Before I begin, I just want to apologize for not having an article up since Monday. The real world is real, duh. But when you do this for free, it makes it more of a hobby than an actual necessity. I started doing this blog so that I could add to my writing portfolio, and hopefully, one day get hired by a site that is world-renown.

Well, I’m glad to say that as of this week, I am now doing player updates for Rotowire. It’s an unbelievable opportunity, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. There’s a lot that goes into it, and I won’t bore you with the details, but long story short I got about 20 hours of sleep this entire week.

One thing lead to another and I just didn’t have enough time to put together something that I was happy with each day. But now that NFL is over, and I kind of know what to expect going forward, I really do want to continue doing this breakdown each day because it’s fucking awesome! Just know that it’s not the easiest thing to do EVERY DAY with NBA since info changes by-the-minute, and oh yes, it’s EVERY DAY.

I think I’ve asked this of my readers before, but be patient, folks. When I hit the next Powerball I won’t have a job, let alone two, to worry about.

Golden State Warriors ( -17 ) @ Philadelphia 76ers – O/U: 218

If you’re a fan of ass-kickings, then boy, do we have a game for you. The Warriors come in ready to pounce on one of the worst teams in the league, and this game could get out of hand early. This is a unique situation in DFS, as we already know the outcome, but just how bad will it be? We must take that into consideration, and it’s almost like we’re trying to predict an extra game within this one.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all feel like their price is too expensive for this game, but you know one or two of these guys will pay off in the long run. I’m willing to bet it’ll be Curry and Draymond, based on the fact that these two guys are basically matchup/blowout-proof each night. Thompson will get his as well, but we’re going to have to cut corners somewhere within our rosters. I don’t mind Andrew Bogut or Harrison Barnes from the starting lineup either.

Since this game deals with a high spread, we’re likely to see plenty of bench players for the Warriors. Philly was always great to Andre Iguodala, and being back home should add a little pep in his step. Shaun Livingston can certainly keep this highly anticipated pace up to par.

For the Sixers, this is will be tougher sledding than usual and Ish Smith will do his best to keep this game competitive. He typically hasn’t flourished in these tougher matchups, but with Golden State in the building, mostly everyone’s level of play steps up a notch. That is, unless you’re going against Draymond, and that’s why I’m not privy to rostering Nerlens Noel today. With Jahlil Okafor back in the lineup today, I expect him to cut into Noel’s production as well.

Another guy I do like from the Sixers is Robert Covington. It seems like this game was made for him and all of the different things he can do on the court. I expect him to have the most fantasy points on the Sixers’ roster today.

Detroit Pistons @ Toronto Raptors ( -6.5 ) – O/U: 203.5

Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan could both be fine options tonight, in a game that’ll be far more competitive than the game that takes place before them. I do think Curry is a much better play than Lowry today, but of course, blowout beware. I talk all the time about how overrated of a defender I believe that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is. However, DeRozan’s usage rate usually takes a hit with Lowry in the lineup, and he may not be worth the hefty salary. Jonas Valanciunas and Luis Scola are two guys I’m interested in as well, with their favorable matchups.

Speaking of Valanciunas, he’s not a very good defender at all and hopefully Andre Drummond could take advantage of this. If you’re trying to get the Big Three of Golden State in your lineup, it may be difficult to try and work him, but Drummond is clearly the most talented center on the board.

If we’re going off of the DvP chart, then there’s not much else left to talk about in terms of Detroit. However, with a two-game slate and one of them being an assured blowout, we have to consider some fallback options. Reggie Jackson and Irsan Ilyasova seem to be the best options from the Pistons, other than Drummond. They’re certainly not my favorite plays, but if you were looking for some exposure from this team, then here it is.

Denver Nuggets @ Indiana Pacers ( -8 ) – O/U: 209.5

One thing I’ve been targeting lately is three-point shooters going up against the Nuggets. Reason being, they’re awful against guarding shots from behind the arc. In fact, they’re the third-worst team in the NBA against 3Pt% – so this would be a great time to target guys like Paul George, Monta Ellis, and hell, maybe even CJ Miles for hella cheap.

Myles Turner continues to wow the league with his great play, paying off value or right around it in his last six games. The only thing that makes me nervous about this streak coming to an end, is the fact that his minutes have been trending down. However, against the Nuggets he should be afforded more playing time if the Pacers have this one in hand early on.

George Hill and Ian Mahinmi also provide some value in this favorable matchup, but certainly Mahinmi is the guy I would rather have.

For Denver, Nikola Jokic is probably the only guy that I’m excited about on this team tonight. The only problem is that guy I’m never excited about is Nuggets coach Mike Malone. If they ever had an award for “Biggest Asshole to Ruin a Team’s Rotation” then they would eventually name the award after him. Jokic has had at least 35 fantasy points in three of his last four games, but has only seen over 30 minutes once in that time span.

I guess Will Barton is in play here too, but again, see above for my thoughts on his coach.

Brooklyn Nets @ New Orleans Pelicans ( -7.5 ) – O/U: 206.5

One of these days my boys will get it right. Ahh, who am I kidding? They never will. It’s been a sad state of affairs for Brooklyn this year, but there are a few spots where they can dominate tonight. Let’s take a crack at Brook Lopez who not only had 52.9 FanDuel points last night, but also goes against the worst defense in the NBA against opposing centers. His cost is a bit up there, but I’m willing to chance it.

The other Nets I would take a chance on would be Thad Young and Joe Johnson. Both guys played well for their price last night, and they have a much better opportunity on the offensive end than they did against Dallas last night. Both of these hinge on the health/positioning of some guys on the Pelicans, so let’s get to them.

Anthony Davis will play, so goodbye Ryan Anderson value.

The main way to attack the Nets is through their backcourt. Tyreke Evans is out and that continues to give Jrue Holiday and Norris Cole a ton of value. Brooklyn is ranked 27th in the NBA against opposing point guards this season, and 20th against shooting guards.

Washington Wizards @ Houston Rockets ( -4 ) – O/U: 218

This will be the game that should be highly targeted, and for good reason. The contest with the highest total by a wide margin on the late slate takes place in Houston, and it seems like both of these teams have completely forgotten how to play defense.

Let’s start with the Wizards, who lost to the Nuggets at home on Thursday. They’ve got to be fired up after that game, but it’s not like their defense can do anything about it. This type of game suits John Wall very well, and he’ll be a damn fine play tonight. The Wizards have a lot of cheap value, and we’ll get to that in a little bit, but I think Brad Beal and Otto Porter can be extremely useful in this game. Most players will see that Beal isn’t starting, but he is on a roll since returning from injury in the minutes he has played. Porter only has the greatest matchup in the universe tonight, and hopefully he gets the minutes.

So that value from Washington we were talking about…

Garrett Temple has been magnificent of late and Marcin Gortat can do more than a couple things down low. I don’t mind either.

The Rockets lost last night in OKC, but fear not, because James Harden is pretty damn good on the back-end of back-to-backs, only finishing with under 40 FanDuel points twice since 2014- one of those times, he had 39.2. Dwight Howard got ejected last night, but I expect him to come back with something strong tonight. Other than that, I’m not looking for many big plays from Houston; if you want to take a flyer on Trevor Ariza, Marcus Thornton or Josh Smith be my guest. One other stat, the Wizards are the worst rebounding team in the month of January.

Sacramento Kings @ Memphis Grizzlies ( -2.5 ) – O/U: 203

Interesting stat to throw out before we begin: The Grizzlies allow the most points per shot in the NBA right now, but also allow the sixth fewest points. Take that however you will…

Everyone wants them some DeMarcus Cousins lately, but this isn’t the night to do it, as he goes up against Marc Gasol. I’m more inclined to go with Rajon Rondo or even Omri Casspi if Rudy Gay remains out of the lineup. The Kings aren’t exactly a team I’d like to target tonight, because I think we can do better elsewhere.

For the Grizz, I think Gasol would be a fine play, as well as Zach Randolph and Mike Conley. There’s guys like Jeff Green and Matt Barnes that would benefit from Sacramento’s lackluster defense as well.

San Antonio Spurs ( -1 ) @ Cleveland Cavaliers – O/U: 206

Ahh yes, the early late night hammer coming at us at 8:30. This game is not likely to be one with a ton of fantasy production, but we can limit it to a few guys, mainly the stars and that’s about it.

For the Cavs – LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

For the Spurs – Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker.