We were all over the DraftKings leaderboard on Monday with scores in the 320 range. Many nights, that would have been extremely profitable, but James Harden (and his whopping 75.25 FPTS) was owned on 84.4% of teams, which means the big prizes depended on the supporting casts. Not complaining, as my guys played well enough to cash in multiple contests, just amazed that others scored 370. Nikola Mirotic (16 PTS, 14 REB, 2 BLK) cost the minimum $3000 and produced 42 FTPS to lead the woulda-coulda-shoulda brigade.
Tonight’s four-game NBA slate features heavy favorites and a couple of expensive superstars who are difficult to bet against.
Plays of the Day
New to DK? They match your initial deposit 100% ($5 to $600) with bonus funds, converted to cash as you play, plus you get a FREE entry (worth $3) for tonight’s $100K Sharpshooter— the top score earns $10,000 and 7,850 of 38,315 teams receive cash prizes. Or try the $100K Crossover, also with a $10,000 first prize. 1,150 of 5,725 teams will cash. That $20 buy-in is also FREE to first-time depositors willing to spend more to win more.
The Fantasy Basketball World Championship has a million dollar first prize, to be awarded March 23. There are only 40 seats in the Final; finish first in a Qualifier to win a spot, including a 5-day VIP trip to Las Vegas (worth $55,000) plus a minimum of $7,000 in cash!
Kevin Durant (foot) is definitely out, so Russell Westbrook $11000 should be worth that lofty salary once again. Serge Ibaka $7600 has really picked it up over his last three, including a 20-20 game and another with eight blocks. New center Enes Kanter $6000 double-doubled in both weekend victories. You can build a solid lineup around that trio, and hope for a competitive, high-scoring result. Bench scorer Dion Waiters $3700 is a possible bargain. The Pacers have won three straight and six of their last seven to climb back into the East playoff picture. Their bench had 61 points in the upset of Golden State, with Rodney Stuckey $4600 scoring 30 for the second game in a row.
The Battle of Lake Erie will be fun to watch, as Detroit is vastly improved. However, the Cavaliers are on a 16-2 roll and won their last two with ridiculous ease on the road. A healthy LeBron James $10300 is well-rested and Kyrie Irving $7900 matches up well against new Piston PG Reggie Jackson $4500. Both PF are playable, with Greg Monroe $8100 better in the paint and Kevin Love $7600 a tough cover on the perimeter. If Timofey Mozgov $5200 can keep Andre Drummond $7800 from doing too much damage, another Cleveland win seems inevitable. At SG, J.R. Smith $5000 is more consistent, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $4200 did have 26 points on Sunday.
Stephen Curry $9900 (foot) was able to practice on Monday and has been upgraded from questionable to probable. If he’s half-a-step slow, John Wall $8700 may be just as good a play. Klay Thompson $8000 poured in 39 points in a losing cause on Sunday but got very little help; Andre Iguodala $3900 was the only other Warrior in double figures. Both are likely to regress a bit with Curry back. Marcin Gortat $5100 was Washinton’s best player on Sunday but his teammates disappeared in the second half and Andrew Bogut $4700 is capable of slowing down the Polish Hammer.
The nightcap might not be pretty. Toronto is now 1-2 on this road trip after blowing an 18-point lead to a depeleted Pelicans team. A fourth road game in five nights is a difficult challenge in Dallas. Monte Ellis $7100 led the Mavs on Sunday, with Amar’e Stoudemire $3700 adding 14 points in just 11 minutes. Chandler Parsons (ankle) is out, so Richard Jefferson $3500 will get another start at SF and he produced a modest double-double (10 PTS, 10 REB) in that win over Charlotte. At 34, RJ is a risk/reward guy — if one effective game was a surprise; two in a row seems unlikely — but using him allows us to load up at other positions. I am not considering any Raptors, and am concerned about a relatively low score.
Can you win in DFS by using both Westbrook and LeBron? That leaves just $28700 to fill six spots; because KCP and Jefferson are so cheap, we have an average of $5250 for the remaining four players. With Ibaka and a low-cost C, my stars-and-scrubs lineup (above left) looks competitive.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | R. Westbrook $11000 | Kyrie Irving $7900 | Reggie Jackson $4500 |
| SG | Klay Thompson $8000 | J.R. Smith $5000 | K. Caldwell-Pope $4200 |
| SF | LeBron James $10300 | C.J. Miles $4500 | R. Jefferson $3500 |
| PF | Greg Monroe $8100 | Serge Ibaka $7600 | Luis Scola $3900 |
| C | Andre Drummond $7800 | Enes Kanter $6000 | Andrew Bogut $4700 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.