A very cool moment occurred in the NBA last night.
With only a 3-game slate, all the focus was on Dirk Nowitzki.
Entering last night’s game against the Lakers, Dirk needed 20 points to become the 6th player in NBA history with 30,000 points.
After the first quarter, Dirk had 18 points.
Early into the 2nd quarter, Dirk had Larry Nance, Jr. one-on-one at the baseline, and did what Dirk always does….
Dirk has been one of the great athletes to play any sport in my lifetime. He’s one of the greatest role models any kid could ever want. He’s a unique talent never to be duplicated.
It was a great moment to watch Dirk achieve such a milestone and it was hard not to get chills watching it all go down.
Sometimes it’s difficult to truly appreciate things until they are gone, and I hope all Dallas fans have tried to soak up what’s left in Dirk’s basketball career.
I know he’s not reading this, but congrats to Dirk on his milestone! It is well-deserved.
I hope we see the Mavs find a way to sneak into the playoffs as the 8th seed just so Dirk can have at least one more shot (a very long one) in the playoffs.
Tonight we have an 11-game slate on tap (make sure there isn’t a game where ice is under the team’s floor) and DraftKings is really starting to make us think about our plays with its pricing. There’s not any clear value as of Tuesday night, but I can definitely see this being a spot for San Antonio to rest some players as they host Sacramento.
DailyOverlay didn’t have any basketball coverage for Tuesday with such a short slate, but we will provide a bonus Value Index on Thursday, which has 5 games.
Tonight is a freebie for Value Index readers as is Friday. Mondays and Tuesdays will still be labeled as premium for the remainder of the regular season.
You can still sign up for a free 7-day trial for an all-access pass to our premium content. Let us know what you think. Stay tuned as we will have our baseball content lineup coming out within the next few weeks.
But for now, let’s see who the five players are that I expect to hit 5x their value based on DK pricing.
Good luck!
Stephen Curry – PG – Golden State Warriors – $10,100
Analysis: No Durant, return home and you face Isaiah Thomas defense? Sign me up. Curry has seen some struggles of late, but I think he’s trying to help his team remember what it was like to be great without Durant in the lineup. Boston allows 53.6 fantasy points per game, which is about middle of the pack overall. Curry is underpriced in this spot and could see his fantasy output be on or near a 60 burger. Steph put up 41 in these two teams’ earlier meeting, but that was with Durant in the building. There’s no way the worst defensive player in the entire NBA will be able to do much of anything against Curry tonight. #latenighthammer.
Danny Green – SG – San Antonio Spurs – $3,600
Analysis: Whoa, Danny Green? Really? Really? REALLY? Yes, really! I told you I feel this is a spot where Popovich rests some of his starters (hopefully not Danny), opening up more usage for the Spurs’ swingman. Danny Green is just one of those guys that seems to always pay off when I roster him for value and tonight he gets an exceptional matchup. Facing the Kings, Green gets one of the better draws on the slate. Sacramento allows 43.8 fantasy points per game to SGs. I don’t care if the Spurs play at full strength, I still like Green as a punt play at shooting guard.
Jimmy Butler – SF – Chicago Bulls – $9,200
Analysis: Dwayne Wade looks doubtful to play tonight, so that leaves Jimmy Buckets to man the ship for the Bulls when they travel to Orlando to take on the Magic. Rajon Rondo also has injury concerns heading into tonight, so if he sits, Butler’s usage goes up that much more (38.1%). The Magic have no one to guard Butler tonight, so let’s hope the Butler is motivated to handle the bulk of the scoring duties tonight, something he’s shown to be very capable of in the past.
Paul Millsap – PF – Atlanta Hawks – $7,600
Analysis: The .gif above could say it all after the night is over. Paul Millsap used to be one of my go-to guys in cash games, but lately I have had a more difficult time getting this play right. But this is Brooklyn we are talking about here and I want to right the ship with Millsap. He’s got 4 straight 40-plus fantasy point outings, and I can’t trust the Hawks to blow out anybody nor can I trust them to avoid the blowout. The Nets allow 50.7 FPPG to power forwards and Millsap also sees some time at the 5 as well. This is an up-paced game that if it stays close, could allow Millsap to enter the 50+ fantasy point output.
Rudy Gobert – C – Utah Jazz – $7,100
Analysis: Should we get news early enough that Jokic sits, there’s no way I am not pivoting all the way down to Mason Plumlee tonight. But for now, we assume Jokic is going to play and that leads us to Rudy Gobert, who burned me last time I recommended him in a pace-up spot. However, this is a different team than Brooklyn and the Jazz are playing at home, fighting for playoff position. Houston likes to attack the basket a lot, giving Gobert more chances to record a couple extra blocks. Houston also likes to take a lot of jump shots, meaning a few extra rebounds for Gobert. Should Shelvin Mack and George Hill sit, Gobert sees some bump in usage and averages 1.03 fantasy points per minute. The Rockets allow 53.2 points per game to big men this season, so this should be a spot where Gobert has a double-double floor.
