I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, got everything you could ever ask for and are ready to bring in the New Year!
This was the first Christmas that my daughter was aware and mindful of what Christmas can mean and entails. She loved it. I loved her for loving it and I can’t wait for future Christmases with her.
Now if we can get DraftKings to gain some awareness about how poorly they are running DFS NBA this season, we would be one step closer to everything being right in the world.
I won’t go on a long soapbox, but DraftKings has really dropped the ball with late swap, and it showed on Christmas Day. Knowing there were 5 games, split up between 11 and 9:30 p.m. central, they failed to offer any kind of meaningful (and barely at all) tournaments for late-swap only fans. There were 4 contests total that I saw and the fields were between 30-150 total lineups. Just awful.
And when you tweet DraftKings or make it know how displeased you are with their NBA product since dropping late-swap, they send you messages that are close to patronizing and clearly they are not being transparent.
But hey, we still play and I still won’t like the days I see myself and others get screwed when lineups get zeros for late-breaking news.
Maybe we will get a compromise of sorts at some point, but I won’t hold my breath, not even as a New Year’s resolution.
Ok, soapbox over and I won’t mention late-swap for awhile, mmkay? How about some basketball?
And since I failed to give NFL Value Index as a gift to you for Christmas, let’s make today’s Value Index a freebie and an early 2018 New Year’s gift. Good luck tonight as you build lineups for the 8-game slate that will have one superstar stud!
DeAndre Jordan – C – Los Angeles Clippers – $8,300
Analysis: When I saw Sacramento on this slate against the Clippers, I knew who I wanted as my lineup hammer – DeAndre Jordan. The Kings are the worst fantasy team against opposing centers this season, allowing 20.8 rebounds per game, the most in the league. Jordan has double-double upside each night he takes the floor, despite his low-usage. He’s coming off a “poor” shooting performance last time out and should get plenty of opportunity for easy buckets and dunks against the smaller front court of the Kings, who also are allowing more than 30 points per game to opposing centers this season, too.
Donovan Mitchell – PG/SG – Utah Jazz – $7,300
Analysis: Whatever was ailing Donovan Mitchell must not be bothering him too much as he came back over the weekend and played a full complement of minutes. He and the Jazz are still battling some injuries and going into Denver tonight will be difficult, but he’s the usage monster on this team and his superstardom is starting to show as he gets better with experience. The Nuggets struggle with opposing wings, though Mitchell can play PG when needed. Denver is top-10 in fantasy points allowed to SGs this season. Hood sports a 30% usage rate with Gobert off the floor this season and he doesn’t share the court a ton with Rodney Hood, the team’s other high-usage guy. Mitchell averages 1.12 fantasy points per game. Not scared of Gary Harris defense here either. My only worry is the Jazz not being able to keep up with Denver.
Kris Dunn – PG/SG – Chicago Bulls – $7,000.7
Analysis: With 40-45 point upside, Kris Dunn comes in underpriced tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks, despite his continuing elevated price. Facing a full-strength Bucks (Giannis is probable), the Bulls have a tough-hill to climb on the road. They are only 6.5 dogs to the Bucks and Chicago has been playing well over the last 15 games, especially with Mirotic back. I like Dunn mostly because he’s a rebound candidate who happens to have an above-average matchup against the Bucks, who are 3rd overall in fantasy points allowed to PGs, and he gets Eric Bledsoe defense – nothing to be scared of. Dunn averages 1.12 fantasy points per minute and has a 26% usage rate with the projected Bulls starting lineup – Dunn, Holiday, Markannen, Lopez and Valentine.
Bam Adebayo – PF/C – Miami Heat – $4,100
Analysis: I don’t know what Bam has to do to get a price increase these days. He’s got fantasy point totals of 25.25, 33 and 31 in three of his last 4 games. He’s taking nearly 10 shots per game and is notching some assists, too. There’s no Whiteside, no James Johnson, he should see 30+ minutes again and he gets a frothy matchup against the hobbling Orlando Magic, who will be with Nikola Vucevic for quite awhile. Bam is an athletic big man who just needs to stay out of foul trouble and limit mistakes to get more opportunities. I think there is real double-double upside here and I don’t worry about Jordan Mickey or Kelly Olynyk eating into too many minutes here. They all rotate the 4 and 5, but it’s Bam that has been on the floor the most of all 3 recently. Not that I am worried about Aaron Gordon in this if he plays, but I would sure love him to be out along with Fournier so we get the very much smaller PF in Mario Hezonja taking on a much better and true PF in Adebayo.
Willie Cauley-Stein – PF/C – Sacramento Kings – $5,500
Analysis: I don’t like to play Kings because their rotations are hard to predict some times and guys haven’t been getting 30+ minutes, even starters. But since WCS has returned to the lineup, it’s pretty clear they are willing to give him 30 or more minutes, as they should. Randolph will get 28-30 minutes a night and should get more so they can use him as trade bait. But this is a young team with a bunch of potential surrounding them. They need to be getting guys like Cauley-Stein minutes and experience and I think that’s starting to show with his recent bump in minutes. He’s not a monster, but WCS does have a 22% usage rate on this team and with the minutes and matchup, WCS has a chance to met and exceed his low price tag.
Nikola Jokic – C – Denver Nuggets – $7,900
Analysis: I am not joking, but the Joker is getting the Utah discount when Utah isn’t the usual Utah, especially with Rudy Gobert on the shelf. He’s played more than 30 minutes in his past two games, meaning he’s close to full strength and ready to take on a full workload each night. Mason Plumlee also is questionable here, so that could open up a few more minutes if needed. Jokic’s usage is tops on the team without Paul Millsap on the floor and he should dominate this small front court by the Jazz that will have Favors, Udoh, Jerebko and other spares trying to stop this guy. I can’t believe Jokic is this cheap. Maybe I am in the minority, but I think is a potential smash spot and an automatic lock for me in lineups tonight. DeAndre Jordan and the Joker are my two favorite centers and they are both likely to make my cash team.
