This time it counts. The Lakers, 0-8 in the exhibition season, were supposed to turn it on and dominate the league. Not yet. Kobe Bryant played on that sore foot, scored 22 points but did nothing else to help his fantasy owners. Dwight Howard took all of one night to kill your FT% category, making a pathetic 3-14 from the stripe. He did have 19 PTS and 10 REB before fouling out. It was a tremendous upset for the injury-plagued
Let the fantasy games begin! Finally, it’s the NBA season. That means all our leagues are keeping score too. If you’re in a Roto league, relax. It’s not a race. Start your best players and sit anyone with a question mark. In Head-to-Head leagues, play everyone. On Page 2 today, I look at H2H streamers. Page 3 is my FanDuel lineup for tonight — yes, there are one-day leagues, even with only three games on the schedule. The $1,000 Tournament for Sheridan
Daily fantasy leagues are great. However, they will never replace traditional leagues, the ‘meat and potatoes’ of fantasy hoops. One-day leagues are more like dessert. Head-to-head caught on and passed Roto in popularity because it has a bit more action over the long NBA season. While both are games of skill, luck plays a larger part in H2H success, as it’s really a series of one-week “seasons.” If you’re a fan of action, enjoy testing your skill and understand that a
Wow, a true blockbuster trade. James Harden is a Houston Rocket. I’m happy to let experienced NBA journalist Chris Bernucca explain why (short version: money) and declare a real-life winner, but in the world of fantasy hoops, Harden just got even better. No longer a sixth man and third banana, he’s the focal point. Minutes will increase from 31 last year to at least 35, while his production in the counting stats should rise accordingly. Kevin Martin will join the Oklahoma
Friday was the final night of exhibition games — hooray! — and this is a huge weekend for fantasy basketball drafts. We’ll take a quick look here at all the results, along with what we learned, if anything. Later today, around 2:00, be sure to return for the debut of our Week Ahead column by Jeff Nichols. Every Saturday afternoon, Jeff — the master strategist behind our Fantasy Basketball Primer — will review the previous week (today, the entire preseason) and
This is the final night of exhibition games, and kicks off a huge weekend for fantasy basketball drafts. We hope the last six weeks of lists, opinions and advice has helped you prepare and that there’s a championship in your future. My draft tonight is in a 20-team keeper league, where I was able to collect three “extra” draft picks in trades last season. Each team keeps four players, so the draft begins in the fifth round, and Anthony Davis will
The latest crippling blow to the wounded Knicks is the loss of Tyson Chandler to a left knee injury. In the first minute of last night’s game, he collided with Gerald Wallace and crashed to the floor. On crutches after the game and headed for an MRI today, Chandler thinks it’s a sprain, not a tear. Stay tuned… Already without Amare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith, waiting for Marcus Camby’s calf to heal and for Rasheed Wallace to get in shape, the
As we prepare for the big drafts in our main leagues this weekend, there is an all-star team of injured players clouding the old crystal ball. Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire and Kevin Love are my starting five. You want defense? Sorry, this is the fantasy department. John Wall, Eric Gordon, J.R. Smith, Nene and Andrew Bogut are the second unit. Every one of those guys is draftable, depending on your league settings. Just not as high as usual.