If you’ve gotten started with fantasy baseball, you know it’s been yet another season of horrendous closing across the MLB. I bet Kobe Bryant could close effectively in the MLB.
Just think about it. He has such a will to win that it made Shaq hate him, he’s got consistent mechanics, never gets hurt and would be a tall presence on the mound. OK, so I have no idea if he can throw a fastball, but right now I’d take him in my Brewers bullpen that looks more like a joke than Joaquin Phoenix’s career as a rapper.
Kobe just went bonkers against the Hornets in the fourth quarter, scoring 23 of his 30 in the last 12 minutes. He just couldn’t miss, hitting a couple threes, jumpers in people’s faces, and was diming when there was openings. With the Jazz losing, the Lakers might actually get the 8th seed. Huzzah! Kobe has been tremendous since the whole ankle injury soap opera, not missing a beat with a bone spur in his foot actually playing more minutes to keep it loose. He’s not only closing games for the Lakers, he’s closing the season for fantasy owners.
Here’s what else happened yesterday:
Kyrie Irving – I’m still surprised he’s playing, but the Cavs are giving the beat up point some extra work to close the season. Had a very nice 28-3-7-1 night but with 8 turnovers. Still gave a lot of owners a lucky pickup as it looked he would be out until at least now a few weeks ago.
Wayne Ellington – Another start and 35 minutes but a -27 in +/- in a 5-point loss. Geez, that’s like playing like the Bobcats while he’s on the floor... Shaun Livingston was a +14 and played 29 minutes, but with no other guards available on the bench last night, I don’t think Ellington loses much playing time, but Livingston could get a few extra minutes.
George Hill – Has been quiet lately, but erupted last night for 27-2-4-4-1 on 9-15 shooting with a 3. Nice to see a big game from Hill who had been fading pretty bad.
Brook Lopez – Just continues to play unreal. Might be on a lot of my teams next year with a high draft pick. 13-22 29 Pts 11 Rebs 3 Asts and 3 Blks. If he can average 9-10 Rebs a game like he should (7.0 this year), he’d be a dominant fantasy C.
Reggie Evans – A small reason why Lopez can’t rebound more! 17-24 in 30 minutes. Still can’t hit free throws (5-10 last night), but the dude had a double-double in the first quarter! The 76ers blew chunks.
Carmelo Anthony – Another 36. Imagine if he hadn’t lost that time with the knee injury…
John Wall – Been maybe the biggest fantasy closer this season, sorry Kobe. 11-19 FG (11-14 FT) for 33 Pts. The Wiz still got blown out though…
LeBron James – Played again and was huge for his owners going 11-16 FG (6-6 FT) 28-7-7-2-1. Keep playing him, you don’t want him rusty for the playoffs, Heat!
Brandon Jennings – Has shown some signs of inconsistency but has been money over the past two weeks including 30 last night. No other Buck scored in double-digits. The Heat couldn’t handle the BJ!
Jonas Valanciunas – My boy LL had one of his roughest night’s in the past month only going 8-3-2-1-1 in 23 minutes. Appeared he got into foul trouble with 5 fouls, then left in the 4th with a neck injury. Still was able to contribute across the board. It appears he may not miss any time, thank god for those quick Lithuanian recoveries! He may miss a game or two though as precaution. We don’t want another Peyton Manning!
Jimmy Butler – Played all 48 minutes. Serio? Serio! 10-12 FG (3-3 3PTM 5-6 FT) 28 Pts 7 Rebs 2 Asts and 2 Stls. Pretty unreal. Given the Bulls were Deng-less, but JB has been a huge fantasy role player since in that starting line-up.
Nate Robinson – Continues to be terrible. Helped you in two stats – points (22) and 3’s (5). Shot 7-22, 3-5 FT, only 1 Reb and 4 Asts and no Stls.
Luis Scola – Another solid game going 12-20 for 28-8-2-1-1. His ownership is under 75% in ESPN. Serio? Serio!
James Harden – A huge game going 33-6-6-3-1 but 2-8 from deep and 9 turnovers. Ball hog!
Francisco Garcia – I’ll admit, hasn’t really been on my radar because he’s, well Francisco Garcia, but has been a big contributor in the past two weeks scoring in double-digits in 5 of 6 games and contributing marginally in all categories. If you need some deep all-around fantasy help, Cisco could be your San Francisco Treat.
Kevin Durant – Missed a triple-dub by one assist going 21-12-9. Proving that he too can be like LeBron and go across all cat’s.
Mo Williams – Again was solid for the Jazz, going 19-6 with 2 3’s. Has been a dynamite pickup if you got him whence returning from thumb surgery. Who has one healthy thumb and playing well? This guy!
Xavier Henry – Led the Hornets with 29 minutes off the bench going 6-4-1-1-1. I know not a big deal, but Al-Farouq Aminu played only 14 minutes and Henry had two highlight reel slashes to the hole. Might be worth keeping an eye on, I could see a surprise big game from him to end the year.
Eric Gordon – Was the main reason the Hornets stayed with the Lakers as long as they did going 22-3-3. Did have a critical turnover, but was 10-11 from the FT line and was driving hard. I think it’s encouraging for the health of his knees next year.
Metta World Peace – Indeed returned only 12 days after knee surgery, but played only 15 minutes off the bench scoring only 4 points with 1 3 and 1 Ast as his only contributions. If he is indeed “healthy” enough to play, he should get back into that starting lineup soon.
Ricky Rubio – Shot 0-10. Yikes. Still was 5-5-6, but gets the daily muy frio award.
Chase Budinger – Actually led the Wolves in scoring with 17 off the bench. The albino has always been a solid bench scorer but not fantasy trustworthy unless in super deep leagues where scoring is tough to find.
Klay Thompson – Is officially not in a slump anymore. 30 Pts on 10-19 shooting (6-10 3 PTM) with 3 Rebs 2 Asts and 5 Stls. Maybe a few panicky owners let him go, be sure he’s not on the wire.
If there’s any questions or insight you have on anyone else shoot your comments below!
