night for Jimmy Butler $8500, the Bulls got thumped by the Wizards. Milwaukee had a much easier time at home vs. Minnesota (no starter played 30 minutes) and may have the fresher legs this evening. My crystal ball sees Chicago winning ugly; other games are much more attractive.

The Timberwolves have now lost 14 in a row. The Spurs scored 41 points in the fourth to beat Phoenix. You do the math. A San Antonio victory seems assured, though we have no idea who will play. Manu Ginobili $5200 sat out with back spasms, while both Tony Parker $6100 and Tim Duncan $9100 were on the bench for the decisive rally, led by Danny Green $5500 and Patty Mills $3000. The safest investment might be Andrew Wiggins $6600, who has scored 20+ in eight of his last nine.

Pos	Premium	Midrange	Bargain
PG	Kyle Lowry $10200	Jarrett Jack $6400	Patty Mills $3000
SG	James Harden $10400	Danny Green $5500	K. Caldwell-Pope $3800
SF	Gordon Hayward $7800	D. Motiejunas $5000	L.R. Mbah a Moute $3000
PF	LaMarcus Aldridge $10000	Greg Monroe $7500	Jae Crowder $3400
C	Dwight Howard $8400	Roy Hibbert $5900	Meyers Leonard $3000