Click on this banner to sign up for DraftStreet’s two-day NBA playoff fantasy leagues
We get three more nights of fantasy basketball, and maybe more. Thank you, Indiana Pacers — and you, too, LeBron James, for passing instead of shooting on that final possession.
That is the only thing I am saying thank you to James for, because I keyed most of my fantasy teams toward having him on them, and he produced the lowest-scoring playoff game of his career Wednesday night with just 7 points. That ended any hopes I had of matching the euphoria I felt Wednesday morning after cashing for $445 by finishing second in two contests.
I go into tonight’s Game 5 of the Thunder-Spurs series with an outside chance to finish Top-5 in my Wednesday-Thursday contest, but it is best this Thursday morning to think and start fresh.
So in choosing my lineups for Game 5 of Thunder-Heat and Game 6 of Pacers-Heat, I am looking for some sure things. But therein lies the problem … if James is not a sure thing, then who is?
ALL FIRST-TIME DEPOSITORS GET A FREE T-SHIRT OF THE PHIL JACKSON TAKEOFF ON THE OBAMA-HOPE CAMPAIGN. CLICK HERE.)
Well, I am going to have to go with the “that was an aberration” theory and try again with James as my anchor. There have been enough low-priced guys coming through to build a petty feisty studs and duds team. And if ever there was an aberration, it was either Rashard Lewis putting up 19 DS points or Paul George putting up 21 fourth-quarter points to finish with a DS point total of 49.5. I also believe in the theory that teams and individuals play better at home, so I will use that as another jumping off point.
For those of you who are new to these fantasy contests, allow me to explain.
You start with an imaginary salary cap of $100,000, and you select three forwards, three guards, a center and a utility player. For every point your players score, you get a point. For every rebound, you get 1.25 points. Assists are worth 1.5 points, and steals and blocked shots are worth 2 points.
You lose 1 point for every turnover and a half-point for every missed shot.
DraftStreet is currently offering $2, $5 and $22 tournaments. To sign up, click on the banner at the top of this page. If you are a first-time depositor, I will send you a special Phil Jackson/Obama/HOPE t-shirt that will make you too cool for school … or the office … of the neighborhood barbecue. Young William Sheridan is modeling one in the photo above and to your right.
Here are today’s prices for the superstars and the not-so super stars.
| DraftStreet | Price |
| Stars | $$$ |
| Kevin Durant | $24,983 |
| LeBron James | $24,800 |
| Russell Westbrook | $22,860 |
| Paul George | $16,528 |
| Tim Duncan | $15,890 |
| Value Plays? | Under $9,000 |
| George Hill | $8,985 |
| Boris Diaw | $8,902 |
| Tiago Splitter | $8,689 |
| Steven Adams | $8,589 |
| Danny Green | $8,487 |
| Rashard Lewis | $2,910 |
Curiously, the price on George has dropped $1,000 since yesterday. I guess the lightning won’t strike twice theory is in effect there.
But how about the value plays?
I have listed five hit-or-miss guys between $8,400 and $8,985. George Hill and Danny Green are the two starters among those five.
And then we have Lewis, who is priced $5,500 below the others.
Yes, he is about as hit-or-miss as they come, and four times out of five it’ll be a miss. But I am betting that he has his confidence back after knocking down six 3-pointers in last night’s game, and I have added him to my roster, which does not have a single member of the Pacers on it.
Instead, I went heavy on members of the Heat and the Spurs, trying to get my mojo back just as they are.
I have cashed 12 times since temporarily taking over this fantasy writer gig from Brett Poirier, and I now know there will be Thursday-Friday and Friday-Saturday contests. If the Pacers win Game 6, the fun lasts a couple extra days.
You can take or leave my advice, because I can run as hot and cold as the next guy. If you are taking it, take James, Westbrook and Lewis, and build from there.
Good luck! And again, click on the DraftStreet banner at the top of this post to sign up and play.