Joe Bernard

Author: Joe Bernard

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Joe Bernard

Underperformer of the Week: Everything is Bigger in Texas

March 21, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week | Leave a comment

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You know that feeling when the band stops playing and the bar lights abruptly turn on, signaling that it is time to guzzle down that last beverage? When you notice that the floor is actually quite sticky and the person you just met, and have been talking to for the past hour, seemed like a far better idea when the lights were dimmer? Your ears are ringing slightly and you want to hit the drive-through for a number 4 combo before getting home and sleeping with the same clothes on?

Yeah, we have all experienced this in one way or another and it is an equivalent feeling to this point in the fantasy season.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underachiever of the Week: Pick up the Pace

March 14, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week | 3 Comments

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Welcome to the die-hard Razzball readers who, just by virtue of being here, are always looking to sharpen their swords as our beloved NBA regular season nears its end. With under four weeks to go, there are a few scenarios you might be dealing with at this time. For starters, you could be in the thick of the fantasy playoffs, jockeying for any sliver of advantage you can find, which means you are willing to cut bait on a studly player if the games played situation is not beneficial to your week ahead.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underperformer of the Week: Blown Pistons

March 7, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week |

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Razzball Nation, welcome to the fourth quarter of the NBA season. Most of you playing in points leagues are in your fantasy playoffs with hopes of being crowned champion in the next few weeks. For those of you in rotisserie formats, you are here until the bitter end, which will surely include some silly season heroics, and I will be with you for all of it.

Trade deadlines have come and gone for a vast majority of leagues, which left me contemplating how to pivot this post for the final stretch of the season. The answer is and always will be in finding value and making that value work best for you. That is why this week, I am looking at an entire team and leaving it up to you to roll the dice on a few options that may be readily available on your wire or perhaps sitting on your bench in deeper leagues waiting to be deployed.

Get your motor running…?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underperformer of the Week: Grant Me Three Wishes

February 28, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Portland Trail Blazers |

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Welcome back, Razzball Nation, as we enter the last third of the NBA season and the theoretical home stretch. This is the time of year where head-to-head leagues are in playoff mode or a week away. Roto leagues are entrenched in the percentage categories but there is still wiggle room in the counting stats and, if that is what you are looking for to make a difference, then you are in the right place.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underperformer of the Week: We’ll Be Forever Loving Jah

February 21, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week |

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Here we are, at the All-Star break, and it is an extremely quiet time of the year with teams not back in action for a couple more days. I thought about taking the week off and returning next week with a new player to spotlight, but just like the Notorious B.I.G. once said,

“Don’t you know bad boys move in silence…”

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underperformer of the Week: Fast, but not Furious

February 7, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week |

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Salutations, Razzball Nation, and welcome back to the piece dedicated to giving you the goods on who to target week to week in order to improve your squad. We try to be advantageous in our approach and do not always land our punches but, as you know, you miss all the shots you were too afraid to take. Perhaps during the All-Star break I will glance back and grade myself on the hits and misses of the season so far and share it with you here. Stay tuned.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underperformer of the Week: Poeltl to Percolate

January 31, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week |

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Welcome Razzball Nation to the week-before-trade-deadline edition of Underperformer of the Week.

With the way the landscape of the NBA is currently constructed, there are many teams straddling the fence of buyer/seller. There are many middling type teams in the mix with only two or three teams looking solid enough in the top of their respective standings to remain pat through the deadline. Near the bottom of the league are teams that clearly do not have postseason aspirations such as the Rockets, Pistons, Magic and Hornets. However, one team seems to be tanking egregiously for their Wembanyama lottery balls, and for that, we head down to the lone star state for a closer look.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underperformer of the Week: The Thunderdome

January 24, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball |

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Welcome Razzball Nation to your weekly digest where we try to reveal value from a player who is not quite hitting the expected mark, so to speak.

Timing can be everything in fantasy basketball, as the right deal at the right moment can make all the difference in your quest for greatness, or at the very least a weekly win. You know what they say about luck, opportunity meets preparation. That is the mission here as I try to equip you with the necessary information needed to take full advantage in your respective leagues and catch a frustrated or sleepy GM slipping.

We are nearing the trade deadline in the NBA, which can also signal some movement across the fantasy landscape as well. Even the most rigid of GM’s will ease their stance and entertain a trade at this time of the year.

So, carpe diem!

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underperformer of the Week: A Lowry to Re-introduce Myself

January 10, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball |

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Razzball Nation, what’s good?

Welcome to the column, for our first-time readers, and I hope you find the information provided here to be advantageous for your particular squad in your league. For those of you who have been here before, you know what it do baby, we out here, uncovering sneaky value floating around the fantasy landscape looking for an opportunistic GM such as yourself to procure that talent for your team. The key, as always, is to find the value in someone who is playing well below their perceived value with a reasonable pathway to increasing their current rank. This process is not without minefields as we can surely be wrong in our evaluation, but glory cannot be obtained without some element of risk and, in fantasy, that can sometimes be the difference between winning and losing.

So then, we head to South Beach to check in on the GROAT.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joe Bernard

Underperformer Of the Week: You Down With FVV? Yeah, You Know Me.

January 3, 2023 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week |

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Welcome to 2023 and the near halfway mark of the season.

In many fantasy circles there exists some false belief that the NBA trade deadline is in some way the mid- point of the season. The fact is the NBA trade deadline is closer to being two thirds into the season when you factor in the week off for All-Star break. My point being, the earlier you can complete a trade the better it can be for your team as it allows more time to generate the stats you need. This is especially true for rotisserie category leagues as the stats accumulate over the course of the entire season.

So, do not be afraid to get a little aggressive over the next few weeks to secure that player or players you believe will best suit your team. It is time to get in the zone.

“That’s that north-north, that up top….That OVO and that XO”

Please, blog, may I have some more?