Early-Week NBA Lineups
NBA Lineups: Monday and Tuesday
Timberwolf Tear
You know it’s a freakishly, nasty fantasy week when a 21 year-old up-and-coming All Star drops 42 points one-night, then follows it up with a 35 point game, and he winds up a whisper in the background during the nightly NBA news coverage. Sure, teammate Kevin Love had the first 30-30 line since Moses Malone and his Air Force Ones did so over a quarter-century ago. This history is exciting and all, but all I’m concerned with is how my weekly fantasy lineups with The Beast did on DraftStreet. Last week’s column told you to put Michael ‘B-Easy’ Beasley in your lineup because his numbers were diluted due to an injury and two blowouts. Well Miguel finally shed his Miami ball-and-chain, morphed into Minnesota Mike, and gave the Sunshine State and the Three Kings the giant middle-finger they deserved, in the form of a 34 PPG Avg. over his last 3 games. His numbers aren’t diluted anymore. Beasley continued his tear and followed up the 42 point and 35 point nights with a 25-4-3-1-1 line Sunday night. It looks like Coach Rambis finally accepted that he might as well stop capping his stud players’ minutes at 29 while Darko Milicic and his in-tie-dye-withdrawal-locks pranced around the court. Congrats’ to the Timberwolves for finally getting the 1-2 punch of K-Love and Beastley going, just in time for the return of Jonny Flynn on Wednesday.
Monday and Tuesday
Early this week we have a solid lineup of games to work with on Monday and Tuesday, each night giving us 7 games to play with and about 13 teams (the Clippers play on Monday…). Here are some lineups I’m using Monday on FantasySportsLive, and some players I will be targeting on Tuesday:
FSL – 265 Point Cap – 10 Player
- Eric Bledsoe – This kid is for real, and should be a ‘long-term’ value-watch seeing as Baron Davis is out through Turkey-Day
- Rodney Stuckey – Rodney isn’t going to ever blow you away with his lines, but hes is a model of above-average consistency and is running the show in Detroit as far as I’m concerned. An 18-3-7-1-0 line is standard and to be expected. Westbrook is still a little too inconsistent to make me pay for either he or Paul tonight.
- Marco Bellineli – You can also opt to swap in Eric Gordon for Marco Bellineli and go more balanced with Stephen Jackson going in for Kevin Durant. Bellinelli is an inconsistent play with low-upside, but is capable of putting up in the mid-twenties, will get the start, and is dirt-cheap. I am also eyeing Rip Hamilton and JR Smith in this range.
- Blake Griffin – He’s starting for Kaman at Center for now. Last game he reeled in 18 boards in the caveman’s absence. Expect that to continue.
Dwight Howard – I find myself reaching for Dwight Howard more than anyone else. I will warn you, I am originally from Orlando, so there could be some blind bias behind this, but big-man Howard is the best bang for your buck, despite being the most expensive. It’s too hard to gamble on blocks in this Monday player pool when you know you will get a massive double-double night in and night out from Dwight. But, if you must, I like Nene and Nazr if Tyrus Thomas sits out again.
NBA Tuesday Night – 10 Man Lineup – FSL
Tuesday also has a solid lineup of games going. Here are my top value-picks or must-picks I’m targeting at each position.
PG – Kyle Lowry – Lowry is now healthy and replacing Aaron Brooks in the starting lineup. He can put up results across the board and will be a very solid value pick for the next week or two (until is avg stat line catches up with him).
S.G. – Gilbert Arenas – 5 points. 5 points. 30 points. Yup, he’sssss back! Now, don’t go overboard with this seven three-pointer performance, but 80% of 2008 Gilbert is a 100% value pick for his price on most sites in 2010. Note: – John Wall will not be playing tonight, now making Arenas an excellent play.
S.G. – Evan Turner – With Andre Iguadola out Tues, Evan Turner becomes a solid spot start.
SF – Carmelo Anthony – Carmelo is playing the [potential trade prospect] Knicks, and is going to show up to impress on Tuesday. In addition, D’Antoni’s run-and-gun style is a recipe for anything but a mellow line from Melo on Tues.
SF – John Salmons – With Delfino out 2 weeks with neck issues, Salmons should be an excellent play; especially on FSL after a slow start to the season.
PF – Luis Scola – He kind of reminds me of this really ugly girl I hooked up with in college after a few too many kegstands. I dodged that girl in the morning as I shooed her out the front door, but I’m not dodging Scola as long as Yao is out. He is averaging 33 FPPG over the last 7 days. Totally worth the hangover and rash I got from that night, and totally worth the price you might have to pay for him on Tuesday. If you’re looking to save a little money, I would go with Andray Blatche vs. the Bosh-less Raptors. And of course, if you can afford Boom Boom Pau – grab him.
C – Nene – It took him a few games to get going, but Nene is playing solid again and he gets a dream matchup vs. the center-less Suns.
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