My friends, we are in the thick of it, as the NBA trade deadline is upon us and we have already had some big names change jerseys and felt the ripple effects across the fantasy landscape. With many moves still yet to come, you will need to keep your head on a swivel as the news will break fast and furious. We live our lives a quarter mile at a time until 3pm eastern time Thursday.

So, that being said, I wanted to be sure not to speculate too much in this week’s post and decided to go with a player who has already been traded and that  will not be jettisoned to another location before the deadline.

With so much drama in the NBA

It’s kinda hard to keep up but that’s ok

Still I, somehow, some way

Keep bringing you a player with value like every single day.

Welcome to the Underperformer of the Week segment of your fantasy basketball life. If you have been here before then you are aware of what we are all about. Each week we scour the fantasy basketball landscape in search of one thing and one thing only, value. I do all of the leg work in order to uncover a player who may have value moving forward in contrast to what they are currently providing. There are numerous reasons as to why value fluctuates and although I have not surfed in my life I imagine hopping on the right value at the right time is like riding a wave. Paddle on your board as you wait to find value and when you do, pop up on your board, stay balanced and hang ten. (There is plenty of room in the comments section below to enthusiastically criticize the inaccuracy of my surfing description).

Greetings and salutations my Razzball followers, as we are firmly entrenched into Act Two of the NBA season. Check your watch because it is winning time.

As the legend, Freddie Mercury bellows out:

“We are the Champions, my friends. And we’ll keep on fighting till the end”.

This is the mantra moving forward and, as your running mate, I hope to toss you alley oops weekly by way of a player who is underperforming and should target with hopes of securing at a discount.

This week there is only one question that comes to mind: “What’s so good about Cleveland”?

Welcome Razzball Nation to another installment of our search for underperforming players in our beloved fantasy basketball landscape.

We have officially arrived at the halfway mark of the season when teams are what they are unless they make changes via a trade or injury. As we move on into the second half of the season, it will become more challenging to unearth gems and execute trades as managers may be more willing to ride out a slump, or they may be looking for too much in return as they attempt to stay competitive heading towards fantasy playoffs. Fear not, though, my avid readers for I continue to rummage through rosters in an effort to deliver to you the best possible players to target in a trade that I believe will provide you with value moving forward.

This week we are in the six with my hometown team where all the 6’9″ players and Fred take home court.

God’s plan, God’s plan.

“It’s the infamous back in the house once again”.

As always, my goal here is to “drop a gem on em” and deliver to you the opportunity to improve your squad by taking advantage of underperforming players who you will look to acquire at a discount Let me be clear. Not every player highlighted here will be a universal fit for all team builds. It will be important for you to assess the needs of your team and determine if the players I curate for you not only fit your need but also, can afford to give up what it may take to obtain that player. In addition, not only do I look at players who are underperforming but also, that player needs to have a reasonable and attainable path to improving their current situation. We’ve had some misses here (Porter Jr, Dame Lillard), but for the most part if you’ve been able to take advantage of an opposing GM’s frustrations with the players I’ve highlighted this season, you’re likely doing well in your league.

This week we take a trip to the Dirty South for a look at a Hawks player who has not been flying high lately.

“I be on it all night, man I be on it all day. Straight up pimp if you want me, you can find me in the A!”

Happy New Year and welcome to our first offering in 2022. As we flip the calendar and leave the 2021 portion of the season in our rearview, there is a sense that January marks the beginning of something new in fantasy basketball. Is it the fact that the trade deadline becomes clearer in sight? Maybe. Is it the feeling that, there has been a significant sample size that GM’s feel compelled to make moves via the trade market? Perhaps. Gm’s are bored? Quite possibly. In all likelihood, we experience a combination of those things at the turn of the new year and, as a result, people look to shake things up with regard to roster construction as they have become convinced that whatever they have tried to this point simply is not effective enough.

We are back at it again, in the kitchen cooking up a delightful dish that will satisfy your picky palate. As always, I am here to offer you fantasy goldmines whenever possible that allow you the opportunity to gain some footing as you climb the ranks in your respective leagues. The value of any player will often be subject to many factors, however, and I always look towards a conceivable path to improvement when evaluating an underperforming player such as minutes, trends, and player history to name a few.

Happy Holidays to all of my loyal Razzball followers! In between the time spent gathering with friends and family or taking some well-deserved time for yourself, the policy remains the same; Make time to improve your fantasy basketball team at all costs.

Our beloved NBA is under siege now from the so-far undefeated Covid-19 Omicron variant with more players being added to protocols on a daily basis. Commissioner Adam Silver has assured us that the NBA has zero plans of locking down or putting any sort of pause on the season like their NHL brethren. Instead, Silver has stated that the NBA will find ways to live with the pandemic while keeping the season moving forward as intended. Teams will be signing players from 20 leagues beneath the sea if they have to in order to fill out a roster on a nightly basis and cobble together a team to usher onto the court. All of this means we can expect the season to continue and therefore we will be steadfast in our pursuit to find value that improves our fantasy situations.

We head back to familiar territory, to the town where parquet floors were made popular, and the franchise is one of the most winningest (is that a word) in the league. Grab a hot bowl of clam chowder and read on as we head to Boston where you can still smell the incense from Kyrie’s pre-game ritual.

Welcome my avid Razzball readers to the weekly installment of Underperformer of the week.

I am experiencing a sensation of déjà vu as variants rip through our beloved NBA and cause many players to miss time as a result of Covid-19 protocols. This is reminiscent of a time not so long ago when fans were not permitted to be in arenas and were forced to watch games from the comfort of their homes or a favorite watering hole with capacity restrictions. I hope that we do not get to that point this time around but regardless of that outcome, we must continue to search for value that will provide us with an advantage to excel in our respective leagues.

It is time to peel back that curtain and take a closer look at this week’s feature player.

Welcome, Razzball Nation to our weekly deep dive into a player who is falling short of their potential. For my first-time readers, let me explain what it means to be a player that finds themselves featured here. While many players are not meeting their perceived ADP, merely falling short of pre-season value is not the only requirement needed to target a player. There also needs to be a reasonable pathway to increasing their current value, such as a prolonged shooting slump by a consistently respectable shooter. We also look for players who have earned a defined role as well as a healthy dose of minutes that supports a high usage. There are some players who were thought to have increased value this season but have not done so nearly a third of the way through the season.

Welcome back Razzball Nation to another edition of the weekly column to assist in your quest for league dominance. I’m dedicated to bringing you the goods week to week and I would say if you’ve been following my lead then you’re likely doing well, with the exception of Michael Porter Jr. My bad. Not every player targeted here is going to be a homerun win and not every player is going to offer 50 or more ranking spots of value. As the season wears on it becomes increasingly difficult to find large margins of value but remain strategic in your approach and you will be able to finesse a beneficial deal that provides a high-upside player. Luckily, we are still in the early stages of the season when some players are still performing below their ADP so that managers could be feeling the itch to pull the trigger on a deal.

This week we look into the production of a player who in my opinion, is only a few minor tweaks away from becoming the player managers drafted within the top 40 and possibly higher depending on the format. My guess is he will not qualify as an underperformer for too much longer but before we get ahead of ourselves let’s “back that azz up” and take a trip to the French Quarter.