There is a pretty significant football game today, with parties to organize or attend. Four NBA games begin very early — daily fantasy contests at DraftKings close at 1:00 Eastern.
The biggest decision is whether to pay retail for DeMarcus Cousins $11200 or try to beat him with a balanced lineup. The Kings are allowing a ton of points, Boogie is openly critical of his coach and the Celtics are so hot lately (eight of nine) they just won in Cleveland. Rajon Rondo $8000 vs. Isaiah Thomas $7500 will be fun to watch, Avery Bradley $5500 matches up well against Marco Belinelli $4600 and Boston’s bench is deeper, with Evan Turner $5400 and Tyler Zeller $3100 the hot hands.
Rudy Gay $6800 (ankle) is doubtful, which boosts the value of Cousins, Omri Casspi $5200, Willie Cauley-Stein $5100 and Darren Collison $4800. In DFS, it doesn’t matter who wins, we root for close, high-scoring games and hope for overtime.
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With a huge 42-point fourth quarter to beat the Bulls on Friday, the Nuggets have won three of five. 19-year-old Emmanuel Mudiay $5600 is really coming on, and the Knicks make opposing point guards look good. Danilo Gallinari $6900 plays well everywhere, and has fond memories of Madison Square Garden. Kenneth Faried $5600 is undersized against Kristaps Porzingis $7000, who broke out on Friday (17 PTS, 10 REB, 6 BLK.) With contrasting styles, Robin Lopez $5300 and Nikola Jokic $6500 can both be effective.
Denver sixth man Will Barton $5700 has recently been adding blocks, rebounds and assists to his scoring ability. If Carmelo Anthony $8500 (knee) misses another game, Arron Afflalo $5100 and Jose Calderon $4400 benefit for fantasy purposes but it will be hard to avoid a ninth loss in ten games.
There are a lot of big names in the Clippers-Heat battle. Chris Paul $9400 and DeAndre Jordan $7800 take on Dwyane Wade $7200 and Chris Bosh $7100, but the hottest Miami player is Hassan Whiteside $7400, who registered a symmetrical triple-double (10 PTS, 10 REB, 10 BLK) in only 27 minutes on Friday. Goran Dragic $5400 has a tough assignment against CP3, and this could turn into a defensive struggle. Jamal Crawford $4800 has scored 20+ in three straight; he and J.J. Redick $4900 were on the floor together for long stretches because Austin Rivers (hand) is out. Lance Stephenson $3100 hit all six shots in a productive 19 minutes and will presumably be a factor again.
Don’t be too quick to dismiss the Magic in the opener of a back-to-back with Atlanta; the Hawks won by only three points the last time they met in Orlando. Paul Millsap $7900 and Al Horford $6600 are both sharp, but so are Nikola Vucevic $7300 and Victor Oladipo $6900. The second units could be prominent, with a slight edge to the home team. Evan Fournier $4500, Mario Hezonja $3300 and Jason Smith $3000 are all cheap plays with some upside, while Dennis Schroder $5000 is always capable of getting hot if Jeff Teague $6000 falters.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Chris Paul $9400 | Rajon Rondo $8000 | Emmanuel Mudiay $5600 |
| SG | Dwyane Wade $7200 | Evan Turner $5400 | Arron Afflalo $5100 |
| SF | Carmelo Anthony $8500 | Danilo Gallinari $6900 | Lance Stephenson $3100 |
| PF | DeMarcus Cousins $11200 | Paul Millsap $7900 | Jason Smith $3000 |
| C | DeAndre Jordan $7800 | Al Horford $6600 | Tyler Zeller $3100 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.