Fantasy NBA DraftKings DFS Values (Jan. 29)

Salaries are fairly low at the top tonight as only six players, four of which are bigs (PF/C), are priced at $8,000 or more, which includes brothers Pau Gasol ($9,300) and Marc Gasol ($8,000).

Both Gasol brothers have great matchups -- Pau vs. LAL and Marc vs. DEN -- and stacking them will be a popular strategy tonight. Marc's teammate Zach Randolph ($8,200) is a strong play as well as the Nuggets allow the second-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards and Z-Bo has 10 consecutive double-doubles.

If you load up on high(er)-priced bigs, the good news is there is plenty of value at guard tonight to allow you do so.

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With that said, here are some DraftKings values ($6,500 salary or less) for Thursday's NBA games:

PG - Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic (vs. MIL), $5,600: With impressive consistency for a rookie point guard, Payton scored an eight-game low of 26.5 fantasy points against the Grizzlies on Monday. Over that stretch, Payton has averaged 13.13 points, 8.0 assists and 2.13 steals per game. Although the Bucks have held opposing point guards to the fewest fantasy points this season, Payton does a number of different things to generate fantasy points.

PG - Langston Galloway, New York Knicks (at IND), $4,300: Playing 30 or more minutes in all five of his starts, Galloway has scored at least 32 fantasy points in four of those five games. Based on average production of 30.95 fantasy points per game as a starter, he's priced at 7.2 times his bargain-basement salary. During that five-game span, he has averaged 15.2 points, 2.0 three's, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. If Carmelo Anthony rests on the second night of their back-to-back, Galloway may need to shoulder more of the scoring load.

PG - Jordan Clarkson, Los Angeles Lakers (vs. CHI), $3,800: Starting his third consecutive game at the point on Tuesday, Clarkson played more than 36 minutes, scored 18 (real) points and 28.25 fantasy points, all of which were highs this season. He has exceeded 20 fantasy points in two of his three starts and he just needs to score 19.0 fantasy points to reach 5x value.

PG - Beno Udrih, Memphis Grizzlies (vs. DEN), $3,200: If Mike Conley (wrist) misses another game, then Udrih is a strong value play even though Nick Calathes was more productive in their last game. That said, Udrih has played at least 20 minutes in five of his past seven games and has at least 22 fantasy points in four of those five games with 20-plus minutes.

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SG - Arron Afflalo, Denver Nuggets (at MEM), $6,100: Afflalo has scored at least 22.5 fantasy points in 13 of his past 14 games and has averaged 28.7 during that 14-game span. The Grizzlies have one of the league's best defenses and play at the fifth-slowest pace, but Afflalo has a high floor and scored 29.75 fantasy points in his first matchup against the Grizz.

SG - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (at ORL), $5,400: The allotment of minutes by Jason Kidd is as difficult to predict as the allocation of workloads to running backs by Bill Belichick, but the Greek Freak has seen 33-plus minutes in five of his past six games. During that span, he has averaged 25.67 fantasy points per game -- or slightly less than 5x his salary (4.75). With his all-around statistical contributions, The Alphabet has upside for 35-40 points (and would be 1 and 2 in the player nickname rankings tonight).

SG - O.J. Mayo, Milwaukee Bucks (at ORL), $4,400: With limited upside as a bench player getting less than 30 minutes per night, Mayo has still been consistent with at least 21.5 fantasy points in nine consecutive games and an average of 25.97 during that stretch. Mayo needs just 22.0 fantasy points to reach 5x value.

SF - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks (at ORL), $5,200: On nights with a large slate of games, I typically avoid the Bucks with the possible exception of Brandon Knight. On a night with four games, I'm more willing to roll with some Bucks in my lineups. That said, Middleton has scored at least 25 fantasy points in three consecutive games and in six of his past nine. Based on the options throughout the price scale tonight, small forward is my least favorite position, which means that Middleton will likely be my most-owned Buck tonight.

PF - David West, Indiana Pacers (vs. NYK), $6,300: Perhaps one of the least exciting options in daily fantasy basketball, West is consistently productive, which is exciting in its own way. In his past 25 games, West has scored less than 20 fantasy points only once and that one game was 19.5 points. During that same 25-game span, he's averaging 30.18 FPPG and has averaged a line of 13.12/7.28/3.56 with 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks per game as well.

PF - Jason Smith, New York Knicks (at IND), $3,900: Smith had his first double-double of the season last night with 11 points and 11 rebounds while adding six assists and a steal. Smith has played 32-plus minutes in five consecutive games and he has scored at least 25.5 fantasy points in four of those games.

C - Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls (at LAL), $6,300: Although we shouldn't expect another 50 fantasy points, Noah had an 18/15 double-double with six assists and two steals in Tuesday's overtime win at Golden State. Noah has recently mentioned that he feels as healthy as he has felt all season and he should easily reach value in an exploitable matchup against the Lakers.

C - Zaza Pachulia, Milwaukee Bucks (at ORL), $4,600: If Ersan Ilyasova (groin) misses tonight's game, Pachulia may get a bump in minutes. (Pachulia has played roughly two minutes less over his past six games with Ilyasova in the lineup than he had in the previous 10 games without him.) Either way, he has a favorable matchup against the Magic, who have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing centers. Over his past 16 games, Pachulia is averaging 27.86 fantasy points, which is 6.06 times tonight's salary.

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2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 13

Winners of just two of their past seven games, the Chicago Bulls are in a mini-slump, but one positive is that Derrick Rose is starting to turn the corner in his return.

Averaging more than 35 minutes per game in his past three outings, Rose has notched back-to-back double-doubles (only has three on the season) and has averaged 28.0 points and 8.3 assists per game during that three-game span.

In his first 28 games this season, Rose averaged just 16.96 points and 4.86 assists per game on less than 29 minutes per game.

Meanwhile, Pau Gasol has played really well over his past 10 games.

To begin the season, Gasol had 15 double-doubles in his first 21 games and then had only two double-doubles in his next nine games. Since then, Gasol has seven double-doubles in his past nine outings.

With 23 double-doubles on the season, Gasol is tied with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis for second in the league behind Nikola Vucevic (24).

Over the past 10 games, Gasol is averaging 22.7 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.

Atlanta Hawks extend winning streak to 12 games

Pulling a trick out of Gregg Popovich's book, the Atlanta Hawks sat their entire starting lineup (in waves) against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics in back-to-back games to kick off last week.

It's not as though they needed their starters as the Hawks won both of those games by at least 14 points.

With their squad at full strength, the Hawks faced two tougher foes -- Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls -- in back-to-back at the end of the week, although the results were the same. Atlanta won those games by 21 and eight points, respectively.

During that four-game road trip last week, the Hawks averaged 106.75 points (with a minimum of 105) while holding their opponents to 91.5 points (maximum of 99) per game.

On Monday, the Hawks will host the Detroit Pistons, who have won 11 of 13 games since parting ways with Josh Smith. The toughest game of the week will be Friday's tilt against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are extremely dangerous with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook back at full health.

That said, their next seven games and nine of their next 10 games are all at home.

Russell Westbrook's triple-double aided by "execution"

Against the Warriors on Friday night, Russell Westbrook recorded his ninth career triple-double.

Westbrook finished the game with 17 points, 17 assists, 15 rebounds as well as four steals. Among active NBA players, Rajon Rondo is the only other player in the league with a 15/15/15 triple-double.

After the game, Westbrook attributed his and the team's offensive success to "execution."



As part of the short interview, Westbrook goes on to tell The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel, author of the "Mr. Unreliable" column on KD, that he doesn't like him.

Here are my NBA Power Rankings heading into Week 13:

1. Atlanta Hawks (Record 33-8, Last Week 2)
2. Golden State Warriors (Record 32-6, Last Week 1)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 30-11, Last Week 3)
4. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 29-11, Last Week 4)
5. Houston Rockets (Record 28-13, Last Week 6)
6. Washington Wizards (Record 28-13, Last Week 10)
7. Chicago Bulls (Record 27-15, Last Week 5)
8. Toronto Raptors (Record 26-14, Last Week 7)
9. Dallas Mavericks (Record 28-13, Last Week 8)
10. San Antonio Spurs (Record 26-16, Last Week 9)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 27-14, Last Week 11)
12. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 21-20, Last Week 15)
13. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 20-20, Last Week 13)
14. Phoenix Suns (Record 24-18, Last Week 12)
15. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 21-19, Last Week 17)
16. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 20-20, Last Week 14)
17. Detroit Pistons (Record 16-25, Last Week 24)
18. Denver Nuggets (Record 18-22, Last Week 18)
19. Miami Heat (Record 18-22, Last Week 19)
20. Charlotte Hornets (Record 16-25, Last Week 20)
21. Brooklyn Nets (Record 17-24, Last Week 16)
22. Sacramento Kings (Record 16-24, Last Week 21)
23. Indiana Pacers (Record 15-27, Last Week 22)
24. Orlando Magic (Record 15-29, Last Week 23)
25. Utah Jazz (Record 14-27, Last Week 26)
26. Boston Celtics (Record 13-25, Last Week 25)
27. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 12-29, Last Week 27)
28. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 8-32, Last Week 28)
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 7-32, Last Week 29)
30. New York Knicks (Record 5-36, Last Week 30)

Also, check out our Fantasy Basketball Rest-of-Season Rankings

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2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 8

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Since Kevin Durant made his season debut seven games ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder have won their past six games in a row.

All six of those wins have come against teams that missed the playoffs last year and although the Cleveland Cavaliers still remain the favorites (based on Vegas odds) to win it all, the Cavs were without LeBron James (knee) when they faced the Thunder last week.

That said, the Thunder have beaten the opponents on their schedule and are now just two games under .500 and only one-half game behind the Phoenix Suns, who currently occupy the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

Their next game is against the Kings, who have been without DeMarcus Cousins for nine consecutive games and have lost eight of their past 10 games. Before his bout with viral meningitis, Cousins had seven consecutive double-doubles with at least 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Assuming the Thunder beat the DMC-less Kings, they will try to get back to .500 against the Golden State Warriors, who have now won 16 consecutive games.

Kobe Bryant moves into third all-time in scoring

While Magic Johnson would like the Lakers to lose all of their remaining games to get the highest 2015 NBA Draft pick as possible, it should come as no surprise that Kobe Bryant isn't on board with that philosophy.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, if their first-round pick is outside of the top-five selections, they will send that selection to Phoenix as part of the deal that led to the acquisition of Steve Nash.

That said, the Lakers have won three consecutive games and five of their past eight games.

Despite shooting a career-low 38.6 percent from the field in his 19th NBA season, Bryant is one of the all-time greatest scorers the game has ever seen. With 26 points last night against the Timberwolves, Bryant moved past Michael Jordan for third all-time in the career scoring list.

Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) have more career points than Bryant (32,310). Meanwhile, Jordan (30.12) and Wilt Chamberlain (30.07) are the only two players that have averaged more than 30 points per game over their careers; Bryant is 10th on that list at 25.46 PPG.

It's unlikely that Bryant plays long enough to catch Malone.

Pau Gasol, the double-double machine

Bryant's ex-teammate Pau Gasol is currently tied with three others for the most double-doubles (14) this season.

Averaging 19.0 points and a career-high 11.9 rebounds per game, Gasol had just nine points and nine rebounds on Sunday, but he had double-doubles in all of his previous eight games. Of the six games in which he has not had a double-double this season, Gasol was short by one point and/or one rebound in four of those games.

In other words, Gasol has 18 games (out of his 20 games played) this season with nine-plus points and nine-plus rebounds.

Gasol had 30 double-doubles in 60 games last season and only 15 of them in 49 games in the 2012-13 season.

Here are my Week 8 NBA Power Rankings:

1. Golden State Warriors (Record 21-2, Last Week 1)
2. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 19-4, Last Week 2)
3. San Antonio Spurs (Record 17-7, Last Week 3)
4. Houston Rockets (Record 18-5, Last Week 5)
5. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 18-6, Last Week 4)
6. Toronto Raptors (Record 18-6, Last Week 6)
7. Washington Wizards (Record 17-6, Last Week 10)
8. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 16-7, Last Week 9)
9. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 13-9, Last Week 7)
10. Dallas Mavericks (Record 17-8, Last Week 8)
11. Chicago Bulls (Record 15-8, Last Week 11)
12. Atlanta Hawks (Record 16-7, Last Week 12)
13. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 11-13, Last Week 16)
14. Phoenix Suns (Record 12-13, Last Week 13)
15. Sacramento Kings (Record 11-13, Last Week 14)
16. Miami Heat (Record 11-13, Last Week 15)
17. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 11-12, Last Week 18)
18. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 12-12, Last Week 17)
19. Denver Nuggets (Record 10-14, Last Week 19)
20. Brooklyn Nets (Record 10-12, Last Week 20)
21. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 8-16, Last Week 24)
22. Orlando Magic (Record 10-16, Last Week 22)
23. Indiana Pacers (Record 7-17, Last Week 23)
24. Boston Celtics (Record 7-14, Last Week 21)
25. Charlotte Hornets (Record 6-17, Last Week 25)
26. Utah Jazz (Record 6-18, Last Week 26)
27. Detroit Pistons (Record 5-19, Last Week 29)
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 5-18, Last Week 27)
29. New York Knicks (Record 5-21, Last Week 28)
30. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 2-21, Last Week 30)

Also, check out our Fantasy Basketball Rest-of-Season Rankings

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Pau Gasol (vertigo) is doubtful for Tuesday vs. NYK

After spending last night at the hospital, Lakers PF/C Pau Gasol is listed as "doubtful" for Tuesday's game against the Knicks although he will be re-examined tomorrow morning.

In addition, Gasol had a case of vertigo as the MRI came back clean:

After spending the night in the hospital, Pau Gasol has been diagnosed as having had vertigo. MRI on his head this morning came back normal.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 24, 2014

If Gasol does not play, as expected, the Lakers will start Chris Kaman at center.

Gasol currently leads the Lakers in both scoring (17.5 PPG), rebounding (9.8 RPG) and blocks (1.53 BPG).

In 18 minutes per game this season, Kaman is averaging 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.06 blocks per game.  That said, Kaman has not played since Feb. 28th.

Jodie Meeks scores career-high 42 points in upset over Thunder

In an upset over the Thunder, Lakers guard Jodie Meeks led all players with 42 points, which also sets a career high.

To demonstrate Meeks' shooting efficiency today, he scored 22 more points than teammate Pau Gasol (20 points) despite having only one more field-goal attempt than Gasol, who was eight of 17 from the field.

Meeks was 11-for-18 from the field including six three-pointers (on 11 attempts) and a perfect 14-for-14 at the free-throw line.

Not only was it a career high for Meeks, but it was only the second time in his career that he scored more than 30 points in a game.  His previous career high was 31 points set back in 2012 when he was with the Sixers.

In addition to his 42 points, Meeks added four steals and two rebounds.

NBA Finals Preseason Predictions for the 2012-13 Season

Earlier in the week, Kyle Baillargeon made his preseason predictions with final regular-season records for all 30 NBA teams.

[His team-by-team predictions here: Eastern Conference - Western Conference]

Of course, "winning" the regular season doesn't mean much unless you parlay that home-court advantage into a title.

With that said, Kyle makes his predictions for the conference and NBA Finals below:

Eastern Conference Finals: Boston over Miami in six games

The Heat can expect to be back in the finals for many years to come, and will likely win at least a few more, so long as LeBron is still there.  But the retooled Boston Celtics will put that dynasty on hold for the 2012-2013 season.  This Celtics team is on a mission to win.  More importantly though, this is the most complete Celtics team since the 07-08 squad.  The Heat still have Lebron, Wade, and Bosh, and they did add Ray Allen, but once again, depth is a question mark.  The Celtics' deep rotation will keep coming at the Heat, and eventually wear them down and take it in six games.

Western Conference Finals: LA Lakers over San Antonio in five games

The Spurs will have run out of gas by the time they face Dwight Howard and the Lakers.  This year should be the final stand for San Antonio, but the Lakers will not be stopped in the West.  Steve Nash's playmaking will prove to be too much, and Kobe Bryant is still Kobe Bryant.  But the key to this Lakers team will be Howard.  Assuming his back does not hinder him in any way, he and Pau Gasol should dominate the front court.  The Lakers will win this going away. 

NBA Finals: LA Lakers over Boston in seven games

This pains me to admit, but the Celtics likely won't be able to stop the Lakers.  Though Boston still has Kevin Garnett, and they did add a glut of seven-footers, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard are just too much for any front court.  Steve Nash may not be able to keep up with Rondo at this stage, and that may be Boston's best hope of winning the Finals.  Either way, expect a classic seven-game series in June 2013.

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Our FanDuel daily NBA leagues: October 30 (12 teams) - October 31 (12 teams)

Mavs sweep Lakers with 36-point blowout

Ugly. Embarrassing. Classless.

All words that could be used to describe what happened in Game 4 of the Mavs-Lakers series.

Not only did the Mavericks sweep the Lakers with today's 36-point blowout win, but both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were ejected in the fourth quarter for cheap shots.

Per Elias (via ESPN Stats & Info), today's victory was the largest margin of victory in Game 4 of an NBA playoff series sweep.

Within one minute of play, Odom shoved Dirk Nowitzki and Bynum closedlined J.J. Barea with elbow to the chest on a lay-up attempt.

Before this series, teams that had lost the first three games of an NBA playoff series were 0-for-98. Now, they are 0-for-99.

However, this was the first time in Phil Jackson's coaching career that he was swept in a playoff series.

In fact, Jackson's titles (11) exceed the number of times he has even lost a playoff series (10). Jackson finishes with a record of 229-104 (.688) record in the post-season, which are records for wins and winning percentage.

Speaking of records, the Mavs tied an NBA record with 20 three-pointers made and Jason Terry accounted for nine of them, which also ties the NBA record.

Three players in this game scored 20-plus points and all of them came off the Mavs' bench: Terry (32), Barea (22) and Peja Stojakovic (21).

Many expect changes to be on the horizon for the Lakers.

One of the guys that could be gone is Pau Gasol, who averaged only 12.5 points on 42.2-percent shooting and 9.3 rebounds per game this season. In the regular season, Gasol averaged 18.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and shot 52.9 percent from the field.

And, of course, expect rumors involving Dwight Howard trade to the Lakers to continue to heat up over the next couple of months before the official start of the free-agency period.