Welcome back to RazzWired! Week 1 is finally in the books, so it’s time to look at who you can grab off the wire!
Before we begin, lets get some housekeeping out of the way. Throughout the season, this column will only be looking at players owned in less than 50% of leagues. These recommendations are also tailored to the 9-cat RCL format. That being said, let’s dive in!
First up, we have a repeat offender, from last year’s RazzWired series. The one, the only, Matty B!
by: Adam
My first RCL draft is in the books! I may drop another league closer to the start of the season – we’ll see on that. [editor’s note – if you’re interested in joining an RCL league, you can take a spot in several leagues with openings here!] At any rate, I’m fairly happy with how this draft went. I had the 11th pick, so that was ugly, but I caught a break in the first round, and I don’t think I blew it too badly after that. You can be the judge though!
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Adam
Lady and Gents! The time is here! Time for me to expose myself to the ridicule of the internet by laying out my somewhat conservatively outrageous predictions for the 2016-2017 NBA season! All positive input would be greatly appreciated. All disagreements will result in heated comment debates with no one actually being right, since the season hasn’t even started yet…
Last preseason, I had some solid predictions that were quite controversial! Namely, that Isaiah Thomas would break out, and that Greg Monroe would be a complete bust. Ironically, the uncontested predictions were the ones that didn’t fare so well… Primarily due to injury, but what can you do about that? Clearly, nothing, if you’re the Pelicans medical staff that is.
A little note before hand, my bold predictions will be made relative to the fantasy pros consensus projections.
Lets get this party rockin!
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Adam
I’m going to warn you all ahead of time; this article will be filled with cliches about winning… Fortunately, many of them apply to fantasy, particularly dynasty leagues. That being said, let’s dive into the keys to success!
Yes, I know this seems obvious, however, a surprising amount of dynasty owners in all sports get carried away with upside and forget about winning. This is particularly the case in baseball, but basketball owners are not immune to this lackadaisical approach. At the end of the day, nobody cares how much upside your team is going to have a couple years from now.
I’m not advising against young players, but you have to keep things in perspective. I’m not advising against drafting rookies, but you have to make sure to keep a balance between upside and actual production. Yes, you want that underrated guy that could be a superstar someday, but you also want to have those boring veterans that put up stats. Consistency is key.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Adam
I apologize for the click-bait title right away. However, the sentiment is correct, since Westbrook will go too high to be drafted by the savvy fantasy owner.
“Why is this??” You ask incredulously. Good question! I’ll tell you!
I absolutely love Westbrook in real life. He plays with a passion that rivals the likes of Bryant, Iverson, the original Isaiah Thomas, and many other greats. However, he will kill your fantasy team. I’m sure you can already guess why, but hear me out.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Adam
As many of you probably know, I have a major thing for shooters; particularly guys that are great at the end of the game. Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Larry Bird, Kyle Korver, Klay Thompson, etc. Buddy fits that mold to perfection. In order to be a great shooter, one must have have tremendous focus, and a great work ethic. Based on that description, these are the kind of high quality guys that you want on your team.
Everyone knows that Buddy can shoot. Almost 10 attempts from deep per game during his senior year. He drained over 45% of those. I see no reason why he won’t average around 3 treys a game in the NBA. The bigger question is: Is Hield Just a THRAGNOF? I contend that he is not.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Adam
Hey everyone! It’s good to be back! After a nice little break, I figured it was time to get back to the old keyboard. This series will focus on the real world impact projections for rookies in the coming season, and also their projected fantasy value. If this post gets any interest, then the next would likely be on Buddy Hield, or possibly a request if anyone has one! With that housekeeping stuff out of the way, lets dive right in!
Ben Simmons will be a bust. “How do I know this?”, you incredulously ask. The answer to that is fairly straight forward. Simmons shies away from the moment, he has a mediocre jumper at best, and he really doesn’t have a position. Now by bust, I don’t mean that he won’t be a very productive player. However, a comparison to Lamar Odom or Boris Diaw is far more warranted than one to say, LeBron James.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Adam
Lady and Gentlemen, finally, we have reached the final half of the final week of the fantasy finals. Yes, I had too much fun writing that sentence… Moving on! Since there are only 3 days left for pickups this week, I’m going to focus primarily on players that are going on Saturday the 2nd. This is going to be the critical day, since Friday and Sunday both have full slates. One player stands out above the rest, and if he isn’t already owned in your leagues, then I’ll be very disappointed…
*Drum Roll*
Please, blog, may I have some more?So here we are in the semi-finals of the H2H playoffs! It feels like I was just writing sleeper posts for the season yesterday… Just for the record, I would like to pat myself on the back for calling Greg Monroe a bust. That was probably my most contentious bust call during the preseason, and it didn’t look like it would pan out at the start. The call would look even better if the Bucks had come to their senses earlier… Monroe just doesn’t fit that team. I should apologize to Rondo for the bust call, but a selfish player with those percentages, will always be a bust to me.
*Here’s where I need the opinions: What content would you like to see this basketball off-season? I’ll do some sleepers and busts again later on, but are there any other ideas? Possibly an alternative set of early rankings, individual player previews for the next season, or maybe something else! Leave your thoughts in the comments!*
Ok! Back to the here and now!
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Adam
(Yes, this is one of the only Beasley pics in a Rockets uniform)
Welcome back to the league! There has never really been any question that Beasley has talent… Hopefully, he’s matured during his time away. At any rate, he’s dominating on a Houston team that has no real PF depth, and no playmakers outside of Harden. Luckily for Houston, Beasley is a point forward that can provide playmaking and scoring off the bench. I’m not ready to say he’s must-own by any stretch, but the talent is there, the playing time is there, and it’s hard to see how he won’t be productive.
Here are your playoff pickups!
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Adam
Wassup Razzballians!!
We’ve finally hit the stretch run in fantasy basketball! This is the point where you need every player on your team to be productive. Now, I promised the key to winning, in the title, so I suppose I should give some kind of helpful advice…
The key to all fantasy sports is to not be attached to your players. You can build a juggernaut with this philosophy: Everyone is available for the right price. When it comes to playoff time, it is important to cut injured and unproductive players. I don’t care who they are or how high you drafted them. At this point, it’s all about minutes and production. Sure, you may get unlucky, and the player breaks out of his slump as soon as you drop him. Thankfully, this isn’t that likely.
If you’re in a competitive league, cruising to a title is highly unlikely. I’ve learned this through years of experience. Even if your team appears to be stacked, it is very important to not take anything for granted. If you can cut a player to guarantee yourself a win in the current round, then do it. It’s time to put the pedal to the metal and make the ballsy move.
With that in mind, this week’s edition of RazzWired will feature players who are poised for big minutes and solid roles down the stretch.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
We’ve reached the point in the season where we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of picks. At this point, most pickups will be targeting specific stats, so this edition will feature some of the solid guards that are still available in many leagues. I needed a title for this week, and the Lillard/Love ad refused to leave my head… Seemed like a good fit, so I went with it!
Please, blog, may I have some more?