NBA Daily Plays: December 5th, 2013
As the Mexico City Arena filled with smoke, my NBA Wednesday night quickly went down in flames. Sure, the late swap was nice on some sites. But replacing Boris Diaw with Thomas Robinson and Nick Collison wasn’t exactly how I pictured my ideal lineup being put together. But the past is the past and it’s time to move on and approach some Thursday night action.
There are just three games tonight, each of which look to be really low scoring. As is the case on most Thursdays, the matchups tend to involve some of the NBA’s best teams. And when you have good teams playing against each other, defense plays a much bigger role. That seems to be the case tonight, even if the Nets and Knicks are a combined 8-26.
Guards
- Dwyane Wade – Over the last three seasons, Wade has been unreal when returning home to Chicago. He’s averaging over 26 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and nearly 5 steals + blocks in 6 regular season games during those three years for a 43.7 FPPG average. He’s been getting a lot of rest days which is a bit worrisome, but seeing as he sat out on Tuesday, I’d be surprised if he missed a big game against the Bulls on Thursday night.
- Raymond Felton – The Knicks are an incredible disaster right now and the only good news is that they get to play an equal disaster in Brooklyn on Thursday. Felton makes the daily plays column by way of the matchup against this Brooklyn backcourt. Over the last 15 days, all without Deron Williams for Brooklyn, the Nets rank 29th in terms of defending the point guard position. Felton is playing 37 minutes per game over his last three and that kind of time on the court should equal solid production for a moderate price tag.
- Jamal Crawford – With Redick out for the Clippers, Crawford is going to be on the court a ton. He struggled on Wednesday but is a constant threat to light it up, as seen in his near triple-double 3 games back against the Kings. It’s a tough matchup, and he’ll likely see a heavy dose of Tony Allen, but with just three games you can’t avoid a play with this much upside strictly based on matchup like you might be able to on a busier night.
- Alan Anderson – If you want to save, Anderson might be the cheapest option tonight. He’s not going to blow you away with a monster game but he’s starting for the injured Paul Pierce and can get you 20-25 fantasy points. Tyshawn Taylor is another option for a dirt cheap play in Brooklyn’s backcourt.
Forwards
- Carmelo Anthony – On a night where LeBron and CP3 play, I think it’s Carmelo who takes the cake as the top option. Consider who Brooklyn has that can cover him. He has a couple of inches on projected starter Alan Anderson and is too athletic for Garnett or even an aging Joe Johnson. I also play the motivation factor here, and Carmelo seems legitimately pissed off and unwilling to be embarrassed on national TV. My guess is he finishes Thursday night as the best fantasy play of the day.
- Luol Deng – Since Derrick Rose went down, Deng has again taken over this Bulls offense and is stuffing the stat sheet from every angle. He has 5, 11 and 7 assists over his last three games while scoring 45 or more fantasy points in each. He also doesn’t really come off the court, and in a big game against Miami he should play another 40 minutes.
- Andrea Bargnani – Quietly, Bargnani has been really impressive for the Knicks since Tyson Chandler went down. He’s been shifting between the 4 and 5 positions and now has 30 or more FP in each of his last 4 games. Bargnani is locked in right now and his price across the board is middle of the pack, which can allow you to pay up for some of the bigger names.
- Taj Gibson – Carlos Boozer has played only 4 minutes per game so far this year in the 4th quarter. Some of this is due to his defensive struggles but a lot stems from the strong play of Gibson inside. He is coming off a monster game in 3 OTs against New Orleans, but his price is still reasonable on nearly every site. If you throw out the 15 minutes of overtime play on Monday, he’s gotten between 24 and 29 minutes of playing time in each of his last four games as well.
Centers
- Kosta Koufos – This one is a no brainer, as the Clippers have been one of the worst teams defending the paint all season and Koufos has been on a tear since Marc Gasol went down. In his last four games as a starter, Koufos is averaging 9.75 PPG, 12.25 RPG, 2.5 BPG, and 1.75 APG. He’s gone over 30 fantasy points in each of those games and while his price tag is rising quickly, he’s still not going to break the bank.
Note: Zach Randolph is expected to return on Thursday, but if he can’t go then Ed Davis is also a terrific option as a value big man from Memphis
- Brook Lopez – Lopez was on his way to a decent game against Denver on Monday until that game turned into a route and he played just 21 minutes. He’s being eased back a bit from his recent injury, but don’t be surprised if Jason Kidd takes the training wheels off and lets him play 35+ minutes on Thursday night. The Knicks have no one inside who can slow him down either, and he should have a field day rebounding over Kenyon Martin and Andrea Bargnani.