All-Day NBA contests at DraftKings close at 3:30 Eastern when the Clippers host Toronto. Jonas Valanciunas (hand) is out, so Bismack Biyombo $3800 will probably start against DeAndre Jordan $7300 and the gap between Blake Griffin $9500 and Luis Scola $4500 at PF is just as wide.
For the next few weeks, Patrick Patterson $3500 and James Johnson $3100 will become more important as the Raptors are forced to go small. DeMarre Carroll $5700 will play some PF because Cory Joseph $4000 will run with the starters. I’ll pass today, but there will be future DFS bargains.
Our focus is on evening contests that close at 6:00, spanning the other five games. The Celtics are hot, the Nets are not. In the opener of this home-and-home on Friday, Boston led 66-42 at halftime. Isaiah Thomas $7400 and Jae Crowder $5600 led the starters; Avery Bradley $5300 was brilliant off the bench for a third straight game.
On their home court after that embarrassment, Brook Lopez $7500 and Thaddeus Young $6900 will be better. It’s hard to imagine Jarrett Jack $6200 and Joe Johnson $5200 being any worse. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson $3600 might be the best value of all. In daily fantasy we don’t care who wins, rooting only for high scores and overtime.
Plays of the Day
The All-Day $35K Sharpshooter is just a $3 buy-in (FREE to new depositors at DK) that pays the top 2,750 finishers from up to 13,415 teams. First place wins $2,000. Enter before the 3:30 ET deadline; you can make unlimited lineup changes until each player’s game begins.
There are three superstars to consider. Russell Westbrook $12300 flirts with a triple-double most nights and a “questionable” Kevin Durant $9800 (hamstring) seems doubtful, so Enes Kanter $5100 remains playable for the Thunder. Dallas is deeper, with Dirk Nowitzki $6300, Zaza Pachulia $5500 and Deron Williams $5500 all attractively priced.
Fantasy game of the night sees MVP Stephen Curry $10900 taking rookie Emmanuel Mudiay $5900 to school. Draymond Green $7400 can slow down Danilo Gallinari $6500 and the Warriors should make it 15 in a row. Klay Thompson $6100 is also coming around. For the overmatched Nuggets, Will Barton $5600 and Nikola Jokic $3600 might spark the second unit.
Anthony Davis $10700 was in beast mode on Friday (20 PTS, 18 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK) and Ryan Anderson $6400 has found his stroke with ten 3-pointers in two games. The Pelicans may be loaded up front but the Suns’ guards are on fire, with Brandon Knight $7900 scoring 30+ every other game.
The nightcap has little relevance in the standings but the Blazers are the better team, with reasonable salaries. Damian Lillard $8700 and C.J. McCollum $6500 have great matchups. Al-Farouq Aminu $6200 is underrated and it will be no surprise if Mason Plumlee $5500 outplays Roy Hibbert $4900. For the Lakers, Julius Randle $5800 might be the safest play and D’Angelo Russell $4300 is improving.
Position-wise, either key on Davis and your choice of Westbrook and Curry, or use both PG. Eric Bledsoe $8400 is the premium SG but we need to save at both wing spots. Aminu is my choice at SF, though Mirza Teletovic $3000 has shot his way into the Suns rotation at a rock-bottom price. Let’s use both. Lopez is the #1 center but again we must compromise in order to afford two of the three 5-digit salaries.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Russell Westbrook $12300 | Stephen Curry $10900 | Deron Williams $5500 |
| SG | Eric Bledsoe $8400 | Avery Bradley $5000 | R. Hollis-Jefferson $3600 |
| SF | Danilo Gallinari $6500 | Al-Farouq Aminu $6200 | Mirza Teletovic $3000 |
| PF | Anthony Davis $10700 | Ryan Anderson $6400 | Julius Randle $5800 |
| C | Brook Lopez $7500 | Mason Plumlee $5500 | Enes Kanter $5100 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.