Tonight is one of the most highly anticipated basketball games this NBA season. The Staples Center will have tons of star power on the court when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat square off against Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and the new look Los Angeles Clippers. These two teams are coming off tough road losses the night before and will be hungry for a win in this star studded match-up (the Clippers lost to the Portland Trailblazers 105-97, and the Heat loss in overtime to the Golden State Warriors).
The Clippers return to the Staples Center, where they have won three straight and are 19-6 in their last 25 home games. Last season, the Clippers beat the Heat in Los Angeles to snap a nine-game Miami winning streak. Blake Griffin had 24 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists in that game. Yesterday Griffin had his 20-point streak to open the season stopped at six games, as he only scored 18 in Portland, but look for a huge fantasy day from him tonight. On the year, Griffin leads the team in points per game, averaging 23.7, and rebounds per game with 10.6.
Dwyane Wade is a player to watch for Miami. Wade made his return from an injury last night to lead the Heat in scoring with 34 points. Yes, the team lost; however seeing Wade back on the court after dealing with an injury was a good thing. It will be his first back-to-back game, so we’ll see how Wade’s body holds up. He may be someone fantasy owners want to think twice about picking for their daily fantasy basketball team tonight.
LeBron James is having a typically superb season, averaging 29.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.6 assists. However, the Clippers have done a fantastic job in defending James in their past meetings, limiting him to 23.1 points per game, which is his lowest scoring average versus any NBA team. All that being said, if you have enough cap space to pick LeBron up on your daily fantasy basketball team for tonight, you should! Expect big time fantasy numbers from him in the Hollywood spotlights of L.A.
This season, aside from James, Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat have also found a reliable bench scorer and a fantasy sleeper in rookie Norris Cole, averaging 10.4 points per game so far for Miami.
The point guard match-up may be the most crucial in determining who wins tonight’s game. Mario Chalmers has seen his minutes increase this month. He’s averaging 31.2 minutes per game in January compared to 22.3 minutes per game in December. If Chalmers can shut down Chris Paul, who has been rather inconsistent in the fantasy points department to start the season, it will increase the Heat’s chances of winning in a big way. However, if Paul can find some open space to feed Griffin or his other talented big man, DeAndre Jordan (another solid fantasy pick to consider for your daily fantasy basketball team), the Clippers will roll to an easy victory tonight
A win for Miami will help them stay in first place in the Southeast Division, as the Atlanta Hawks are only one game behind them. The Clippers need a win to keep pace with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division. The Clippers are only one game behind the Lakers for first place in the division and could close the gap with a win tonight. Regardless of the outcome, be sure to tune in for this one. Expect some high flying dunks, exciting plays and a hell of a lot of fantasy points being accumulated. It’s these type of games that make daily fantasy basketball so much fun! Pick your FREE daily fantasy basketball team now
