Fantasy Alarm Daily Fantasy Basketball Du-Rant
Daily Dandies for Friday November 8th
by Michael Pichan (@FantasyNomad)
Fantasy Basketball Du-Rant
The Du-Rant title derives from a play on "Double Ups" in DFS lingo, which will be the backbone of my recommendations for you each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The Rant part will vary with each article. Sometimes I'll just go off on an opinionated Rant that hopefully will be entertaining and at times helpful, other times I'll rant about some statistical nuances that standout that could hopefully help you make a daily lineup decision. Today's Du-Rant we tip-off with a look at an alternative method for drafting your roster.
In Wednesday’s edition of the “Du-Rant” I discussed a familiar “Stars and Scrubs” strategy (if you missed it you can find it here Wednesday’s Du-Rant). The “Stars and Scrubs” strategy could be in play tonight with 12 games on the slate, but I am going to introduce another strategy that I believe is a little more plausible, although the plausibility of the name I have come up with maybe up for debate.
Many of my followers already know of my affinity for Pabst Blue Ribbon, and since I am unaware of a current label to today’s strategy I am going to call it the PBR method of Daily League Drafting. The PBR method revolves around Picking Blue Ribbon caliber players, and like the pilsner itself, players that also come at a very reasonable price tag. Ok maybe not as reasonable as an eighty-nine cent tall boy, but still at a price where you can roster more blue ribbon caliber players without necessarily having to roster too many “scrubs.” The PBR method works great on nights like tonight where you have a ton of NBA games on the docket, which makes it easier to dip down towards the mid-to bottom of the Tier-One and top of the Tier-Two player pools to find high-end Fantasy production, without spending top dollar. Here is a specific example using the Forward position:
TWolves’ Kevin Love (33 FPG) and Thunder’s Kevin Durant (42 FPG) are both about 21-22% of your cap, whereas Trail Blazer LaMarcus Aldridge (33 FPG) and Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony (34 FPG) are less than 17% of your cap. Or if you want to dip down a little further, Mavs’ Dirk Nowitzki (27 FPG) and Pacers David West (29 FPG) are less than 14% of your cap. For each mid-tier option you roster you are saving 4% or more, which is the difference of having to roster someone like Kirk Hinrich/Steve Blake or Tyreke Evans/Joe Johnson at the guard position.
So as enticing as it may be to go after some of the very top priced players, you actually could benefit much more by passing them by on night like tonight with so many other solid, semi-discounted players to choose from. Although this method is one that needs some tweaking in it’s explanation, and arguably it’s title, I believe you see the bigger picture at hand and how it can benefit you this evening. So with that I raise my glass and offer up a toast, that you enjoy one PBR, or another tonight...and the picks in tonight’s Daily Dandies below.
Daily Dandies
For those of you checking out my recommendations for the first time, I group the players in A,B,C,D Tiers as a play on the old A,B,C,D basketball camps and as an easy way to distinguish player tiers. (All prices are according to Draft Street). If you have any specific questions post them in the comments section and I will answer them asap or send me a tweet by clicking on my twitter handle at the top of this article. To see who is starting each night visit our NBA Lineups Page
A-All Star priced players that should put up All Star stats today (target 35+ FP, $15,000-on up).
* G Damian Lillard (15.5%) has scored 29 or more Fantasy Points in each of his last three games and gets a favorable matchup versus the Kings tonight.
* F LaMarcus Aldridge (16.7%) sticking in the Trail Blazers game, Alridge has been on a tear and will go toe-to-toe with DeMarcus Cousins, who allowed Al Horford to go for 27 and 10 on Tuesday and David Lee 15 and 12 before that.
B-rated Ballers: Big name players with big games, but not as high of a price tag as the top five or so priced players at each position (around 30 FP, $12,000-$15,000).
* F Carlos Boozer (13.4%) has scored 34-plus Fantasy Points in two of his last three games and usually plays with an added chip on his shoulder when facing his former team.
* C Andre Drummond (14.3%) The Thunder will have their hands full with Greg Monroe and Josh Smith, allowing Drummond to possibly create some mismatch opportunities for himself. Pacers Roy Hibbert (13.4%) has maybe an even better matchup against Raptors bigs who have a tendency to get in foul trouble.
C-as in players that COULD be in line to provide you with good to great value in the mid-tier price range (target 25+ FP, $8,000-$12,000).
* G Joe Johnson (9.1%) Paul Pierce is a game-time decision due to illness and Andre Kirilenko is not 100% himself, so look for Joe Johnson to play an even larger role in the offense tonight.
* F Brandon Bass (10.4%) Brandon was a B(ad)ass in his last game out against Utah, and has another favorable matchup against his former team the Orlando Magic.
* C Andrea Bargnani (8.0%) with Tyson Chandler out Bargnani will start
D-Discounted Dandies: Players on the cheap whose production may exceed what their discounted price tag suggests. (Double Digit Fantasy Production, $3,500-$8,000).
* G Gerald Green (6.0%) gonna continue to roll with Green as Dragic is a gametime decision.
* G Randy Foye (7.7%) Foye is the starting shooting guard for the Nuggets and he has scored in double-digits in back-to-back games.
* F Harrison Barnes (9.0%), exceeds the 8K limit but is close enough that we will let him slide tonight and be considered a discounted dandie. Steph Curry does not look like he will play tonight and although Toney Douglass will get the start, Barnes should see starter minutes.
Michael Pichan is a co-host of the Fantasy Alarm podcast, frequent guest on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports channel, contributor of written Fantasy advice and insight for FantasyAlarm.com, and an FSWA member. If you have any questions or comments feel free to post in comment section below, e-mail him to thefantasynomad@gmail.com and or send him a tweet @FantasyNomad