Fanduel.com $4,000 NBA Slam Tournament Preview and Picks
Fanduel.com $4,000 NBA Slam Tournament Preview and Picks
About the Writer: Allen “Tippy” Tippy operates Fantasy Basketball Daily where he covers the day-to-day fantasy NBA scene for season long and daily league players. He’s been participating in Daily Fantasy Sports since 2007 across all of the major sites; concentrating mostly on the NBA. He’s a huge Alabama Crimson Tide fan, Chicago Cubs fan and an avid poker player. Tippy day-trades the S&P 500 Futures market and foreign currency markets for a living. He lives in West Virginia with his wife and seven year old daughter.
SLAM!
After a long offseason, the NBA is finally back and what better way to tip things off than a $4,000 guaranteed tournament hosted by Fanduel.com! The tournament covers a huge 13 game schedule on Wednesday night and entries are due by 7:00 pm EST. I’ve scanned the contest player pool and picked out some guys that I think could out produce their Fanduel salary, as well as some guys that you might want to stay away from. I’ve tried to avoid the easy and obvious picks and instead point out some guys that might not be common picks with the rest of the crowd.
Point Guard
Chris Paul – Ok, here’s the biggest obvious choice in the whole tournament, but I couldn’t skip him. He’s under priced at $5300. He’s probably one of the top 2 fantasy point guards in the entire league and he’s priced cheaper than guys like Shawn Livingston, Earl Watson and Lou Williams. Here’s the danger with Chris Paul though: If everyone uses him, will you gain any advantage in a huge field tourney? Guys like Paul usually don’t win big field tourneys, it’s often guys like Hakeem Nicks, as we saw in the Fanduel FFFC.
Carlos Arroyo – If you are looking for a minimum cheapie to fill your PG slot so you can use salary at another position, Arroyo might be a good play. He’s $5000 and the lowest priced starter I see in the PG pool. The question is, how much will the big three let him touch the basketball?
Stephen Curry – Probably one of the most overhyped fantasy players this year and is dealing with a sore ankle. Be careful spending $9100 on him.
Aaron Brooks – He’s $7300, but if you are looking for a solid value play, Brooks has a great matchup against the fast paced Golden State Warriors. If Stephen Curry’s ankle continues to slow him, Brooks will have no problem taking it to the hoop on Curry.
Shooting Guard
Dwyane Wade – Wade might be slowed by the hamstring problem that has caused him to miss much of preseason. Even if the hamstring is fine, he might still be out of sync and a little rusty. That’s a big gamble to drop $9000 on.
Marco Belinelli – He’s $4500 and a cheap roster filler at SG if you want to spend your salary somewhere else. He’s a risky play, but has the starting SG spot for New Orleans. The guy is a deadly shooter and if he gets hot, he could really produce.
O. J. Mayo – The $6400 price tag makes Mayo an attractive value play. He’s going to be matched up on Mike Bibby, who is one of the worst defenders in the league. Bibby’s backup, Jeff Teague, will likely miss this game with an injury, so Bibby might also tire a little having to play the extra minutes.
Small Forward
LeBron James – I’m definitely rolling with LeBron on my roster. He’s max price at $9900, but he’s also max talent with a huge chip on his shoulder. Spend the money.
Andre Iguodala – He’s dealing with a wrist injury and he’s probably a guy you want to avoid tonight. Having to chase LeBron James around the court all night probably isn’t going to help him either.
Nicolas Batum/Dorell Wright/Travis Outlaw – If you go with LeBron at max salary, you will need a cheap roster filler at your other SF spot. All three of these players are starters and make nice roster choices.
Power Forward
Kevin Love – He’s one of my favorite fantasy players this year. He’s priced at $7600 and has a good matchup at home against the Kings, who will be without their big man Samuel Dalembert. Love should completely abuse rookie DeMarcus Cousins and Carl Landry on the boards.
DeMarcus Cousins – Speaking of Cousins, even though Love should completely school him, he’s still a good cheap roster filler at $4000. He’ll start at center with Dalembert out.
Michael Beasley – If you want a good mid-salary value pick, Beasley could out produce his $6400 salary.
Tim Duncan – If you have money to spend, Duncan at $8000 has a great matchup against the weak pairing of Tyler Hansbrough and Josh McRoberts. Duncan should have great game against those two.
Chris Bosh – Much like Chris Paul, I think Bosh is probably underpriced at $6400, but a large part of the field will be using him.
Center
Andrew Bogut – Bogut at $4000 makes a great cheap roster filler, as long as you are aware of the injuries that he’s dealing with. He’s missed a lot of camp and this pick is a huge gamble. High risk, high reward and you definitely want to check his gametime status.
Amare Stoudemire – Up near the top of the board I like Stoudemire. He’s very expensive at $8500, but I think he could have a big game as he tries to make a good first impression.
Al Horford – He’s a solid value pick at $7400 and he rarely disappoints. If you feel better going with a safe pick at center, Horford is a good pick at a good price.
Joakim Noah – Noah has been recovering from the flu, so make sure you check his gametime status.
If you guys have any questions, comments or pick suggestions for the Fanduel Tournament, I’ll be starting a thread in the forum Wednesday morning, so catch up with me over there. Good luck!