The Shot Dude: Rare Air
Sometimes a rare opportunity comes along ...
And you just have to go for it.
There are nine NBA games on the schedule, and one of them absolutely jumps out at me.
Check tonight's slate, which you can view using the Bovada data tool on our Home page, and see if you can identify it:
Your favorite Shot Dude doesn't do this often, but I'll will be stacking a very short-handed team tonight.
I mean, -- holy crickets! -- here's the injury report for New Orleans:
- Anthony Davis ... left knee,
- Ryan Anderson ... sports hernia,
- Tyreke Evans ... right knee,
- Jrue Holiday ... right inferior orbital wall fracture,
- Eric Gordon ... fractured right ring finger,
- Norris Cole ... lower back,
- Alonzo Gee ... right quad,
- Quincy Pondexter ... left knee, and
- Bryce Dejean-Jones ... fractured right wrist.
That only leaves the Pelicans with eight healthy players. Even though they have a tough matchup with San Antonio, most of those dudes will see significant time and compile excellent fantasy numbers.
Our friends at FanDuel will let you use a max of four players from the same team, so here's how my fantasy squad will look:
Point Guards
Toney Douglas, New Orleans ($5700) ... will see close to 38 minutes and spend some time at both point and shooting guard spots tonight. Even on the road, I foresee between 32-34 fantasy points.
Tim Frazier, New Orleans ($4000) ... will only play point guard,but most likely 32 minutes' worth. Considering his low salary, this is the Pelican to have. Watch him hit eight times salary and end the night with 33-35 fantasy points.
Shooting Guards
DeMar DeRozen, Toronto ($7800) ... takes on Atlanta, the team that currently ranks 18th in defending opposing shooting guards. I like him for 37-39 fantasy points in front of his home crowd.
Khris Middleton, Milwaukee ($6900) ... gets to torch Phoenix, the team ranked dead last against shooting guards this season. Dude's gonna be right around five times his salary with 34-36 fantasy points in this one.
Small Forwards
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee ($9200) ... will be the Bucks' primary ball-handler going forward, as announced by coach Jason Kidd. That's a good thing. Dude's had six or more assists in 7 of his last 10 games. I like 40-42 fantasy points from the Greek Freak tonight.
Luke Babbitt, New Orleans ($4700) ... should get most of his 34 minutes tonight at small forward, with just a few at power forward. When the battle with the Spurs is done, Babbitt will be in the 25-27 fantasy point range.
Power Forwards
Draymond Green, Golden State ($8500) ... has four consecutive double-doubles, with a triple-double mixed in for good measure. This dude's very hard to stop. Good luck tonight with that Utah. Green will be tonight's top power forward with 35-37 fantasy points.
Dante Cunningham, New Orleans ($3700) ... is the final Pelican I choose to roster because of all the minutes he'll see and salary cap space it leaves. Dude's primed for 40 minutes, and the 19-21 fantasy points he'll get is still five times his salary.
Center
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota ($9000) ... is one of my top five players of the night. Dude's had nine straight double-doubles and will get home court advantage against the Clippers. Put Towns down for 42-44 fantasy points against a very average defense.
Just because you're wondering, your favorite Shot Dude would rank the other four Pelican players in this order:
- Jordan Hamilton ... 2 minutes/15-17 fantasy points
- Alexis Ajinca ... 30 minutes/18-20 fantasy points
- Omer Asik ... 23 minutes/22-24 fantasy points
- Kendrick Perkins ... 15 minutes/13-15 fantasy points).
Don't make stacking a way of life, but always give it your best shot!
You can follow me on twitter@fsofia8.