Fantasy Spin April 9, 2015

There are only two games tonight, and just one of the four teams involved is truly desperate for a victory. We’re going to be homers, as both visitors played on Wednesday then had to travel. Also, they are less focused on winning tonight than keeping players healthy for the upcoming playoffs.

The Bulls must complete a Florida back-to-back after letting a lead slip away in Orlando. Derrick Rose $7000 (knee) returned and played 19 minutes, though we can’t be sure how much (or if) he’ll play on consecutive nights in a game that means little other than playoff seeding. Jimmy Butler $7800 and Pau Gasol $8200 played 34 and 37 minutes respectively, so they may not be worked as hard tonight. If I’m using anyone from Chicago, it will be Taj Gibson $4600, who is coming around after missing nearly a month and might be fresher than his teammates.

Still not playing at DK? They match your first deposit 100% (up to $600) with bonus funds that convert to cash, plus you get plus you get a FREE entry in the $55K Sharpshooter — the top score earns $4,000 and 4,390 of 21,073 teams win cash. Or redeem your FREE entry in the $60K Crossover, normally a $27 buy-in. That contest has 502 cash prizes ($10,000 for first) and a maximum of 2,535 teams.

The ninth-place Heat are at home in another must-win situation. They beat the Hornets on Tuesday thanks to a much-improved, aggressive effort by Goran Dragic $6800 and solid play from veterans Dwyane Wade $7200 and Luol Deng $5200. All of them — and Hassan Whiteside $6900 — are playing through nagging injuries. It may not be the most artistic game of the season, or high-scoring, but Miami should prevail.

The nightcap has Portland visiting Golden State in mostly a matter of pride. The Warriors, who lost their last two road games, will be much more intent on protecting (and improving) their 35-2 record at home. Stephen Curry $9200 and Draymond Green $7200 are the most obvious plays, but don’t sleep on Andrew Bogut $5200, who flirted with a triple-double the hard way (9 BLK) on Tuesday. Klay Thompson $6800 is in a 5-for-21 shooting slump; he might break out of it just as his salary has dropped.

If the Blazers hadn’t played at home last night, I’d be more bullish on Damian Lillard $7900 and LaMarcus Aldridge $8800. It was an easy 25-point win, and nobody played 30 minutes, but this is actually the third game in four nights for Lillard, Arron Afflalo $4200, Robin Lopez $4500 and C.J. McCollum $3600, who played in Brooklyn on Monday without Aldridge, Nicolas Batum $6400 and Chris Kaman $3500. That trio didn’t even make the trip east, but fatigue could be a factor for the entire team. Clearly this one will be higher scoring (the over/under lines suggest by 17 or 18 points) as we don’t expect playoff-level defensive effort.

It’s possible to build a lineup with the maximum seven players from the west coast game and just one from the opener, but I’m leaning to a split because the Heat will be so motivated and their salaries are reasonable. Enter early, then stay on top of breaking news that might affect player values. You can make unlimited roster moves until 8:00 when contests close, then still tweak among your Blazers and Warriors until 10:30.

Position-wise, SF is so thin that if Deng is scratched, Batum becomes almost a must-start. Whiteside would be the standout C if his right hand wasn’t hurt; he was reasonably effective on Tuesday but limited to just 22 minutes. Price-wise, there aren’t any truly outstanding bargain plays, so my sample lineup has just one player above $7200 and none below $4500, hoping for everyone to contribute.

Pos	Premium	Midrange	Bargain
PG	Stephen Curry $9200	Goran Dragic $6800	C.J. McCollum $3600
SG	Jimmy Butler $7800	Dwyane Wade $7200	Tyler Johnson $3000
SF	Nicolas Batum $6400	Luol Deng $5200	Mike Dunleavy $4500
PF	L. Aldridge $8800	Draymond Green $7200	Taj Gibson $4600
C	H. Whiteside $6900	Andrew Bogut $5200	Robin Lopez $4500