Daily Dribble

Welcome to the Daily Dribble where we serve up the latest Fantasy Basketball news and insight so you can make BBQ chicken of your competition. We’ll focus on Daily Fantasy Site (DFS) play, but we will sprinkle in some weekly, season long, and/or dynasty/keeper league insight that should help shape your decision making going forward, as well.

Thursday, January 30th

Not much to plan for tonight as there are only three games so I will use Thursday’s more as a pot luck type of news and notes with some focus on what is going on in the Daily League industry. Last night was a big night of big time contests in the industry as Draft Kings had their $200K Buzzer Beater tournament, which was taken down by tslats who is probably saying who cares how cold it is outside as he cashed for $25K. If you pulled a Paul Pierce and missed the Buzzer Beater look to trying to qualify for their $300K Showcase tournament, which will pay out $50K and a World Poker Tour package.

Fanduel had their Wednesday Slam, which was won by russarnmy earning himself $12K. Speaking of Fanduel there is plenty of time for you to join me in their upcoming DFBBC $1.2 million tournament, which is on April 4th. I was fortunate enough to qualify last week on a $5 entry, so you know I’m stoked to make a run at the DFBBC crown and cash. If any of you who read our daily league articles hit it big in a tournament and/or win yourself a qualifier feel free to tweet me @FantasyNomad and I would be glad to share your success story in an upcoming Daily Dribble article.

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 your Friday lineups.

Anderson Varejao (knee) is questionable for tonight’s game versus the Knicks, but he did make the trip. Tyler Zeller filled in nicely for Varejao in Tuesday’s game as he doubled up with 13 points and 10 boards, but tonight’s matchup is much tougher against Tyson Chandler and Zeller’s price has likely risen on most sites.

Kenyon Martin should play tonight after sitting out the remaining part of Tuesday’s game after tweaking his ankle. You already know Andrea Bargnani (elbow) and Amar’e Stoudemire (ankle) are out. Main beneficiary the last two games has been Tyson Chandler who has posted back-to-back double-doubles.

Iman Shumpert status for tonight is still up in the air as he continues to battle a sore shoulder.

Minutes Watch

Tim Hardaway Jr. and J.R. Smith should both see plenty of minutes tonight if Iman Shumpert is out and have an ideal matchup versus a Cavs team that owns the sixth worst defensive efficiency rating against opposing backcourts for the month of January, which also makes Raymond Felton worth considering tonight.

Jordan Crawford may be in line for more playing time, including minutes with the starters, according to coach Mark Jackson, the San Jose Mercury News reports. "He's a guy, the way he's playing could get more and more minutes along with Stephen (Curry)," Jackson said. "He's playing at a high level and giving us great minutes off the bench right now.” Click on the items in blue to access more information and if you click on Jordan Crawford’s name you will get even more fantasy insight on Crawford from our own Matthew R Beck.

 

Markieff Morris minutes have trended down slightly over the last two games as he continues to get in foul trouble. Morris has scored in double figures in each of his last eight games though, including dropping 20 on the Pacers a week ago Wednesday. So, if he can stay out of foul trouble he could be a profitable play tonight albeit risky.


MVP Battle

LeBron James scored a game-high 34 points, along with three rebounds, three assists, and three turnovers in a losing effort to OKC 112-95. As nice as that stat line may look, it was Kevin Durant who stole the show and may have cemented himself as this season's MVP not only with his performance in this game, but for how well he has played this season, especially since Russell Westbrook went down with an injury.

 

Kevin Durant lifted his record to 4-13 in games against LeBron James in his career as the Thunder defeated the Heat 112-95 Wednesday. Durant finished with 33 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals to lead the Thunder past the Heat in Miami. 23 of Durant's 33 points came when LeBron was on him and it was the 12th consecutive game that Durant has finished with 30-plus points, which is a streak that neither James or Michael Jordan have ever accomplished. Durant is one game away from tying Oscar Robertson's record of 13 consecutive games with 30-plus points and 4-plus assists.

 

Best of Luck tonight and don’t be afraid to go rouge and post your questions in the comments section and/or send me a tweet @FantasyNomad and check Mark Kaplan's Weekly Recap that comes out today in the NBA Articles section.

Searching for answer for the 2014 fantasy baseball season? Turn to a trusted source to enlighten you – Fantasy Alarm – and pick up your very own copy of the 2014 Fantasy Alarm Baseball Draft Guide. After reading the 200 pages of information you will be ready to dominate the competition in the coming season on your way to a fantasy baseball championship.