No new NBA games does not have to mean the end of NBA DFS action. We here at Awesemo are committed to bringing you contests while sports are on hiatus. And that continues today with Awesemo’s NBA2K Daily Challenge, which continues with the All-Time Boston Celtics taking on the All-Time Golden State Warriors.
Here’s what we’re doing: over the next few weeks, we’re giving away $20,000+ in prizes in FREE TO PLAY contests based on simulated NBA games that will air on YouTube and Twitch streams involving your favorite Awesemo personalities. And it all starts today. There will be Daily Contests where you are asked to predict aspects of the day’s simulated game. Get the most correct answers and you’ll be eligible for great prizes. Prizes will vary from day-to-day, and today’s top prize is an Apple TV 4K (32GB)! Enter now (and every day) by clicking on the following link:
https:www.awesemo.com/nba2k-daily-challenges
Between March 23 and April 3, we’ll also be running a $15,000 Bracket Challenge with $10,000 to first. Just make your bracket picks and if you get the highest score you could walk away with $10,000.
In addition, FanDuel is running a contest based on our streams! For full details and to make your picks, follow the link http://https://bit.ly/FanDueleNBA. We have included some FanDuel-specific picks below.
Additional details regarding both the $15,000 Bracket Challenge and the Daily Contests, including full Terms and Conditions, are available here:Â https:www.awesemo.com/nba2k
Thank you for supporting us and we’re thrilled to have this opportunity to give something back. We aren’t going anywhere and hope you feel the same.
You can check out tonight’s stream below, kicking off at 7:30 EST.
Now, let’s dig into a preview of tonight’s matchup between the All-Time Celtics vs. the All-Time Warriors.
The Teams
Tonight we have a battle between two storied franchises in our final exhibition match before kicking off the $15,000 Bracket Challenge on Monday. Click here to enter.
All-Time Boston Celtics
For those of you who are focused on NBA DFS, you may not realize that the Celtics have 17 championship banners hanging in TD Garden. While their 2008 title behind Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen is their lone championship since 1986, they have accounted for 23.9% of all NBA Championships, which is mind boggling to say the least.
There are 35 different players in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame who spent time as a Celtic. This is more than any other franchise. Today’s roster has only two players who are not in the Hall of Fame: Rajon Rondo, who is still active in the NBA, and Antoine Walker, who has both an NCAA and an NBA title on his resume.
All-Time Golden State Warriors
In a fun twist, the Golden State Warriors actually won the first professional basketball title in 1947 in the Basketball Association of America, which was the league that ultimately became what we now know as the National Basketball Association. They have six total titles, but their three in 2015, 2017 and 2018 are the ones best remembered. Those squads are well represented in tonight’s matchup with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala.
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The Studs
Wilt Chamberlain – C – Warriors
How can we not have Chamberlain as the first player we discuss in earnest? He is the only player to have ever scored 100 points in a single NBA game. During his 14-year career, he never once fouled out of a game while averaging 45.8 minutes per contest. Yes, the league did not have as many teams in that era as it does now, but that should not diminish his career averages of 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Putting that into fantasy points, he averaged 74.8 FanDuel points per game in an era where they did not track blocked shots or steals until the year after he retired. Finally, if we take out the 1969-1970 season where he played just 12 games with a knee injury, he only missed nine other regular season games in his career (961 of 970).
Bill Russell – C – Celtics
When you hear about Wilt Chamberlain you are likely to hear about Bill Russell as well. These two behemoths battled each other for a decade between the 1959-1960 and 1968-69 seasons. While he was not quite the iron man that Chamberlain was, Russell rarely missed a game. He also boasts 11 NBA Championships to Chamberlain’s two. Plus, he also pulled double duty as the coach of the Celtics his final three seasons, leading the team to two championships in that span. With career averages of 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists, he averaged 61.97 FanDuel points per game. Again, this was before blocks and steals were official categories.
Stephen Curry – G – Warriors
We all know how good Stephen Curry is when healthy, so there is not much else to say about him. However, one thing that really stands out is his 43.5 field goal percentage on 8.2 career 3-point attempts per game. In this simulation, he will be able to get his shot off from beyond the arc and that will help counter Russell in the paint.
Larry Bird – F – Celtics
One of the most phenomenal all-around players in the game, Bird had career averages of 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists on 49.6% shooting from the field. He is also seventh on the career triple-double list with 59, though that is the second-most in this game as Chamberlain is sixth with 78. Bird also won the first three NBA All-Star 3-Point Contests and is known as one of the best trash talkers in the game.
The Other Starters
Celtics – Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Paul Pierce
Warriors – Rick Barry, Chris Mullin, Klay Thompson
The Role Players
Celtics
Kevin Garnett – Garnett was in the NBA from age 19 through 39, spending six seasons in Boston, during which he won his lone NBA Title. He averaged 41.7 FanDuel points throughout his career, but most impressive was an eight-year stretch with Minnesota where he topped 49 fantasy points. It should be a lot of fun seeing him matched up against Draymond Green and Kevin Durant.
Robert Parish – Parish spent his first four seasons with the Warriors before being traded to the Celtics. While his career numbers pale in comparison to Russell and Chamberlain, he was a nine-time All-Star and was All-NBA twice to go along with his four titles in his 21 seasons. Most will forget, but he played into his early 40s, spending his final three seasons with the Charlotte Hornets and winning 50, 41 and 54 games.
Ray Allen – Allen was a great role for Allen who also played in the NBA for 17 seasons. He represented three different teams in the All-Star Game and won titles with Boston and Miami. Best known for his outside shooting, Allen won the NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest in 2001. He also has attempted the most 3-point shots in NBA history and is nearly 1,000 ahead of second-place Reggie Miller. In this game, Paul Pierce, Stephen Curry, Tim Hardaway and Jason Richardson are also in the top 25.
Tom Heinsohn – Most of us know him best as Tommy Heinsohn, the Celtics announcer who is the definition of a homer. What we do not realize is that he was the 1956-57 Rookie of the Year and a six-time All-Star, part of eight title teams in his nine-year career. If he manages to get some minutes in this game, we should know that he averaged 51.16 FanDuel points per outing in his career.
Warriors
Draymond Green – While he has annoyed us with his injuries and inconsistent effort the last two seasons, he was a crucial part of the Warriors’ title run. In the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, he averaged 1.19 FanDuel points per minute with his all-around game. We know Green can contribute with blocks and steals which can add up with his 1.1 and 1.4 respective career averages.
Tim Hardaway Sr – Hardaway Sr. had one of the most lethal cross-over moves in the game. Even though the players guarding him knew it was coming, they still fell for it time and time again. Injuries and age caught up to him on the back half of his 15-year career, which we should also point out did not begin until after his four years at UTEP. So he was already 23 years old before first donning a Warriors jersey. The five-time All-Star averaged 1.05 FanDuel points per minute for his career.
Mitch Richmond – Though he played just three seasons for Golden State, those were memorable years. He teamed up with Hardaway and Chris Mullin, forming a Bay Area big three fondly known as Run TMC. Richmond won the Rookie of the Year award and he averaged over 22 points per game for the Warriors. Though most DFS gamers will probably remember him for his time with Washington or Sacramento, his three seasons in San Francisco were among the five best of his 14-year career.
Baron Davis – In his four seasons with the Warriors, Davis averaged over 40 FanDuel points per game. Health was an issue more often than not for Davis, but we do not have to worry about that in a single-game exhibition. The two-time All-Star was more noted for his scoring, which overshadows his 7.2 assists per game for his career.
FanDuel Plays
FanDuel is offering a contest based on our streams! For this contest, you select an MVP, a Star, a Pro and two Utilities. The MVP gets 2x points, the Star 1.5x and the Pro 1.2x. The Utilites have no multiplier. Players have $60,000 to work with to select their five players. See full details for the contest and enter your picks with the link HERE. Here are some picks for top FanDuel DFS plays.
MVP – Wilt Chamberlain, Golden State Warriors – $14,500
Yes, we are going to want to use Wilt Chamberlain as our MVP with the 2.0 multiplier. As mentioned above, he averaged 74.8 FanDuel points per game without blocks and steals, which did not become an official statistic until after he retired. Accept no substitute.
Star – Rick Barry, Golden State Warriors – $10,500
We have learned that getting in as many starters in these simulations is the best way to have a chance at a good fantasy score. The masses also realize this, but I suspect more will gravitate towards familiar names which do not include Rick Barry. In his 10 NBA seasons, Barry tallied a career 90% rate from the charity stripe and in his four seasons with the ABA, he averaged 88.0%. He was a 12-time All-Star along with winning the Rookie of the Year in 1965-66 and the 1974-75 Finals MVP, leading the Warriors to a four-game sweep of the Bullets.
Pro – Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics – $7,500
While I like several of the players I have written up under the Rosters section, this play is a bit of an educated guess on playing time. Looking at the All-Time Celtics roster, when Bob Cousy is off the court, it would seem that Rajon Rondo is the likely backup point guard. While we know that the computer can do some funky things in a one-game simulation, Sam Jones is just a scorer with just a 2.5 career assist per game mark. While Jo Jo White averaged around 5.5 assists per game in his best years, his raw numbers suffered with Dave Cowens, John Havlicek and Charlie Scott all averaging 4.0 to 5.0 assists at the same time. Rondo has led the league in assists three times with two of those seasons coming during his Celtics tenure.
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