Fantasy Spin January 14, 2015

Want to spend five nights as a VIP in Las Vegas with a chance to win a million bucks? Me too. Starting tonight, you can qualify for the Fantasy Basketball World Championship at DraftKings. Total prize money is $2,000,000 and the only way to get one of 40 seats in the March 23 final is to win a Qualifier. Read on…

ESPN has the best of 10 Wednesday games at 10:30 Eastern, in both reality and fantasy. The PG matchup is sensational: Chris Paul $9600 vs. Damian Lillard $9900. All-star PFs Blake Griffin $9800 and LaMarcus Aldridge $10000 should also put on a show. The only mismatch is DeAndre Jordan $7800 vs. Chris Kaman $4600. Portland lost in L.A. back in November despite a big night from Robin Lopez (hand) and they are unable to replace his toughness. Wesley Matthews $5700 and Nicolas Batum $6000 will play maximum minutes. Possible bargains for the Clippers include Matt Barnes $4200 and J.J. Redick $4600.

Atlanta is the hottest team in the NBA and Boston has traded away most of its experience. Given last night off against an easy opponent, Jeff Teague $8500 can get whatever he wants. Paul Millsap $8300 and DeMarre Carroll $5200 also sat out, so we wonder if Al Horford $6600 — off a triple double — and Kyle Korver $5000 might be getting the same treatment this evening. Coach Mike Budenholzer learned a lot working beside Gregg Popovich for 18 years and his Hawks are looking more and more like the Spurs of the East. A few Celtics could be bargains. Kelly Olynyk $3000 just needs minutes, Jae Crowder $4600 is coming off a career-high 22-point outing and Jared Sullinger $6700 is heating up again with a 27 & 10 on Monday.

Coach Pop had chest pain on the team bus after last night’s loss in DC — we hope it was indigestion — but did get on the plane to Charlotte. It’s never easy to predict the San Antonio rotation and after that tough game, Manu Ginobili $5200, Tony Parker $6000 and/or Tim Duncan $8900 might be rested. The Hornets have a chance to win their sixth in a row if Kemba Walker $10000 stays hot, but this game is unlikely to be high-scoring.

Plays of the Day

Open a new account and get a FREE entry for tonight’s $60K Layup — the highest score earns $5,000 and 7,600 of 34,500 teams receive guaranteed 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 $2.7 MILLION January Jam costs $100 per team, but you can win tickets in Satellite contests for $5, $2 or even a quarter. The $500,000 NBA Slam Dunk on January 28 has a top prize of $100,000.

Here’s the link to enter tonight’s FBWC Qualifier. It’s a $20 buy-in and first place is worth $1,000 cash plus that deluxe 5-night trip to Vegas, valued at $55,000. Finishing last in that 40-team final pays out another $7,000. There will be 3,410 teams competing this evening; the top 177 will earn at least $20. Good luck!

In a back-to-back for both teams, the Warriors are younger, deeper and healthier than Miami, with a 16-1 home record. Dwyane Wade $8800 (hamstring) played just ten minutes last night and is doubtful, Luol Deng $5600 might have twisted his ankle, Chris Bosh $8500 shot 4-17 and they scored just 78 points — but somehow won an ugly game thanks to Hassan Whiteside $5700 and Mario Chalmers $4300. Meanwhile, Golden State led 97-80 after three quarters and let the bench finish up an easy win over the Jazz. A similar result seems likely tonight. Stephen Curry $10200, Klay Thompson $7300 and Draymond Green $8300 deserve those salaries, but might all play less than 30 minutes again.

Dallas at Denver could be wide open. Ty Lawson $8700, Arron Afflalo $5800 and Jusuf Nurkic $5700 are solid plays for a team that’s won four straight before enjoying four off-days. It’s the first half of a home-and-home and the Mavericks should take Friday’s rematch, but are ripe for an upset tonight. They needed overtime to defeat the Kings (it helped that DeMarcus Cousins fouled out) so fatigue could be a factor. Tyson Chandler $6400 was heroic (16 PTS, 17 REB) despite rolling an ankle; he won’t get 44 minutes again and may not be 100%. Stick with Monta Ellis $7300 and Rajon Rondo $7900 or consider stacking the Nuggets. Wilson Chandler $5600 (knee) is supposed to return and Kenneth Faried $7100 just double-doubled. J.J. Hickson $4500 is playing well off the bench.

At home after a night off, the Raptors should toy with Philadelphia. Tony Wroten (knee) is out, so Michael Carter-Williams $8500 will be a one-man team. Kyle Lowry $10100 had a rare off-night (3-12, 7 TO) in Monday’s loss, but Jonas Valanciunas $6200 was terrific —31 PTS, 12 REB — and everybody dominates the Sixers in the paint. Don’t use DeMar DeRozan $6500 if he returns from that adductor strain; he’ll be on a strict minutes limit. James Johnson $4900 might stick as the starting PF even after DMDR is up to speed.

Mike Conley $8200 is consistently excellent, Zach Randolph $7300 is back and Marc Gasol is having a career year. Jeff Green $4500 will make the Grizzlies even better; being traded from a rebuilding team to a serious title contender should inspire him. The Nets are simply outclassed. Kevin Garnett (suspension) is out, so Brook Lopez $6900 will start alongside Mason Plumlee $6900. Some folks don’t know that Bojan Bogdanovic $3200 (listed at SF) is starting at SG again. Others don’t care.

The resurgent Pistons are at home to New Orleans. Andrew Davis $11100 and Tyreke Evans $7600 are the strongest plays, because Jrue Holiday (ankle) is out. That’s good news for Brandon Jennings $8100, but Andre Drummond $8900 has cooled off a little and Greg Monroe $8200 will have to deal with the Unibrow.

Even at full strength, the Magic are no match for Houston. Tobias Harris $6800 (ankle) and Evan Fournier $4500 (knee) didn’t play on Monday in a huge upset of the Bulls, led by Nikola Vucevic $8700 and Victor Oladipo $6500. For the Rockets, James Harden $10500 could run wild and Donatas Motiejunas $5200 continues to hold value.

Regulars know my dislike of ‘playoff preview’ games like Washington at Chicago, which are much better to watch than to key on in DFS. Don’t expect easy buckets. John Wall $9400 is great, and Kevin Seraphin $3300 has played well in his last two. Derrick Rose $6500 and Pau Gasol $9700 are the main men for the banged-up Bulls. Jimmy Butler $8700 is an excellent two-way player whose offense has slipped a bit over the last few games.

Pos	Premium	Midrange	Bargain
PG	Kyle Lowry $10100	Jeff Teague $8500	Mario Chalmers $4300
SG	James Harden $10500	Tyreke Evans $7600	Devyn Marble $3600
SF	Draymond Green $8300	Nicolas Batum $6000	Bojan Bogdanovic $3200
PF	Anthony Davis $11100	Zach Randolph $7300	Kevin Seraphin $3300
C	Nikola Vucevic $8700	Jonas Valanciunas $6200	Kelly Olynyk $3000