This is the part where I provide a great big thank you.
And you should follow suit and feel grateful.
Because I am filling up this space to commend FantasyDraft for their selfless efforts to make sure everyone spurned by FantasyAces was taken care of…including little ol’ me.
If you aren’t aware of the FantasyAces fiasco, let’s make this quick and easy. They were to be bought out by FantasyDraft, but the deal fell through. Then they disappear and file for bankruptcy. Next, we get word they were tapping into their player funds to make payouts and keep the site afloat. Basically, they stole my money and many, many others and called it their own. Not good.
All player funds were frozen and none of us were sure if we would see that money again.
Luckily, FantasyDraft stepped in and took on all of the debt and has paid former FantasyAces players with outstanding balances, and all is right in the DFS world.
Basically, they made a huge PR move to make sure their own players (and others that weren’t) were not out lump sums of money. I can’t even begin to explain how smart of a move this was, but it was, and I hope FantasyDraft continues to succeed, eventually competing against the big boys.
So thank you FantasyDraft, we all appreciate what you did.
Now, back to basketball.
Tonight we have a 10-game slate in the NBA and after a solid week so far, I hope to end the Index and your week of lineup construction on a high note.
Below are 5 players, one at each position, that I feel will hit the 5x mark using DraftKings salary and position eligibility.
Today’s edition is not premium content (lucky for you), but if you want the freebies to continue, click this link and sign up for a 7-day free trial and start next week off on the right foot (or should it be left foot?).
Good luck! Also, I have changed the arrangement to feel more aesthetically pleasing. Please let me know what you think!
Kyrie Irving – PG – Cleveland Cavaliers
Analysis: If you read Wednesday’s Index, you might think I am just regurgitating my picks from that edition. Well, no, I am not, and I am not recycling, I am going back to the well. Kyrie was disappointing Wednesday, but didn’t tank my lineups. At $8,400, Irving comes in as a nice bounceback candidate against the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks and PG Dennis Schroder leak fantasy production to opposing point guards, allowing 56.2 PPG. Without Kevin Love, Kyrie has a 37.2% usage rate this season. I am not worried about Kyrie’s unproductive night. He had 1 assist. One. He averages 6 assists per game and 7.4 in his past 10 games. He’s going to be fine.
Khris Middleton – SG – Milwaukee Bucks
Analysis: So 30 minutes for Middleton? Sign me up. Middleton saw that number of minutes on Wednesday and was very productive. Hopefully the leash continues to be off for his minutes tonight against the Clippers. Middleton is still cheap at $6,000 on DraftKings and he’s facing a Clips team that has struggled to defend opposing small forwards, allowing 44.1 FPPG to the position. In limited time this season, Middleton has a 26.5% usage rate and with steady production and minutes, this is the time to continue to stay on the tracks because his price will continue to get to his production max.
Kawhi Leonard – SF- San Antonio Spurs
Analysis: I dug really, really deep into this next play. I mean, really deep. How deep? REALLY deep. What did I find out from my research? Kawhi Leonard actually has the ability to smile (see .gif). Who knew? Well anyway, here we have Kawhi on the road at New Orleans against a revamped Pelicans’ squad that gets Boogie back. This is the kind of game we will be able to see how well New Orleans can be with their two big men. Pau Gasol hasn’t been starting since returning from injury, so I will be interested to see if he gets back in though Dqwayne Dedmond is the better defensive player. Anyway, regardless if Pau comes off the bench, Kawhi is firmly in play, but especially if Pau plays with the second unit. With Pau off the floor, Kawhi has an insane usage rate at 42.4% usage rate this season. He’s $8,800 on DraftKings. I am not worried about anyone guarding Kawhi on this night. Smile!
Serge Ibaka – PF – Toronto Raptors
Analysis: Remember that well? Here it is again. Ibaka erupted against the Wizards two nights ago, and here we get the matchup again. Nothing has changed here. You target athletic, stretch PFs against Washington. Don’t believe me? Well let’s look at Ibaka’s resume against the Wiz this season. He’s played 4 games and is averaging 33 fantasy points while shooting 44% from the field and 44% from 3-point range. He is snagging more than a handful of rebounds and blocking shots. Not to mention, we don’t have Kyle Lowry here so Ibaka will continue to help pickup the slack with DeMar DeRozan. Deploy.
Rudy Gobert – C – Utah Jazz
Analysis: Searching for .gifs of Rudy Gobert, there were actually more showing Gobert getting dunked on than I would’ve guessed. But that doesn’t change my opinion of him tonight against the rebound-deficient Brooklyn Nets. You can fear the blowout, but I like Gobert to have a nice, safe, high floor and easy double-double potential. He’s $7,300, but you pay that price for consistency. In these two teams’ lone meeting, Gobert had nearly 50 fantasy points and 16 rebounds. This is a home game for the Jazz so you can expect them to control the face-paced Brooklyn team. I think this is a safe play even if Gobert only gets you 3 quarters. Brooklyn is the worst defensive team in almost every fantasy category. They are allowing 52 FPPG this season. Targeting players against Brooklyn has been one of the safest DFS practices all season long.
