Daily Dribble Friday, March 7th
That photoshop of Paul George sums up the other night’s action where we say George, Jeff Teague, Mike Conley, Kyle Korver, and many others who were disappointing, and that is being kind. Seriously, four points combined between George and Conley probably has you thinking of more colorful adjectives than disappointed. Well no need to dwell on the negative, tonight is a new night, so let’s get right into it.
Tournaments
Congrats to dhall006 for defeating the machine and the field to turn a free entry in SKYLLZONE’s Man vs Machine contest into $220. If you missed out in the contest this week do not worry they will run it again next Wednesday. (I will post links here on Tuesday and Wednesday).
DraftKings
NBA $100K MegaCrossover at Draft Kings
Details:
- $100,000 in guaranteed prize payouts
- 1st place wins $15,000
- 1st-960th paid out
- $27 per entry unlimited entries per player
- capped at 4,200 total entries
Fantasy Basketball Daily Deathmatch
Big Al Jefferson vs LaMarcus Aldridge
| Categories | Al Jefferson vs CLE | LaMarcus Aldridge @ DAL |
| Def Matchup last 15 days | 4 vs centers | 30 vs power forwards |
| Minutes/game last 3 games | 36 | 30 |
| Fantasy Points last 3 games | 54 | 24 |
And in a landslide Big Al Jefferson trounces LaMarcus Aldridge. The only thing in Aldridges favor is that he is facing a Dallas defense that has been the worst in defending the power power forward position over the last 15 days and outside of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Mavs have allowed the most points to opposing teams since the All-Star Break. Jefferson’s matchup does not look favorable on paper, but the Cavs 4th best defense against centers over the last 15 days is misleading, if you ask me, as we all know Spencer Hawes is one of the worst defensive centers in the league. In addition, Aldridge seems a little out of rhythm and possibly not 100% recovered from his groin injury, which is why I did not delve into their home/road splits. Give me the player that is healthy and hot, especially if we are talking about two players that come at the same exact price tag.
If you have any suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments section below and I will be glad to consider them in future Daily Death Match battles.
Injury News
I will focus on any injury news that pertains to this evening’s slate of games, but be sure to visit our Player News section to catch up on other injuries and player insight that will give you a head start when it comes to planning future lineups.
Joakim Noah will play through a sprained thumb Friday. He participated in today's shootaround. Noah has posted a triple-double in two of his last three games, but is a risky play with the thumb injury and his struggles against Memphis. Noah is averaging just 7.3 points on 41.9 percent shooting in his six previous matchups against the Griz.
Patrick Beverley's broken nose will not keep him out of Friday's game. He made it clear at today's practice he's playing. And his last game of just four points and one assist in 32 minutes against an inferior Orlando Magic team should make it clear that you should steer away from him tonight against one of the best teams in the NBA in the Pacers.
Gerald Henderson (right calf strain) will not play Friday vs the Cavs. He will miss the remainder of games this week and will be re-evaluated next week. Chris Douglas-Roberts will get the start in place of Henderson, but his upside is limited. Where this is beneficial is with Dion Waiters as the Bobcats were one of the best defensive backcourts with Henderson, not so much without him.
Joe Johnson (illness) is a game-time decision Friday vs Boston. Both Paul Pierce and Marcus Thornton would get a bump in value if Johnson were to miss tonight’s game. Pierce is the more attractive option as he will be out to prove something against his former team, has a more well rounded game than Thornton, and has put up over 25 FP in each of his last four games, including two games over 35 FP. But if value, with some upside, is what you are looking for then Thornton would be your guy (only if Johnson is out) as he would cost about $3K less than Pierce. Update: Joe Johnson WILL play tonight.
Mason Plumlee will start at center on Friday in place of Kevin Garnett. Plumbob has been starting, but not getting starter minutes nor has he exceeded six points in any of his last three games. The Brooklyn big man to target would instead be Andray Blatche who is averaging 33 fantasy points over his last four games.
Paul Millsap (knee) is questionable tonight as the Hawks are on the road to take on the Warriors. It seems likely that he will miss tonight’s game, but then again after the Hawks got hammered by 24 points in their last game it may motivate Millsap to suit up, either way it is just too risky of a proposition for my liking on a night where we have almost a full slate of games providing you with plenty of healthy alternatives.
Ty Lawson was dealing with some pain in his heel in the second half of Wednesday’s game, but it did not seem to affect his play and he did say afterwards that it is just minor soreness. He is well worth the risk as the Nuggets get the lowly Lakers and he has been the hottest player in fantasy over the last two games.
Statistical Nuances from the Nomad
Wilson Chandler is averaging 19.5 shots per game over his last two games a pattern that should continue against a Lakers team that are allowing the second most fantasy points to small forwards on the season.
Of the small forwards playing tonight, Rudy Gay has the highest efficiency rating over the last 10 days at 21.6 and we get the “revenge factor” as he and the Kings take on his former team the Raptors tonight.
Best of luck tonight in all your contests and remember instead of trying to keep up with every NBA team and every NBA beat writer to find the latest injury news, team lineup, and/or nugget of information that will give you an edge in your fantasy leagues just follow us on twitter @FantasyAlarm and @NBADailyLineups We do the work for you! Also bookmark our NBA Player News page as well by clicking on the links in blue.
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