Rise & Grind: Wednesday, February 11th
Welcome to the RotoGrinders cup o’morning joe. Start your day off right here, as we run over yesterday’s happenings and take a peek at the upcoming DFS day.
In Case You Missed it
Faders Gonna Fade – Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time for a quick public service announcement. James Harden is good at basketball. James Harden’s usage rate is roughly 12,000% when Dwight Howard does not play. Last night James Harden was only 85% owned in cash games on FanDuel. This sadly means that 15% of you simply don’t get it. There is still hope though. How about you take the next week or so off from NBA? Maybe try out a different DFS sport. Maybe just spend the week thinking about all the bad decisions you have made in life. Fading Harden on a five-game slate was definitely a bad decision. If you were in this group, he punished you with 70.9 fantasy points. Don’t let it happen again.
Speaking of people who didn’t fade Harden (you know, winners) – A Grinder named e4e5nf3nc6 took down the FanDuel Slam last night. Just look at that name. I’m pretty sure it’s not even a real person, just a robot smart enough to not fade Harden. In the FanDuel shot, even micro-grinders like cmf1994 aren’t crazy enough to fade Harden. cmf1994 took it down and turned $1 into $8,000. Over in the NHL world, James Harden wasn’t an option. That didn’t stop “somuchwilder” from taking first and second in the FanDuel WFHC qualifier. I could honestly list winners all day, but you could also check for the rest on your own at this link.
Poster of the Night – From time to time, I will be trying out new things in this space. Today begins the first installment of a yet-to-be-named series. Josh Smith has a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time (think Detroit for two years). Last night Smith was at it again, as Markieff Morris turned him into a poster. I’m sure Stan Van Gundy has already ordered several of these.
#HotTakes Gone Wrong – In the world of #HotTakes. Charles Barkley is king for the day. Last night on Inside the NBA, Barkley ripped into the Houston Rockets’ use of analytics. If you haven’t seen it, the clip is here. I somehow get the feeling that if Barkley played DFS. he would be part of the 15% who thought fading Harden was a good move. Anyways, in situations like these, there is only one proper response. Allow me to paraphrase my favorite quote from the movie Billy Madison. Mr. Barkley, what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response, were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone listening is now dumber for having heard you say it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
On the Menu
On the Hardwood – Tonight is the last NBA slate until next Thursday. Lucky for us, the NBA decided to do it big with 12 games on the schedule. Notorious already has his First Look posted. Before you take a look, I need to warn you. Notorious did not recommend Spencer Hawes in that piece. That’s almost unforgivable. We all know minutes equal points and Spencer Hawes is just simply too cheap for the amount of minutes he will play. Hawes was a “must play” two nights ago. It’s not like anything has changed. You don’t have to take my advice on Hawes though. I’m just saying that using Hawes lets you fit in Harden. Just think about, okay?
#Narrative Street – With 12 games on the slate, there are narratives galore. Let’s just get things started with the easiest pick of the night. It’s a Ben McLemore #BirthdayGame! Why not go shopping at the thrift store with McLemore? No? That doesn’t interest you? Fine, how about a Luol Deng revenge game? Remember last year when the Cavaliers plucked Deng away from the Bulls and made him uproot his family to go play on a lottery team? Oh yeah, he wants #Revenge for that. Don’t forget about David West returning to the Big Easy either.
On the Ice – With only three games on the slate, NHL is relegated to “side chick” status for the night. Don’t worry NHL, we still love you, and tomorrow you have our full attention. For you puckheads who treat NHL like your main squeeze. that’s cool too. If you want to play tonight, jmbwngfn will have you covered with his NHL Daily plays later today.
On the Hardwood, College Edition – With a robust 15 games on the schedule, college basketball is worth your attention tonight. Varncass will have a detailed game-by-game analysis in his CBB Grind Down. You might as well give it a read and try out one of the few DFS sports where an edge still exists.
Big day of EPL – Don’t forget about DraftKings soccer! There are some big tournaments going on for today’s Premier League action, and Hambazaza will have his top plays available for reading.
GrindersLive – On this last night of NBA DFS, we have a going away present for you: three hours of NBA analysis on GrindersLive! Starting at 3:30, you can get expert opinions, injury analysis, and a side of nonsense to wash it all down. You need to be watching these shows. Your opponents are, well at least the ones who don’t fade Harden are.
It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later – Friends, tonight is the night we have all been dreading for weeks now. With only one game tomorrow, tonight is the last NBA DFS slate for an entire week. The timing couldn’t be worse here. After tonight, suddenly we are all going to turn our focus back to our families and significant others, just in time for Valentine’s Day on Saturday. With a little work, we can spin this to a positive though. Here’s the plan. Your lady friend constantly harasses you about spending too much time with your internet friends playing DFS, right? You need to make it seem like you gave those things up for her for a week. Here is how you do it. Pick up some roses on the way home. When you walk in the door, declare to your lady that, after tonight, you will be giving up DFS to focus on her for an entire week. This gesture should buy you some extra time to focus on tonight’s slate. It should work beautifully. If it doesn’t, that’s okay too. Tomorrow in this space, I will be presenting an NBA All-Star break primer, with various new things you can try to pass the time. Until next time, remember, “it’s not goodbye, it’s see you later”.