Razzball Nation!

It was a tumultuous NBA regular season that just wrapped up, not only on the court but here at Razzball.  There were ups (Tobias Harris), there were downs (Thomas Robinson), but when it was all said and done I think we helped more than we hurt.  Pretty much all we can hope to do!

We didn’t see any Derrick Rose, we saw a resurgent Tim Duncan, and we saw a new Razzball basketball editor have some big shoes to fill (well not really, I wear size 17, I doubt many people have bigger shoes).  As I start to put together my way too early rankings for the 2013-2014 Fantasy Basketball season, I thought it might be best to start from scratch with some gut reactions to the season and some stat takeaways leading into the offseason:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

After recording three wins in a row the Suns have now suffered back-to-back losses. It appears the Suns are setting again, but the most recent shakeup to the starting line up may prove there’s still fantasy value to be had in Phoenix. Yes, Suns FA pick ups just in time for Daylight Savings–first, the Morris Twins–Markieff Morris had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, and Marcus Morris had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. You know I’m a sucker for the twinsies starting together–pulls at all the right heartstrings. This is real basketball people. But I must say fantasy-wise it’s hard to tell them apart–they’re both pretty mediocre. They’re worth watching for now, but if you’re have to own one, Marcus is the brother to own, but they don’t recommend separating the two.

Wesley Johnson could be an even better pick up, and Friday he scored 19 points, with 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in the start. Wes has developed a sixth man-type role over the past few games but he got the start last night over Jared Dudley and made coach proud. Johnson, a former top 10 pick,  always had the pedigree to do this, maybe its about time he got it done. Wesley was the only one who could save Princess Buttercup and if he can continue to play well in this role, maybe he could save your fantasy team come playoff time.

Here’s what else happened in fantasy basketball Friday night:

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Did you know that a Posey is also known as a Nosegay? That’s weird, right? Historically, nosegay means something you hang around your nostrils (you know, to keep out the stench of the dead). Today, saying the word nosegay would make people irrationally angry, so you probably shouldn’t say it. Tony Parker fans may be angry right now, too, as the fantasy stud is going to miss approximately 3-5 weeks after spraining his left ankle. He was one of the league’s top assisters, and brother, you’re not going to be able to find a replacement off waivers to cover his stats. Kirk Hinrich was seen wearing a walking boot, so he’s out. Maybe Andre Miller is still available in your league. He’s good for 11 ppg and 6 apg. It’s something. If redraft roto leagues, you may as well consider dropping him outright. Here are some other fallen men: 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Ben Affleck may get shat upon by the hip and snarky, but he had the last laugh when his film Argo walked away with the Best Picture Academy Award (TM) (C) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCbzzzt. Where was I? Oh, Surviving Christmas  is a much better holiday movie than you would expect, and is worth watching if it comes on TV in 9-10 months. Just store that in your head. If you haven’t see The Town, it’s also enjoyable. Wait, is this the basketball blog? I thought we were talking about movies. Hmmm, well, let’s talk about Andrew BogutBogut’s MRI came back and showed a protruding disc in his back. He has been ruled out indefinitely and will not travel with the team. Some of you may remember I had a minor herniated disc back in September, and it took me a few weeks to recover from, derailing my basketball career even further. Bogut is clearly a world class athlete while I get winded getting up from the toilet, but still, back pain is back pain, and Bogut has to wipe the same way the rest of us do. All of you that were so happy to grab Bogut may have to wait a couple of weeks to begin savoring his production again.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The two biggest names people are waiting for in fantasy circles are Derrick Rose and Andrew Bynum, and it looks like they’re both farther away than was anticipated. Bynum felt pain in his knees after back to back workouts, while Rose said he was about 20-30% away (actually, he said he was feeling 85% on a scale of 110%, so hopefully he has an accountant do his taxes).

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Andre Iguodala has been a source of contention in the comments recently.  Some people just want to cast him aside and leave him for dead (I may be exaggerating slightly).  Not me.  No man left behind is my motto (unless your name is Andrew Bynum, to hell with that guy).  Especially a man that was a top 50 player last year.  A man who once only hurt you in FT% and contributed across the board everywhere else.  This year he is not the same man.  A career low in FG%, REB, STL, and a nearly career high in TO’s (not to mention his lowest AST since ’05-’06).  Perhaps it is the high altitude, or maybe he is declining at the old age of 28 years.  I say that’s hogwash and I’m not sure why I say it like that, because I sound like my 80 year old grandmother.  Nevertheless, I firmly believe that he will figure out his role on the Nuggets and you should own him before he does.  Well, unless you can’t take that FT% hit.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Pau Gasol and the Lakers have had a train wreck of a season so far.  Pau is seeing nearly all his numbers being below career average (12.6/8.9/3.5/0.5/1.2 with 42% FG and 76% FT) and having “knee tendinitis” to boot.  As such, I had to move him down in the tiers because you can’t be a Victoria’s Secret model with those type of numbers.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

As I mentioned the past couple weeks, every Wednesday I will release tiers for G/F/C in rotating fashion.  Here’s the original tiersupdated Guard tiers, and last week’s Forward tiers.  Starting next week, I’ll split this into a morning and afternoon post (morning for recap and afternoon for tiers) to better explain the movement taking place.  As always, if you disagree with the tiers then go f*ck yourself.  BUT FIRST, the recap of last night’s games:

Nene Hilario – Nope, the Wizards did not play last night but he will return TONIGHT!  We’ll see how much playing time he gets, but he is the most offensively-talented big man on the Wizards’ roster.  If you own Kevin Seraphin, this is probably the time to drop him if you haven’t already.

Please, blog, may I have some more?