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Yeah, I really felt like the smart guy yesterday evening when I got on the computer immediately after hearing that Matt Bonner was starting and added him to my lineups. It enabled me to drop Steven Adams and Kawhi Leonard and and a third superstud, Kevin Durant, to a team that already included Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Tony Parker.
I was not the only one on the Bonner bandwagon, as 17 percent of the entrants in the $22 entry-fee contest got him into their lineups, too, on short notice.
But Bonner was not just a non-factor, he was a negative factor. I had never played a player before who posted a negative DS point total, but Bonner was a minus-2 for missing all four of his field goal attempts and failing to produce a single rebound, steal, block or assist.
Adams, meanwhile, put up a DS total of 11 points, and Leonard had a 27.25 total. If I had those 38.25 points instead of Durant/Bonner’s 28.75, I would be writing to you today from 37th place in the Thursday-Friday two-night tournament instead of 43th place (out of 75 entrants).
I am going to need big nights out of my three players in action tonight — James, Rashard Lewis, and Norris Cole — in order to have any shot at cashing.
Sigh.
At least the profit for this week is still well over $250 after my pair of second-place finishes in the Monday-Tuesday contests.
Tonight, I am going with a lineup chock full of players competing on their home court, with Luis Scola the only member of the Indiana Pacers or San Antonio Spurs on my eight-man team. And I did manage to get the studly trio of Westbrook, Durant and James on the same squad again. Hopefully they will all play better at home than they did in their most recent road games.
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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 to your right.
Here are today’s studs and duds prices:
| DraftStreet | Price |
| Stars | $$$ |
| Kevin Durant | $24,983 |
| LeBron James | $24,598 |
| Russell Westbrook | $22,760 |
| Paul George | $17,710 |
| Tim Duncan | $15,890 |
| Value Plays? | Under $9,000 |
| George Hill | $8,985 |
| Boris Diaw | $8,902 |
| Steven Adams | $8,589 |
| Danny Green | $8,427 |
| Rashard Lewis | $3,676 |
My duds are Lewis, Kendrick Perkins ($5019) and Luis Scola ($4,183), and I plugged in two other modestly priced guys who run more hot and cold than a broken faucet.
I got burned by failing to grab Paul George two nights ago when he had his best game of the playoffs, but I won’t make that same mistake twice if he plays a Game 7 on his home court this weekend.
For now, though, I am going with guys playing at home because I have sen them perform so much better when they are not on the road.
For kicks, I entered my Friday-Saturday team in the $22, $5 and $2 leagues. Heck, if you are going to win one contest, you might as well try to win three.
But a word of caution: The winning point totals vary from contest to contest, and while 225 points might get you prize money in a $22 contest, it might not in a $2 contest in which there are many more entrants.
Anyway, good luck. And remember, click on the DraftStreet banner at the top of the page in order to sign up.