It’s that time of year, as a popular collegiate tournament takes over the hoops spotlight. Good luck with your brackets! The final month is always “silly season” in the NBA — players get shut down early on bad teams and rested frequently on good teams, just in time to affect the playoffs in traditional Head-to-Head fantasy leagues.
Despite a smorgasbord of Thursday NCAA action from noon to midnight, we’re still focused on the four professional games, and finding the best values at DraftKings in daily NBA contests.
Plays of the Day
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The Fantasy Basketball World Championship offers a million dollar first prize, to be awarded next Monday. 40 Finalists win a 5-day VIP trip to Las Vegas (worth $55,000) plus at least $7,000 in cash.
Things were going well for the Nuggets until Ty Lawson $6600, Kenneth Faried $6900 and Danilo Gallinari $6000 were benched (against their will) on Monday in an obvious bit of tanking by someone higher up than an interim coach. Denver had knocked off the Hawks and Warriors during a four-game winning streak. Supposedly all are playing tonight; maybe they will take out their frustrations with their own front office on the opposing team.
The Rockets won with a team effort on Tuesday, as James Harden $10800 was not up to his usual standard and Terrence Jones $6800 came off the bench for an unspecified disciplinary reason. Donatas Motiejunas $5500 led the way (23 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST) and Josh Smith $5800 stepped it up (17 PTS, 5 REB, 2 BLK, 1 STL) after scoring ten or less in five straight games. Trevor Ariza $6200 and Corey Brewer $5000 also contributed. Everyone could pad their numbers tonight in a shootout.
It’s not easy to pick a winner between the Timberwolves and Knicks. This is a road back-to-back for Minnesota; Kevin Martin $5800 and Chase Budinger $3200 were their best players in Toronto. The home team has enjoyed a day of rest after a huge upset win in overtime. Louis Amundson $4000 and Langston Galloway $4800 were unlikely heroes at bargain salaries; Alexey Shved $6600 and Andrea Bargnani $6100 continue to surprise by paying their way.
Phoenix is at home, 2.5 games behind New Orleans with 16 to play. However, it’s a must-win for both teams, as the Pelicans are trying to catch Oklahoma City for eighth place. Anthony Davis $11500 was double-teamed on Tuesday and still managed a great line — 20 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 3 BLK — but the Suns will have more trouble containing his length. Brandan Wright (ankle) and Alex Len (ankle) are both hurt, so Markieff Morris $6400 may be an undersized C with brother Marcus Morris $5100 at PF. If Tyreke Evans $7600 can match Eric Bledsoe $8200, Davis and Omer Asik $5500 may have a field day in the paint.
The Jazz lost a tough game at home last night and were upset last month when they faced the Lakers. I don’t anticipate a high score or any individual heroics, though Rudy Gobert $8100 will dominate the L.A. bigs if he can give his maximum effort again. Jordan Clarkson $5400 and Jordan Hill $5600 are attractively priced if you like their chances.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Tyreke Evans $7600 | Ty Lawson $6600 | Trey Burke $4000 |
| SG | James Harden $10800 | Eric Bledsoe $8200 | Corey Brewer $5000 |
| SF | Gordon Hayward $7500 | Trevor Ariza $6200 | Chase Budinger $3200 |
| PF | Anthony Davis $11500 | Kenneth Faried $6900 | Lou Amundson $4000 |
| C | Rudy Gobert $8100 | Omer Asik $5500 | Cole Aldrich $4400 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.