Many of us would happily beat our bosses for free. Tonight, I get to win five bucks and eternal bragging rights by beating Chris Sheridan in a one-day fantasy league, and so do you.
The Beat Sheridan Challenge tonight at DraftStreet is limited to the first 19 opponents. It costs $22 to play, and there is a guaranteed $400 in cash to the top four finishers — $180, $112, $68 and $40 — plus a $5 bonus to everyone who finishes ahead of the basketball expert who publishes this site. Don’t get shut out; enter ASAP.
Last night a record 1,159 teams entered our $300 Freeroll at DraftStreet, and “dragonfantasy” scored a whopping 308.75 points to win the $100 first prize. The Challenge is exactly the same game. Pick an 8-man team under the $100,000 salary cap; scoring is PTS = 1 pt, REB = 1.25 pts, AST = 1.5 pts, STL = 2 pts, BLK = 2 pts, with TO = -1 pt, MFT =-0.5 pts, MFG = -0.5 pts and the best team — tonight only — wins.
For some of you, the $22 ante is no big deal. For me, it’s a whopping 22% of my weekly DraftStreet budget, where I usually play in $2 and $5 leagues, but how often does a guy get this opportunity? Jump to Page 4 for more (including my picks) but first let’s take our daily Fantasy Spin around the NBA with game recaps and previews.
February 22 Game Recaps
NYK @ TOR: It was the night Toronto fell in love with Rudy Gay. There were 19,800 witnesses (and many more watching on a Canadian sports network) as the Raptors’ MVP scored a season-high 32 points, 26 of them in the second half. Carmelo Anthony (32 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST) matched him, but the Knicks lost their fourth in a row. Gay’s arrival has made DeMar DeRozan (18 PTS, 6 AST) more consistent and both wings give Kyle Lowry (15 PTS, 7 AST, 4 3PTM) plenty of credit for setting them up. J.R. Smith (19 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST) was sharp off the bench in the losing cause.
DEN @ WAS: Break up the Wizards! Nobody has been singing their praises more than me, but that was their best game yet. Seven players scored 12 or more points. Emeka Okafor (17 PTS, 13 REB) wasn’t the only rebounding machine, as Bradley Beal (17 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK) turned in a terrific performance. John Wall (14 PTS, 10 AST, 3 BLK) makes it all happen. For Denver, Ty Lawson (27 PTS, 12 AST, 4 REB) was the best starter and the bench never gave up, with Wilson Chandler (22 PTS, 4 REB) and Andre Miller (19 PTS, 7 AST, 4 REB, 3 STL) rewarding fantasy owners.
DET @ IND: That’s about as big a mismatch as you will see. The Pacers led by 17 after one quarter and by 40 after three. Detroit shot 35% and even Greg Monroe (5 PTS, 4 REB in 22 minutes) got benched. Rodney Stuckey (11 PTS, 2 AST) started at SG for Brandon Knight (knee) which left the bench thin, though Will Bynum (17 PTS) was energetic and rookie Viacheslav Kratsov double-doubled (14 PTS, 10 REB) despite missing eight of ten free throws. Indiana had six men with ten or more points and 13 who scored at least two; Orlando Johnson (14 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST) was 5-for-5 and they shot 56% as a team.
CHI @ CHA: Methodical and professional, Chicago shook off the previous night’s home loss with a fine effort on the road. Taj Gibson (17 PTS, 6 REB) led eight Bulls in double figures and Joakim Noah (10 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST, 3 BLK) was a +33 on the night. Kemba Walker had 27 for Charlotte; everyone else combined for 48 as the Bobcats shot an anemic 33% and disgruntled Ben Gordon never got off the bench. Byron Mullens was brutal, missing 11 of 12 shots and burying my DraftStreet teams.