With an absolutely brutal winter storm wreaking havoc across the Northeast the sports world is keeping a close eye on how that will affect the schedule for the four major professional North American sports including the NBA. There are only four games on Sunday and while there will be plenty of NBA Daily Fantasy Leagues action, it will be important to keep an eye out on the latest updates to make sure that games in both Brooklyn and Philadelphia go on without a delay. The smaller slate also means less options to choose from when it comes to building an optimal fantasy lineup so here is some important advice to consider for Sunday’s NBA Daily Fantasy action.
Weak Defense To Target: Philadelphia 76ers
The three wins that the Philadelphia 76ers have picked up over their previous 10 games matches the number of victories they had over their first 34 games of the season but despite their improved win percentage of late they are still allowing an average of 104.8 points per game this season to rank 25th in the NBA in scoring defense. That should mean a perfect opportunity for the Boston Celtics to add to their win total as they continue to battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference so it makes sense to target the 76ers defense with some strong value plays from the Celtics’ roster. Isaiah Thomas has been performing at an elite fantasy level of late with 23.8 points, 6.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 three-point shots per game over the last week of action but if you can’t afford him it’s also worth considering plugging in either Jae Crowder or Kelly Olynyk as strong value plays for Sunday.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
Kyle Lowry was named an All-Star starter and considering how DeMar DeRozan has played, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he joined him on the Eastern Conference team. DeRozan has been on fire of late, averaging 32.3 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 three-point shots per game over the past week of action and he should continue to impress with the Raptors set to host the Los Angeles Clippers in what should be a high scoring affair on Sunday.
Injuries, Rest Create Opportunities For… Enes Kanter, J.J. Redick
Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams missed Friday’s game because of his right elbow strain and while he could play on Sunday his minutes and effectiveness could be limited as a result o the injury. That should mean big minutes for Enes Kanter, who scored 16 points with nine rebounds in Friday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks. Kanter has been fairly inconsistent while sharing time with Adams this season but he should be able to put up a strong fantasy line with a bigger opportunity to produce on Sunday afternoon against the Brooklyn Nets.
Meanwhile, the Clippers have leaned heavily on J.J. Redick with Blake Griffin injured and that should continue versus Toronto on Sunday. Redick has averaged 21.5 points, 4.3 three-point shots, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist over the last week of action and those numbers actually low given his last two games. He had just 17 on Thursday as the Clippers got blown out and then just seven points (in 24 minutes) as the Clippers flattened the New York Knicks on Friday night. Clearly, his services weren’t needed as much and he got a bit of a breather. Look for his minutes to go back up on Sunday. He should be a little bit cheaper for Sunday’s Daily Fantasy Leagues than he was prior to the last two games.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: DAL @ HOU
The Houston Rockets rank fifth in the NBA with an average of 104.5 points per game this season and while the Dallas Mavericks rank 18th in that department with an average of 101.1 points per game the rivalry between these teams and the Rockets’ lack of defensive efficiency should mean plenty of points in this game. James Harden is the obvious superstar stud from Houston but it might be worth rolling with either Trevor Ariza or Marcus Thornton as strong value plays instead. Meanwhile, Chandler Parsons has really heated up for Dallas of late with Devin Harris available as a decent value play with high upside in what should be the highest scoring game on the schedule for Sunday.
