On New Year’s Eve, we wish all readers a safe, happy celebration. It’s also our last chance of 2015 to win big in daily fantasy tournaments. There are six games in the NBA, two of them beginning at 6:00 Eastern.
Without Stephen Curry $10700 (leg) the other Warriors did not show up in Dallas last night — it was 60-42 by the half. Now they must deal with James Harden $10300 and Dwight Howard $6900 24 hours later.
Shaun Livingston $3800 disappointed as a starter but Ian Clark $3000 paid off handsomely, with 21 points in 24 minutes off the bench. Marreese Speights $3000 also took advantage of extra run (12 PTS, 5 REB) while the big guns misfired; Klay Thompson $7500 and Draymond Green $9300 shot a combined 8-for-30.
Plays of the Day
The $250K Sharpshooter is only a $3 buy-in (FREE with your initial deposit at DraftKings) where the top 19,550 finishers (from up to 95,833 teams) win cash. First place is worth $20,000. The deadline is 6:00 but enter before it fills; you can make lineup changes until each player’s game begins.
The Clippers got the job done last night in Charlotte, with J.J. Redick $5200 (26 PTS) and Austin Rivers $3200 (22) combining for nine three-pointers. Chris Paul $9100 and DeAndre Jordan $7600 each double-doubled, while Paul Pierce $3900 is holding the fort at PF until Blake Griffin (quad) returns. Their reward is a back-to-back against Anthony Davis $10400 and the well-rested Pelicans.
Brilliant last night (25 PTS, 10 REB, 2 BLK) in an easy home victory, rookie Karl-Anthony-Towns $6800 is in tough against Andre Drummond $9400. The Pistons won in Minnesota on Nov. 20 and can sweep the season series. Reggie Jackson $7500 is a decent play vs. Ricky Rubio $6500, and Detroit forwards Ersan Ilyasova $5100 and Marcus Morris $5700 both get heavy minutes in a short rotation.
Milwaukee is full of surprises, scoring 123 points in Tuesday’s loss to the Thunder. Michael Carter-Williams $6700, Giannis Antetokounmpo $6500 and Khris Middleton $6400 all exceeded expectations, while John Henson $4000 blocked five shots in his 25 minutes off the bench. The Pacers lost a heart-breaker to Chicago last night by two points in overtime. George Hill $5200 was sharp and Lavoy Allen $3500 double-doubled, but Monta Ellis $5700 cooled off abruptly (4-for-19) and Paul George $8600 continues to struggle. His 36% shooting and 20.7 PPG in December are very disappointing compared to 47.7% and 29.5 in November.
Humiliated in San Antonio last night — it was 61-33 at the half — the Suns have no chance in Oklahoma City. Russell Westbrook $10600 and Kevin Durant $10100 might give way early to a second unit that came to life on Tuesday with Cameron Payne $3100 taking over from D.J. Augustin $3100. The rookie from Murray State had some chemistry with Enes Kanter $5200 and deserves a longer audition.
In a back-to-back for both teams, the Blazers are in Utah. Damian Lillard $8800 (foot) missed his fifth straight game, so C.J. McCollum $7800 remained scalding hot with 29 points and Allen Crabbe $4800 added 20 to edge the Nuggets. The Jazz were awful in Minnesota, except for Trey Burke $4200 and Jeff Withey $3600. Until Derrick Favors $7400 (back) returns, Gordon Hayward $7500 is their only consistent scorer.
It’s not the worst night to go extreme stars-and-scrubs, with ultra-cheap guys like Payne, Clark and Rivers available. Our sample lineup starts with the assumption that the Rockets will run up the score and strives for balance elsewhere.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Russell Westbrook $10600 | Reggie Jackson $7500 | Trey Burke $4200 |
| SG | James Harden $10300 | C.J. McCollum $7800 | J.J. Redick $5200 |
| SF | Kevin Durant $10100 | G. Antetokounmpo $6500 | Paul Pierce $3900 |
| PF | Anthony Davis $10400 | Ersan Ilyasova $5100 | John Henson $4000 |
| C | Andre Drummond $9400 | Dwight Howard $6900 | Enes Kanter $5200 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.