Each morning we provide the fantasy basketball tipoff, in which we examine several key angles to get you ready for this evening’s season-long and daily fantasy action. We have nine games on tap Wednesday, so let’s tip it off.
IT versus Russ
Wednesday's matchup featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics (7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN/WatchESPN) should be high-scoring and feature end-to-end action, and the top matchup to watch will be at the point.
Russell Westbrook has averaged 26.8 points per game in his last eight against Boston, while Isaiah Thomas has averaged 27.3 in his last three against OKC. These players are used to leading their teams in this particular matchup, but which one has the edge tonight?
Since the All-Star break, the Thunder lead the league in turnovers per game and are second in points allowed in points off of turnovers, per ESPN Stats & Info. Boston ranks fifth in points scored off of turnovers, and Thomas is tenth among all players, per the NBA.com/Stats.
On the other hand, Westbrook is the league's leading scorer on the fast break (per NBA.com/stats), while Boston holds opponents to fewer points on the break than any other team (per Stats & Info). Add in that Boston is allowing the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing point guards and saving money by rostering IT2 is the way to go on Wednesday night.
Crash the boards
Oklahoma City does hold an advantage over Boston, and every other team in the NBA, as an offensive rebounding force. The Thunder rank first in offensive rebounds per game, offensive rebound percentage and second-chance points per game, according to Stats & Info.
They're one of several teams with noteworthy rebounding advantages on their opponents tonight. If you're thinking about rostering a big man, target those playing for teams with big rebound rate advantages, as they should see an uptick in production on the glass and could get some easy buckets on putbacks.
Atlanta Hawks (29th in rebound rate) at Detroit Pistons (4th)
Dallas Mavericks (25th) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (3rd)
Boston Celtics (19th) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1st)
Washington Wizards (27th) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (11th)
Memphis Grizzlies (23rd) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (12th)
Golden State's favorite opponent
Over the past two seasons, no team has shot better from 3-point range against a single foe than the Warriors against the Knicks. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Golden State has hit 53.4 percent of its 3-pointers over the last two seasons, connecting on just fewer than 16 treys per contest against the New York.
Blowout risk is huge in a lopsided matchup like this one, but we've seen time and time again that one of the sharpshooters for Golden State can post incredible numbers even in easy wins. The first matchup between these teams resulted in a 21-point win for the the Warriors, and Klay Thompson was able to pour in 34 points while Draymond Green put together a triple-double, both playing more than 30 minutes.
This time, it could be Stephen Curry who goes crazy from 3-point range, or Thompson could repeat his performance from the first game. Either way, you'll want to grab a Splash Bro for your daily fantasy lineups, as you might get left behind without one.
Kentucky in March
It's no surprise to see the Kentucky Wildcats featured in the NCAA tournament as a team to watch as the brackets unfold. After all, they've been one of the top producers of NBA talent in the college ranks over the past few years, and continue to recruit stars at every position.
Tonight will feature several former UK hoops stars in action, including some matchups featuring a Kentucky player on both sides of the ball. Let's take a look at those matchups:
Derrick Rose, who is questionable to play (and while he did not attend Kentucky, Rose did play for John Calipari at Memphis), would go head-to-head with John Wall when the Bulls take on the Wizards. Rose is averaging 18.6 points and 6.2 assists so far this month, both over his season average, and would be a viable contrarian play if he suits up. Wall is averaging a double-double this month and the Bulls are among the worst teams in the NBA at preventing fantasy points from point guards, so the Washington floor general is a solid pick.
DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Willie Cauley-Stein and the Kings take on Anthony Davis and the Pelicans tonight in a matchup featuring several Wildcats. Cousins is always a great tournament play, and has averaged more than 32 PPG in three matchups with New Orleans this season. On the other side of the ball, Davis went for 20 points and 10 rebounds in both of his games against Sacramento this season, but sat out the third.
Rondo is a very volatile fantasy option, and tonight's matchup is only slightly above average for the point guard position. Cauley-Stein, however, has 20-plus DraftKings points in three straight games and the Pellies aren't particularly strong at defending the center position from a fantasy standpoint, allowing the second-most points to the position on DK this season.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Minnesota will face the banged-up Grizzlies tonight, and while KAT hasn't done well against the Grizz yet this season, their current lineup won't be as formidable a foe as previous iterations.
Over the last five games, the Grizzlies have allowed the third-most points to centers and power forwards on FanDuel, and over the last 10, they've allowed the seventh-most to centers and eighth-most to centers. This shows just how much they miss their injured stars in the post, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Towns is just over a week removed from a huge game against Charlotte, in which he scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. We could see a repeat this evening against Memphis.