Tristan Thompson CANNOT defend Dwight Howard. No way in hell.
So I am expecting a 30-20 night out of D-12 tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is why I selected him for one of my eight roster spots for tonight’s Friday freeroll on SheridanHoops.com despite his sky-high price tag of $20,587.
As Kent Williams said in today’s fantasy spin column, Howard is a sure thing.
So feel free to go ahead and grab him, too, as you sign up for tonight’s contest, featuring a $350 prize pool.
The rest of my team is Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Ramon Sessions, Jeff Teague, Andrew Bynum, Anthony Tolliver and Bismack Biyambo.
For those of you who have never competed in one of these fantasy contests, here is how it works.
It is easy.
You are given an imaginary salary cap of $100,000, and you have to choose eight players — two centers, two forwards, two guards and two utility players. (A word to the wise: Seven productive players ain’t gonna get it done, so shop wisely).
You get 2 points for every steal and blocked shot your players produce, 1.5 points for every assist, 1.25 points for every rebound, and 1 point for every point scored. You lose 0.5 points for every missed shot (including free throws), and 1 point for every turnover.
At the end of the night, the most productive team wins. (I played in a $5 league last night and was undone by my selections of Marcus Thornton, Klay Thompson and Nate Robinson. The guy who won (and pocketed $250) capitalized on the selections of Wes Mathews and Gordon Hayward.)
This is not rocket science, but you do need to put some thought into making your picks. For example, Steve Blake is carrying the relatively inexpensive salary of $5,546 — more that half of what other starting point guards will cost. But do you really want a guy who has produced a grand total of two field goals in four games since taking over the starting job from Derek Fisher?
On Saturday, most players will receive a follow-up e-mail from DraftStreet.com offering a bonus if you make a cash deposit and play in their nightly fantasy contests. I encourage you to take them up on their offer (minimum deposit is only $10, and you get to have a little action any night you choose without having to break the bank. Nightly cash leagues cost as little as $2 to enter, but there are bigger games, too, for all of you Wall Street types and hedge fund managers who manage millions and/or billions each day.)
So click here to enter, and I wish you the best of luck. Most of the staff here at SheridanHoops.com play in these Friday freerolls, so you get to compete against us as well as dozens of strangers. If you want advice, you should pay attention to Mr. Williams, as he plays in DraftStreet nightly and is in the black for the season. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
This is a definitely a game of skill, not a game of chance, legal for residents of Canada and all of the United States except for Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Vermont and Puerto Rico.