2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 12

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Since moving into the No. 2 spot of our NBA Power Rankings last week, the Atlanta Hawks have continued to play great basketball as they finished the week with a 4-0 record despite some difficult matchups.

Three of their four wins were against teams that are more than 10 games above .500 -- Clippers, Grizzlies and Wizards. The other win was against the Pistons, who have played much better since releasing Josh Smith. In fact, the Pistons have won eight of nine games without Smith with the loss to the Hawks being the exception.

Since November 28th, the Hawks have posted a 22-2 record.

The Hawks will begin a four-game road trip starting on Tuesday against a couple of beatable Eastern Conference teams (Philadelphia and Boston) and then a couple of matchups (Toronto and Chicago) against two fellow teams in the top-three of Eastern Conference standings.

Although they may lack well-known superstars, they have played efficient, team-first basketball.

Not only does Atlanta rank third in three-point percentage (.383) and fifth in shooting percentage (.467), but they also rank eighth in opponent's three-point percentage (.339) and sixth in opponent's shooting percentage (.438).

In addition, the Hawks rank third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89) behind only the Clippers and Mavericks.

The final All-Star ballots will be announced on January 22nd, but the Hawks don't have any players in the top 10 and Paul Millsap currently ranks 13th in voting among Eastern Conference forwards.

Who's the worst: Sixers, Knicks and Celtics?

The Sixers opened the 2014-15 NBA season with 17 consecutive losses and it seemed as though they wouldn't win any games this season.

For the second time this season, however, the Sixers have a two-game winning streak with wins over the Nets and Pacers this past weekend and they have now won three of their past four games.

While their competition for the most lottery ping-pong balls is increasing within the division, the Sixers will host the 29-8 Hawks on Tuesday so it's highly unlikely that they get their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Perhaps the Knicks will shut down Carmelo Anthony for the season, but they have now lost a franchise-worst 15 consecutive games and currently own the league's worst record (5-35, .125). In addition, they have won only one of their past 26 games.

Aside from Anthony's injury, the Knicks have traded J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavaliers and released Samuel Dalembert as they try to improve their salary-cap situation going forward.

Earlier in the season, the Celtics traded away point guard Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks. One of the players acquired in that trade, Brandan Wright, has since been traded away as the Celtics work to stockpile draft picks.

The next player on the move will be the team's leading scorer, Jeff Green, in a trade that is expected to be completed on Monday.

Sources: Boston, Memphis and New Orleans agree on five-player trade sending Jeff Green to Grizzlies. Trade call Monday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 11, 2015

In a race to not be mediocre, but instead to be as bad as you can, which one of these Atlantic Division teams is the worst?

Cavs on five-game losing streak, lost eight of nine games

It takes time for a new trio of superstars playing for a first-year head coach to gel. Making the situation more challenging is the fact that LeBron James has missed the past eight games with a knee injury.

The injury isn't too serious and he should be back soon. In fact, he has noted that he would have played if it were the playoffs.

That said, the Cleveland Cavaliers have now lost five consecutive games and eight of their past nine.

With the Cavs ranking in the bottom half of the league in team defense, they have made some moves that should help bolster their defense. Not only is newly-acquired Iman Shumpert one of the league's more talented perimeter defenders, but they acquired Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets. Mozgov played for coach Blatt on the Russian National Team.

Despite dropping to .500 as we near the midpoint of the season, Vegas still has the Cavs installed as the favorite to win the 2015 NBA Finals at 5/1 odds. (The Warriors are a close second at 11/2 odds.)

Turnaround coming for the Hornets?

Expectations were high in the preseason for the Charlotte Hornets, who were coming off their second playoff appearance in the past decade.

Despite starting the season with a 10-24 record, the team is now on a five-game winning streak.

If the season were to end today, the Hornets would be tied with the Pacers at the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference, but both teams are only two games behind the Heat and Nets for the eighth seed.

Not only has Lance Stephenson been out since last playing on December 17th, but Al Jefferson has now missed seven consecutive games. With Stephenson and Jefferson out, Kemba Walker has put the team on his back.

During their five-game winning streak, Walker has averaged 30.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Here are my NBA Power Rankings heading into Week 12:

1. Golden State Warriors (Record 29-5, Last Week 1)
2. Atlanta Hawks (Record 29-8, Last Week 2)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 30-8, Last Week 3)
4. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 26-11, Last Week 4)
5. Chicago Bulls (Record 26-12, Last Week 5)
6. Houston Rockets (Record 26-11, Last Week 7)
7. Toronto Raptors (Record 25-11, Last Week 8)
8. Dallas Mavericks (Record 26-12, Last Week 6)
9. San Antonio Spurs (Record 23-15, Last Week 13)
10. Washington Wizards (Record 25-12, Last Week 9)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 25-13, Last Week 10)
12. Phoenix Suns (Record 22-18, Last Week 12)
13. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 18-19, Last Week 11)
14. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 18-18, Last Week 14)
15. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 19-19, Last Week 15)
16. Brooklyn Nets (Record 16-21, Last Week 16)
17. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 20-19, Last Week 17)
18. Denver Nuggets (Record 17-20, Last Week 19)
19. Miami Heat (Record 16-21, Last Week 18)
20. Charlotte Hornets (Record 15-24, Last Week 26)
21. Sacramento Kings (Record 16-21, Last Week 20)
22. Indiana Pacers (Record 15-24, Last Week 21)
23. Orlando Magic (Record 13-27, Last Week 22)
24. Detroit Pistons (Record 13-24, Last Week 23)
25. Boston Celtics (Record 12-23, Last Week 24)
26. Utah Jazz (Record 13-25, Last Week 25)
27. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 12-26, Last Week 27)
28. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 7-29, Last Week 29)
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 5-31, Last Week 28)
30. New York Knicks (Record 5-35, Last Week 30)

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

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Daily Fantasy Basketball: DraftStreet Advice for March 5th

In order to help you set your DraftStreet lineups in daily fantasy basketball leagues, Sean Beazley has a list of some players that he likes for Wednesday's games:

Today is the day of the $50,000 Guaranteed over at DraftStreet. Last week, I was fortunate to finish in 4th place with a monster team including Josh Smith, who went off for 33 fantasy points in the 1st half. Unfortunately, somehow Smith was just held to 3 fantasy points in the 2nd half and I fell just a few points behind the leader and a 10K score.

Here are a few players I like today:

Reggie Evans – F – Sacramento $6,081

Ever since Evans landed in Sacramento, he has been an immediate contributor. He is an absolute beast on the glass. He may be one of the top rebounders in the NBA. He really doesn’t have a lot of game to go with this skill, which is why he doesn’t get more minutes. At just over 6K though, all you need is 15 FP for him to hit value. I like to aim for 20 FP with my low-end plays as the top guys rarely hit actual value. Over his past four games, Evans has averaged 21.5 FP. Milwaukee is one of the worst teams against big men in the NBA. I’ll take Evans all the way to the bank today.

Ty Lawson – G – Denver $15,670

Dallas is one of the best teams in the league when it comes to giving up points to opposing point guards, but I really like Lawson off his 53.5 FP performance coming back from injury. This game also has the highest O/U of the night at 216.5 so I expect a lot of points. The one great thing about Lawson compared to some of the other top PGs is that he can score as well.

Jeff Teague – G – Atlanta $15,866

Portland is dead last in the NBA in giving up points to opposing PGs over the past 15 days. Teague will be in my lineup tonight, but this one is a little tricky, because it is a late start and the injury status of Paul Milsap is still up in air. If he is ruled out, I am playing Teague. If he is starting, or a game-time decision, I am going to look elsewhere. Oh, the joys of DFS.

(* Note: Millsap has been ruled out.)

Marcin Gortat – C – Washington $14,459

Tonight’s slate of games is loaded at talent at center. It’s tough to not play someone like Al Jefferson, who had 60.25 FP in his last game, or Andre Drummond, who set a career high in rebounds his last game with 26, and had 57 FP. Both of these guys are only a little more than 1K more than Gortat, but the matchups they have are brutal vs. Indiana and Chicago. Gortat gets Utah at home, and they give up a healthy amount of FPs to centers. The Wizards will also still be without the normal cast of big men off the bench as well. Gortat had his streak of seven consecutive double-doubles snapped the other night vs Memphis. Memphis does have the top-ranked defense against opposing centers this season. I like Gortat to start a new streak, and I could see him putting up 40 FP tonight.

Best of Luck Today

Put Sean's advice to use in a DraftStreet league for tonight's games.

If you play in full-season leagues, check out our site's rest-of-season Fantasy NBA rankings.

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Daily Fantasy Basketball: DraftStreet Advice for March 2nd

Earlier today, I posted some players that I thought were excellent values in both FanDuel and DraftKings leagues.

With time still allowing you participate in "late" games in both formats, here are the links to both of my posts:

• My FanDuel values post for March 2nd games
• My DraftKings values post for March 2nd games

Once again, Sean Beazley has some advice for those participating in DraftStreet leagues. Using a slightly different format today, Sean compares two players at each position with similar salaries:

Guards: Lance Stephenson, Pacers ($13,535) vs. Jameer Nelson, Magic ($13,619)

Nelson gets another lick-chopping matchup against the 76ers, who he just dominated a few days ago with 39 FPs. As much as I like this matchup for Nelson, I am staying away from him tonight. Nelson's price has been bumped for this one, and for Nelson to hit value he would need roughly 35 FP.

Stephenson is more consistent, and even if he doesn't hit 35 FP, he should be somewhat close. Stephenson also fills out the stat sheet as well. He averages over seven boards per game, and shoots over 50% from the field, where as Nelson is only at 39%.

Play - Stephenson

Centers: Nikola Vucevic, Magic ($17,484) vs. Al Jefferson, Bobcats ($16,114)

Vukevic has been one of the top DFS centers since he has come back from injury, and he has seen his price skyrocket. He has a juicy matchup against the 76ers as well today, but 44 FP might be stretching his limit, just a bit. Vukevic should have no problem getting a double-double, but I think he will be about 10 points overvalued today. I'll pass.

On the other hand, Jefferson has a very good matchup today against OKC. Jefferson has cooled off a bit only scoring 36 FP combined in his last two games. Jefferson only needs to hit around 40 FP today for value, and I think he does more than that. Jefferson is a start in all formats today for me.

Play - Jefferson

Forwards: Elton Brand, Hawks ($12,072) vs. Markieff Morris, Suns ($12,562)

Brand gets at least one more game without Paul Millsap in the lineup to wreak havoc down low. That being said, Brand's salary has risen by over $2,000 in the past few days. He is no longer the value play at $9,500 where he only needs to get 23 FP. He is bumped up to $12,000 where he will need 30 FP to hit value. Brand even with the salary increase is worth a shot today.

Morris comes off the bench, but he plays starter minutes basically. Atlanta struggles against opposing PFs so I expect Morris to be a guy who has a great shot to have a big night that won't cost you that much.

Play - Both

Best of Luck Today!

Put Sean's advice to use in a DraftStreet league for tonight's games.

If you play in full-season leagues, check out our site's rest-of-season Fantasy NBA rankings.

Keep track of our Fantasy NBA updates by following us on Twitter, "liking" us on Facebook and/or adding us to your Google+ circle.

Daily Fantasy Basketball (Feb. 25th): Some FanDuel Bargains

If you play daily fantasy sports (and who doesn't these days?!), you know that one of the keys to success is uncovering undervalued players to allow you to load up on studs elsewhere.

In case you've never played daily fantasy basketball, you select your team based on a player's salary and your team's salary cannot exceed the game salary-cap maximum.

For FanDuel leagues, rosters consist of nine players and the salary cap is $60,000, which averages to roughly $6,667 per player. To give you an idea of the range for Tuesday's games, Timberwolves PF Kevin Love ($11,600) has the contest's highest salary while many are tied for the lowest at the game-minimum salary ($3,500).

There are a number of benefits compared to traditional full-season re-draft leagues, such as:

• you don't have to worry about being saddled by players sidelined by injury;
• having a late pick doesn't rule out owning studs like Kevin Durant or LeBron James;
• you get the instant gratification of winning your league(s) that night.

And you know that enthusiasm you have after drafting your fantasy team(s)? Well, you get to experience that feeling on a nightly basis with daily fantasy basketball.

OK, with the preliminary stuff out of the way, here are some value plays to consider for Tuesday (Feb. 25th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Aaron Brooks, Denver Nuggets (vs. POR), $3,600: If Ty Lawson (ribs) misses another game (although it's possible that he returns tonight), the recently-acquired Brooks is a quality low-priced option at the point in FanDuel leagues. Starting in only his second game with the Nuggets on Sunday, Brooks finished with nine points, eight assists, two rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes.

PG - Jarrett Jack, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. TOR), $3,800: Big minutes does not necessarily mean big production as we've seen with Jack in his past two games. Despite averaging nearly 40 minutes per game over his past two, Jack has barely averaged 15 fantasy points. That said, he should get plenty of minutes with Dion Waiters and C.J. Miles out again tonight. Feeling lucky?

PG - Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (at DEN), $7,900 Five point guards have a higher salary than Lillard so he's not a bargain in absolute terms, but Lillard has scored 40-plus fantasy points in three consecutive games. Only the 76ers (111.0) and Lakers (105.9) allow more points per game than the Nuggets (104.7). [The Blazers allow the fourth-most points (103.6) in the NBA.]

SG - Evan Fournier, Denver Nuggets (vs. POR), $4,400: Like with Brooks above, Fournier could see expanded minutes especially if Lawson misses another game. Fournier has scored 40-plus fantasy points in two of his past four games. On Sunday, Fournier had 27 points, four rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block in 36 minutes off the bench.

SG - Kent Bazemore, Los Angeles Lakers (at IND), $3,600: In two games with the Lakers, Bazemore has scored 15-plus points and added two steals in at least 29 minutes in each game. Despite the tough matchup against the Pacers, Bazemore is a cheap option that should get roughly 30 minutes and 20 fantasy points.

SG - Ben McLemore, Sacramento Kings (vs. HOU), $3,600: With Marcus Thornton now in Brooklyn, McLemore moved into the starting lineup and played 36 minutes on Sunday. Even though he only scored six points, he added four boards and three steals. Going forward, I would expect better shooting performances from McLemore.

SF - Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers (at DEN), $6,200: While he isn't necessarily cheap as only four small forwards have a higher salary, Batum is coming off a monster game and could very well follow that up with another strong performance tonight. On Sunday, Batum had 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal. Especially if LaMarcus Aldridge misses a fourth consecutive game tonight, the Blazers will need more production from Batum.

PF - Mike Scott, Atlanta Hawks (vs. CHI), $4,500: With Paul Millsap out tonight and tomorrow, Scott has an opportunity to continue his hot streak even though the Hawks have a tough matchup. In his past two games, Scott has scored a total of 50 points including a career-high 30 on Saturday against the Knicks.

PF - Thomas Robinson, Portland Trail Blazers (at DEN), $4,300: As noted with Batum, it's possible that Aldridge misses another game and if he does, Robinson will be a quality low-priced option at power forward. On Sunday, he posted a double-double (14 points, 18 rebounds) in 33 minutes while adding a couple of assists and blocks as well.

In the majority of my FanDuel leagues for tonight, I'll be starting Chicago's Joakim Noah at center. Although he's not cheap at $9,100, Noah has averaged 13.54 points, 13.08 rebounds, 5.96 assists, 1.92 blocks and 0.88 steals per game since January. In his past seven games, he has double-digit assists in three of them and even had a triple-double earlier this month.

C - Timofey Mozgov, Denver Nuggets (vs. POR), $3,900: If I were looking for an option (much) less expensive than Noah, Mozgov could be the guy. With Mozgov moving into the starting lineup on Tuesday, that hopefully means that he also gets starter's minutes as well. In the five games in which Mozgov has 30-plus minutes this season, he has averaged 12.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 0.8 steals per game.

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