Rise & Grind: Thursday, March 26th
Welcome to the RotoGrinders cup o’morning joe. Start your day off right here, as we sort through yesterday’s happenings and take a peek at the upcoming DFS day.
In Case You Missed It
FanDuel Slam – Congratulations to wining247 for taking down both the FanDuel Slam and the $25 WFBBC qualifier. Wining, if you are reading this, may I have a few words? First off, I see that you joined on Tuesday and this appears to be your first ever win. Congrats, this isn’t a bad way to start. Second, I love the confidence in your name choice but you misspelled winning (unless you are a wine lover, which is totally cool). Third, I’m sure you probably won’t find RotoGrinders for several months, but when you do come back and read this. I just want you to know it’s not as easy as you made it look last night. For those wondering, the lineup wining used to win the Slam wasn’t even the same lineup that won the qualifier. A brand new person built two separate lineups that beat us all last night. Just let that sink in for a minute.
Adventures in Tanking – If you are one of the 12 loyal Rise and Grind readers, you know I highlighted yesterday’s Timberwolves/Lakers game as one to watch. That wasn’t meant as an endorsement of the game. If Hell has a sports bar, I guarantee this was the only game being shown last night on every TV. Neither team wanted to win this game. Sure, the players still tried, but give me any other reason why Jeremy Lin was the team’s high scorer with 10 minutes left and was promptly benched. Lin didn’t play a single minute of overtime or any of the last 10 minutes of the fourth. Lin was benched in favor Jabari Brown, who happens to be on a 10-day contract. I guess coach wanted to get a look at the younger players. Who knows, maybe the Lakers want Jabari back next year to replace Kobe.
Big Winners – Alright, enough doom and gloom for today. Some good things happened last night as well. Okay, I lied, one last negative story. Ohnjz writes the NBA Advanced Matchups for this site, so I was definitely rooting for him in the WFBBC qualifier last night. Poor Ohnjz was edged out by two points. There is no worse feeling than taking second in a qualifier. The only thing you can do is bust out your piccolo and play a sad song while crying. Now on to the good news, as some Grinders had good showings last night. Floridabulldogs claimed second in the slam, while probablymylastlogin claimed eighth. Over on DraftKings, LucasDellabate took down the Crossover while ryanfour1637 claimed second. In the 3-Ball, TeeJayorTJ claimed first and escot4 claimed fourth. For the rest of Wednesday’s links click here.
Right Here, I’m Open – Lastly, if you didn’t watch any NBA last night, I can’t let you miss out on this GIF. Notice the Bulls are in red jerseys while the Raptors are in white. DeRozan drives into the lane and gets himself in trouble like he always does. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots an open teammate. Wait, that’s not a teammate, that’s Joakim Noah standing up by the bench wearing white. That Joakim Noah is a crafty one. The full Vine is a little clearer and is at this link.
On The Menu
NBA Tonight – The options for NBA are a bit slim tonight. With only one game on the schedule, the only contests available are THU-FRI contests. Let’s be honest, picking players from Pacers/Bucks and gambling on no late scratches tomorrow is not an optimal strategy. If you decide to play tonight you are on your own. There won’t be any NBA content other than the stats provided in the Daily Research tab.
NHL Tonight – With 11 games on the schedule, NHL should be your focus tonight. We will have a full offering of content here at RotoGrinders. That will include NHL Daily Plays and The Daily Fantasy Faceoff on GrindersLive. You can also join the conversation in our NHL 3/26 Thread. Also, if any of you puckheads know about some #NarrativeStreet plays for tonight, drop them in the comments for me.
NCAA Tonight – If hockey just isn’t your thing, that’s totally fine. March Madness returns tonight with a four-game slate for the Sweet Sixteen. Varncass already has his expert picks posted for FanDuel and DraftKings incentive members. You can also join the strategy discussion in the CBB 3/26 forum thread.
Last Word – I mentioned the other day that DFS is not a marathon or a sprint, it’s a Grind. I stand by that. If you are an NBA specialist, tonight is a good night to take a break. Take advantage of this opportunity to re-connect with the outside world. It might even be a good idea to investigate who those little people are in your house. Are those kids? Your kids? Introduce yourself to them, maybe even take them for a walk or out to a movie. We will miss you if you don’t play DFS tonight but as always, see you tomorrow!