Fantasy Spin May 23, 2015

There are really only three teams left in the NBA playoffs. After a fantastic regular season, Atlanta is simply decimated by injuries.

Al Horford $7700 (knee) and Kyle Korver $5000 (ankle) each limped off the court last night, though Horford did return. DeMarre Carroll $6700 (knee) showed courage but limited ability in his 34 minutes, as the Cavaliers won both road games and appear poised to sweep. Thabo Sefolosha (NYPD) would be quite useful if he could walk.

It’s not as if Cleveland is anywhere near healthy, with two-thirds of its Big Three on the sidelines. Kyrie Irving $6800 (knee) got last night off and will not be needed on Sunday; extended rest might help him recover before taking on the Western Conference champions. Kevin Love (shoulder) is out for the year. However, LeBron James $11400 is capable of a triple-double every night and the Cavs’ supporting cast is playing very well.

DraftKings matches your first deposit 100% (up to $600) with bonus funds that convert to cash, plus you get a FREE entry in the $55K Sharpshooter — the top score earns $4,000 and 4,390 of 21,073 teams will get paid.

Matthew Dellavedova $3500 is finally PG-eligible at DK; he logged 37 minutes and accumulated 26 FPTS in Game Two. Iman Shumpert $5000 scored 16 points including 4-6 from deep and Tristan Thompson $6300 grabbed 16 rebounds. As expected, J.R. Smith $5200 cooled off a little from his scorching Game One but Timofey Mozgov $4900 continues to be a factor.

Several scenarios are possible in Houston tonight, most of them depending on Dwight Howard $8500 and his gimpy knee. The big man is probable after a gutsy effort on Thursday (19 PTS, 17 REB in 40 minutes) and we saw how resilient the Rockets are in coming back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Clippers. James Harden $9800 is a must start, but Howard costs almost twice as much as Andrew Bogut $4600, is unlikely to be twice as good and is one bad step from aggravating that injury.

Josh Smith $5700 was awful in Game Two and can only improve; Terrence Jones $4600 is cheaper and more reliable. Trevor Ariza $6600 also needs to bounce back from a sub-par outing — all three forwards will be more productive if Dwight regresses at all. It’s really a shame that Patrick Beverley (wrist) isn’t available to make Stephen Curry $10500 work harder. Jason Terry $4200 is still a useful role player but as a starting PG, can’t check the MVP.

If the Warriors win either of the two road games, they can wrap this up in five. Draymond Green $7900 and Harrison Barnes $4900 were more productive in Game One because Bogut was ill and Steve Kerr went small; again the matchups depend on Howard. Andre Iguodala $4300 and Shaun Livingston $3200 also gain value when the true centers are on the bench.

Perhaps most important in DFS is the difference in pace. There’s no incentive for Cleveland to run up the score (the teams combined for just 26 points in the fourth quarter on Friday) so by comparison, the West is a track meet.

My sample lineup for Sa-Su contests is extreme stars-and-scrubs. Using Curry, Harden and James costs $31700, which leaves just enough to afford Bogut and Jones at C and PF, with only $9100 to fill the G, F and Util spots. I was surprised to see Mike Scott $2200 get 26 minutes last night — more than Mike Muscala $2400 and Pero Antic $2100 combined — and Kent Bazemore $2500 is only relevant if Carroll can’t play.

Scott was good enough after sitting out two weeks with DNP-CDs that Mike Budenholzer may use him again. Another ultra-cheap guy to consider is James Jones $2100, who is actually a stretch four but qualifies only at SG for some reason. Getting 23 minutes because Irving was out, he was left open in the corner five times and swished three, adding a few defensive stats.

Pos	Premium	Midrange	Bargain
PG	Stephen Curry $10500	Jeff Teague $7500	M. Dellavedova $3500
SG	James Harden $9800	Klay Thompson $7000	Kent Bazemore $2300
SF	LeBron James $11400	Trevor Ariza $6600	Josh Smith $5700
PF	Draymond Green $7900	Terrence Jones $4600	Mike Scott $2200
C	Dwight Howard $8500	Al Horford $7700	Andrew Bogut $4600