With the playoffs in full swing and the field limited to just eight teams, the Daily Fantasy options shrink while becoming more exciting because of the weight. I've played two different lineups on the Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns game.
Lineup One - 50/50
In the 50/50 game, your goal is to have a team that scores in the top half of all 100 lineups to receive a payout, although everyone receives the same regardless of being 1st or 50th. For example, if you enter a $2 game and come in first, you'll receive $4 back, the same amount you'd earn if coming in 20thor 40th. Additionally, you're given a salary of $60,000 and get to not only select five players, but get to assign an MVP, Star and Pro who have multipliers of 2x, 1.5x and 1.2x to their score.
My Lineup:
For my MVP, I had to go with the league MVP Jokic. He just scores fantasy points in every measurable category and is the engine running anything Denver does.
For my Star, I went with Booker. This was a tougher call as I knew I'd likely be choosing between Booker and Chris Paul. Ultimately, I went with Booker because the Nuggets will have a harder time containing him and if the Suns want to win their 2nd straight Booker will need to be big.
For my Pro, I went with Ayton because of opportunity for a lot of Rebounds. He is giving Jokic a tough time down low and should have a lot of opportunities for Rebounds and points on put backs.
I rounded the team out with two Nuggets (Millsap and Gordon) who will need to have big games for the Nuggets to have a chance in Game Two.
Lineup Two - NBA Fadeaway
In the Fadeaway game, you enter a large pool (this one has up to 33,333 entries) and shoot to become in the top 3rd, however the prizes change immensely as your rank increase. On a $0.25 entry, the 4,501st - 10,000th winners would receive $0.50 back, whereas the 41st - 50th would receive $4. Scoring is the same, both in terms of points per stat as well as MVP, Star and Pro.
My Lineup:
For this group, I stuck with Jokic and Booker in the top spots, as well as having Ayton on the team.
However, for my Pro, I'm opting for Michael Porter Jr. Even at the risk of him being a GTD (Game Time Decision), I felt his value and potential for a HUGE game was much greater for a matchup that requires being in the top 3rd to get a win.
As a result, I had limited funds remaining and opted for Shaq Harrison. Despite limited minutes, Harrison has played well during his minutes on the floor and could pull in value while Chris Paul and Booker are resting.
Let me know your thoughts, if you'd do anything different or play Daily Fantasy yourself!
If you're interested in playing Daily Fantasy, the leader is Draft Kings for a reason. The app is easy to use, there are a variety of matchup types and they offer great bonuses if you're an active player. Below is a sign-up link that'll give you $10 to get started. (Note - It is a referral link so I would receive a bonus as well.)
https://fndl.co/fu0va4r