Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Hope you are wearing green!
Today is going to be a condensed version of the Value Index. I stayed up too late watching March Madness Thursday evening and am just now getting around to looking into tonight’s 8-game slate in the NBA.
I think you can make this a 7-game slate by eliminating the Toronto/Detroit game. That game has the lowest total on the board and unless DeMarre Carroll sits (meaning Norman Powell is firmly in play), I have no interest in this game.
Also, today’s picks are going to take a stroll down narrative street. I like sports narratives and believe they serve a purpose most days. In my analysis,
And I want to have a little fun! I am going to list the narratives for each of the 5 players below, and only a little bit about why I like them, nothing too elaborate for today.
So away we go…
Terry Rozier – PG – Boston Celtics – $3,000
Analysis: Finding a gif of Rozier was impossible, so here’s this pic, that of course, I did not take and belongs to Cardinal Connect. Oh, so what’s the narrative here? It’s Terry Rozier’s birthday today! Also, Isaiah Thomas is out, AND it’s Brooklyn. At minimum salary, there’s plenty of opportunity for Rozier to see increased minutes. i mean, it’s his birthday.
Marcus Smart – SG – Boston Celtics – $4,900
Analysis: The first narrative here is that Isaiah Thomas is out today and Smart is drawing the start. He’s facing Brooklyn, so we know that’s already a great spot for a guy that should see 30 minutes. The last narrative is completely fabricated by me and should also be included in Rozier’s analysis: It’s St. Patrick’s Day and the Celtics wear green.
Shabazz Muhammad – SF – Minnesota Timberwolves – $3,700
Analysis: Shabazz was badazz man at UCLA and its March Madness, so that’s the first narrative (totally illogical though), But truthfully, someone has to play the SG position for the T’Wolves. Lance Stephenson is out, Zach Lavine is out, Norman Bjelica is out, and Brandon Rush (a former March Madness darling) is terrible. He played 31 minutes last time out and scored more than 30 DK points. In his lone matchup against the Heat this season, he had 16 DK points in limited minutes. Should Muhammad play 25 or more minutes, it shouldn’t take much for him to make value, especially if he’s seeing lots of minutes with the second unit should Rush start.
Ryan Anderson – PF – Houston Rockets – $4,500
Analysis: Before i get into both narratives here, just know this is strictly a tournament play. I like to recommend players that i feel comfortable with for both tournaments and cash games, but this is strictly a narrative-only play. OK, so this is a #revengegame for Anderson against his former team, AND he’s on the road. For some reason, he has produced better numbers for Houston when they are away from home court (27 FPPG on the road compared to 20 FPPG at home). Anderson also didn’t make a shot in his last game against the Lakers, so surely he can’t be THAT cold again, right?
Nerlens Noel – C – Philadelphia 76ers – $5,500
Analysis: I think center is really deep tonight, so I am going to cross my fingers that Nerlens is pleading and begging to start tonight against his former team. That’s the narrative Noel vs. the team that traded him just weeks ago. The 76ers have been absolutely dreadful against centers since Embiid was shut down and Noel was traded. I don’t care if Noel still comes off the bench, i think he sees the minutes in a game that we should hope stays close. #boomroasted
