Congratulations to BigMart11 for winning the SwagBag Contest! It was a photo finish to the end between about 5 guys and he broke away! Walsh and Geek were battling for 1st then all of a sudden BigMart comes out of nowhere and takes her home!
If you aren’t using Twitter for NBA, you are doing it wrong. One big thing I love doing on Twitter is just doing a player name search, going to latest and seeing exactly what is happening with a player. Beat writers or other people close to the situation will tweet about this player and give you the information you need. This is how I figure out injury information almost instantly when I am not watching the game. Anyways, go ahead and give me a follow on Twitter.
Utah at Indiana (201.5)(+1.5)(DK ONLY)
This is a DK only game. It is not on the Fanduel slate. I don’t mind that at all since the only player that has any appeal in this game via DK is Oladipo. I recommend fading this game unless you feel the need to give Dipo a run. The total has already gone down by 3 points, and the pace is extremely slow.
Toronto at Detroit (212.5)(+5.5)
The total in this game has moved down 2.5 points and the pace is not that fast. However, Detroit is playing for their Playoff Lives. They are 2-8 in their last 10 and if they keep losing they can kiss the playoffs goodbye. I like two pieces for Detroit at home. Andre Drummond is my favorite center on the board tonight. If you pay up, go DrummDoggMillionaire. He has scored a 58 and a 61 against this same Toronto team. The 61 was when Detroit got blown out. Blake Griffin did not do that great against them last time, but when he was a Clipper, he scored 50 FD points in both of his last 2 games. I won’t be pairing both of them up, but I will be playing 1 or the other tonight. The only interest I have for Toronto is Serge Ibaka. It is not a strong interest either, but he is in my player pool.
DRUMMOND: Two monster games vs Raptors. Great aDvP. Must Win Game.
Griffin: Two great games vs Toronto as a Clipper.
Bullock: I didn’t mention him above, but he is consistent and cheap on FD.
Memphis at Chicago (211)(-3.5)
This game has moved up a whopping 5 points since release. That is eye-opening. I don’t think it is enough for me to want to stack this game, but I do want some pieces here now. The two pieces for Memphis I like here are Kobi Simmons and Ben Mclemore. I like Mclemore “more” considering he should get more minutes and has a much higher upside. Kobi will be running the point and Mclemore will be seeing a lot of Lavine or Holiday defense which I like. I also like the fact people will be mad at Benny boy for sitting out last time and screwing their lineups. Green for Memphis is appealing, but I do not want to roster him at that price point. For Chicago, Lavine is my top choice. He is my only choice for Chicago.
Ben McLemore: 25+ minutes with 30-35 point upside at a lower ownership due to “personal reasons/late scratch”
Kobi Simmons: Price is too low to ignore. High Floor. Great Cash Play.
Houston at Milwaukee(214)(+5.5)
Let’s go, Bucks! My team needs a win here, and you can bet your ass they will show up tonight. The pace of this game isn’t as fast as we hoped, and Houston is just shredding teams. However, this is a b2b against a team that is in a MUST win territory. Giannis takes this kind of shit seriously. He will be playing super aggressive tonight which will lead to more blocks and/or steals. Giannis is my favorite play tonight and I will have 100 percent exposure to him. Jabari Parker still has a restriction of around 25 minutes, but he has had tremendous success against Houston. I prefer him on DK, but also don’t mind paying for him on FD. Middleton finally saw his price go down for FD, and he is in consideration for a bounce-back game tonight. If you aren’t playing Giannis, I love Middleton here. I wouldn’t pair them together. For Houston, I love Trevor Ariza tonight. He has been playing extremely well lately and will see the bucks worst defenders (tony snell). He is fairly priced as well. If I stack this game, I will be playing Harden as well. Harden will struggle to drive to the rim tonight, so he will be regulated to shooting jumpers and threes. I don’t want to rely on that to get me to value or to exceed value. I will be fading Harden unless I stack this game. Normally I like Centers vs Milwaukee, but Capela has had no luck against this Bucks team. I would not be surprised to see this game go small and seeing more Luc Mbah Moute. He is one of my favorite under 4k plays tonight if you end up going there. It is also a revenge game for Moute.
Giannis: Game on fellas. My lock of the night
Ariza: He is a free 30 points right now at 5200? Yes, please.
Jabari Parker: Great history against Houston, and possibly might see 30 minutes if he is needed. Remember, this is a must-win
Mbah Moute: Revenge narrative and he is on Houston to matchup vs teams like the Bucks.
Pelicans at Sacramento (223.5)(+5.5)
As of late, fading Anthony Davis really makes me shutter. Just the thought of it. I was only confident fading him vs the Spurs. Tonight, I am fading AD again. His price has skyrocketed. This is a b2b. A slow paced Kings team. The only player I have any interest in for the Pelicans is Rajon Rondo. It is a revenge game for him and his price is fair. For Sacramento, I love Bogdon for SG. He is playing very well as of late and is the future of this Kings team. I don’t roster ZBO anymore even though he is scheduled to suit up. I love Kostas Koufos and Skal Labissiere. Kosta is my top value play at Center.
Rajon Rondo: Revenge Narrative.
Koufos: Value center. 25+ minutes. 40 FD last time they played.
Labissiere: High Floor. The ceiling is cut into with Zbo in the mix.
Bogdanovic: Huge ceiling, High Floor. I will play him over any other King.
Cleveland at Denver (229.5)(-3.5)
The third highest pace with the highest total. I will come out and say the only SG for Cleveland that I like is Jr Smith. His price is low and he has a revenge game. His minutes are down since he got suspended for throwing a bowl of soup at an assistant coach, but his last 3 games vs Denver are 38.3/15.9/29.4. Not bad. Lebron James is always in play, but I am having a hard time paying 12.5k for him. I will be playing Giannis over Lebron tonight, but Lebron is a fine play if you choose to go there instead. George Hill just played Denver and had a pretty good game. He is worth considering since the pool at PG tonight is extremely weak. If he gets his hands on some steals he could have a big game.
Onto Denver…As you may know, I am cursed when it comes to deploying Jamal Murray. This goes as far back as last year. I didn’t even notice it when it started, but I would roster him and he’d score like 9 fd. I’d fade him next time out and he would go off for like 40. This would continue happening. We move onto this year, and it still hasn’t stopped. I got so frustrated one time I just kept fading him, and he goes for a stretch of like 35+ games nonstop. Right when I roster him, he gets me 15. I rostered him yesterday, he got 9. I am the most superstitious person ever, and I do believe in juju (Don’t post other peoples SS when they are winning a tournament with like 2 games left, please). With that said, tonight is the night I finally break the curse. I will be deploying Jamal Murray in a favorable matchup tonight in the highest total game. I will be close to about $500 worth of lineups, all with Jamal Murray. Pray for me. He is the only guy I want to pay for on Denver at this juncture with Paul Millsap in the equation.
Jamal Murray: Ride or Die
Lebron James: 60+ point upside tonight.
George Hill: Safe floor
Jr Smith: There is merit to running him out in GPPs. He could also throw soup at a fan and give you 5 points. Know the risk.
Orlando at Los Angeles (224.5)(-6.5)
Fastest pace on the board and it’s not close. Doesn’t mean I have to like this game. There is a trend going here where the home team in this matchup just blows the other team out. Might be because they have to travel across the country. With that said, I won’t be paying up for any of the high priced players. This means I have no interest in Lonzo/Vuc/Gordon. If I have a sniff of any chance there might not be a full complement of minutes, I do not want to deploy them. For Orlando – I am in love with Shelvin Mack tonight. He is near min price, and if my theory holds true he could be in for a 30+ point performance. He did score 29 last time they played. There is news about Jonathon Simmons moving to the bench, but he still will see 25 minutes or so. I like him in fast-paced games at his price as well. For the Lakers, I want Kuzma and that is about it. I can’t believe the price KCP is on FD. Everyone is just priced so high tonight on this slate for FD. However, on DK KCP and Brook Lopez make fine plays. Not on FD though. If you really want to buy into the blowout narrative and want to grab a low owned guy who could possibly win you a GPP. Look no further than to Travis Wear. GPP only.
Mack: I believe he will get more minutes and has 30+ point upside.
Kuzma: His price didn’t go up much, and is in a great matchup. Top PF on the board for me.
This is where the industry is going for CASH
PG: Rondo/Paul/Ball/Augustin
SG: Kobi Simmons/Harden/Hield/Middleton
SF: Giannis/Moore/Bullock/Brooks
PF: Kuzma/Davis/Skal/Randle
C: Koufos/Capela/Drummond
These are my top cash plays
PG: Murray/Rondo/Hill/Mack
SG: Simmons/Mclemore/Bogdon/Middleton
SF: Giannis/Ariza/Lebron/Bullock
PF: Kuzma/Skal/Jabari/Griffon
C: Drummond/Koufos