I hope you Beat the Pro — our own Chris Sheridan — last night for an easy two bucks and a share of the $50,000 prize money. The boss finished in 5,568th place to earn a $4 payout and is satisfied with his performance.
“Hey, I picked Dirk on his worst night of the season, I got beat by more than 5,000 people, and I still doubled my money. That is why I love DraftKings.”
Some nights (like Friday) my handicapping gets the right teams but the ‘wrong’ players. Kris Humphries, Tristan Thompson and DeMarre Carroll were not on my radar, and picking Kelly Olynyk over Tyler Zeller was a huge mistake.
We all start even on Saturday, with a six-pack of NBA games to search for value.
Plays of the Day
If you haven’t joined DK yet, click for a FREE entry (worth $2) to win as much as $5,000 in the $40K Layup, where 4,600 of 23,000 teams earn cash. They will match your initial deposit 100% (up to $600) with bonus money that gets added to your account as you play. High rollers can try tonight’s $75K Crossover — $27 to enter, maximum 3,150 teams, top 630 get paid and first prize is $10,000.
Anthony Davis $11600 vs. Blake Griffin $9900 is an excellent reason to stay up late. The underdog Pelicans are good enough to make the Clippers play their best. Chris Paul $10100 is the difference-maker and a tough assignment for Jrue Holiday $7400. Tyreke Evans $7100 had a 30-point game on Tuesday while Ryan Anderson $5800 scored 23; both were quiet in a subsequent loss to Golden State but could bounce back. Either center can rack up REB and BLK; Omer Asik $4400 is cheaper than DeAndre Jordan $6900. L.A.’s depth should prevail, with J.J. Redick $4200, Matt Barnes $4100, Jamal Crawford $5400 and Spencer Hawes $4300 all capable of big contributions at small prices
The Warriors, best team in the NBA so far, could have their hands full in Chicago. Jimmy Butler $7200 vs. Klay Thompson $7300 is a fascinating individual battle, but Draymond Green $5900 is no match for Pau Gasol $8600. Former MVP Derrick Rose $6100 takes on current MVP candidate Stephen Curry $10300 and for DFS purposes that could be win-win. The Bulls are listing Joakim Noah $6900 and Taj Gibson $5500 as questionable with ankle injuries, but that’s an upgrade on doubtful. Nikola Mirotic $5500 has proved himself in their absence. Andrew Bogut $6400 will get all the minutes he can handle, Harrison Barnes $5300 is inexpensive and the surprising Marreese Speights $4900 has more than paid his way for the last three weeks.
Suns-Rockets could be high-scoring. Phoenix played a nearly perfect first quarter last night in Dallas and cruised to an impressive victory. Ironically, their roles become more clearly defined the longer Isaiah Thomas (ankle) is out. Goran Dragic $7500, Markieff Morris $7200 and Gerald Green $4900 are my choices. Fatigue is a factor for several teams; Houston had to survive overtime last night, with Jason Terry $5700 playing 43 minutes at PG. That’s a lot of recent miles on a 37-year-old JET. Kostas Papanikolaou (knee) is their latest injury; Francisco Garcia $3300 will see more action but it’s up to James Harden $11300 to keep them in the game — again.
Magic at Kings loses a lot of interest without DeMarcus Cousins $10600, who continues to recover from a nasty viral infection. While Rudy Gay $7600 doesn’t mind a heavy workload, he is not 100% healthy and not guaranteed to repeat last night’s 25-5-5 line. Darren Collison $7000 (20 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST, 4 STL) also filled the stat sheet in an overtime win at home. If Nikola Vucevic $8300 (back) misses another game, Kyle O’Quinn $3600 is an almost irresistible price. Orlando must be exhausted. Tonight is a back-to-back, their fourth game in five nights and the end of a six-game trip. Use Tobias Harris $6800 and Victor Oladipo $6300 if you think they can repeat last night’s heroics.
As today’s Short List suggests, there are some ultra-cheap possibilities for ‘stars-and-scrubs’ lineups.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Chris Paul $10100 | Goran Dragic $7500 | Cory Joseph $3000 |
| SG | James Harden $11300 | Victor Oladipo $6300 | J.J. Redick $4200 |
| SF | Josh Smith $8200 | Harrison Barnes $5300 | Francisco Garcia $3300 |
| PF | Anthony Davis $11600 | Markieff Morris $7200 | Robert Covington $3700 |
| C | Andre Drummond $8700 | Andrew Bogut $6400 | Kyle O’Quinn $3600 |
The Pistons are terrible, which is somewhat better than the 76ers. Josh Smith $8200 and Andre Drummond $8700 should dominate in and around the paint; Michael Carter-Williams $8500 is Philly’s lone bright spot, though rookie K.J. McDaniels $5700 has impressed and Robert Covington $3700 is suddenly hot, with a career-best game on Wednesday that he topped last night.
Rookie PG Zach LaVine $4600 is starting for Minnesota against the world champions. Tony Parker $7200 already had a sore rib cage and left early with a hamstring strain, making this a Cory Joseph $3000 game. Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan $8400 had a triple-double to beat Memphis but may not see 36 minutes on consecutive nights. The Spurs are deep and hard to predict.
Good luck with all your teams. Hope to see you on the leaderboard.
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.