Fantasy Spin December 18, 2015

Last Saturday, Milwaukee caught the exhausted Warriors at the end of a 7-game road trip and snapped their historic 24-game win streak. Some of their players may have over-celebrated, drawing a rebuke from Klay Thompson $7000, who spoke for all his teammates when he reminded the Bucks of this rematch. Stephen Curry $10700 and Draymond Green $8800 will also be showing no mercy. The Warriors are favored by 19!

West coast games finish past my bedtime but I’m looking forward to watching the first quarter. Apparently Greg Monroe (knee) really was hurt when he was a ridiculously late scratch on Tuesday; John Henson $4200 and Miles Plumlee $3300 will gain minutes unless Jason Kidd goes small. Michael Carter-Williams $5900 returned to the starting lineup last game, with Giannis Antetokounmpo $6700 heading the second unit; we’ll see how long Kidd stays with that brainstorm.

Another highlight of a 12-game NBA Friday evening is a possible West playoff preview, as the Clippers ride a 3-game win streak into San Antonio. Tim Duncan $5600 rested on Wednesday for this clash with DeAndre Jordan $6900; the PF matchup of Blake Griffin $8900 and LaMarcus Aldridge $6600 is also fascinating. The Spurs’ big edge is Kawhi Leonard $8600, but Chris Paul $7800 is playing very well again, just as his salary hits a season low.

Plays of the Day

Tonight’s $300K Sharpshooter is only a $3 buy-in (FREE with your first deposit of $5 or more at DraftKings) where the top 23,535 finishers (from up to 115,000 teams) win cash. First place is worth $20,000. It closes at 7:00 EST; enter before it fills and make lineup changes until each player’s game begins.

Rajon Rondo $8700 is back from a one-game suspension to face Ricky Rubio $7200, who just missed a quadruple-double (9 PTS, 10 REB, 12 AST, 8 STL) on Wednesday. Gorgui Dieng $5300 started alongside Karl-Anthony Towns $7000 last game as Kevin Garnett $3100 rested. With the utmost respect for KG, fantasy owners hope that continues. The Hall of Famer is no match for DeMarcus Cousins $10200 and more valuable coaching the Wolves’ talented kids. With the O/U a juicy 213.5, Rudy Gay $7100, Omri Casspi $5900, Andrew Wiggins $6700 and Zach LaVine $5700 are all attractively priced.

Also expected to be high-scoring is New Orleans at Phoenix. Anthony Davis $10500 hasn’t been as dominant statistically as he was when Tyreke Evans $7300 and Jrue Holiday $5100 were hurt. Both guards and bench gunner Ryan Anderson $6100 might be better DFS values than Davis if recent trends continue. For the Suns, everything depends on Eric Bledsoe $8400 and Brandon Knight $7400. The frontcourt has timeshares — Tyson Chandler $4200 starts over Alex Len $5000 and just as Jon Leuer $5900 has become more costly, he’s losing minutes to Mirza Teletovic $4400, who has hit 46 3-pointers in the last 30 days (tied for sixth in the league.)

There’s a multitude of possibilities on this busy night and DFS heroes can come from anywhere. Paul George $9400 hasn’t been this affordable for a month and seems overdue for a big night after averaging just 18 PPG over his last four. Carmelo Anthony $8300 and the Knicks can trounce the 76ers, though garbage time is possible. Bench players like Langston Galloway $3800 and Lance Thomas $3500 might surprise in that scenario.

I like the Magic again at home, after seven players scored in double figures on Wednesday. Channing Frye $3600 is the cheapest; he hit five 3-pointers in an encouraging 30 minutes for his second straight game with 29 FPTS (DK fantasy points.) Nikola Vucevic $6800 and Tobias Harris $5900 are also affordable and dangerous.

Players in tonight’s sample lineup (above left) are bolded in the Short List. I began by using all three Warriors stars, then realized that the $2900 saved by switching from Steph to CP3 allowed me to afford Kawhi. This isn’t a prediction that the Premium guys won’t play well — the choice of a more balanced lineup was driven by a scarcity of ultra-cheap guys with upside. Good luck!

Pos	Premium	Midrange	Bargain
PG	Stephen Curry $10700	Chris Paul $7800	Jrue Holiday $5100
SG	Eric Bledsoe $8400	Klay Thompson $7000	Langston Galloway $3800
SF	Paul George $9400	Kawhi Leonard $8600	Mirza Teletovic $4400
PF	Anthony Davis $10500	Draymond Green $8800	Channing Frye $3600
C	Andre Drummond $9100	Nikola Vucevic $6800	Gorgui Dieng $5300