NBA $15,000 THURSDAY: TIPS & SELECTIONS
NBA Thursday rolls back around with a big 11 game slate as teams prepare to embark on the final quarter of the season.
The card offers some interesting inter-conference clashes with the game of the day looking to be Eastern fifth seed Boston hosting Western fourth seed Portland.
The Hornets, currently eighth in the East, host the Western fifth seed Rockets, while the best team in the East Milwaukee pay a visit to Sacramento who are knocking right on the Western playoff door in ninth.
Draftstars has $15,000 up for grabs in the Thursday jackpot.
D’Angelo Russell – PG/SG – $16,110
Russell looks to have caught on fire again lately, putting up 57.5 and 48.75 Draftstars points in his last two games. He has put up 11 triples in those two games, and has recorded at least one steal and one block to accompany his typically strong scoring, assist and rebound numbers. He gets a juicy match up against the Wizards who have the second worst defensive in the NBA. They also concede the second most threes per game, and the highest opposition three-point percentage. All great news for D-Lo who has hoisted up at least nine shots from deep in each of his last four games.
Jonas Valanciunas – C – $12,750
Since rejoining the Grizzlies after a temporary absence for personal reasons, Valanciunas has posted games of 20-13 and 25-11. Since joining Memphis he has put up at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in three of his four games. Coincidentally the one game he didn’t hit those numbers was on the road against the Bulls, who the Grizzlies host in this contest. Valanciunas did still have a productive night last time they played putting up 12-7-5, and with the way he has played of late, and the limited big men options in Chicago, it should be no surprise if the big Lithuanian puts up bigger numbers this time.
Julius Randle – PF/C – $13,940
Randle continues to be a major benefactor of the Anthony Davis drama. With the Brow operating on limited minutes, and Nikola Mirotic the path has been cleared for Randle to be the primary minute logger in the Pelicans front court. He’s coming off a strong outing against Philadelphia where he put up 19-14 buffered by three steals and two blocks, he gets a good match up here against a struggling Lakers team that Randle already lit up two games ago for 24 points. Randle has scored at least 21 points in each contest against the Lakers this season.
Thomas Bryant – C/PF – $9,880
The Bryant tease is in full effect again, he logged 31 minutes in the Wizards last outing against the Pacers, and he stuffed the stat sheet with a line of 23-12-4-2-3. Whenever Bryant gets 30 minutes, he posts a double double, and usually a big one. The problem is Bryant has not been getting those minutes regularly which makes adding him a tricky proposition. The Nets have been a great match up for opposition bigs in DFS formats this year, and Bryant’s continuous strong outings when given the opportunities must force the Wizards arm at some point. If he gets those minutes, then he’s great value.
Elfrid Payton – PG – $10,850
Lost in the news revolving around the minutes of Anthony Davis, Pelicans star guard Jrue Holiday has also had his minutes trimmed back for New Orleans irrelevant final stretch of the year and Payton has been seeing the benefits of late. He’s put up 37 and 38 Draftstars points in his last two games, posted 14 assists en route to a double double in his last outing, and filled the whole board when the Pelicans beat the Lakers two games ago putting up 14-9-5-2-2-1. It feels weird to think of a LeBron led team as a good match up, but the Lakers have been woeful and their defense is ranked 23rd in the league, they’re a good team to target.
Enter the NBA $15,000 Thursday tournament.
NBA SCORING SYSTEM
Point Scored = 1 point
Missed Field Goal = -0.25 points
Missed Free Throw = -0.25 points
Assist = 1.5 points
Rebound = 1.25 points
Turnover = -0.5 points
Steal = 2 points
Block = 2 points
3 Point Made Bonus = 1 point
Double-Double = 2 points
Triple-Double = 2 points
NBA