Fantasy Basketball Daily Pre-Game Report for Tuesday, January 3
Jan 3, 2012 Blog
Daily Fantasy Tournament Schedule for Tuesday Night:
Fanduel $6000 Tuesday NBA Rebound – $10 Entry, Top 65 Teams Paid, 7:00 PM EST
DraftStreet $500 Guaranteed Tourney – $2 Entry, Top 20 Teams Paid, 7:00 PM EST
DraftStreet $1000 Guaranteed Tourney – $5 Entry, Top 18 Teams Paid, 7:00 PM EST
DraftStreet $2000 Guaranteed Tourney – $22 Entry, Top 9 Teams Paid, 7:00 PM EST
Tuesday NBA Schedule and Probable Starting Lineups:
Charlotte @ Clevelend (-4) 188 Total
CHA: DJ Augustin, G. Henderson, C. Maggette, DJ White, B. Diaw
CLE: K. Irving, A. Parker, (O. Casspi/A. Gee), A. Jamison, A. Varejao
Tyrus Thomas is still out so DJ White will again get the start at PF and should have a decent game for CHA. He’s a low salary play on most of the daily fantasy sites.
Corey Maggette has been horrible lately and his back could be bothering more than he’s letting on. He’s clearly not worth the salary tag right now.
Kyrie Irving is still starting and got 28 minutes versus 20 for Ramon Sessions. DJ Augustin is a soft defender, so Irving should be able to get to the rim, where CHA has no real center to defend it.
D.J. Augustin has been dealing with a sore ankle, so look for Kemba Walker to continue to get good minutes. A Kyrie Irving-Kemba Walker matchup should be some great basketball in this one.
Atlanta @ Chicago (-9.5) 185 Total
ATL: J. Teague, J. Johnson, M. Williams, J. Smith, A. Horford
CHI: D. Rose, R. Brewer, L. Deng, C. Boozer, J. Noah
Game Preview from By The Horns
Rip Hamilton missed his last game with a groin injury and Ronnie Brewer got the spot start. Bench Hamilton, but Brewer probably isn’t worth the daily league start.
Derrick Rose has turned into one of the best defenders in the league, so Jeff Teague could struggle in this game, so avoid Teague unless the price is right.
Derrick Rose should have a good game against the inexperienced Jeff Teague, but most of the damage might come from the perimeter with Josh Smith and Al Horford protecting the paint. CJ Watson is also out with a sprained ankle, so look for Rose to go close to 40 minutes tonight. Rose should be worth his daily salary, and then some.
Josh Smith is dealing with swelling in his right knee and his fantasy game is suffering. Play it safe and avoid him in daily games until he heals.
Sacramento @ Memphis
SAC: T. Evans, M. Thornton, J. Salmons, C. Hayes, (JJ Hickson/J. Thompson)
MEM: J. Pargo, T. Allen/OJ Mayo, R. Gay, Z. Randolph, M. Gasol
Game Preview from Memphis Flyer
Zach Randolph bruised his knee in his last game and will be out tonight. If he can’t go, Dante Cunningham could get the call for a cheap daily play.
Mike Conley might miss this game and Jeremy Pargo could pick up the spot start and makes a nice low salary play. I’m not sure that Pargo can hang with Tyreke Evans though, so Evans should be a nice play tonight.
DeMarcus Cousins is still a headcase and was suspended from the team for his last game. No word yet on whether he’ll play in this one or how many minutes he’ll get, so just avoid the headache. If Cousins is out, Marc Gasol could have a good game against the JJ Hickson/Jason Thompson pairing.
Tony Allen is one of the better SG defenders in the NBA, so Marcus Thornton could have a below average night. I’d probably still gamble on Thornton though since his price is just so low compared to his potential for a big game.
Portland @ Oklahoma City (-4.5) 196.5 Total
POR: R. Felton, W. Matthews, G. Wallace, L. Aldridge, M. Camby
OKC: R. Westbrook, T. Sefolosha/J. Harden, K. Durant, S. Ibaka, K. Perkins
Game Preview from Welcome to Loud City
Game Preview from BlazersEdge
Kevin Durant is a must play lately if you have the salary cap space. Portland wants to push the pace and the total is set fairly high at 196.5, so Durant should get plenty of shots.
Raymond Felton has a been a decent daily play and should have a good game in this one against Russell Westbrook. This is exactly the type of fast paced game that Westbrook thrives in, so look for a good game out of him.
Serge Ibaka has been a disappointment early in the season and I’d continue to avoid him, he just doesn’t get enough looks in the offense. LaMarcus Aldridge is also a fairly mobile PF and can easily cover Ibaka which further decreases his offensive involvment. Aldridge might however have some difficulty scoring on the tough defense of Ibaka.
Thabo Sefolosha has the flu and is also dealing with a right foot injury, so James Harden could get some extra run.
Milwaukee @ Utah (-2) 189.5 Total
MIL: B. Jennings, S. Jackson, C. Delfino, (E. Ilyasova/LRMAM), A. Bogut
UTA: D. Harris, (CJ Miles/R. Bell), (J. Howard/G. Hayward), P. Millsap, A. Jefferson
Devin Harris has gotten off to a slow start and hasn’t been worth his current salary on most daily sites. He’s also matched up on the very quick Brandon Jennings, which isn’t a great matchup for him. Jennings could have a nice game in this matchup.
Carlos Delfino has finally returned and had a great first game back. He should produce a good return given his reasonable salary.
Mike Dunleavy missed Monday’s game with an illness. Might be best to avoid him tonight.
Stephen Jackson has been in an early season slump and his health doesn’t seem to be 100% yet, which makes paying full price for him a very risky move. Find a safer option.
The Andrew Bogut/Al Jefferson matchup is a tough one and it’s really hard to pick a winner there. I’d expect that both guys might have very average lines tonight.
Beno Udrih is day to day with a sore shoulder, so Brandon Jennings could see some extra minutes tonight.
Houston @ LA Lakers (-7.5) 193.5 Total
HOU: K. Lowry, K. Martin, C. Budinger, L. Scola, (J. Hill/S. Dalembert)
LAL: (D. Fisher/S. Blake), K. Bryant, M. Peace, P. Gasol, A. Bynum
Game Preview from The Dream Shake
Andrew Bynum is my favorite center play on the board tonight with a matchup against a very weak Jordan Hill and an out of shape Samuel Dalembert. He should produce a great return on his very reasonable salary.
Kyle Lowry has been hot and you have to keep rolling with him, especially against the weak defense of Derek Fisher.
Luis Scola will also have a tough time handling Pau Gasol, so I’d look to use Gasol tonight, even with his high salary and a sore shoulder.
Kevin Martin could have some difficulty scoring on Kobe Bryant and might not be worth his salary tonight. Kobe on the other hand should still get his 20-25 shots and be a fairly solid play.
Josh McRoberts is questionable with a toe injury.
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