Fantasy Spin February 5, 2015

TNT has an excellent doubleheader for us this evening. LeBron James $10500 and Kyrie Irving $8500 take on Chris Paul $9200 and Blake Griffin $9400 in a matchup that’s possibly as lucrative in DFS as it is fascinating in real life.The Cavaliers have won 11 straight, including a superb game in L.A. when Kevin Love $8400 sat out and Tristan Thompson $5000 (24 & 12) played 40 minutes. CP3 missed six of seven 3-pointers and turned it over five times that night. DeAndre Jordan $7800 has a big edge over Timofey Mozgov $5200 and might be the best value for the Clippers, though Jamal Crawford $5000 gains value if J.J. Redick $3400 (back) can’t go.

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The TV nightcap is almost as interesting, with playoff implications in the highly competitive West. Damian Lillard $8700 and LaMarcus Aldridge $9400 have been carrying the Blazers, with support from Wesley Matthews $6000. The return of Robin Lopez $4400 after missing 23 games with a broken hand makes the whole team better. Though Nicolas Batum $5000 (wrist) is still playing hurt and missing shots, he contributed in every other category on Tuesday.

Pay no attention to that 118-113 Phoenix win at home two weeks ago. Eric Bledsoe $8000 was terrific and Isaiah Thomas $5400 poured in 27 off the bench — while Lopez and Aldridge sat in street clothes. Portland is at full strength this time and should prevail. The Suns are simply no match up front; I’ve been saying for a while now that Brandan Wright $3000 is better than Alex Len $3200 and Miles Plumlee $3000.

DeMarcus Cousins $10600 takes a few plays off but still puts up enormous numbers. Against Tyson Chandler $6400 on Jan. 13, Boogie committed nine turnovers and fouled out. On a more positive note, he scored 68.5 FPTS — 34 PTS, 16 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK, underlining that he’s a better player in fantasy than reality. Chandler (16 PTS, 17 REB) was no slouch that night and will again make DMC earn everything he gets. Darren Collison $6500 is a strong play against J.J. Barea $3400, who was no match for the amazing Stephen Curry last night. The rest of the Mavericks can beat the rest of the Kings, with Monta Ellis $7700 and Dirk Nowitzki $6200 the most obvious choices. Especially if you’re going stars-and-scrubs like my sample lineup, Al-Farouq Aminu $4000 is playable.

There will be so much scoring in the other three games that we could dismiss the opener entirely. Charlotte won 92-88 in Washington on Monday and are at home for this rematch after two off-days. Despite solid efforts by John Wall $8900 and Bradley Beal $6000, the Wizards lost again in Atlanta last night, making this a difficult back-to-back. Al Jefferson $7600 is in double-double mode; possible bargains include Gerald Henderson $4000, Brian Roberts $4500 and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist $5500.

Pos	Premium	Midrange	Bargain
PG	Kyrie Irving $8500	Darren Collison $6500	Brian Roberts $4600
SG	Eric Bledsoe $8000	Wesley Matthews $6000	G. Henderson $4000
SF	LeBron James $10500	Rudy Gay $7500	Al-Farouq Aminu $4000
PF	L. Aldridge $9400	Tristan Thompson $5000	Brandan Wright $3000
C	D. Cousins $10600	Al Jefferson $7600	Robin Lopez $4400