Fantasy Spin January 9, 2016

There are two Saturday matinees, with Charlotte visiting the Clippers at 3:30 Eastern (a very early start local time) then the Bulls in Atlanta at 5:00. DraftKings offers Early contests on just those games; also closing at 3:30 are All-Day offerings on the full seven-game NBA slate.

There are also two-game Afternoon pools at 5:00, two game Turbo contests at 7:30 and Late action at 9:00, but today’s sample lineup and Short List will focus on 7:00 offerings that span the five evening games.

As expected, Stephen Curry $10500 was content to be the third option last night in a 20-point romp in Portland. Draymond Green $10000 triple-doubled yet again — I should create a macro to type that phrase — and Klay Thompson $8000 drained seven triples in a 36-point, 6-rebound, 5-assist gem.

Green will be helping to contain DeMarcus Cousins $10200 this evening in an All-Star confrontation. Boogie missed their first two meetings this year with leg and back issues then got ejected after 12 minutes in the third; I’m guessing he will be inspired. Rajon Rondo $8400 and Rudy Gay $6900 should keep the Kings competitive.

Plays of the Day

The Early $35K Sharpshooter is only a $3 buy-in (FREE with your initial deposit at DK) where the top 2,750 finishers (from up to 13,415 teams) win cash. First place is worth $2,000. Enter before 3:30; you can make lineup changes until each player’s game begins.

If you’re reading this between 3:30 and 9:00, there’s a Late $20K Sharpshooter that spans the final two games. Also $3 (or free) with a $2K top prize, it’s limited to just 7,666 teams and pays out cash to 1,540.

The Heat took care of business in Phoenix thanks to Dwyane Wade $6800, Goran Dragic $5700 and Gerald Green $4000. This road back-to-back in Utah is certain to be low scoring compared to the Warriors at Sacramento. You might want to stack the maximum seven players from that game in Late action. If Omri Casspi $6500 (back) returns, Quincy Acy $3200 will not repeat his last two excellent efforts. Andrew Bogut $4600 and Brandon Rush $3600 are possible bargains for the champs.

The Raptors are extremely short-handed on the wings, as Terrence Ross $3800 (back) limped off in the fourth quarter last night. DeMar DeRozan $8000 will have to play more at SF and starter James Johnson $3700 will get extra minutes but Cory Joseph $3600 will also benefit when the team goes small. Jonas Valanciunas $5500 and Bismack Biyombo $4200 will both be needed against Jahlil Okafor $6000 and Nerlens Noel $6600. Born in Philadelphia and a star at Villanova, Kyle Lowry $8600 considers this a home game and Ish Smith $6900 has a difficult assignment.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Magic will take their 83-77 win in Brooklyn and will be in a much better mood at home tonight than the visitors. Tied at the half, Washington lost the third quarter 26-14 to the sound of home-court booing. John Wall $9400, Marcin Gortat $6700 and Otto Porter $6100 are doing their best, but the gaping holes at SG and PF can be exploited by most teams. Nikola Vucevic $7000 and Victor Oladipo $6800 are strong daily plays, with Aaron Gordon $3900 perhaps the best value as Tobias Harris $5700 is mired in a 6-for-27 slump, 1-for-10 from deep. This might be the night he finds the range.

The Nets were brutal (77 points on less than 40% shooting) in a home loss, suggesting they might get clobbered tonight in Detroit. Andre Drummond $8900, Reggie Jackson $7100 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $5400 are solid selections. If it’s one-sided, Stanley Johnson $3800 and the Pistons reserves might get extra opportunities.

Pos	Premium	Midrange	Bargain
PG	John Wall $9400	Reggie Jackson $7100	Cory Joseph $3600
SG	Klay Thompson $8000	K. Caldwell-Pope $5400	Brandon Rush $3600
SF	Rudy Gay $6900	Stanley Johnson $3800	James Johnson $3700
PF	DeMarcus Cousins $10200	Nerlens Noel $6600	Quincy Acy $3200
C	Andre Drummond $8900	Nikola Vucevic $7000	Andrew Bogut $4600