NBA2K Daily Challenge Preview: 2015-16 Cavaliers vs. 1986-87 Lakers + FanDuel Plays | Thursday, April 2

No new NBA games does not have to mean the end of NBA DFS action. We here at Awesemo are committed to bringing you contests while sports are on hiatus. And that continues today with Awesemo’s NBA2K Daily Challenge, which continues off with the 2015-16 Cavaliers taking on the 1986-87 Lakers.

Here’s what we’re doing: over the next few weeks, we’re giving away $20,000+ in prizes in FREE TO PLAY contests based on simulated NBA games that will air on YouTube and Twitch streams involving your favorite Awesemo personalities. There will be Daily Contests where you are asked to predict aspects of the day’s simulated game. Get the most correct answers and you’ll be eligible for great prizes. Prizes will vary from day-to-day and tonight’s prize is a TRU-Infrared Smoker Roaster & Grill! Enter now (and every day) by clicking on the following link:

https:www.awesemo.com/nba2k-daily-challenges

Through April 3, we’ll also be running a $15,000 Bracket Challenge with $10,000 to first. You’ve made your bracket picks and if you get the highest score you could walk away with $10,000.

In addition, FanDuel is running a contest based on our streams! For full details and to make your picks, follow the link http://https://bit.ly/FanDueleNBA. We have included some FanDuel-specific picks below.

Additional details regarding both the $15,000 Bracket Challenge and the Daily Contests, including full Terms and Conditions, are available here: https:www.awesemo.com/nba2k
Thank you for supporting us and we’re thrilled to have this opportunity to give something back. We aren’t going anywhere and hope you feel the same.

Now, let’s dig into a preview of tonight’s matchup between the 2015-16 Cavaliers and the 1986-87 Lakers.

The Teams (and How They Got Here)

2015-16 Cavaliers

Starters:

PG – Kyrie Irving

SG – J.R. Smith

SF – LeBron James

PF – Kevin Love

C – Tristan Thompson

The 2015-16 Cavaliers, one of the most iconic teams of the last decade, got the tournament’s most favorable matchup in round 1 with the 1994-95 Knicks. Those Knicks, while a fun watch in their time, did not win the title or even its conference that year, and their lack of star power beyond Patrick Ewing showed. Cleveland spread the ball incredibly well with five players finishing in double figures and they dispensed of New York early on. In fact, the Knicks did not even get on the scoreboard until there were only nine seconds left in the first quarter. The Cavs maintained a 20-plus-point lead for the rest of the game and won the least dramatic game of the tournament to date.

What sets up Cleveland better than most is the number of peripheral players who can score on their own. J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Kevin Love all created their own shots last game, taking a lot pressure off of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. That depth could make them extremely hard to defend down the stretch.

1986-87 Lakers

Starters:

PG – Magic Johnson

SG – Byron Scott

SF – James Worthy

PF – A.C. Green

C – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

These Lakers are frequently labeled among the best ever, but in round 1, they had to push to knock off the underdog 76ers. A late 76ers run even cut the final score to single digits. That said, the game was never really in doubt for Los Angeles and Philadelphia did not make it close until it was far too late. Like Cleveland, the Lakers had contributions up and down their lineup with four players finishing in double figures. They thrived true to form of their real-life counterpart with paint domination and efficiency in the fast break — Byron Scott was the only player to make a 3 for them all game.

The problem for the Lakers in the context of a modern-day video game is that the 2015-16 Cavaliers are in some ways an evolved version of those Lakers. They too have a version of Magic — LeBron James — a couple other star scorers and a bunch of shooters. That last part is the big difference because the Lakers struggled to hit shots when they tried to bury the 76ers. As such, they will need to fully dominate the paint to hang with the hot-shooting Cavs.


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The Studs

LeBron James

LeBron was effectively built upon the foundation of Magic Johnson, so this game has a lot of intrinsic meaning for him outside of the Tournament Challenge. Like Johnson, James is an oversized point guard with unmatched skill and athleticism for his build, and that freakish physical advantage was the driving force for both to turn into two of the greatest players the game has ever seen.

James has a couple entries remaining in this tournament, and truth be told, the Miami LeBron had much better numbers than this LeBron in the first round. That said, this Cleveland version did not need to do all that much to bury the Knicks, so he was clearly deferring much of the game. His stats were still solid with 11 points, three assists and two rebounds and a team-high plus-25. So because the Cavaliers were moving the ball around so much James did not load up on stats, but if the Cleveland form is anything like the Miami one, then LeBron is fully capable of dominating a game if need be.

Kyrie Irving

Like LeBron, Irving picked his spots last game. He only took six shots and one 3, a far cry from his real-life ball-dominant tendencies, and as a result, his fantasy output was pedestrian. 11 points and one rebound, assist and steal apiece is not the most gaudy of lines. But Irving also only played 11 minutes — less than half of the available time — because the Cavaliers put the game away in the first quarter. That is almost certainly not going to happen against one of the best teams ever.

Irving will match up with Johnson for the majority of this game, which is an interesting mismatch for both guys. Neither were overly great on-ball defenders and Irving was outright bad back in 2016. Johnson could be useful defensively simply because of his size and athleticism, but defending Irving could be an issue for him. Irving’s famed stepback 3 could be on display far more in this game with Johnson giving up a little more space.

Magic Johnson

Though Tony Parker‘s output topped Johnson’s for best single game thus far, Magic was not far behind in the first round win over Philadelphia. And from a total box score standpoint, his was the most impressive. He recorded a double-double with 15 and 12, responsible for 41 points, and also added two rebounds, two blocks and three steals. His four turnovers ultimately kept him short of Parker’s MVP game, but Johnson still figures to be the top ball-dominant distributor in this matchup.

If the Lakers are smart, they will try to exploit the mismatch with Irving by getting Johnson into the post. Johnson was an excellent post scorer since he was frequently matched up with smaller defenders, and he has a good seven inches on Irving here. That could also suck in the defense and help open up space for Scott, who appears to be the Lakers’ only competent 3-point shooter.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The Lakers’ first-round game had a shocking dearth of Kareem skyhooks, casting a pall over the entire bracket. Instead, Abdul-Jabbar served as a solid rim runner, putback artist and rim protector, recording 10 points, nine boards and two blocks and a team-best plus-25 in only 14 minutes. It was clear that his age was starting to catch up with him, but Kareem was still a star-caliber producer in round 1. The nice thing for him about this matchup with Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov is that Abdul-Jabbar will not have to exert much energy defensively, though he will have to hang with the quick Thompson as they battle for rebounds.

James Worthy

Worthy fit into the Lakers’ gameplan in round 1 exactly as he did in the 1980s. He ran the floor well with Johnson, played excellent defense and took only high-percentage shots. As a result, he was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, recording 12 points, three assists and two rebounds. And while he will likely again be an important secondary scorer against Cleveland, Worthy’s defensive role may make him Los Angeles’ most important player. He will match up with LeBron the majority of the time — he played 20 of 24 minutes against the 76ers. If he can keep James off balance and force other Cavs to hit shots, the Lakers will almost certainly come out on top in this one.

The Role Players

Cavaliers

Kevin Love – In 15 of play, Love did an abbreviated version of exactly what real-life Kevin Love does best; he took four shots, including a couple 3’s, making them all and taking down three rebounds. And now, his defensive struggles will not matter nearly as much as A.C Green is far and away the Lakers’ weakest offensive starter, so Love can just grab rebounds and make shots without being a liability elsewhere.

J.R. Smith – True to form, Smith was Cleveland’s No. 1 chucker in the first game. 11 points on 40 percent shooting, he was the only Cav with multiple shots to make less than 50 percent. It made sense with the game flow since Irving and James were deferring a lot and Cleveland got up so big, so Smith felt free to take every shot he so desired. That could be the case again against the Lakers going toe-to-toe with Byron Scott, who also shot a lot in the first round. If Smith sees Scott taking and making 3’s, he may try to match shots more than he should.

Tristan Thompson – Thompson was the only starter not in double digits last game, but he was excellent on the boards with eight. He also made his only field goal attempt, so he clearly knows his role and does it effectively. Against the Lakers, he is giving up considerable height to Kareem, so Thompson will have to use his quickness advantage to throw Abdul-Jabbar off his game and to beat him to rebounds.

Iman Shumpert – The surprise contributor to Cleveland, Shumpert came off the bench to drop 11 in only 13 minutes. He was not even included in the last preview as it seemed others like Matthew Dellavedova could usurp him in the rotation. Alas, Shumpert played a lot and played well, going 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 from distance.

Lakers

Byron Scott – Scott tied with Magic Johnson to be the Lakers’ leading scorer, mostly thanks to his being the only good shooter on the team. The Lakers as a team went 2-for-9 from 3, but Scott went 2-for-4 and 5-of-8 in total, leading to 15 points. His fantasy production was still a bit limited, however, as his only peripheral stat was a lone steal. With Johnson hogging possession, Scott’s production will almost solely come down to catch-and-shoot opportunities.

Michael Cooper – Cooper’s role was as advertised: defensive stopper, occasional 3-point threat. And though he did not make a 3 in three attempts, his willingness to take them was rare among Lakers players. He also fared much better defending Allen Iverson, as Iverson roasted Byron Scott much of the game and finished with 31 points.

A.C. Green – Green was just kind of there most of the first-round game, adding four points and three rebounds, but mostly merely existing while Johnson and Kareem went to work. He will have a bit more significance in this matchup defending Kevin Love, and if he feels inclined, Green could also try to exploit Love’s defensive weakness.

FanDuel Plays

MVP – Magic Johnson – $15,000

After last game in which Johnson loaded up on every statistical category, there really was no other place to go here. Add in a favorable matchup with Irving, and a double-double plus a few blocks/steals is a reasonable expectation. Presumably, the Lakers will not shoot as poorly from 3 this game either, so that positive regression could further boost Johnson’s upside tonight.

Star – Kyrie Irving – $14,000

Neither Irving nor James lit it up last game from a fantasy perspective and Irving spent considerable time on the bench. That said, at least one of those two should land in a multiplier spot. James is the better option for peripherals, and his Miami self was the MVP in the Heat’s first-round game, so he can go off at any time. However, when in doubt, I like to lean on the ball-dominant point guards, especially those not afraid to shoot contested 3’s. Irving fits that bill, and I also like his ability to beat Johnson off the dribble to get to the rim.

Pro – Byron Scott – $11,500

Going after Worthy or Love here and punting the utility spots is not a terrible option, but given Scott’s 15 points last game, he is clearly a high-upside producer, and at a discount. He made both of the Lakers’ only 3’s, so the shots from range are going to be his, whereas Cleveland spreads the ball around to many shooters. Scott is not going to contribute much in the way of peripherals, but his scoring brings a nice ceiling.


Looking for more NBA DFS picks content? We’ve got loads of articles, data, cheatsheets and more on the Awesemo NBA home page, just click HERE

Author
Sam Smith is a writer and editor with Stokastic and OddsShopper. He has been immersed in the world of professional sports data since 2015, while also writing extensively on the NFL for a multitude of blogs and websites. With Stokastic, Sam looks to blend his sports and editorial expertise with Stokastic's data to bring you the best fantasy information possible.

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