FanEx Sports NBA Daily Fantasy Tips for 3/28/2014

The 76ers tied the NBA losing streak record with their 26th straight lose last night.

Last night's NBA schedule was filled with the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good:

LaMarcus Aldridge returned from injury last night and didn't seem to miss a beat scoring 25 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the Blazers 100 to 85 win.  Last night's win ended a minor skid in the Blazers play as they had previously lost their last 3 games.  Getting back their elite all-star player seemed to do the trick as the Blazers are sitting in 5th place in the Western Conference and only 2.5 games ahead of the 8th place Phoenix Suns.  Hopefully they can catch fire in the last three weeks of the season and stay within the playoff picture.

With all the talk about Kevin Durant and LeBron James for MVP, Blake Griffin has proven himself to be a legitimate threat for the MVP trophy in the coming years. Griffin is averaging 24.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game this season as well as 38.4 FanEx points per game (8th highest in the league).  Although his run of 30 consecutive 20-point games ended last night, he still is producing great numbers all-around scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in Clippers 109 to 103 victory over the Mavericks.  Chris Paul was the main catalyst last night for the Clips scoring 31 points and dishing out 9 assists.  Looking towards the playoffs, I would try anything to not have to play the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.

The second hottest team behind the Spurs, winners of 15 straight games, is the Rockets who have 15 of their last 20 games.  James Harden has picked up his play with the recent injury to Howard sidelining him for a few games, and last night he delivered by putting up a triple-double in 3 quarters.  Now the triple-double game against the worst team in the league, the 76ers, but it was an impressive finishing stat-line: 26-points, 10-rebounds, and 10-assists.  The Rockets could be deadly come playoff time as they are peaking at the right time of the season, so keep an eye on these Rockets come April.

The Bad:

Despite the 76ers record tying losing streak, they still don't have the worst record in the league.  That record belongs to the Milwaukee Bucks who are 14 and 58; however, the Bucks moved within one game of the dismal 76ers last night with a 108 to 105 victory over the Lakers.  The Bucks are without Wolters and Ellyasova for the rest of the season, but Brandon Knight has been a bright spot for the Bucks scoring 30 points last, his fourth game of the season scoring 30 or more points.  Jordan Hill has reemerged as a legit Center option for fantasy purposes as D'Antoni is riding Hills'd hot streak.  Last night he broke his career highs again making 13 of 17 shots ending with 28 points and 16 rebounds.

The Lakers are in a precarious situation as the season comes to a close in three weeks.  They still have a perennial star in Kobe Bryant, but no one knows exactly how good he will be when he returns to action next year.  The Lakers have stated that they are in a 2 year rebuilding process, but Kobe is wanting a legitimate team to play with come next season.  Something has got to give in free agency or the draft for the Lakers to be legitimate title contenders next season as they are missing the playoffs for only the 5th time in Lakers Franchise history.

The Ugly:

When we watched the Cavilers lose 26 in a row a few seasons ago everyone thought that their streak would stand for a long time.  Well news flash, the 76ers have just tied their 26-game losing streak with a 120 to 98 lose against the Rockets last night.  Now referred to as the 26ers, they head into Saturday's match-up against the Pistons with breaking the record on the line.  Whether they are tanking to get the first pick or not, it is hard to imagine this team started the season off 3-0 with wins against Miami and Chicago.  During their streak they were only favored in one game against the Lakers, and they wound up losing by 14-points at home.  Also, they have lost 26 games by an average margin of 16.6 points surpassing the Cavilers record streak by almost 3 points.

Tonight's Players to Consider:

Gorgui Dieng - $23.79 - Minnesota plays the Lakers tonight and Dieng is riding a nice string of good games with his opportunities of starting with Pekovic sidelined.  He has recorded five double-doubles in his last six games and will go against Jordan Hill and Chris Kaman tonight.  Hill put up career highs last night against the Bucks, but I think Dieng will have tons of opportunities to have a solid fantasy day with the Lakers giving up fantasy points left and right in what could be an up and down type game.

Anthony Davis - $54.62 - Davis has "cooled off" slightly only scoring 16 points against the Clippers two days ago, but he has an easy match-up tonight against the Jazz.  The Brow should have a field day against the backcourt of the Jazz with his athleticism and skill set.  With most of the headline stars playing tonight, I like Davis because of his match-up and price.  Also, Davis and Evans are the two players for the Pelicans that handle the ball the majority of the time, so I think that both of them will have great value tonight.

Goran Dragic - $45.86 - With the return of Eric Bledsoe, Dragic has fallen off of the spotlight yet he is still producing great numbers.  Since Bledsoe returned to the lineup, Dragic is still averaging 20-points, 3-boards, and 6-assists.  The Suns are riding a 5 game winning streak and the Knicks are in town tonight. Dragic is a flat-out fantasy stud and tonight I like his match-up going against Raymond Felton.  Dragic isn't a wow pick, but if you are looking for someone that can produce on a nightly basis he is your guy to roll out.

Kevin Martin - $36.70 - At such a low price, I like Kevin Martin's upside value for tonight's slate.  Martin is averaging 24 points this season against the Lakers and seems to always torch the Lakers form deep.  While he could not reach value tonight depending on how the game plays out, Martin has extreme upside going against the point giving Lakers who gives up the second most points in the NBA behind the 76ers.  Look for most of the Timberwolves players to be owned tonight due to the nice match-up.

Aaron Brooks - $24.28 - Aaron Brooks is a tricking daily fantasy option as his floor and ceiling are so far apart.  Last game against the Spurs he scored 25-points, dished out 8-assist, and grabbed 5-rebounds, yet the game before that he only score 5-points and dished out 3-assists.  Tonight the Nuggets play the Spurs again in Denver.  The Spurs are a team that typically doesn't let the same player beat them twice, so Brooks my find life difficult tonight; however, I think so much attention will be on Ty Lawson that Brooks will get his minutes and be able to be a nice value option tonight.

Friday's NBA Schedule:

• CHA v ORL at 7:00PM EST
• BOS v TOR at 7:00PM EST
• IND v WAS at 7:00PM EST
• CLE v BKN at 7:30PM EST
• MIA v DEt at 7:30PM EST
• POR v CHI at 8:00PM EST
• LAL v MIN at 8:00PM EST
• UTA v NOP at 8:00PM EST
• SAC v OKC at 8:00PM EST
• SAS v DEN at 9:00PM EST
• NYK v PHX at 10:00PM EST
• MEM v GSW at 10:30PM EST