This is my first season playing NBA DFS on FanDuel and it has been more of a failure than a success so far. I know I am a newbie and I still have a lot to learn but it can get very frustrating and disappointing at times.
It seems like every night I check the FanDuel app on my iPhone and I realize I have won zero dollars in the NBA tournaments.
I enjoy playing the big tournaments on FanDuel with large entries which can range from 57,000 to 68,000 entries per tournament and the entry fee is only $1 or $2 per lineup.
Some days I want to make 20 lineups and spend $20 on FanDuel while some days I just put about 50 to 10 lineups in a tournament.
It used to take me about 15 minutes just to fill out one lineup but now I am getting better at it and I can have my roster of nine NBA players under the $60,000 salary cap in about five minutes.
There is lots of frustration and sometimes anger when you wind up in 65,000th place or 45,311th place out of 68,965 entries and you took a few hours out of your day to fill out your lineups.
I know I am doing something wrong and I might watch a lot of NBA games and know all the players but that of course does not equate to me being a NBA DFS winner.
I have tried to become creative and make out lineups using various and strange methods. Nothing has seemed to work.
Some of my lineups on a given night include only road team players or home team players, only players who will go against a team who played the night before, or stacking players from one team or one game.
None of these methods have worked well. I have tried to pick up three expensive players and then fill out the rest of the lineup with guys with low salaries or pick up players who have been on a hot scoring streak.
Is it just bad luck or am I doing this NBA DFS thing all wrong?
Should I pull out my hair when I find out the winning lineup last week had Shelvin Mack of all people in his lineup? What about last night when Jarrett Jack was the key to the top three finishers in a tournament?
I like to include studs like Russell Westbrook, DeMarcus Cousins, James Harden, and Anthony Davis in my lineups and get exposure to these stars, but I can't find the winning combination at all when I include these guys with lower-salaried and weak players on a daily basis such as Mack, Jack, Tyler Zeller, Cole Aldrich, Kyle Anderson, and Tim Hardaway Jr.
When I have an expensive player like Harden or Davis, they usually have an average night only but when I fade them and don't have them in any lineups, they go off for over 60 fantasy points.
I still love the NBA and enjoy making out a lineup but I probably won't have 20 lineups a night anymore. I will stick to 5-10 entries and hopefully my luck will change.
When I do find success in NBA DFS, it's winning from $2.50 to $12 bucks a night. I want to win first place and win the $4,000 prize but I don't think that will happen anytime soon.
My most memorable night playing DFS was last week when I won $100 with a lineup including four Warriors and Zaza Pachulia. Winning $100 is great but I could have won $900 instead of I had just selected Cole Aldrich at center over Pachulia.
Playing NBA DFS can be tough but I still have the enthusiasm each morning when I wake up and get on FanDuel's site to fill out my lineups.
You can read a lot of great NBA insight and advice from sites such as RotoGrinders and Rotoworld who provide great tips on who to play every night, but here are some players you might want to fade tonight since I am going to have lots of exposure to them in my lineups.
There are seven games tonight. My favorite players tonight are DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, Tim Duncan, Monta Ellis, James Harden.
Harden gets his points every night and he will give you assists and rebounds as well and maybe a steal or two. He is the focus point of the Rockets' offense and every possession revolves around him. With Dwight Howard back in action, teams can't concentrate on Harden as much.
Who is going to stop Cousins tonight in Oakland when the Kings face the Warriors? Andrew Bogut is out and there is no one on the Warriors' roster that can stop Cousins.
Duncan gets to face the Clippers at home and Blake Griffin is not a defensive stalwart by any means. I expect Duncan to get at least 20 points tonight and I am hoping for at least 12 rebounds or more.
Chris Paul has a price of $10,300 today and once again, he is way too expensive. I will fade him as usual. Damian Lillard is on fire but he is due to have an average game and he is going up against Patrick Beverly tonight so I will hesitate in starting Lillard in most of my lineups.
Rajon Rondo is a point guard I prefer tonight as he has a lower salary and the Mavs will be going up and down the court against the high-scoring Hawks.
I can't be picking up all the stars so I will add Nate Robinson to some lineups and pray he will have a career night.
Harrison Barnes always plays better and gets more rebounds at home and I love his $5400 price. Rudy Gay is not a staunch defender by any means.
Nikola Mirotic is at $5900 and he has been playing really well but Tai Gibson could be back for the Bulls tonight against Toronto.
Good luck tonight and I hope you will be more successful than I have been on my journey to being a NBA DFS winner.
