At last! At long last.
The fantasy basketball season is upon us and we finally get to start seeing our lineups in action. I, for one, am pumped like never before. Sure it may be because it’s my first full season as the Razzball Editor on hoops, and sure, it may be because it’s the last year the North Carolina team will be called the “Bobcats”, but hey, we all have our things to look forward to!
If you’re new to Razzball, I’ll be giving you daily recaps of everything that went down across fantasy hoops (starting tomorrow) along with contributions from our other great writers (Pete, Dan and Slim) throughout the year. And if you missed my mention of it once or twice through the preseason, I work for a company that makes the Yahoo Fantasy Basketball player highlights which will start going up tonight! We also make the TNT Overtime highlights which come up on the timeline as you’re watching the game (It’s free! And starts tonight!). I bring this up, well first because it’s the coolest job, and second because I get to watch a lot of hoops and break down film of typically two games a night. So at the end of Daily Recaps I’ll be letting you what games I’m watching that night and you can either tweet me (@jbgilpin) if you’re wondering about something in the game or ask in comments the next day. We’re next level here at Razzball!
With that in mind, I’m kicking off the year with the Bulls @ Heat on TNT Overtime, then standard Yahoo highlights for the Clippers @ Lakers. That’s an ironic “road” game to start Doc’s tenure. I wonder if he’ll still try to cover up the Lakers championship banners… Here’s what I’ll be watching for in those games, along with the other opener, ORL @ IND:
Kobe Bryant – Will be an unfamiliar feel to the Lakers debut with Kobe in street clothes. He and Jack Nicholson are now both court side observers. Perfect pairing in a reboot of Men In Black. Hey the first one did end at a Knicks game!
Shawne Williams – Looks like he’s won the starting 3 spot for the Lakers. No idea what to expect out of him, but his upside is limited in a ROS scope once Kobe wraps filming of the reboot. Like A Josh breaking the FAAB bank early in the REL league to nab him. But hey, any starter has immense value. I’m a shark waiting to strike with my FAAB.
Lakers Old People – Pau Gasol coming off two knee surgeries and Steve Nash coming off injuring pretty much everything. D’Antoni has hinted Nash won’t play in some back-to-backs, including the game after the opener on Wednesday. Ugh Nash is going to be disappointing yet again. Still strong on Gasol though. Interested to see how fresh they look.
DeAndre Jordan – Off a huge preseason, we finally get to see if a change at coach can really do something for him. Hey, it’s a good starting matchup against Chris Kaman, right? Over/under, ummm, 34 blocks? Hah, I’ll put it at 3 though.
J.J. Redick – First game as a Clip. Interested to see how it goes and if he’s more Orlando Redick than Milwaukee Redick.
Antawn Jamison – Going to score 45 points in his Clippers debut. Ok, so maybe I’m being overly optimistic as he’s my only player going on my REL squad. Hey for a $1 player, I think he’ll be worth it. Interested to see how many minutes/shots he gets.
Tobias Harris – Lots of red flags popping up against my boy. Dealing with an ankle sprain, there’s also a chance Vaughn brings him off the bench based on reports. I love the guy, but feeling iffy on his rank right now.
Victor Oladipo – Wouldn’t you just love your NBA debut to be against Paul George locking you down on D? This might not go so well. If I’m George, I’m wanting to just obliterate a rook to start the year. Think Oladipo struggles.
Indiana Pacers – Should win handily with a comparable line-up to last year. Shocker! Danny Granger is hurt again. Yeah, told you to avoid at all costs.
LeBron James – Will be fantasy’s #1 player a day into the season! Well, maybe not, but I still think he has a monster year. Can’t find that kind of analysis anywhere else.
Greg Oden – Still not playing. I really like this guy (not in a fantasy scope though) and want him to get on the court. I’ll send him a Get Well Soon card something akin to the one I sent Zach Greinke earlier in the year…
Jimmy Butler – I’m all in on him and ranked him really high with a big role ahead. He banged his knee in preseason, but played 37 minutes last Friday proving he’s fine. Excited for his debut to the year.
Joakim Noah – Battled a bad groin, but should be fine heading into the season. I’ll be watching his groin all night.
Really looking forward to the season and getting into Daily Notes with actual games being played! It’s gonna be a hell of a season. Good luck to all your teams and remember to check in with us every morning for Daily Recaps and weekly serials from our team!
