The Shot Dude: To Do List

Published on 19-Feb-2016 by MunkeBiz8

Basketball - NBA    NBA Daily Stake

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The Shot Dude: To Do List

Since staying organized is one of my weaknesses, making a list often comes in handy.

Today's to-do list is at the ready, and we will not be sidetracked!

Your favorite Shot Dude is traveling today but has a few things to accomplish here first. Through reader feedback, I've learned:

  • you'd like to see more NBA articles,
  • more reader questions answered,
  • more point range predictions given, and
  • less lengthy player write-ups.

Since I aim to please, today's goal is to complete that list of requests. Let's start with a great reader question:

Antonio S wants to know: When picking your players, do you ever take venue (like Denver) into account?

An everyday part of my research is checking the spread and total of each game. The venue, or home court advantage, is built into the spread of each game. So while I don't consider each venue while picking players, I do weigh home court advantage when I get down to two players on whom I'm deadlocked.

Also, a place like Denver -- with higher elevation -- can be tricky for visiting teams, and I tend to stay away for taking too many players in Denver games unless the matchup is tremendous.

Thank you for that great question Antonio! We're all about customer service!

You can weigh through all 14 of tonight's NBA matchups with the help of the Bovada data tool on our Home page:

Bovada NBA schedule

Speaking of questions, Why not play on FanDuel every day? Try them out if you haven't already. Here are some ideas to make your lineup better:

Point Guards

Archie GoodwinPhoenix ($5400) ... gets home court advantage tonight against Houston, the team he burned for 22 points and 7 assists back on 4 February. I think Goodwin goes 'way above fantasy value with 34-36 fantasy points in this one.

Jrue Holiday New Orleans ($7600) ... will play host to Philadelphia and hasn't been less than 42 fantasy points in three consecutive games. This one might get ugly, but I like Holiday for 38-40 fantasy points before he exits.

Shooting Guards

Nicolas BatumCharlotte ($7000) ... faces Milwaukee, the team that's ranked 25th against shooting guards. Dude's scored 40 or more fantasy points in 3 of his last 4 games. Batum can't do it all himself but will reach 34-36 fantasy points tonight.

James HardenHouston ($10,800) ... squares off against Phoenix, the second-worst team at defending opposing shooting guards. Has been at or above 55 fantasy points in 7 of his last 10 games. I have Harden as the highest-scoring fantasy player of the night at 51-53 points.

Small Forwards

Matt BarnesMemphis ($4700) ... will see more minutes with the injury to Marc Gasol and the departure of Jeff Green to the Los Angeles Clippers. Will get Minnesota at home tonight. Dude scored 24.1 fantasy points in a 23 January game against them. Look for Barnes to top that tonight with a fantasy score of 25-27 points.

PJ TuckerPhoenix ($4800) ... provides value but has also averaged 40 minutes per contest over his last six. In addition, Houston just happens to be 29th in defending small forwards. Tucker should be in the 27-29 fantasy point range at game's end.

Power Forwards

Amar'e StoudemireMiami ($4300) ... gives your lineup flexibility, what with his small price tag and little risk due to the Heat being without both Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside for this game against Atlanta.The Hawks' defense against power forwards is just average (17th), so I think Stoudemire will score between 25-27 fantasy points.

Zach RandolphMemphis ($6600) ... has picked up the offensive slack with Marc Gasol injured, compiling at least 35 or more fantasy points in 4 of his last 5 games. This matchup against Minnesota has a close 4½-point spread at press time, so Randolph should be on the floor at the end. I put his fantasy total at 32-34 points tonight.

Memphis v Minnesota

Center

Andre DrummondDetroit ($8500) ... has registered 7 straight double-doubles. Washington's Polish Hammer Marcin Gortat does not posses the defensive presence to shut down Drummond. This game has a total of 211, and Drummond will get his share to the tune of 39-41 fantasy points.

Your fantasy Shot Dude has completed his list and hopes you are a winner in all your fantasy games tonight.

FanDuel scorecard

Just like all the NBA's top ballers, always give it your best shot!

 

You can follow me on twitter@fsofia8.