Chief Editor for Razzball Fantasy Basketball. Fantasy Sports Writer for Razzball Football and Razzball Baseball. Co-Host of the Razzball Fantasy Football Podcast. Go Crew, Panthers, Blue, & Heels! Follow me on Twitter @jbgilpin
by: JB Gilpin
We’re back with the Razzball Hoops pod, and on today’s show we recap news from the weekend including what to do with Gorgui Dieng, buy low targets, and surprising PG play. Then we play our first edition of Can We Make Slim Look Stupid, and preview tonight’s games with our 30-Point Challenge picks.
Download in iTunes
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
Week 1 is in the books! It’s great to be officially into the grind of the season, emphasis on grind after I had to completely remake the back end of my roster. I’m hoping it’s more like True Grit than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Damn you Tim Burton! You will forever be dead to me for ruining a childhood favorite. He’s the movie director equivalent of Nate Robinson.
If you’re new to Razzball, we take weekly look-ins every Monday into the REL Dynasty League (link below) to track the deepest of deep wires. It’s a weekly FAAB with all pickups becoming $1 keepers, and a great way to track the wires in your deeper leagues. I hope everyone had a great first week of action in their leagues this season, and may your deep dynasties prosper!
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
So I Googled “crisis of leadership” because, well, it’s been a pretty annoying ride for NBA franchises in Charlotte since the 90s. According to never-wrong Wikipedia, the term was coined about something with Trotsky and Communism, I ain’t goin’ there! It’s been well-documented and scrutinized through the years, but Charlotte certainly seems to make odd decisions behind Michael Jordan. And before that, they moved to New Orleans, brought in an expansion team called “The Bobcats” (????@#?#$%@#%), and drafted Sean May.
While Charlotte’s follies could be it’s own dedicated article, I’m just going to talk about the planning behind PF/C minutes for 15-16.
TANGENT! Speaking of planning, we’re debuting a new part of Monday daily notes this season. The 7 Ahead! After wrapping up the standard daily notes from the weekend, at the bottom will be a weekly planner for the upcoming 7 nights of NBA action. Let me know if you like it! And as always, add any suggestions you commenters have for The 7 Ahead moving forward. If you don’t like it, ya know, not wanting to read such a long effin’ blog post when you’ve got a case of the Mudiays, just let me know!
FOCUS! So the Hornets draft Frank Kaminsky 9th in the draft, passing on in-state product Justise Winslow (who looks great in early run for the Heat) and the undeniably awesome Myles Turner. Part of the argument seemed to be NBA-readiness. But instead of sticking with the decision, or continuing to play Cody Zeller, another high-draft pick, they instead come out and start Starvin Marvin Williams. I mean, if you’re just going to take a no-upside PF/C for bench depth, why not go pure upside of my boy Kelly Oubre?!?! Such a wasted pick and poor planning for the rotation, as now Marvin is running away with the role with a fantastic start to 15-16. Opening the season with back-to-back dubdubs, Marvin went 15/5/1 with 3 blocks and 5 treys last night. They need some speed on D and a perimeter player to compliment Al “slow feet” Jefferson, and it’s put Marvin clearly in the ThrAGNOF category. The blocks were a little fluky, but I don’t think the minutes are. He’s surged to 34% owned which seems a smidge high, but on low-schedule nights, he’ll be a frequent streaming target of mine. And if I sounded unnecessarily bitter, it’s because I had him as a $1 REL keeper and let him walk. Friggin’ Hornets. What a waste of draft picks only to play the low-paid vet… Here’s what else happened over the weekend in fantasy basketball action:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Look, I’m only human. I have urges. I can’t help the way my brain chemistry works. I try my best to fight it, to stay logical, to be sure and stay wrapped up… But I can get caught in the rookie nookie like anyone!
After a DNP-CD on opening night, of course I was a little worried about Myles Turner‘s role with the Pacers moving forward, especially after being so high in the green with his rank that Ruby Rhod was even speechless…. He did have a little bit of a bum ankle Wednesday night, but dressed for the game and didn’t get off the bench. And last night, I had this huge emission of relief when I saw Turner get into the game in the first wave of subs in the 1st quarter. It felt like a sneeze only better! Then that feeling of a sneeze turned into an epic euphoric trip that was slightly reminiscent of a KCP-high. Turner looked absolutely unbelievable, well beyond the numbers on the stat sheet. His line ended up 4-6 FG (0-2 FT) 8/4/0/2/1 in 18 minutes with 4 fouls, so it wasn’t exactly a flashy debut on paper. But he’s a better FT shooter, a few fouls were ticky-tacky as the refs were calling it tight all night, and he is his own offense. Was hitting jumpers from deep mid-range in isolation, had no hesitation, looked 100% confident and in control, and had a second monster block called off due to a baby nudge right before it went up. He was the #1 option with the second unit, and while Ian Mahinmi is playing well (11/9 with a block last night – maintaining usability), I think Turner could easily fit with the starters. They want to push the NBA lead for pace, he can hit quick jumpers, and is big and fundamental enough to man the paint, both on O and D. Dude is biggggggg. Listed at 240, but ain’t no way! I’m 240 and 6’7, and he looks way bigger than me with 4 inches! Jordan Hill started last night for the matchup against the big Grizzlies, but didn’t look special at all. There will still be some easing in, but Turner should leap frog Hill sooner than later, and play C minutes down the stretch if there’s worries about Mahinmi’s FT shooting. The line didn’t jump off the page unlike his play that jumped off the screen, so now is the time to shoot the buy lows and hope Turner’s owners didn’t see the debut. Here’s what else happened last night in fantasy basketball action:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
We’ve got games to talk about, FINALLY! On today’s show we go through each NBA game from Tuesday and Wednesday, recapping the big performances and surprising rotations. Friggin’ John Henson and his 10 minutes! Then we preview tonight’s games with our 30-Point Challenge picks.
Download in iTunes
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
Flashy player. Ridiculous opportunity. Buzzy preseason. A lot of times it ends up fizzling out, sometimes it works out OK, and one time it’s C.J. McCollum.
C.J. went absolutely bonkers in his 15-16 debut, hitting 14-22 from the field including 6-9 3PTM for 37/6/1/1/0 and no TO. Video game numbers! So he’s a shooter, and he does what NBA shooters do – keeps draining em when they hot! But I think we need to take a step back and consider a few things: Other than massive Pts and treys it was fairly empty. This was against the Pelicans, who without Brow, might look worse than the Sixers; they look horrific. And the third thing that no one seemed to mention while anointing McCollum the next big thing in combo guards this preseason – he’s got a pretty extensive injury history. He’s at the pinnacle of a sell high for me. Do I think he’ll be hot garbage all the sudden? Of course not. But do I think he scores 37 again this year? I don’t. Well, unless they faced the Pelicans every night… I’d shop around in the 40-50 range of ADP and see if you can get lucky. As with all fantasy takeaways off one game, it’s always good to keep from overreacting. Compared to fantasy football, we’re at the same point as about 9 minutes into the first quarter of week 1. Still a long way to go. Here’s what else went down during the first full slate of fantasy basketball action:
Please, blog, may I have some more?I’m pretty sure Stephen Curry looks at fantasy ADPs. He’s like, “I’m not a runaway consensus #1, and this labradoodle Brow IS?!”
Of course I started writing this open when Anthony Davis was 1-16, then he got red hot AND MADE TWO IN A ROW! Somebody cool him off, he’s NBA Jam on fire! Brow was more uncomfortable with the ball in his hands than watching Scary Movie 2 with your parents last night, wrapping up with a 4-20 FG outing. Might be the worst reference to 420 I’ve ever seen! 10-15 FT helped salvage some points – and he got his 3 swats – but 18/6/2/0/3 with 5 TO and a deathstroke to your FG% is not what the #1 pick ordered. Curry on the other hand treated New Orleans like Hurricane Katrina! Too rough? Fine, then he treated them like BP… Yikes, Nawleans has had a rough ride. Then their NBA team has everyone get hurt! Steph just straight whipped it out (I mean his MVP trophy!) and pummeled the Pelicans and their awful PG for 40/6/7/2/0 on 14-26 FG (5-12 3PTM 7-7 FT). Hey, it’s opening night, and the Warriors are phenomenal at disrupting big men. And the Pelicans had all their PG minutes played by guys on the street a week ago. Hopefully you own Curry in a league or two, and I’m literally about to spam Brow owners as hard as LinkedIn emails. Seriously, I don’t care if some recruiter looked at my profile, I don’t need an email on that ish! No, no, blurb on Ish Smith is later… What an awful Pelicans team… Here’s what else went down on NBA’s opening night:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
The season is here! The season is here! Oh my god, an N64! It’s Christmas morning here at Razzball Nation, as the 15-16 season tips off tonight. On today’s show we talk last minute changes to the top-200 ranks, take a look at fantasy pros and the players where we’re in the green or red, the preview tonight’s games with our first 30-Point Challenge picks. Here’s our season premiere of the Razzball Hoops Pod:
Download in iTunes
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
So I think I used that title a couple of years ago in the season intro post, did something similar last year, and was thinking of something new this season… But F it! I’m too excited, IT ALL STARTS HERE BABY!
The 2015-16 season starts tonight, with the Pistons going at the Hawks, Pelicans going at the champ Warriors, and the bigun – Cavs at Bulls. A very nice slate to kick it off, but I wanted Nets at 76ers! That’s a premiere matchup right there! All of our hopes and dreams for the year start this evening (hyperbole police are after me!), with my optimism for an REL title, everyone’s yearning for the RCL title, and my year-long nervousness my ranks look good in April. Would it be narcissistic if I win the RCL title to put myself in the RCL hall of fame?! It would be like Heisman awarding himself the first Heisman! Or something like that… I’m all talk though, we all know Slim is going to be in the top-10 yet again with me lower on the master table in disdain…
If you missed it yesterday afternoon, our 15-16 lineup features several awesome new writers and you can check out our weekly schedule of content for the season. The size of that hyperlink mimics my excitement for our articles this year! Trust me, I’m not compensating for something…
And I’d like to thank all of you out there in Razzball Nation for bringing legitimacy to the phrase/cliche I’ve used on the kickoff post for three straight years: 15-16 is going to be our biggest year yet! We’ve grown a ton, and I couldn’t be more thankful to you readers and commenters. Can’t wait for opening tip… LET’S GET THIS GOIN’! Here’s a few thoughts on the opening night matchups:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
Tomorrow night baby! The 2015-16 season is upon us, and thanks to all the readers and commenters, we’ve grown the staff to bring our deepest content in Razzball Hoops history…
We’re making a few changes from last year, mainly our awesome team helping with the daily notes. Unfortunately we’re staying with bi-weekly podcasts, but with a big change! A week or two into the year, we’ll be recording in the wee hours of the morning to bring you Pods for your drive to work in the Americas. They’ll be much earlier from the start of games if you’re listening elsewhere. Shout out to our international readers! When I win the lottery, I’m going to visit all of you on a worldwide Razzball tour and share a beer! I’ll be rich, so drinks on me! And shout out to Slim, working around my crazy schedule as I get healed from being a vampire, and turned into a mere mortal.
With our growing team, “first, we would just like to get to know you!” So meet our team below, and preview our weekly publishing schedule. It’ll go into effect next Monday, and I’ll be carrying the torch with all the Daily Notes this opening week to kick off the season.
And no introduction to the season could be complete without 15-16 picks! The writers stake their claims on their big calls for the season, with a few additional notes on their rationales.
Welcome to 15-16, a big welcome to our new writers, and let’s have an epic season!
[We’ve also got two RCL Leagues with spots still open drafting tonight; if you’d like one more team before the start of the season, join today!]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
Razzball Nation!
You’ve drafted your team or about to draft this weekend, the season is upon you, and you’re still stuck with “Joe’s Team” as your team name. IT ELICITS NO FEAR OR HUMOR! Like a really, REALLY bad horror film… Like Secret Window. “You stole my story.” You stole two hours of my life!
But alas, your solution is nigh! Our brand new FANTASY BASKETBALL TEAM NAME GENERATOR is hot off the presses (Well, hot off the keyboard…? Newspapers need a new one for that!) and ready to make your hoops season memorable! It’s also linked to the menu under “Our Leagues” for your sudden 3:00 AM urge to make new fantasy team names. “Ahhhhh, Matt Barnes’ Ex isn’t good enough!”
Just pick an Adjective (with a few possessive noun categories in there), then a noun, and ba-boom! You’ve got a new team name! Be sure to shoot your favorite team names in the comments, and let’s get pumped for the season next week, Razzball Nation!
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JB Gilpin
It’s draft week! And big thanks to the guys at Yahoo for inviting us back to the Yahoo Friends & Family League, especially after a rough inaugural season. Damn the weekly lock! We hit a couple pieces of news, recap our JB vs. Slim RCL League, then draft our F&F line-up trying to avoid any and all injuries. Rubio killed us last year! As did a late draft slot… Luckily Slim’s awful luck at getting 11th or 12th in randomized draft order didn’t carry over to this one… Here’s the latest edition of the Razzball Hoops Pod:
Download in iTunes
Please, blog, may I have some more?