Yes, today is a large NBA slate to dissect and make picks.
But before we get to that, let me tell you about the Value Index for the baseball season.
Previously, I wrote a BvP picks article for DailyOverlay. It was my first writing gig for us and I enjoyed doing it, but it’s time to retire the series and keep this Value Index title rolling. The Index will incorporate BvP, but I will not be using BvP as a base for selections.
The Index will stay true to its premise – providing selections who will make value. Baseball is finicky though, and you don’t typically look at a player making value based on points per dollar. You can win a tournament with a goose egg from your bats. Hell, I lost first place in a large-field tournament to a team that had a goose egg from a pitcher. That was on DraftKings where you play two pitchers. Trevor Bauer was the first-place team’s pitcher and he was a late scratch. So anything is possible in baseball, folks.
Anyway, the Index will also split time as a freebie and as premium content. Which days those will be will be clearer once we get rolling into the season. It does look like we will focus on the early slate for Opening Day on Monday for our Consensus, grading and I will follow suit for the Value Index, which will run Monday through Friday.
With that said, I suppose it’s time to get back to basketball. That’s still going on, right?
Giannis Antetokounmpo – PG – Milwaukee Bucks – $9,700
Analysis: Just look at this play against the Boston Celtics, the dude is a freak! Giannis has been playing the four for the Bucks of late, but he is PG eligible. The Greek Freak has a great matchup whether he is playing in the front court or taking point in the back court. You should know by now how awesome The Alphabet is. He’s had some dip in production lately, but you can attribute some of that to the Khris Middleton effect. Giannis still commands the usage on this team and Boston is weak against PGs and PFs, so no matter where he plays, he has a great shot at hitting 50+ fantasy points like he did previously against the Celtics this season.
Avery Bradley – SG – Boston Celtics – $5,700
Analysis: Shooting guards against the Bucks has been a way to attack Milwaukee. It used to be SFs, but the return of Khris Middleton has funneled production for opposing players elsewhere, like to the shooting guard position. Should Boston keep this close, I feel it is going to be because of Bradley and not Isaiah Thomas, who draws a really tough matchup tonight. Bradley is seeing 30+ minutes and his price has dipped below $6K on DraftKings. Sign me up!
Kawhi Leonard – SF – San Antonio Spurs – $9,900
Analysis: I will use this Kawhi .gif until the end of the season, but this is probably the last time. The Spurs draw the Warriors at home, so unless we get Popped, this should be a great game to target Kawhi. He doesn’t have to contend with Kevin Durant defense and should be able to impose his will on the wing and at the bucket. He scored more than 50 fantasy points against the Warriors earlier in the season. His floor is in the 40s and he’s playing in one of the highest totaled games of the evening. Small forward sucks tonight, so it’s Kawhi or bust for me.
Serge Ibaka – PF – Toronto Raptors – $6,000
Analysis: Ibaka hasn’t flashed a huge amount of upside lately, but he is seeing consistent minutes and hitting between 25-30 fantasy points consistently. We want 5x here and I like his chances of doing so against the Charlotte front court. Ibaka is averaging 33 fantasy points this season against Charlotte. Ibaka can cover stretch fours and can play like a stretch four himself. Marvin Williams isn’t an elite defender by any means along with Charlotte being a weak rebounding team, I like Ibaka’s chances for a double-double with a couple of blocks.
Dwight Howard – C – Atlanta Hawks – $7,600
Analysis: That face is all you need to know about how I feel about recommending Dwight Howard at $7,600. I hate Dwight Howard in everything – as a player, as a DFS player, as a person, etc. He’s the antithesis of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. But he’s playing Philly tonight and I will be playing centers against Philly for as long as the regular season allows me.
