Anyone who has spent much time in South Florida knows what happens when heat mixes with thunder — an intense downpour. Tonight at the AA Arena, it will be raining points indoors.
The OKC Thunder rested on MLK Day after clobbering Orlando by 28 points in a very easy night for their big guns. Kevin Durant almost triple-doubled (21 PTS, 11 AST, 8 REB) in only 28 minutes and Russell Westbrook played just 24, rarely getting into high gear. The team shot 57.8% while using 13 players and Serge Ibaka continued to shine, draining four three pointers. Dion Waiters was +22 and added 16 points in 21 minutes. All four should remain in fine form. Even Kendrick Perkins $3000 almost double-doubled (11 & 9) in that rout of the Magic on Sunday.
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Miami has been off since Friday, possibly giving Dwyane Wade $8300 (hamstring) time to heal and Chris Andersen $3000 is recovered from an illness. Rookie Shabazz Napier $3800 is getting more minutes at PG but there’s a big difference between shredding the porous Kings’ D and what he will face tonight. Chris Bosh $8400 and Luol Deng $6000 feasted on Sacramento too, though Deng will be chasing KD this evening. The only disappointment was Hassan Whiteside $5500, who got in early foul trouble to end a nice run of four productive games. Ironically, the better the Heat play, the more valuable the visitors’ stars will be.
Denver lost a road game yesterday against the mighty Warriors by 43 points — the worst beating any team has suffered this season. It was 55-28 by halftime. Arron Afflalo $6000 shot 1-8, Jusuf Nurkic $5000 went 1-6 before fouling out in 24 minutes and Randy Foye $3000 missed nine of ten attempts. Ty Lawson $8900 and newcomer Jameer Nelson $3400 were at least respectable. This will be the Nuggets’ fourth game in five nights, including a home loss to the lowly Timberwolves. While it’s unlikely that they will bounce back with a tremendous effort against a more talented, much deeper opponent, they certainly can’t be much worse.
Kawhi Leonard $7400 has given the Spurs a timely boost since returning from a hand injury that cost him a month. They beat Portland by 14 and trounced Utah by 20. Coach Pop is a man of mystery, whose rotations are always in flux. He could rest some veterans, or spread the minutes among 13 guys — just like Sunday, when they held the Jazz to a mere 69 points on 33.3% shooting. Aron Baynes $3000 had a double-double off the bench in that one; starter Tiago Splitter $3900 played just 22 minutes. Manu Ginobili $5200, who had three blocks all year, swatted a career-high four in 19 minutes off the bench. Tim Duncan $8500 and Tony Parker $5800 aren’t overpriced, they just might be under-utilized.
Let’s go out on a limb and predict a low-scoring affair, with no individual standouts. Using the minimum one player from the nightcap and the maximum seven from the opener is tempting (see the sample) but it’s still not easy to construct a winning lineup with so few players to choose from.
Perhaps it will all become clear later in the day. There’s too much guesswork until we get some indication of the Spurs lineup. For instance, if Kawhi is rested, Danny Green $5500 gains value, or if Parker sits out, Cory Joseph $4000 would start but Patty Mills $3500 might be the better play off the bench.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | R. Westbrook $10200 | Tony Parker $5800 | Patty Mills $3500 |
| SG | Dwyane Wade $8300 | Danny Green $5500 | Dion Waiters $5000 |
| SF | Kevin Durant $10700 | Kawhi Leonard $7400 | Alonzo Gee $3000 |
| PF | Tim Duncan $8500 | Serge Ibaka $6900 | Boris Diaw $3900 |
| C | Chris Bosh $8400 | H. Whiteside $5500 | Tiago Splitter $3900 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.