There are only five games on the slate for Sunday’s NBA action and that means it is that much more important to pay attention to the details when it comes to building the ideal lineup in NBA Daily Fantasy Leagues. There will be plenty of lineups built around Golden State Warriors’ guard Stephen Curry or at least one of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s dynamic duo in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but there are a handful of other players you might want to consider having in your lineup. Here is some important fantasy advice to consider for Sunday’s NBA slate.
Weak Defense To Target: Los Angeles Lakers
The Detroit Pistons have strung together three straight wins and they are 7-2 at home this season, so there is every reason to expect them to stay hot with the Los Angeles Lakers in town on Sunday. The Kobe Bryant farewell tour has been an absolute mess and Los Angeles has dropped eight of its last nine games heading into this matchup.
The Lakers rank 26th in the NBA with an average of 105.4 points allowed per game this season and they’ve been even worse of late. They’ve allowed at least 100 points in nine straight games while allowing an average of 106.9. You’ll want to target their defense by considering players like Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond and even Ersan Ilyasova (as somewhat of a deeper sleeper option) that could be in store for a strong fantasy performance.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Gasol is arguably the biggest reason why the Grizzlies have won seven of their last 10 as he has been on fire of late including a season-high 38-point night against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. He hit a rough patch against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, scoring just 15 points while still collecting eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists, but that’s understandably a tough matchup.
He’s still averaged 20.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.7 blocks per game over the last week of action. He should be primed for another big performance with Memphis set to host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon. The Suns rank 27th in the NBA in terms of points allowed on the road this season (106 per game).
Injuries & Rest Create Opportunities For… Jared Dudley, Jon Leuer
Washington Wizards’ center Marcin Gortat was forced to fly back to Poland to deal with a family concern and with Nene already hurt and Kris Humphries missing Friday’s game because of injury, the team is really thin up front. Dudley had just three points and one rebounds against the Phoenix Suns on Friday but he should bounce back from a fantasy perspective with the Dallas Mavericks in town on Sunday. Given the minutes he’s expected to be seeing, he should put up better numbers as a potential bargain value play.
Meanwhile, Jon Leuer has taken advantage of the opportunity presented to him when Markieff Morris went down and he is projected to start for Phoenix again on Sunday. Leuer has averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists over his last two games. He’s averaged just 19 minutes a game on the season but he’s played at least 23 minutes in three of his last four games. He is definitely worth taking a chance on Sunday at a very good price.
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Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: SAC @ OKC
Any time two teams ranked in the top-five in scoring and in the bottom-third of the league in points per game allowed are matched up against one another, you can expect a high scoring game. There should be plenty of fireworks when the Kings clash with the Thunder on Sunday. Westbrook, Durant and DeMarcus Cousins are among the obvious building blocks that you can have in your lineup for Sunday but don’t overlook Darren Collison, Rajon Rondo or even Enes Kanter among the other options worth considering as players whose production has the potential to exceed their price tags.
