Congratulations if you keyed on last night’s Pistons victory in Chicago — four overtimes, with a combined 291 points scored. One guy won $20,000 for three bucks, using Derrick Rose $6000, Jimmy Butler $7500, Pau Gasol $7600, Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond.
Each of them dropped at least 30, playing between 48 and 56 minutes. Marcus Morris, Lance Thomas $3600 and Kyle O’Quinn $3300 completed the winning lineup. DFS is a game of skill where a little luck never hurts.
After losing that 3 1/2 hour struggle, the Bulls had to get on a flight to New York. It’s also a back-to-back for the Knicks, who had a much easier time winning in Philadelphia — Carmelo Anthony $8300 played a team-high 28 minutes and Arron Afflalo $4800 needed just 26 minutes to score 22 points. At home tonight, they have an excellent chance.
There are only five NBA games on Saturday, with a mismatch at 5:00 Eastern as the Lakers (2-15 on the road) visit Oklahoma City. DraftKings offers All-Day and Early-Only fantasy contests if you want to use Russell Westbrook $10500 or Kevin Durant $10200; the only caveat is a strong possibility of garbage time. That might help lesser mortals on the Thunder like Enes Kanter $4400, Dion Waiters $4100 and D.J. Augustin $3100 fill up the score sheet. For L.A., Kobe Bryant $6300 has been playing much better since announcing his retirement.
Plays of the Day
Today’s Early $45K Sharpshooter is only a $3 buy-in (FREE with your first deposit of $5 or more at DK) where the top 3,525 finishers (from up to 17,241 teams) win cash. First place is worth $3,000. It closes at 5:00 EST; enter before it fills and make lineup changes until each player’s game begins.
The other game in Early pools has the Wizards hosting Charlotte. Bradley Beal (leg) is out indefinitely, and Otto Porter $5800 (thigh) is questionable after leaving Wednesday’s loss early. John Wall $9300 and Marcin Gortat $6300 will again play huge minutes. Gary Neal $4200 and Ramon Sessions $4000 are sharing the SG role, while rookie Kelly Oubre Jr. $3100 may be getting his chance, especially if Porter can’t go. Kris Humphries $3700 is also cheap and looked a bit stronger last game.
Al Jefferson (suspension) is out and Nicolas Batum $7500 (illness) might not be 100% if he does return, so the Hornets may have to rely again on Jeremy Lin $5000 and P.J. Hairston $3300 for significant minutes. Marvin Williams $5700 had a modest double-double last game but it’s really up to Kemba Walker $7300 to keep them competitive, and Wall is a tough foe. Rookie Frank Kaminsky $3900 is improving defensively, which leads to more minutes. One of these nights, he’ll double-double off the bench.
I’m including the matinee in today’s sample lineup and Short List, though sticking to the 4-game evening slate and the most lucrative GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool) contests.
Off a very tough loss in San Antonio, the Clippers must regroup in Houston 24 hours later. Chris Paul $7800, Blake Griffin $8800 and DeAndre Jordan $6800 were all outstanding but played heavy minutes. The Rockets have had a day of rest after an easy romp over the Lakers; James Harden $10700 and Dwight Howard $7100 will be fresh for this challenge and Trevor Ariza $5900 is a nice price. Patrick Beverley $5000 will have his hands full trying to contain CP3, while Clint Capela $5600 and Terrence Jones $4500 take turns dealing with Griffin.
Another pair of tired teams meet in Memphis. The Pacers won at home over Brooklyn, thanks to strong efforts off the bench by Rodney Stuckey $4500 and Jordan Hill $4800 — Paul George $9200 continued in “very good, not great” mode with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 7 turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies got thumped in Dallas. Jeff Green $5100 and Courtney Lee $4500 shot a combined 2-for-15; the lineup with Zach Randolph $5900 coming off the bench has been held under 90 in two straight while losing three of four. Marc Gasol $7300, Mike Conley $6000 and Matt Barnes $5300 are quite affordable if you expect them to bounce back at home. Mario Chalmers $3900 and JaMychal Green $3300 are part of a tight rotation.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Russell Westbrook $10500 | John Wall $9300 | Jeremy Lin $5000 |
| SG | James Harden $10700 | Kobe Bryant $6300 | Arron Afflalo $4800 |
| SF | Kevin Durant $10200 | Carmelo Anthony $8300 | P.J. Hairston $3300 |
| PF | Blake Griffin $8800 | Serge Ibaka $6400 | Jordan Hill $4800 |
| C | Marc Gasol $7300 | Marcin Gortat $6300 | Frank Kaminsky $3900 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.