“Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.” (Matt Biondi)
On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a software developer bought two pizzas using 10,000 units of an unknown currency called Bitcoin. He talked someone into accepting the 10,000 Bitcoins he’d “mined” on his computer in exchange for two pizzas. “It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,” Mr. Hanyecz told the New York Times recently.
The price of one Bitcoin has now reached the landmark milestone of $18,000. Well, nobody wants to be the guy who paid over $180 million for lunch.
Is Bitcoin a bubble? How about Nikola Vucevic in fantasy? Or Victor Oladipo? Or LeBron James? Don’t sell them, just in case. The managers that were able to pick LeBron James with a late first round pick, or Vucevic and Oladipo in the middle rounds, have been enjoying a wonderful profit.
This week, LeBron has passed Larry Bird for 6th all-time in triple-doubles.
| RANK | PLAYER | TD |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar Robertson | 181 |
| 2 | Magic Johnson | 138 |
| 3 | Jason Kidd | 107 |
| 4 | Russell Westbrook | 88 |
| 5 | Wilt Chamberlain | 78 |
| 6 | LeBron James | 61 |
| 7 | Larry Bird | 59 |
(source: Basketball-Reference)
Kristaps Porzingis became the first player in NBA history to record 30-plus points (37), 10-plus rebounds (11), five blocks, and five 3pts.
Clint Capela (with 13.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 67.7 %FG) is on pace to average at least 13 pts, 11 rebs, and 67 %FG over a full season. Only Wilt Chamberlain and DeAndre Jordan have accomplished the feat.
On Monday night, James Harden became just the third player since the 1963-64 season to record a stat line of at least 26 pts, 17 asts, and six stls.
| PLAYER | SEASON | POINTS | ASSISTS | STEALS |
| John Stockton | 1988-89 | 26 | 24 | 6 |
| Michael Jordan | 1988-89 | 34 | 17 | 6 |
| James Harden | 2017-18 | 26 | 17 | 6 |
(source: Basketball-Reference)
Here is how the action went down in Week 9 across our 12 RCL Leagues:
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Experts League: Great victory by Dream Killers over Dynasty Deep Dive, who is now the new leader. Well done Mel, adding Nikola Mirotic. Over the last two weeks, he is averaging 20.0 pts, 6.2 rebs, 3.0 3pts with 53.8 FG%.
Straight Cash Homie: Connor’s Cool Team and SON were victorious, but Pikachu remains the overall leader. He has two first-round values this season in Victor Oladipo and Damian Lillard. He also has two players who have been hot over the past two weeks. Josh Richardson is averaging 16.7 pts, 1.5 stls, 1.5 blks, and 3.3 3pts with strong percentages and Jamal Murray is averaging 23.7 pts, 2.0 stls, and 3.7 3pts.
Straight Cash Homie 2: Slack-Jawed Daps is now at the top with a 7-2 victory. Cronos Black Metal moves down to second place, while jasper’s Team jumps to third place. Ricky Rubio was traded to porno4mumu and Beamer acquired Rudy Gay and Milos Teodosic. Seems like a win-win situation, but Rubio usually starts cold and explodes in the second half of the season.
Straight Cash Homie 3: Another league with a new leader, Onions! won 5-4 and takes over the top spot. Smart move by Barry McCockinner adding Derrick Favors. With the injury to Rudy Gobert, he will be the primary beneficiary. Favors averaged 18.1 pts, 9.0 rebs, and 1.3 blks over a seven-game stretch when Gobert was injured last month.
Straight Cash Homie 4: get picky with it takes the lead with a strong victory over Nevitt’s Polyester (8-1). The league remains highly competitive, with the last player only six points out of playoff contention.
Straight Cash Homie 5: Hals’s Team continues to lead. All the matchups finished 5-4. Klark Shark made a mistake dropping Buddy Hield for Andre Roberson, the same for Team Blitzball, who dropped E’Twaun Moore for Bismack Biyombo.
Straight Cash Homie 6: My team, TonyRP 4, won 8-1 and is now only one point behind the overall leader, Evil Empire, who won 7-2. SON, with two stratospheric wins in a row, jumps into playoff contention. Being patient with Jamal Murray, Kent Bazemore, and Kyle Lowry has paid dividends.
RAZZblueBALLS: No changes at the top. Mamba is first and GasOl(d) Anthem second. Osama Razz1 added the rookie Jonathan Isaac, a player with high upside.
BBQ Mousetrap: With a 9-0 victory, More Sonic Please is the leader. When you have Damian Lillard, Nikola Vucevic, Jimmy Butler and LaMarcus Aldridge, these things happen.
Italy vs Razzball: Stuck in Saigon 2 is now in second with a 7-2 victory and The Wakefield Case falls to third despite winning 5-2-2. Rob’s Team added Ekpe Udoh, an interesting pick with Gobert sidelined. He was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP averaging 12.1 pts, 7.8 rebs, and 2.2 blks.
No Punt Intended: Newbie, our team of the week for second time this season, has five players in the top twenty this week: James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Kent Bazemore, Joel Embiid and Khris Middleton. Awesome. Good moves by Stuck in Saigon 1 adding Trey Lyles and The Bad Bandidos with Nicola Mirotic.
Dynasty Deep Dive: Craig’s Crazy Team with greats victories in the last two weeks, recovers the tone and jumps to sixth place. He made two interesting acquisitions with Wilson Chandler and Markieff Morris. Big Baller Brand won 6-3 and is the overall leader.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
| Name: | Newbie (No Punt Intended) victory 7-2 and best team with +7 cat win |
| Key players: | J.Harden (26.5 pts / 9.0 asts / 2.3 stls)
J.Butler (23.0 pts / 2.0 stls / 100 %FT) K.Bazemore (3.7 3pts / 1.7 stls / 1.7 blks) |
BEST RECORD
| 1 | Pikachu | Straight Cash Homie | 57-22-2 |
| 2 | More Sonic Please | BBQ Mousetrap | 54-26-1 |
| 3 | Evil Empire | Straight Cash Homie 6 | 53-26-2 |
| 4 | basketballsacks | No Punt Intended | 53-27-1 |
| 5 | TonyRP 4 | Straight Cash Homie 6 | 53-28-0 |
| 6 | ! | Italy vs Razzball | 52-27-2 |
| 7 | Stuck in Saigon | Italy vs Razzball | 52-28-1 |
| 8 | The Wakefield Case | Italy vs Razzball | 50-28-3 |
| 9 | Onions! | Straight Cash Homie 3 | 50-29-2 |
| 10 | Slack-Jawed Daps | Straight Cash Homie 2 | 50-31-0 |
| 10 | Hals’s Team | Straight Cash Homie 5 | 50-31-0 |
BEST RECORD LEADERS
| Week 1 | gesiot’s Team | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 2 | basketballsacks | No Punt Intended |
| Week 3 | GasOl(d) Anthem | RAZZblueBALLS |
| Week 4 | TonyRP 4 | Straight Cash Homie 6 |
| Week 5 | ! | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 6 | Cronos Black Metal | Straight Cash Homie 2 |
| Week 7 | Pikachu | Straight Cash Homie |
| Week 8 | Pikachu | Straight Cash Homie |
| Week 9 | Pikachu | Straight Cash Homie |
TEAM OF THE WEEK WINNERS
| Week 1 | gesiot’s Team | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 2 | Slack-Jawed Daps | Straight Cash Homie 2 |
| Week 3 | The Wakefield Case | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 4 | The Wakefield Case (2) | Italy vs Razzball |
| Week 5 | Newbie | No Punt Intended |
| Week 6 | Evil Empire | Straight Cash Homie 6 |
| Week 7 | TonyRP 5 | Dynasty Deep Dive |
| Week 8 | Stuck in Saigon | RAZZblueBALLS |
| Week 9 | Newbie (2) | No Punt Intended |
Thanks for playing and good luck this week.
