Ain’t No Jokic!

February 14, 2018 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 53 Comments

With a wife, two kids, and fantasy sports to play and write about, the videogaming has taken a back seat. Wait? Isn’t that where all the action happens? That’s when you know you are washed. Anyways, I always enjoyed fantasy drafting teams, whether it be football, basketball, and/or baseball. I’d spend hours upon hours…..who am I kidding? I’d spend months upon months drafting, playing, scouting, etc. Usually, I’d eschew the awareness categories and just focus on the physical attributes. As a Raiders fan, I probably received drafting strategy from Al Davis via osmosis: size and speed. As we all know, physical attributes are not the end all be all in the real world, though. Remember Harold Miner? Exactly. Fundamentals and IQ are important characteristics for any player, but they are often overlooked, as we always get enamored with the physical traits. Case in point, Nikola Jokic. Pre-draft scouting report from nbadraft.net. Strengths: Very high basketball IQ. Strong personality. A team player. Has a great work ethic. My favorite part was that he “doesn’t drink or smoke.” Ha! Weaknesses: An average athlete lacking great speed and leaping ability. Well, last night, Nikola messed around:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
23	13	11	0	1	1	2/5	8/15	5/6

It ain’t about how high you jump or how fast you run. It’s about understanding the game of basketball and making plays. That’s why Nikola ain’t no Jokic. And he’s only 22 years old! He is going to be such a beast.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Do You Like Triple D’s?

December 22, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 71 Comments

by: Son

I was very surprised when I Googled Triple D’s. Triple D’s Place, a Jamaican restaurant and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Where were the big, beautiful breasteses? We have truly advanced as a society. Anyways, it’s bad if you get a D in school. Mcy D’s is good when you are hungry. How about for fantasy? Double D, DeMar DeRozan, has been a valuable fantasy player for quite some time. He has averaged over 20 points per game in each of the last five seasons. He has grabbed around 4.5 boards, dished out close to four dimes, 211’d around one, knocked down 82% of his free throws, and shot 45% from the field. The two areas that he lacked in were blocks and threes. Well, last night, DD was lighting it up from three-land.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
45	5	3	2	1	2	6/9	13/21	13/15

It’s only appropriate that he shot 6-of-9 from downtown, huh? The Universe is awesome. Now, before you start getting all excited, DD’s season high for threes was only three. On the year, he’s making 0.7 on 2.5 attempts. Well above his career average, but fewer than the 0.8 on 2.7 attempts back in 2013 season. Last night’s game was more than likely an outlier, but we can all dream. I guess that’s the only thing one can do regarding Triple D’s. Unless you like Jamaican food and Guy Fieri.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2017 San Antonio Spurs Preview

October 13, 2017 | Team Previews | 57 Comments

by: Son

Image result for spurs logo

Gregg Popovich became the Spurs coach in the 19th game of the 1996 season. The team finished with a 20-62 record. Since then, the Spurs have not had a losing record. What’s crazy is that they have won 50 or more games in 19 of 20 seasons, with six of those being 60+ win seasons. What’s insane is that it should have been 20 out of 20 seasons, as the 1998 season was started late due to the lockout. What’s mind blowing is that the Spurs won the NBA Championship that season!

Image result for mind blown gif

They’ve never missed the playoffs and are 5-1 in title games. Before I continue, I need some feedback on a very important question. Is it “chip” or “ship” when talking about a championship? Please comment below. Anyways, this is what the 2017 Spurs will be all about:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Miro: From Zero To Hero

March 23, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 48 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

So this is going to be the lamest open ever, but I sustained a blogging injury! Wife wanted me to make this crockpot chicken marsala recipe, which as you guessed, calls for marsala wine. She buys this cheap bottle at the grocery store, and it’s such a shitty product, the lid of the bottle won’t separate from that little connector part at the bottom. Obviously I’m a straight MacGyver with these things, so my first thought is to get a small kitchen knife to try and pry the main part of the bottle top off. I even said to myself, “this is probably going to end badly…” And aha! The knife shoots into my finger and I bleed everywhere like a moron. But the good news is a pair of pliers finally got the job done! Little bitch, you bottle of chicken marsala wine, you…

And you probably felt the same way as me hovering over a cheap bottle of wine with a knife if you started Nikola Mirotic last night. “I think I’ve made a huge mistake!” However, with Robin Lopez suspended and Cristiano Felicio out with a sore back-io, the Bulls were down a few on their front line (mainly calling for Bobby Portis to play C), so Miro was sure to get some run even if he was playing like a zero (no Gilbert Arenas – 0 is the number of guns you should have in your locker!). But eureka!

28/5/2/3/1 for Miro last night, on 12-15 shooting with 4 treys. I also wanna mention that Googling “Youtube Mirotic” had me find some sort of Kpop album, which has me think a future nickname or Podcast sounder has to come from this… Anyway, the top 7 in the Bulls rotation actually looked really, really good despite no Wade and no big men, while Tom Petty croons about the Pistons… Free fallin’! Miro has been one of the most inconsistent players in fantasy this year, so with Rolo due back Friday, I still wouldn’t go too nuts to add Miro. Tomorrow against the Sixers still might be worth the upside ThrAGNOF stream though, even if it feels as risky as jabbing plastic with a kitchen knife… Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Elfrid Putting Tripdubs On The Shelfrid

March 9, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 14 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Oh man, the jet lag is real! Sorry for the later daily notes again this morning, I’m in sunny Florida but couldn’t get my ass up in the morning! Still on LA time! And you could probably say the same for those lousy Chicago Bulls these days, they were sleepwalking in Orlando. The walking of the Bulls! Doesn’t have the same ring as running of the Bulls… But they looked old last night, even on only 1 hour difference, and no one covered Elfrid while owning from the Shelfrid! 20/14/14/2/2 last night, in an epic rainbow tripdub from Elfrid Payton. As voluptuous as his hair! He’s been unreal the past week going 16.3/10.0/8.8/1.5/0.8 hitting 66% from the field. Of course it’s just a hot streak, and in the daily notes I’ve been really apprehensive the minutes/production would go back down, but things be hot hot hot in Orlando! But one thing that occurred to me is Nikola Vucevic went down 4 games ago, and these last 3 games have been without Vucci Mane and his USG-whoreness down low. Replace him with Bismack Biyombo down low, and you need a lot more playmaking elsewhere. So while yet another season of SKIIIIIIIIIILES!!! residue and inconsistency for Elfrid has me hesitant to push for him yet again in 17-18, if they move on from Vuc and keep more-or-less this same core, I’ll be buying right back in and getting him on my Shelfrid on 17-18 teams. Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Numbers Game – Trades, Waives, And …

February 24, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 12 Comments

by: JG

… A Long Ass post trade deadline analysis (couldn’t come up with a word that rhymes with automobiles). I’ll dive deep into a couple of trades (Boogie and Nerlens Noel). I’ll also cover the much hyped but somewhat boring (thanks to Boston, Indiana & Chicago!) trade deadline that has come and gone.

Oh and by the way, if you’d rather just listen to an analysis instead of read and see some copy/pasted stats from NBA.COM, just go ahead and listen to JB’s podcast.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Trade Deadline Loometh! (Semi-Live Post)

February 23, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 104 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Razzball Nation! The Trade Deadline is here! Fantasy Basketball’s most interesting day south of the year change has arrived, and fantasy owners have itchy trigger fingers on their wires, ready to find that newly minted asset after a deal. Forge me some upside, fantasy gods! Wait, wait, in no way did I mean to compare NBA GMs to gods… Vlade Divac is like, “that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me!”

I’m going to try and keep this post updating throughout the trades up through the 3:00 PM EST deadline, then Slim and I will record the Pod and post a little later tonight. Be sure and keep up with the comments, and break news if you see a deal done before I or another commenter! Let’s throw around the last-minute rumors, and turn this into a Trade Deadline hub! Here’s the trades that have gone down so far (not including the Cousins one, which I do think will end up being the biggest deal of the “Trade Deadline” period though…), plus updates throughout the morning and afternoon:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

A Valentine’s Day Without Love

February 14, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 68 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Oh man, super emo title for today! But what kind of irony is it that on Valentine’s Day, we might get some terrible news about Kevin Love‘s knee… After playing a few nights ago, nothing big on the news front until he was ruled out for tonight last Sunday afternoon, then yesterday news broke he’s “seeking a second opinion on his knee”. This coming after an MRI, with results that have not been revealed yet. Ugh! I traded for him a week ago in the REL as all my good injury karma is drastically flipping the past week! And tonight the Cavs go to Minny, in what could’ve been a great “revenge” game. Although, I bet he’s kinda happy he’s on the Cavs instead, hah! Andrew Wiggins is actually playing a little better lately as well, and it would’ve been nice to see them face off again… Alas, be prepared for a lengthy absence from Love, and while he’s having a great season – much better than in 15-16 – thankfully his stats to replace aren’t the tougher-to-find AST-STL-BLK. There have been a lot of bigs to emerge for PTS/REB, and for the treys, we all know you can always ThrAGNOF! So if we get some brutal news today, hop into the comments, and let me be your Love counselor! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Yogi Can Celebrate With A Stogie

February 6, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 29 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Even Tom Brady would agree it’s time to do some hot Yogi!

Since getting to the Mavs on a 10-day deal, all Yogi Ferrell has done is play 37:29 MPG (which would be 3rd highest in the NBA) and lead Dallas to 4-straight wins. Break up the red hot Cubans! And the Mavericks were straight dealing in Portland Friday night – especially early – hitting their first 7 shots and building a big lead, which was just enough to hold Portland off. No one was hotter than Hot Yogi either! I think we have a new nickname! Shot an absurd 11-17 FG, including tying a rookie record (!!!!!) 9-11 3PTM, for a 32/2/5 line.

I do have to wonder on that huge last one though, what in the world is Al-Farouq Aminu doing?! He just stands there deer-in-the-headlights as the dude who hit 8 treys in the game has the ball wide open, and just lets him take the open shot! God, I hate Aminu, he’s always a craw in my fantasy side! Or something like that… Anyway, you’re of course adding Ferrell where you can if he’s somehow survived on your wire over the weekend, but let’s not expect the second coming of Steph Curry or anything. They already have a Curry on this team! Side note – anyone see Seth Curry‘s awful muttonchops this game?!

Even Dirk Nowitzki is like, “Ewwwwwww! You look like the Fall Out Boy singer!”

After the game, news broke that he’s going to sign a 2-year before his first 10-day expires (I’m not sure how much is guaranteed, but still is cool to see him get paid!). Time to crack open the scotch and smoke a fatty! And by fatty, I mean a Cuban! Wait, not Marc Cuban, ahhhh! While it’s a fun story for Hot Yogi, in 18 D-League games he averaged only 2.7 treys, and he only hit 8 treys in 10 games for Brooklyn. Sure, he wasn’t getting this kind of run, but he had an opportunity on a worse team and didn’t find the trigger like this… So enjoy this ride while it lasts if you nabbed him, but beware minutes crunches – when you hear Deron Williams‘ knee crunches – as he limps his way back onto the court. Until then, Hot Yogi!

Here’s what else went down over the weekend in Fantasy Basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Fantasy Gods Give Me A Stocking Stuffer

December 22, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 83 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

…and by that, I mean they finally got Chandler Parsons into his stockings and ready to friggin’ play an NBA game again! And stockings is very apt, have you seen his leggings these days?! Looks like an elf! Well, of course you haven’t seen him “these days”, he’s barely played at all! Stupid knees… I tried Googling an image of “Chandler Parsons legs”, but that just got my safe search in all sorts of trouble… Knees; who needs em?! At least he’s not as bad an investment as Ian Mahinmi is looking to be on the Wizards… Awwww, boo, too soon! I’m a little frustrated with knee injuries these days, OK?!

After barely playing 100 total minutes through his first 6 games due to offseason knee operations, Parsons got back on the court last night after over another month off due to a knee bruise to the other knee. My silver lining was always that it gave the surgically repaired knee another stretch to recover, so hopefully after another round of easing-in, we can finally see if he’s going to be that fantasy stalwart I expected on this Grizzlies team. Of course, it doesn’t help his “easing-in” timetable that the Grizzlies are somehow 19-12 despite all their injuries, but ya know! Got 15 minutes off the bench for a paltry 2/2/2/0/0 line, but this was always going to take a minute. So hike up your stockings, activate him off your IL, and if he’s somehow available add him immediately, because 2017 is a new year and right around the corner. Either way, I’ll still find myself Googling Parsons all the time! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Westbrookfrustration

November 4, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 27 Comments

by: Adam

050714-nba-thunder-russell-westbrook-dg-pi-vadapt-664-high-47

I imagine this a good representation of the frustration Westbrook feels inside… I am currently writing this article during halftime of the Thunder/Warriors game, and frankly I don’t think I have the heart to watch the second half. OKC came out of the gate in a strong fashion, but a Jerami Grant posterization of KD led to a Slim Reaper onslaught that buried the Thunder. More on that below…

It’s now time for my debut on the daily notes! I’m going to format it a bit differently, so feel free to give feedback on whether it’s better, worse, or if you don’t care at all.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2016-17 NBA Team Previews: Denver Nuggets

September 7, 2016 | Team Previews | 15 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

As we prepare for the 2016-17 Fantasy Basketball Season, I’ll be taking a look at each NBA team with their major adds and drops to see if we can pan for any surprise rotational gold. This open is especially witty for the Nuggets – and hey, look! We’re at the Nuggets! We’ll be counting down from worst NBA regular season to the best, mainly because I’m still figuring out how to rank the Warriors…

Denver Nuggets (33-49)

Nuggets

Key Acquisitions:

G Jamal Murray (Rookie)

G/F Juan Hernangomez (Rookie)

G Malik Beasley (Rookie)

Key Losses:

F/C Joffrey Lauvergne

Can still having Manimal on your roster count as a “key loss”?

Well, a team doesn’t HAVE to bring in any free agents, amiright?! No seriously, am I right? They didn’t bring in any FA of note? Weird. And just not much of an overhaul on this team at all!

Beyond that little nugget (too much fun!), Denver is assembling quite the young team. We obviously LOVE their front line (minus Manimal), Mudiay still has upside, and mmmmmm, those wings! I like the wings wayyyyy more than the drumsticks. And you gotta get bleu cheese. Ranch is sacrilege! Wait, where is this going?! Can you tell I wrote this while mad hungry?! There’s more than one reason why I have an insatiable appetite while writing about Denver’s team! Here’s how the Nuggets roster is coming together:

Please, blog, may I have some more?