C’mon man!
Real quick. ESPN and Yahoo have updated their draft lists and I want to make some mocking observations from my high horse.
I don’t know what Greg Oden did to the ESPN fantasy basketball guys, but he is languishing at #148. Sure, they might not have appreciated his special pictures in their editorial meeting, but this is craziness. If Oden isn’t off your board by #110, your league is adverse to being good. I’ve said it. There you go. Everyone knows he is a risk of breaking a leg again, but if last season with Tyreke Evans and Steph Curry taught us anything at all, it’s that risks are worth taking, especially in the 12th round. I do like T-Will and Anthony Morrow moving up, kudos and Darren Collison at #36 seems a tad high but a gamble, and I love that. We still don’t know if this is for Roto or H2H, or the categories. Please ESPN overlord, grace us with your knowledge.
Yahoo have gone with the old, chuck 4 people’s opinions in together and hope it makes a sensible list. I don’t know if this works particularly well. Example: When Mr Behrens (who I always pronounce in my head Biedrins) picks Derrick Rose at number 18 (I love Rose but 18?!) and everyone else leaves him out of their top 40. Who do I trust here? Anyway, their list is based on 9 cat Roto leagues which explains Howard’s position at #34. Other oddities. Biedrins has Amar’e at #22, Matt Buser has a man crush on Jason Kidd (#16) and Brandon Furston believes Brook Lopez is first round material. Overall, I think it’s a good representation of views and an interesting read. The best bit is that they dig into the top 30 of each position.
Fantasy Basketball and that time of the year
Are all your friends talking about fantasy football and how awesome it is because they just drafted Chris Johnson? Chumps. It’s that time of the year for fantasy basketball where all news is boring news (see: Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets and figuring out why so many people care about Rudy Fernandez despite him being a minimal role player at best).
Jason finished up our two man mock draft over at fbasketballblog. Here is round 13. I was going to do a full blown recap, but for a August mock draft, I thought it was a bit excessive. Instead, I’ll go with the best and worst picks in my eyes. First, Michael Beasley as a 6th rounder? Seriously, what was I thinking? While I was trying to slot him into a real ‘fantasy’ team (this sentence doesn’t make sense thus far), it was an epic fail. The T’Wolves actually have some talent as opposed to last year and Beasley hasn’t exactly shown much to date even as the second option on a shitty team. D- for this pick. Jason snagged Monta in the third round. It isn’t in the same ball park as the B-Easy variety, but I still think this is pretty high for a scorer who is going to be reduced to the third option on the Warriors team which has great uncertainty around the coach. But, I can live with it. Also, Dwight Howard should really make an appearance in the first round but each to their own. Good picks? D-Will at #8 even though I would have taken him above Granger and Gasol personally but still some people aren’t sold. The fact that he does nearly everything shouldn’t put you off people. Turkoglu in the 5th is a risky in the extreme but I LOVE it. Same with Ray Felton. Bogut in the 4th was probably my best as he is top shelf these days. It was good fun reading what another person thought about the direction of individual teams and how certain players matched up. So cheers Jason, until next year. Speaking of, see this post if you are interested in a mock draft next Thursday.
Since I have nothing original to say, I’m going to take the liberty to comment on other people’s work. I am trying to slog away at a beginners guide and player list, but it’s still awhile away yet.
Over at a relatively new blog (from what I can tell), Life is Just a Fantasy… Basketball Blog, there is a whole bunch of stuff about individual players and what the coming season holds for them. He likes Reggie Williams but has a distinct distaste for Greg Oden (Shame!). Perhaps some of you know my like of all things which came out of the 2007 draft and that’s why I shed tears when I see predictions ranging from the 10th to the 12th round in most people’s predictions. It’s his time to shine and it’s going to happen. That’s all I’ll say at this stage. Just be glad when your 8th round pick starts putting up 12-12-3 every night.
Give Me The Rock have their awesome, fantastically wonderful NBA schedule up already. This year it comes with improvements in the form of the entire NBA schedule, a weekly fantasy schedule, a daily schedule and a team comparison chart. I dunno what more you could ask for? Some pizza pie I suppose. Also, Nels breaks down the Denver Nuggets and Erik tackles the Milwaukee Bucks, nearly making up for the fact he wrote off Andrew Bogut last season… =) I agree with both these guys on most things except I never touch Chris Anderson (mostly because he scares the shit out of me) and I’m not loving Drew Gooden because Luc Mbah Morte is an athletic freak of nature who is going to dominate defensively in the near future and Scott Skiles loves defense. Also, Drew Gooden will have moved teams by Mid-November.
Fantasy Basketball Daily breaks down the SG position for this season. Unsurprisingly Kobe and Dwyane feature on the list. Somewhat more surprisingly, O.J Mayo comes in at #6. I love it, but I think most people will wait on him and go for the likes of Kev-Mart, Manu and Ray-Ray before they touch Mayo. He is also high on Mike Miller. If you are in need of three’s at any point, grab him and start smiling wildly. For Facebook fans, here is the new Fantasy Basketball Daily fan page.
And finally, Dr. A over at Rotoworld has a new Q&A column up which I’m sure most people have already seen if you read anything about fantasy basketball. Some of the questions are daunting indeed. On the Darren Collison question, I think he ranks ahead of Mo Williams, Aaron Brooks and John Wall. Of course, this depends on if you value assists more so than FG% or TOs.
Come next week, there will be some actual creative writing instead of rounding up other people’s hard earned keyboard strokes. Since there are other sites doing collective teams and in-depth positional looks, I will try and focus on a few things which get overlooked from my perspective. Like how an ageing Jason Kidd is still infinitely times better than anything Devin Harris will attempt on a basketball court in the 2010-11 season and a few strategy pieces which need rehashing (point guards and power forwards is so 2006).
Two Man Mock Draft – Round 10
Round 10. Some would say, the most pivotal round of the draft. You can spot those people a long way away. Their first nine picks sucked. For the rest of us, this is a chance to take some chances or shore up support in one or two categories with some specialist players who can make a bit of an impact. It is also where you will see most ‘sleeper’ candidates start being nabbed (although obviously this can occur earlier as well). The things I look for at this stage in the draft? Potential and the ‘comeback season’ from players who might have slipped off the radar but have done well in the past. I was excited by the new visuals in Round 9. I was also pleased to see the poll results at this stage (I promise I have only voted once Jason). Rashard Lewis? Your dead to me mate. Looks like Luol Deng is the man for the 6th round after all. Make sure you go over and check it out. And another thing. Rounds 1-8 can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. In order.
109. Darren Collison (D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B. Jennings, J. Salmons, M. Okur, B. Diaw): You might be worried Collison isn’t going to play enough minute to justify a 10th round pick and you might be proven right at the end of the season. But Colliwobbly has upside in two distinct ways. He is backing up Chris Paul, who after last season obviously has a question mark over his head with regards to longevity and more importantly, he is going to be used as part of a three man rotation (Paul and Thornton) at the guard. Mo Pete has left town leaving these three amigos to run New Orleans. Their big men aren’t good enough to command attention (sorry David West, you just don’t cut it in my books) so it’ll be up to these little guys to make it work. Collison showed he can still make things happen in his 39 games as a sub, slashing to the basketball. I expect around 26-28 minutes per game over the course of the season, perhaps even more. This is good enough for 10-12 points and approximately 5-6 assists. A little pricey for the 10th round but as soon as Chris Paul sneezes, his value will sky rocket.
110. Channing Frye (G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall, C. Butler, E. Turner, E. Brand): Frye has taken a bit of a hit in fantasy circles this season for some unbeknown reason. He still plays with Steve Nash. There are no major additions to the Suns front court to replace Amar’e (if anyone pipes up name Hakim Warrick, I will personally hunt you down). Sure, he went pretty cold in the playoffs last season but who really cares? In the regular season he was good enough for 2+ threes, 11 and 5. Nothing bad there. I see pretty much the same this season, except probably about 1.6 threes instead. He nearly throws in a bonus steal (.9) and block (.8) every game as well. This team is a strange mix of defensive monsters (Howard, Wallace) with pure offense (Blatche, Bulter, Frye). I’d be pretty pumped heading into the season with this team (except you Caron Bulter – you are forever in the bad books).
111. Terrence Williams (D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge, T. Ariza, A. Miller, M. Miller): I wanted to take Brad Miller here, just for a hat-trick, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. There is a bit of a log jam at the SG/SF spot in New Jersey after they decided to spend their money this summer on ‘free’ agents instead of the big fish. Courtney Lee, Morrow, Outlaw and even Jordan Farmar will clog up minutes here. But T-Will is the bomb diggy and true talent always shines through. He is a triple-double threat and can bring the house down if he so chooses. Just because he didn’t listen to Kiki V. doesn’t mean you should exclude him from your fantasy thoughts. New coach Avery Johnson don’t take no crap and Williams will ship up and begin to dominate this season. Look for a major leap across all categories. In April, Williams averaged 14/7/6. I wouldn’t expect those gaudy numbers for a season, but it shows promise and possibility.
112. Jose Calderon (S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett, E. Gordon, C. Landry, A. Harrington): This team needed another point guard and Calderon is the man for it. Listen, I’ve met Jarrett Jack, and while he is a nice guy who poses for photographs better than any other basketball I’ve met, he can’t cut the mustard in Toronto. He is not a starting quality point guard. On the other hand, Calderon is. Even in only 26 minutes per night last season, the Big Cheese managed 10 points, 6 assists and one three pointer. He shoots the ball amazingly well from the field (48% last season) and can dominate the court at will. That’s what will happen in the worst case scenario. The best part? There is a good chance he will get traded. The bad part? No-one knows where. This instability is not good but then again, that’s why this is pick #112 and not #25 like last season.
113. Greg Oden (D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin, J. Nelson, R. Stuckey, J.R. Smith): When I see pictures of Greg Oden (no, not those pictures), I start humming the intro track on Jay-Z’s Blueprint, “the ruler’s back”. With Oden, I feel like I am waiting for the inevitable… not another knee injury or stress fracture, but the 14/12/2 that I know is just around the corner when he can work out how not to foul. Heck, he doesn’t even have to do anything except stand on the court to effect the game, but most of the time, as witnessed by his 86 fouls per 36 minutes, he can’t even manage that. Regardless. This is the season. This is the one. Everything comes together. The Blazers become relevant again. I’m excited. Plus, Oden fits this team like Stockton fitted Malone. The mix of small men, smaller men and Brook Lopez really needed a bit of Oden grunt. Just like it took Xena Warriors Princess 3 seasons to really get off the ground, Oden is ready to deliver in the 4th.
114. Kelenna Azubuike (P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson, J. Holiday, R. Hibbert): Unlike last round I picked, this round my heart is really invested. I think Oden has me a little too excited. Azubuike? Apart from the best name in the NBA (sorry Dwyane), Azubuike has a legit shot at being 1-1-1 (three/steal/block) talent in the 10th round. You throw in 10 points, 5 boards and pretty impressive FG% and you have a winner. With the attention focused nearly universally on Amar’e, the 2 and 3 men for the Knicks are going to run riot up and down that court as puppet master Mike presses the ‘faster’ button repeatedly. In 2008-09, his last major injury free year, KA averaged 14/5 for a Golden State despite having to contend with noted black holes (Jackson, S) for the ball. This year is gravy compared to that. 1-1-1 is really what this team needs as the scoring and boards are there, but the little intangibles still make up 3 categories every week. There are still a few issues here, but nothing a good 11th round pick can’t fix.
115. Lamar Odom (D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford, P. Millsap, T. Parker, R. Lopez): It’s pretty hard to have a favorite Laker but if someone held a gun to my head, I would chose Lamar. Big, dopey looking, knows that he can’t have a good Khardashian so he settles for a mediocre one. That’s my type of multiple NBA champion right there. And did you know he loves candy? Odom might not produce at first, in fact you can probably count on him not producing, but eventually he’ll find his groove and when Andrew Bynum gets injured, he’ll have a field day. Odom played in all 82 games last season, clocking up nearly 10/10 every night (10.8/9.8) as well as 3 assists, .7 threes, .9 steals and .7 blocks. Not bad for a dude who doesn’t really give a rat’s ass about anything. The only reason he went to this team was his ability to build on already established strengths. Granger/Smith/Nene/Millsap are all steal/block+ type of guys and Odom only helps that, along with some pretty decent points and boards. This team looks more scary everytime I check it out. Sure, the owner will be scouring the waivers for signs of assists as soon as PG’s start dropping, but those things tend to work themselves out in the end. Can I quickly say as well, I love the Robin Lopez pick. He is going to tear it up this year.
116. Greg Monroe (K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola, R. Allen, L. Barbosa, C. Maggette): After three players in a row who could fit the various types of shooting guard mould, I needed to get some size back into this team. Munroe, the #7 pick in this years draft, is a snug fit. He has some of the sweetest hands in the post you are likely to see. As passing big men go, there might not be a better one by the end of the season (even including Darko Milicic doing his best Chris Webber impression). If the Pistons are serious about starting a-fresh (which might not be the case, Joe Dumars has been lacking a lot of seriousness since about 2007) then Monroe will walk into a starting spot. This should be the case. But it might not be. At Summer League, he struggled to assert himself in the post and settled for too many outside looks. He has to get inside, get dirty and play some ball, like he did for Georgetown. Only then will his talents rise through the murky waters of 3rd grade fantasy Centers and into our hearts. Hopefully this happens sooner rather than later. Please note: The Pistons are probably the worst team for fantasy prospects this season. If Rodney Stuckey is your best player, you ain’t getting it done.
117. Wilson Chandler (D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley, V. Carter, Y. Ming, D. Cousins): Chandler would have gone a lot higher if it wasn’t for those pesky Golden State players coming to the party. He showed promise last season as a semi-talented swing man who could score when the game was free flowing and he had ample opportunity. His near 48% from the field looks like a bit of an aberration but he should still present this type of value this coming season. He is a New York Knick who probably doesn’t excite that many people this season after the slight disappoint of past campaigns for fantasy owners. I don’t see 35 minutes in the equation either. He gives this team some more punch and doesn’t hurt any categories, which can be a bit of an issue with certain high round picks.
118. Samuel Dalembert (C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, M. Williams, C. Kaman, G. Arenas, A. Bynum, A. Kirilenko): I notice a bit of a trend here. I’ve taken Bosh, Kaman, Bynum and now Dalembert. If anything else, at least this team will know how to rebound. I wasn’t very high on Sammy D as soon as the Kings nabbed DeMarcus Cousins in the draft. But over time, I think I have come around a little. He is an established player who showed real flashes of solid basketball last year. He should have no worries seeing off the smaller Jason Thomson for minutes. He hasn’t missed a game in 3 seasons and despite playing a smaller role for the Sixer’s last season, that was because they were crap and the head coach was a nut job. Dalembert is never going to give you lots of points, but his boards and blocks are substantial and something you won’t find from many others at this point in proceedings. With Cousins playing down low with him, it might even open up some doors for extra stat padding. Much like Dalembert, at first I wasn’t too hot on this team, but I really like the last four picks and I think there is some solid structure and direction happening here which is always a good thing for fantasy teams.
119. Jonny Flynn (L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng, R. Lewis, T. Splitter, B. Gordon): Even if LBJ does average near double-digit assists, this team still needs a little but of love in that department. Flynn is nearly the last point guard who was a starter last season still left on the board. He didn’t do much to earn this spot, instead sort of falling into it. In fact, he only averaged 4.4 assists per game. Things should be a bit better this season with Luke Ridnour backing him up instead of Ramon Sessions. If he doesn’t nudge past 5+ per game, there is something wrong. Like the majority of sophomore point guards, he should lift his minutes per game, alongside his scoring and assists while shooting a better FG% (41.7 last season, yuck) and less turnovers (2.9 in only 29 minutes). Flynn is not going to set the world on fire at any point soon but he is handy to fill in some gaps late in the draft. 5+ assists per game is still 18-20 per week which will more often than not be the difference at the end of the week. This team is stacked in many other areas (boards, points, blocks, threes) so this doesn’t hurt in the slightest.
120. Serge Ibaka (K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry, M. Thornton, T. Thomas, Ge. Hill): I know I probably shouldn’t have. But gosh darnit, I really wanted to. Air Congo as the Thunder faithful love to call him managed to play 18 minutes per game in his rookie campaign but his playoff performances won him many plaudits which should transform into increased minutes. This is a pure roll of the dice pick. I really don’t know if he will be able to produce substantial value at this stage but the potential is all there. In those 18 minutes per game, he managed 1.3 blocks and 5.4 boards. Give him an extra 7 minutes a game and he is a legit force to be reckoned with in the right team. Furthermore, this is a little bit of insurance against Camby and Thomas who don’t have the best track records when it comes to playing all the games of the season.
So we come to the end of Round 10. A look below shows the teams in their latest new uniforms. While some people are probably shaking their heads at some of these picks, please remember this isn’t a ‘pick the best available player list’ but a way to form teams which would look more like real fantasy teams, each with their own unique styles and each with their flaws which are inevitable at some point in a draft of 156 players. Look out for the last three rounds at fBasketballBlog and around here in the near future.
Team Delicious: K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry, M. Thornton, T. Thomas, Ge. Hill, S. Ibaka
Team Bulls 2.0: L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng, R. Lewis, T. Splitter, B. Gordon, J. Flynn
Team Bang Bang: C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, M. Williams, C. Kaman, G. Arenas, A. Bynum, A. Kirilenko, S. Dalembert
Team Ipecac: D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley, V. Carter, Y. Ming, D. Cousins, W. Chandler
Team 5: K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola, R. Allen, L. Barbosa, C. Maggette, G. Monroe
Team Stolen Block Party: D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford, P. Millsap, T. Parker, R. Lopez, L. Odom
Team 7: P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson, J. Holiday, R. Hibbert, K. Azubuike
Team Big Time: D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin, J. Nelson, R. Stuckey, J.R. Smith, G. Oden
Team Frail: S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett, E. Gordon, C. Landry, A. Harrington, J. Calderon
Team Dope: D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge, T. Ariza, A. Miller, M. Miller, T. Williams
Team Future: G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall, C. Butler, E. Turner, E. Brand, C. Frye
Team Know Your Limits: D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B. Jennings, J. Salmons, M. Okur, B. Diaw, D. Collison
Where rankings are made
While most fantasy basketball enthusiasts are busy watching their baseball team or having a real life in the summertime, other, more evil hearted people, are conspiring against your team already. 3 months before the season has even nearly begun. Who are these people? Well, if something is wrong with sports, together with the blogosphere having disregard for it, it is only one of two things… Rugby League or ESPN. And since Rugby League should never be mentioned again, we’ll stick with ESPN.
Often those at the top are victim of tall poppy syndrome. See Rudd, Kevin. And often those emotions are completely unwarrented. However I feel safe in saying after ESPN’s last couple of big basketball stories (The Decision, the production of the NBA Finals), that in this case they completely deserve it. But why are they trying to destroy your fantasy team in mid-summer? I don’t know. The proof is here though. The ESPN Fantasy Basketball top 150 rankings. But Brian McKitsh is so cute? But ESPN is the only thing I use when I do my draft prep? Be damned people.
Here are but three issues with the above list (the July 19 Version).
1) There is no preface whatsoever about what type of rankings these area. Roto? H2H? 9 cats? No trade? Lots of trades? Incompetent owners? By having a quick glance, I can nearly deduct that it’s a Head to Head league because Dwight Howard is at number 7 and there is no asterisk near his name. You might casually say, this isn’t a big deal. But this is a MASSIVE deal. ESPN and Yahoo are the two biggest fantasy sites on the net. Nearly all beginners would be getting 95% of their advice from these sites and lists just like this. For Fantasy Basketball to ever grow into a real rival to the MLB or NFL, this sort of stuff has to be sorted out. If, into week three, you see that Dwight Howard is actually going to bust your balls in your newly minted Roto league and he was your first pick, how are you going to feel? Ask Tom Brady owners from two seasons ago. Some people will just have fun regardless, but some will not. They will not come back. They will not play again. It’s pretty simple in my books. A nice two sentence preface about what the list actually represents would go a long way in fantasy basketball circles.
2) Rajon Rondo (#22) and Chris Bosh (#23) have swapped spots since the last update (date unknown but after the Decision). Why did this occur? None of the 21 players above the list swapped places. No-one fell. No-one rose. However Rondo was deemed to have inched ahead of Bosh. Because of… His rad shoes? Well, maybe. But we can’t be sure as there is no explanation for this. I understand the need to get stuff out quickly, meet deadlines and keep things concise so people will read them, but what I don’t understand is how this list works and why people move up and down, because there is no commentary alongside it. And ESPN fantasy basketball analysis can be VERY good, when it takes the time and get’s it right.
3) Risk Aversion in the highest form. The two standouts for me here are Troy Murphy (#43) and Greg Oden (#150). Murphy might not be an amazing player. He is slow, doesn’t really contribute to winning actual basketball games and finds defending is sometimes just too hard. However, he is money in fantasy basketball. M-O-N-E-Y. I know people drop off after awhile, but this a dude who finished top 15 ranked (Yahoo Average Rankings) over the past two seasons and is in a CONTRACT year. C’mon people. 43? Wedged in between Joakim Noah and Baron Davis? B-Diddy??? It makes my blood boil. If you want the best big man to hit open three pointers and grab 10+ boards per game, look no further. The best small ball center in the league. Bar none.
This is where people might start losing me. Greg Oden has killed owners in the past. In fact, anyone who has ever drafted him, has been hurt eventually by his inability to stay on the court. But hear me out. Despite averaging 4.0 fouls per 22 minutes last season, listen to these November numbers. 12.9 points, 64% FG, 7.8 boards, 2.1 blocks AND he doesn’t kill your FT% (66.6% on a low 3.5 attempts for career). OK, so he is no Pau Gasol. True. But this kid (and he is still a kid) is on schedule for 5v5 practice in september and full ability by training camp. Yes, he has been injured. But you know what? So was Andrew Bogut for 4 seasons and now he is ranked #29. Greg Oden has disappointed in the past. But this is a guy who is built to play NBA basketball. He is deft on his feet, swift for a 7 footer and can just be beastly on the defensive end. Don’t reach for him in the 5th round, but the 10th round isn’t out of the question.
This is not meant to sound too harsh on ESPN. They have standards, editors and all sorts of crap I don’t understand. They also have a brand. However I think, despite the fact it’s only a game, as the gorilla in the room, there should be some more explanation around this type of stuff. These lists set the tone for everyone else. Bloggers read them and slowly turn conservative. Beginners read them and might never come back. From here, other lists are dreamed up and populated.
That’s enough ranting. I was planning on something much more positive, but that’ll have to wait until next time (no more stumbling across ESPN in the future).
In the meantime, links!
FantasyHoopster is back at it, as he couldn’t resist the urge to blog in the summertime. Nice. But please note, I do not condone any talk of Anthony Lin after last summer’s Anthony Randolph debacle.
GMTR are working their way through the NBA teams already. And with zingers like this, “At this point, if you’re interested in getting Ford for your pick-up team, Larry Bird wants to speak with you.”, how could you resist? I don’t wanna sound like a LeBron groupie, but Nels and Patrick really set the standard, even in mid-july.
I’ve only just been introduced to Daniel Eade on Twitter, and I don’t agree with much he has to say about LBJ, but it’s an interesting perspective regardless.
A super piece from FBasketballBlog on some myths and truths about fantasy basketball. He’s on the money with the majority of the strategies as well.
Until next time.
Fantasy Basketball Awards 2009-10
I suppose these are not the best player, best 6th man etc etc, but more like awards of how I feel during the fantasy season. Everyone has different opinions in most things fantasy related, this is just my take.
The Fantasy Machine Award – David Lee
Can you think of a more consistent player this season? Sure, for a starting Center he never learnt how to block (0.5 per game) but it seemed every single time I glanced at a Knicks scoreboard, there was a 20 and a 10 staring right back at me alongside Lee’s name. When you throw in his league high 3.6 assists per game, the fact he never misses games and his ridiculous shooting percentages, it all comes into place. And just for kicks, his Yahoo average draft position? 45.6. That’s just nasty.
The What The *&! Award – Al Jefferson
You would be forgiven for thinking that Jefferson was injured for sinigficant amounts of time this season. However, you’d be wrong. He has missed just 6 games this year but more than anything, he has missed the ball in his hands. This season in Minny, he attempted under 15 shots per game. If you want something to compare that against, he had 19 last year and 17 the year before that. Throw a four year low in rebounding (9.2), a three year low in scoring (17.1) and a pretty large regression blocks (1.3, down from 1.7) and you see why owners who took Big Al early in the second round are disappointed. The biggest let down though, is that the potential was there however owners could never tell which Al Jefferson would show up. In March, AJ was 19/11/2 but even that included a 5 game stretch without 10+ boards. Who knows what’s in store next year.
The I Didn’t Know He Could Do That Award – Zach Randolph
While everyone knew he could put up 20/10, no-one really expected it. Nor did anyone think he would fit into Memphis or play every game. Z-Bo proved the doubters wrong and had one of the most productive power forward seasons. He easily compares to players like Carlos Boozer and even Tim Duncan. While he still likes to jack the more than occasional three bomb (29% on 0.7 attempts per game) and struggles on the block (0.4 per game), he kept his turnovers low (2.2) while contributing 20.8 points and 11.7 boards per game. It’s impressive in anyone’s language. You can expect to see him go around the third or fourth round next season.
The I Wish I Had Of Taken Him Award – Marc Gasol
While he has missed a few games at the end of the season, this year’s Yahoo average draft pick number 119 has been a pleasant surprise for owners. I thought his numbers would dip considerably with Da Beet and Z-Bo onboard in Memphis but the more manly of the Gasol brothers stepped up and proved himself. He shot 58.6% from the field on 14.6 points per game, which when paired up with his 9.3 boards and 1.6 blocks per, put him in the conversation with significant 2nd tier fantasy centers.
The I’m Glad I Didn’t Touch Him Award – Greg Oden/Anthony Randolph
The worst thing about Oden is he after owners picked him up on the cheap at the back ends of the draft, he actually played like a demon. 11/8/2 while shooting 60% from the field and under 2 turnovers… all in 24 minutes! He was the bargain of the season. Then just when you everything was going to plan, he does his knee (and takes naughty photos). Just like that, it was over nearly before it even started. Poor Portland? Poor fantasy owners more like it.
At least Oden gave you something. Do you remember the sheer excitement surrounding Ant-Rand back in October? Well. If. You. Dont. Go. Back. And. Look. Phew. Everyone did it. He was a standard 6 round pick. It’s not your fault… blame Don Nelson. Just remember, sometimes the risk isn’t worth the reward and despite all the hype and skills in the world, events can conspire against even the best fantasy prospect.
The I Told You So Award – Andrew Bogut
Now, no-one likes the cocky bloke in the corner, but Andrew Bogut was always going to have a productive fantasy year. It’s such a pity the big fella went down with an awful elbow injury but at least his fantasy doubters are gone for next season. His other worldly 2.5 blocks per game is second only to Dwight in the league, while his 16 and 10 was like gravy all season long. His turnovers? Down (1.9 per game). FT%? Up to a career high (62.9%). Delicious.
The Rookie Award – Steph Curry
I was going to go with ‘Reke because 20/5/5 is damn impressive, but you know what? That’s basically a 2nd rate Joe Johnson and I’m not about that. Curry, the little devil, can do many other things. Like drop 2.1 three bombs per game while still shooting 46% from the field. Throw in 1.9 steals and 87% freebies and you have a winner. Sure, the kid can’t play defense, but that just makes him a better fantasy player in my eyes. Also, anyone sharing a backcourt with Monta Ellis deserves some respect because that dude is a dead set loser. Curry – 2nd rounder next year. Lock it in.
The Old Guy Who Keeps Surprising Everyone Award – Marcus Camby
The three players sitting BEHIND Camby in average stats this season according to Yahoo? Kobe, Boozer and D-Will. Yes, you probably aren’t going to draft him over those guys, but this 86 year old knows how to get it done still. He has never been much of a scorer (7.5 points per game) but boy can he do big man stats with gusto. 2 blocks, nearly 12 boards, 1.3 steals and only 1.2 turnovers per game. In fantasy terms, that’s like bank interest and it just keeps compounding. I dare say he won’t go too early next year, but don’t be surprised when you see him name pop up on the rankings lists once again.
The That Guy Who Didn’t Surprise Anyone Award – Trevor Ariza
I really wanted it all to work out for Ariza. He was the one likeable guy on the Lakers championship squad and they basically screwed him. But what happens when he has to be a star? Epic fail. 39% shooting on nearly 14 shots per game (ouch), 65% from the free throw line and only marginal increases in blocks, steals and boards despite playing 50% more game time (36 minutes per game). Anyone who took Ariza, and most took him after the 8th round according to Yahoo, probably didn’t trust his transformation into a big game player. Well folks, in this case, everyone was right. Perhaps he can turn things around next season with the return of Yao but if you are going to jack up 6 three’s per game, you should try and hit more than 33% of them. Something to work on in the off season.
The Never Again Award – Jose Calderon
In my leagues, no-one liked Calderon. He fell all the way to #44 the league I invest my heart and soul into and even at that spot, he failed to live up to the hype. From my reckoning, there is always something fishy going on if the best thing you do (in this case, free throws), is only happening a tick over twice per game. I don’t care if you shoot 100%, it’s not going to make up for the fact I have Josh Smith playing at the PF. This season, Calderon found… the bench. I’m sure owners were sick of him after 4 weeks, let alone the whole season. Which is a tad ironic, because it was right at the end of the season where he kind of turned it around with some quality games. Next season, you can expect his mock draft spot to be in relative free fall compared to this season.
Some good end of season stuff from around the interwebs:
GiveMeTheRock ask just how good the King and the Durantula really are this season.
NBAMate’s resident fantasy guru has a wrap of the season
Tom Carpenter from ESPN has his fantasy awards while Rotoworld chip in with theirs as well.
C4 fantasy sports with his awards for the season.
