Thursday’s 5-game NBA slate tips off at 8:00 Eastern, with the Thunder, smarting from two straight losses, visiting Chicago. Both teams have something to prove, as the Bulls somehow allowed Charlotte to score 130 on Tuesday. It’s the highest over/under of the night by at least 12 points.
Russell Westbrook $10400, Kevin Durant $9200, Pau Gasol $7000 and Jimmy Butler $7700 are the obvious plays in DFS contests at DraftKings. Among lesser lights, Doug McDermott $3300 scored 17 off the bench with five triples in that 25-point road loss, and Steven Adams $3800 had his best game of the season last night — 10 PTS, 7 REB, 4 BLK. When good teams suffer an embarrassing loss, they tend to bounce back, so it’s quite possible that the Bulls will be inspired. It will be great TV for sure.
The young Timberwolves were emotionally drained by a tribute to the late Flip Saunders on Monday. Super-rookie Karl-Anthony Towns $6700 said, “I was crying the whole pregame,” and after a 34-point first quarter, the team ran out of gas. Maybe they will surprise the visiting Heat. Ricky Rubio $7300 is a much better shooter this year and Kevin Martin $5000 has accepted his sixth-man role. KAT will certainly be tested by Hassan Whiteside $7400, whose latest (23 PTS, 14 REB, 4 BLK) was his second straight dominant performance.
Plays of the Day
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In that unexpected huge win, the Hornets shot 51.6% and had seven players in double figures. Regression is almost guaranteed tonight in Dallas. After a 2-1 road trip, the Mavs lost their home opener on Tuesday to those red-hot Raptors and will be determined to atone. Everyone is a relative bargain — Dirk Nowitzki $6500 and Nicolas Batum $6800 are their teams’ most expensive players.
The Jazz lost by 16 at home last night and must travel to Denver. Despite some injuries to the Nuggets’ big men, they scored 120 against the Lakers on Tuesday, with a monster double-double (28 & 15) from Kenneth Faried $6400 and a shockingly good spot start by J.J. Hickson $3800 — 17 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK in 24 minutes. Rookie Emmanuel Mudiay $6200 and a healthy Danilo Gallinari $6300 are also affordable.
Last night, the Blazers shocked Utah with Damian Lillard $8700 scoring 35 points and C.J. McCollum $6500 adding 27. Al-Farouq Aminu $5600 and Maurice Harkless $3100 were also effective. However, the visiting Grizzlies are a defense-first club and Mike Conley $6600 is a much tougher matchup for Lillard. Marc Gasol $7200 (neck) is questionable, so Brandan Wright $3000 could be very important.
If you go with Russ and KD, you’re committed to finding live bargains in a fairly small player pool. I’m inclined to enter a very balanced lineup tonight — only one player under $5600 and nobody over $7700.
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| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Russell Westbrook $10400 | Ricky Rubio $7300 | Emmanuel Mudiay $6200 |
| SG | Jimmy Butler $7700 | Kevin Martin $5000 | Jeremy Lamb $4000 |
| SF | Kevin Durant $9200 | Danilo Gallinari $6300 | Al-Farouq Aminu $5600 |
| PF | Dirk Nowitzki $6500 | Kenneth Faried $6400 | Brandan Wright $3000 |
| C | Hassan Whiteside $7400 | Rudy Gobert $7000 | Steven Adams $3800 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.