NBA Big Events: Wednesday Recap

by Stephen Keech (SBK) Last Updated 2014-01-26 02:45:26

Welcome to the first edition of NBA Big Events! This column will be relatively similar to the article we ran during the NFL season, but you’ll notice a few differences. Wednesdays are typically the biggest day of the week for the NBA, with a full slate of games and a few that are nationally televised. This week was a bit slim in terms of big prize pools, but they will continue to grow as we get farther away from the end of NFL. Last night, we saw DraftStreet run a qualifier for their $500,000 Basketball Championship, FanDuel run the daily Super Slam and DraftKings offered up the $50K Big Wednesday Showtime, and those will be the tournaments we’ll break down below.

In addition to the tournament breakdowns, there will be a section near the end of the article that covers the night’s top scorers/biggest busts around the NBA. With a few Kings leaving with injuries (thanks a lot Rudy Gay!) and a few popular plays landing in foul trouble, there was no shortage of landmines to avoid last night. As with the NFL article, all RotoGrinders members who finished in the top-10 of a major tournament will have their names bolded.

Fanduel $95K Super Slam

Congratulations to McJester for dominating the Super Slam and finishing with three entries inside the top six. His best entry finished 2nd, thanks to him receiving at least 50 points from Dwight Howard, Paul Millsap, and Jeff Green (who saw that coming?). Only one player in his lineup completed the night without topping the 30 point mark (Ramon Sessions – 23.4 PTS), and it didn’t hurt him since Sessions was one of the more popular plays of the day. Surprising nights from Green, Evan Turner and Brandon Jennings really set McJester (9th in the TPOY rankings, 27th on the NBA Grinder leaderboard) up for a big night. He also had entries finish in 4th and 6th place. Ineedmoney23 (69th in the TPOY rankings, 179th on the NBA Grinder leaderboard) finished seventh with big games from Green, DeMar DeRozan and the two Bulls (Gibson and Augustin). His only weakness (if you can even call it that) was Ramon Sessions, with all of his other players scoring at least 33.3 points. Bringemvaught (28th on the NBA Grinder leaderboard, 62nd in the overall rankings) and bxbrotha730 actually tied with ineedmoney23 for seventh place, all with identical lineups.

DraftStreet $55 DBBC Qualifier

Thammond21 (311th on the NBA Grinder leaderboard) was our top dog in this one with a third place finish, and was one of only three entries to crack the 300 point mark (which is an impressive feat on DraftStreet). He was part of just the 7% of the field that was willing to take a chance on Tony Parker for over $14K, and it paid off as Parker went for 42.5 points. Reggie Jackson was also a big difference maker, as he was owned by just 11% of the field and went for 43 points. Ineedmoney23 kept his big night going on DS with a fourth place finish, and his gamble on a few Celtics (Green, Pressey and Humphries) worked out well with the game going to overtime. MotherTeresa10 (58th in the TPOY rankings) followed closely behind in fifth, and was part of the 12% of the field that took the chance on D.J. Augustin’s high salary, which he paid off with a 38.75 point night. IllinSquad (455th in the overall rankings) finished seventh, and he also had heavy exposure to the Celtics which helped to push him to the top. DraftCheat (7th in the TPOY rankings, 14th on the NBA Grinder leaderboard) followed behind in ninth place, and was the only member of the top-ten (other then the winner) to roster Gerald Wallace, who accounted for 36.5 points for under $6.5K. Marcin25 (203rd on the NBA Grinder leaderboard) rounds out the top-ten thanks to every player in his lineup reaching at least 26.25 FP’s.

DraftKings $50K Big Wednesday Show

Congratulations to TwoGun for his second place finish, and a few extra late buckets from Kevin Durant could have launched him into the top spot (he finished just 4.25 points out of first). TwoGun (37th in the overall rankings) was part of the 2.6% of the field that rostered Evan Turner, who turned his recent struggles around with a 52.25 FP night. He also hit on Josh McRoberts (take PF’s against the Clippers!), who turned in a well-rounded night that led to 32.5 FP’s, which is nice production from his salary range. The Vault (aka jpiening) finished third, thanks to going against-the-grain with Reggie Jackson, who was owned by only 4.9% of the field but turned in a 47 FP effort. Jpiening (329th in the overall rankings) was one of the better NFL minds on DK this past season, and it looks like he’s starting to get comfortable with the NBA as well. Fantasyfanaddict (182nd in the TPOY rankings) put together a sixth place finish last night with big performances from DeMar DeRozan, Reggie Jackson and DeMarre Caroll, who left with an injury but still managed to outperform his salary. JasonG4s (506th in the TPOY rankings) finished tenth, and must have channeled his inner Nostradamus by rostering Omri Casspi, who was owned by just 0.6% of the field but threw up a 40.5 FP night. Maxdalury (11th on the overall leaderboard, 13th on the NBA Grinder leaderboard) actually had two entries that also tied for 10th place with JasonG4s.

Studs & Duds

As you can see from the tournament breakdowns above, there are always a few players that make or break tournament teams on a nightly basis. We dealt with a few more injuries (both pre-game and in-game) then usual last night, and that’s before we even get to the disappointments of the night. Let’s take a look at the difference makers in last night’s games…

Studs

Jeff Green – Green scored a season-high 39 points on 14-26 shooting, and went 8-16 from beyond the arc. Considering his recent struggles (including his dud against the Lakers that had the DFS community cursing his name), Green’s price had begun to fall on a few sites (notably FanDuel, where he was down to $5,600), but this performance should send his price flying soon enough. He was one of the top dollar-for-dollar plays across the industry, and you were at a severe disadvantage in GPP’s on FD without him in your lineup.

Taj Gibson and D.J. Augustin – These two were popular plays across the industry, but neither player disappointed. They both crossed the 40 point mark on performance-based sites, and were basically must plays considering their low prices (except for Augustin on DS). Whenever Hinrich or Boozer misses a game, Augustin and Gibson become instant values. Expect the price on Augustin to skyrocket over the next few days.

The Celtics injury replacements – With Avery Bradley, Rajon Rondo and Jerryd Bayless missing last night’s game, Phil Pressey and Gerald Wallace stepped up and provided their owners with strong fantasy totals. Flip Pressey was the more popular choice of the two, and he saw big minutes before fouling out and posted 20 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. Wallace was the GPP gold on this team, racking up stats in every category (9 points, 9 assists, 6 boards, 4 steals and a block).

Paul Millsap – It’s pretty simple; without Nikola Vucevic, the Magic have no chance to stop opposing post players from dominating the interior. Millsap was the main beneficiary on Wednesday, posting 24 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, 5 blocks and 3 steals on his way to a 50+ FP effort. He’s a guy that has been somewhat of a boom or bust player lately after a very consistent run following Al Horford injury, but he had it all going for him last night.

Evan Turner and Michael Carter-Williams – After a bad stretch for basically the entire Philly offense, the team finally got back on track with a win last night in MSG. Turner had arguably his best game of the season, and that probably coincides with his handling the ball a bit more last night. He finally looked confident again after a sad stretch of games for him, but he’ll remain a inconsistent option with this Philly team getting run out of the gym more often then not. Turner’s final line: 34 points, 11 boards, 2 assists. MCW kept his impressive rookie season going with another huge stat line, posting 19 points, 12 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. He’s been phenomenal all year long and I’d be shocked to see anyone else take home the rookie of the year award.

The Knicks – In a match-up with the Sixers, it’s easy to understand why the Knicks were such a popular target tonight. Carmelo Anthony needed a couple late 3-pointers to reach value on most sites, but he was one of the night’s most dependable high-salary options. Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert and Andrea Bargnani all exceeded value last night, which isn’t much of a surprise since the Sixers are allergic to playing any kind of defense. The 106 points they allowed to the Knicks is actually below their season average of points allowed (109.8).

Point Guards in the OKC/SA game – While they weren’t very popular selections, both Tony Parker and Reggie Jackson posted huge games against each other last night. Parker was a big difference maker on DraftStreet, as he was a popular selection among the teams in the top-ten. Jackson also fits that same description pretty well, since the field gravitated more towards the value PG’s (Augustin, Sessions, Pressey, Beverley) on FanDuel and DraftKings.

The Rockets – If you rostered Dwight Howard, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Patrick Beverley or Omri Casspi, you had to be pretty happy with the results. It looked like this game would turn into a blowout after the Kings lost Gay and Cousins, but the Kings held on to keep it close which led to big performances quite a few of the Rockets. Casspi came out of nowhere to post a 20 point/12 rebound game, and he could remain in play on Friday if Terrence Jones isn’t able to return.

Brandon Jennings – The trip back to Milwaukee (where Jennings played last season) treated the Pistons guard pretty well, as Jennings posted a 30-4-4-2-1 line against his former team. Jennings finished with 12 more shot attempts than any other starter, which doesn’t happen very often with his shot still a work in progress. He seemed to be somewhat overlooked last night with all of the value available at the PG spot, but anyone who took the chance on him in a revenge game got all they could ask for out of him.

John Wall – With Avery Bradley on the shelf, Wall posted a triple-double against the Celtics with 28 points, 11 boards and 10 dimes, along with three steals. If you played him on an efficiency site, things weren’t as great as Wall added 20 missed shots to his 6 turnovers, but he still racked up enough counting stats to make you forget about the negatives. Wall logged 44 minutes on the night due to the overtime period, and in general it was hard to miss on players from this game.

DeMar DeRozan – 40 points, 3 boards, 3 assists with a block and a steal will get the job done every night. DeRozan has surprisingly turned into one of the most consistent SG’s in the game, and is a great option nightly on performance-based sites. I’ve been hesitant to roster a guy like James Harden on FD when I can pay a $1,000 or so less to roster DeRozan.

Duds

DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay – Ouch. Both of these guys left the game due to injury early in the game, which left their owners hurting as well. It’s nearly impossible to cash in a GPP if one of your players leaves the game in the first quarter, and both players were relatively popular picks across the industry. Gay was coming off a monster game and had played well against Houston this season (not to mention DMC has evolved into the top fantasy big man), so you can’t fault anyone for rostering them.

Kawhi Leonard – He wasn’t nearly as popular as either of the injured Kings, but Leonard left the game after just 15 minutes on the court clearly was not able to return. He could be out up to a month with his fractured hand, which should open up some more opportunity for guys like Marco Belinelli and Manu Ginobili.

John Henson – God damn you Larry Drew! Unfortunately, we can’t actually blame this one on good old Larry (or can we…?). Henson found himself in foul trouble after just about 15 minutes of court time, and only played six minutes in the rest of the game after that point. In his 21 minutes, Henson posted 12 points, 3 boards and 3 blocks, which could have turned into a much bigger night had he stayed out of early foul trouble. This is always an issue when choosing John Henson, but the upside (and discounted price at some outlets) led to Henson being a popular choice last night.

Kyle Lowry – His illness was kept pretty well hidden before the game last night, but it became apparent pretty quickly that Lowry was not at full strength. He missed all 10 of his shot attempts and finished with just 3 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, not exactly what you’re hoping for from a top-flight point guard. Hopefully he’s ready to go against the Sixers on Friday, but if not, fire up Greivis Vasquez, who has come on strong recently and would be in must-play territory if Lowry missed any time (which does seem rather unlikely).

Shawn Marion – With Dirk Nowitzki ruled out at the last minute (as if that wasn’t bad enough), it looked like Shawn Marion was going to be in for another productive night, but it didn’t turn out that way. Marion totaled just 6 points, 4 boards and 2 assists against Toronto, but he’ll bounce back on Friday against Brooklyn, and he’s still one of the best mid-priced options at SF on FanDuel.

Monta Ellis – Speaking of guys you thought might benefit from Dirk’s absence, Monta Ellis was also a pretty big disappointment. While 21 points and 6 assists might not seem like a bad night, it looks much worse when you turn the ball over 8 times, not to mention Ellis recorded only one rebound and no steals. He personally burned me as I decided to roll with him over DeMar DeRozan (real great idea), and I would suspect that I’m not alone in that regard, although I’ll admit I’m a bigger fan of Monta then most.

Arron Afflalo – This looked like a spot for Afflalo to potentially bounce-back after a tough outing against the Nets, but it got even worse for him last night. Victor Oladipo had another nice game for Orlando, while Afflalo was only able to post 6 points, 3 assists and just a single rebound. He’ll have a great shot to get back to business tomorrow night against the Lakers.

Lance Stephenson – He’s trying to make a case to be an all-star, but he didn’t help himself much last night. While the Suns have been good against opposing SG’s all season long, Stephenson’s ability to contribute in multiple categories still made him one of the more intriguing options at the SG position. The Pacers surprisingly got blown out by Phoenix, and Stephenson was only able to total 6 points, 5 boards and 4 assists on the night.