Dellavedova Might Be Brog-Done

January 9, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 54 Comments

You hate to see in sports when a guy gets hurt, then loses his starting spot once he’s back to action. Usually it’s for a youthful upside guy that takes off when given an expanded role, but don’t say that to Alex Smith… And it’s not like Matthew Dellavedova was some sort of entrenched starter either… Before we feel too bad for this guy, he just sold his life story into a movie. Crocodile Dundee 4 – Welcome to the NBA! The last one was written by someone in fantasy sports, gimme the green light, Hollywood! Delly returned from 5 games off with a bum hammy (due to all his storyline pitching to studios) to go 2/2/4/1/0 in 18 minutes off the bench. Taking the starting minutes like a bull by the horns (maybe I should’ve gone with “Buck” by the horns!), Malcolm Brogdon had a fire lit under him yesterday afternoon seeing the incumbent get back, posting a career-high 22 points on a 22/1/5/3/1 line with 2 treys.

Hitting his Js and taking it to the rack! Take that, Dundee! They actually overlapped a few minutes as well, and while I still don’t think Brogdon is going to keep ascending (and Delly was likely on a little bit of a leash), I kinda wish I got some Broggy shares. Alsoh, there was Disturbingly no Giannis Antetokounmpo who was down with the sickness, but someone needed to score a little more, and Malcolm stepped up! If he’s somehow still available in your 12ers (maybe he was cut for streaming with Delly coming back), I’d be sure and give him an add. But in 10ers it might get a little roster crunchy. Roster Crunchy – a new cereal from Patty General Mills! Here’s what else went down over a cold & snowy weekend of fantasy basketball action:

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There’s No More Justise In The World

January 5, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 134 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

A lot of people were mad at 2016. Thought it was a year without morality. Without decency. Without justice… So I’m watching the Thunder/Hornets last night, and in the 3rd quarter, Dell Curry is like, “I just had some terrible news cross my desk – Justise Winslow is going to be out for the year.” Whoa, way to be a news breaker, Dell! He also broke the news that his wife was in the crowd and circled her on the teleprompter when the camera showed her, so there’s that… Awk-ward! Anyway, Winslow’s injured shoulder ended up being a labrum tear, after it was reported it was only a tweak and he didn’t anticipate it being a long-term issue. Doctor G, how come major tears only feel like tweaks sometimes?! He’s going to have corrective surgery today and will likely miss the rest of the season, ya know, unless the Heat make the playoffs! Hahahahaha, sorry Slim, had to do it… This is definitely a bummer, because we saw this with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and he ended up tearing it a second time after only a few games back, so I’m going to be very leery about ranking Winslow decently next year. Well, the injury, and the fact he’s going to end the year shooting 35.4% from the field. Yeesh. So with Miami lacking any Justise, it would appear James Johnson is going to get all the minutes he can handle, and is must own for me ROS. Really everywhere. I raved about him as the lead to the notes earlier in the week, Adam led with him for RazzWired, and he shouldn’t have any issue getting 30ish MPG the rest of the way. I was initially surprised to only see 25 minutes last night in a 5-point win, but yeah, he fouled out (game was on too late for grandpa JB!). 14/6/6/0/3 for JJ on an awesomely efficient night, shooting 4-8 FG, knocking down 2 treys, and hitting 4-4 FT. Only black eye was the 3 TO, which look like will be an issue for him as he takes on a big role on the offense. So be sure Johnson is owned in all your leagues, and hopefully by the 17-18 season, we’ll see a return of Justise in the world! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball action:

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01/05/2017 – “Pro Tip T.J. McConnell – You May Not Want To Go Dapper Dan Anymore”

January 5, 2017 | Razzball Basketball Podcast | 23 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Oh man, injuries, injuries, injuries, and we recorded this before the Justise Winslow news! On today’s show, we recap some universally drafted players who were cut that may be adds once again, the epic big man line on the Heat that wasn’t by Hassan Whiteside, and if there’s any way Tony Parker can stay viable. We then preview tonight’s games with our 30-point challenge picks and wrap up with a Fantasy Movie League update and what we’ve been watching.

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Jimmy Butler Trying To Be MJ In Scottie Pippen’s Body

January 3, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 39 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

So I’m not a basketball historian, and I’m still a young pup. I barely remember the Bulls glory years – I was in elementary school when they won titles 4-6 (yikes, aging the crap outta myself), but I do vividly remember the Byron Russell push-off and I cherished my Michael Jordan cards. I still have a bunch of em! This one is still in a nice case and one of my favorites… Anyway, when I saw Jimmy Butler go off for 52/12/6/3/1 last night, I was about to make all sorts of tongue-and-cheek MJ parallels…

Got the same reverse layup and everything! But then it dawned on me… Butler is more like Scottie Pippen if there was no Jordan. Pippen’s best season was 93-94, unsurprisingly the year without MJ, and went 22.0/8.7/5.6/2.9/0.8 on 49% shooting with 0.9 treys. So far this year, J Buckets is 25.3/6.8/4.4/1.7/0.3 on 46% shooting with 1.1 treys. While Pippen was obviously one of the best defensive players of his generation, Butler is a much better FT shooter and gets to the line more. But the rest is really close, and I thought kinda interesting food for thought. So the answer for the Bulls is simple – find a Michael Jordan for Buckets to play next to! I’m a problem-solver – if only every team’s issue in the NBA was this easy! Hah! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball action:

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01/03/2017 – “It’s A Very Well Manicured Hand”

January 3, 2017 | Razzball Basketball Podcast | 30 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

2017 is here! Here’s to having a better performance than Mariah Carey! Sooooooo funny. On today’s show, we recap the action of New Year’s weekend including big games from the Heat’s Josh Richardson and James Johnson, plus the epic tripdub line from James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo now averaging a rainbow line. We then play another edition of the award-winning “Can We Make Slim Look Stupid?” and preview tonight’s games with our 30-point challenge picks.

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2016-17 REL Dynasty League Update: Week 11

January 2, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes |

by: JB Gilpin

REL Basketball1 As we turn the page to 2017, we turn the page on Scurry to the Left leading the league and make way for the freight train that is the Yappers! Another big win for the Yaps, going 8-1 over Adam’s HateUsCauseTheyAnus and picking up a 2 game lead over Scurry. But wouldn’t ya know it, right when we have a paradigm shift, Yappers vs. Scurry play each other this week! These two have been pretty convincingly the #1 and #2 all year, but a slanted loss could bring one of these powerhouses back down into the field. Should be a fun week!

Here’s how week ten in the 2016-17 REL went down, and how we’re looking heading into week eleven:

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James Johnson Isn’t Doing A Great Job In Witness Protection

January 2, 2017 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 61 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Happy 2017, Razzball Nation!

After immense pressure from the DA’s office to flip on Tommy DeVito and Paulie Cicero, [redacted] needed protection to secure his testimony in putting those good fellas away. It didn’t start on the best foot either, as the WitSec guys asked [redacted] if he had any distinguishing marks and he lied about his tattoos… But the man formerly known as [redacted] changed his name to the very inconspicuous James Johnson, and moved his family to Miami. After being a humbling under-the-radar role player, Johnson was supposed to continue as merely a minutes-filler, amongst an uninteresting mix of PF to get through the tough void of losing Chris Bosh. He’s supposed to just shy away from dunk attempts and stand around on offense…

Well, way to ruin that, Johnson! We can’t protect you no more! An absolute monster weekend from Johnson, going 22/3/6/2/2 against the Celtics on Friday night with 4 treys, then followed it up with 20/7/3/1/1 against the Pistons. After a rough stretch of FT last week, he made 6-7 in these games too. With the added onus on O (no Goran Dragic or Justise Winslow OR Hassan Whiteside last night), he is turning it over a little too much (8 total in these two games), but with all the injuries and a void in playmaking on the Heat right now, Johnson is as erect as ever. He’s playing SF, PF, and even some C right now, so while we shouldn’t expect the 34 minutes like he got against the Pistons, he should be pretty solidified in his 25ish MPG role even when everyone is healthy. He’s gotta be a must-own in all leagues while this hot, as he has brazenly blown his cover. Hopefully no one recognizes him as [redacted]! Here’s what else went down over New Year’s weekend in fantasy basketball action:

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12/30/2016 – Last Pod Of 2016!

December 30, 2016 | Razzball Basketball Podcast | 43 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

We’re back, Razzball Nation, both of us this time! Man, I missed Slim’s sultry voice, it’s good to get the band back together! On today’s show, we recap a huge week of action over the Christmas holiday including Kyrie Irving‘s heroics, Jabari Parker‘s upside, and the emergence of another Suns’ big. We then preview tonight’s games with our 30-point challenge picks and wrap up 2016 at the movies with an FML update.

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Jock Itch, The Point Guard

December 29, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 73 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

…title sounds like some sort of Adult Swim episode. Something the Squidbillies might do! Oh man, what a time to be a Nikola Jokic owner! I don’t know if any top-50 pick has played with your emotions quite like this! It’s like the crazy hot girlfriend in college – and might as well be a crazy hot redhead because ginger girls are nuts! She’s hot as hell at first, goes a little nuts on you early on, but the hotness keeps you around. 16/8/11/0/1 last night on 6-12 shooting, and point guard-ing the shit outta that game last night!

He was dishing so good, I decided to edit together that GIF this time! And it was tough to show only 15 seconds worth! Perils of trying to explain why you’re hanging out with a hot redhead that is acting nuts in your dorm (I have no personal experience here…)… it takes some finesse explaining it! Anyway, the Nuggets are looking soooooo much better with Jock Itch running the point: after ups and downs with his AST, since Dec 10th when he got 6 dimes, the Nuggets are 6-3 over the last 9 games with Jokic averaging 5.7 dimes and 67.7% shooting from the field. While the dimes from a C are beastly and all, he still only has 19 STL and 19 BLK on the season, good for 0.7/0.7. I thought my #44 overall rank was going to end up being bold, but turns out the hype machine pushed him top-30 in several ranks/draft selections, which made his value a little bit of a bubble. But thankfully if you gutted through that rough November, you’ve got a mad case of Jock Itch keeping you red hot right now! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy hoops action:

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2016-17 RCL Basketball Update: Weeks 8 & 9

December 28, 2016 | Razzball Commenter Leagues | 6 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

The Holidays are halfway over, we’re in that beautiful lull that is the Xmas-New Year’s Eve corridor, where if you’re going to work you’re half tuned out, and if you’re off work or school, you’re 100% focusing on fantasy hoops! Tis the season!

And massively focusing on their RCL run is the gangly, embarrassing, just-hit-puberty Brad’s Awkward Team! Moved to 58-23 to lead the RCL standings by a single RCL point, and ready to put the pedal to the metal in an RCL title effort.

Check out how your teams stacked up after weeks 8-9 in the 2016-17 RCL Master Standings Table table, and here’s some notable takeaways from the past two regular season weeks across our 23 RCL Leagues:

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For J-Rich, It’s Mostly Been For Poorer

December 28, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 36 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

For richer for poorer, in SICKNESS and in health. Yeah, you gotta play through injuries, Josh Richardson! Part of the NBA grind! Attributing his shooting woes to a wrist injury (and hey, I’m not here saying he’s wrong or the wrist isn’t the issue!), J-Rich went into last night shooting an abyssal 26.4% from the field over the previous 5 games, and went so far as to saying he has a sharp pain in his wrist when he shoots right before last night. Well, apparently the Heat have some good painkillers, because ish wasn’t bothering him at all yesterday! Went for a career-best 22 points on 9-16 shooting (2-6 3PTM 2-2 FT) for 22/5/3/1/0 with no TO in 37 minutes.

Looks good to me! But yeah, BANK! Does that one still count…? Maybe more importantly though, kept gutting it out even after the Heat were getting slaughtered, unlike someeeeeeeeeeone (who we’ll get to below). I always liked J-Rich’s multi-cat ability, but argued with Slim about his FG/3PTM %s, not seeing a repeat of 45.2%/46.1% that we saw last year. Yeah, throw that out the window! But I don’t think he’s as bad as 38.6%/31%, and if the wrist thing was “that” bad, the lowly Heat would just shut him down. In one of his interviews on the ailing wrist, he did say “no excuses”; as I feel like I’ve seen a thousand times with lingering “smaller” injuries, it seems like the night is always darkest before the dawn when things turn around like this. I do wish we were seeing more steals (maybe the wrist is keeping him from playing more aggressive on D?) as his per-36 D-stats have fallen WAYYYY down from last year, but he’s on an awful team that is playing him big minutes, so I would be adding him again in 12ers. Let’s get the backed of our rosters J-Rich, bitch! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball action:

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Because You’re Mine, I Limp The Lin

December 27, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 62 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Well, I do keep my eyes open all the time, and if you’ve been reading my thoughts on Jeremy Lin the past few weeks, you’ve heard me repeatedly say that I’m worried about lingering/long-term injury with this bad hammy strain earlier in the season. The deathblow – for me – was when after coming back from the hammy, Lin suffered back issues, which I mentioned I had seen time and time again in baseball as a lingering effect from not having your upper leg base. And here we go again with another hammy strain last night, again to the left hammy, the same hamstring he pulled in early November (emo band alert!). On a VERY friendly 3-year deal in today’s market at only $38 million (thanks Razzball player pages!), I see no reason the Mess wouldn’t just shut him down another extended period of time with the injury to the same hammy, so hopefully you sold in these past couple weeks when you could. In his stead, look for Sean Kilpatrick to play some PG again, which actually hurts his value in my eyes. He wasn’t thriving the same way as his SG run, as he’s not a great facilitator and it jacked up his TO rate. For deeper leagues, it puts Isaiah Whitehead back on the radar, although he will hurt your FG% and TO in some games (9/2/3/1/1 last night, but with 4 TO in 16 minutes). Thankfully Whitehead was able to come back at exactly the right time after a few games off due to foot soreness. And that’s not even mentioning Randy Foye and his “epic” 3/1/2 line last night, with his only FG being this one:

Hah, your final shot goes to a guy who was 0-1 in 21 minutes up until that touch. Yeesh, this team is certainly really close to the creamy nougat center of Dante’s Inferno, on maybe the 2nd or 1st Ring of Fire… Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy hoops action:

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Author: JB Gilpin

Read some of JB Gilpin's 860 posts

Dellavedova Might Be Brog-Done

There’s No More Justise In The World

01/05/2017 – “Pro Tip T.J. McConnell – You May Not Want To Go Dapper Dan Anymore”

Jimmy Butler Trying To Be MJ In Scottie Pippen’s Body

01/03/2017 – “It’s A Very Well Manicured Hand”

2016-17 REL Dynasty League Update: Week 11

James Johnson Isn’t Doing A Great Job In Witness Protection

12/30/2016 – Last Pod Of 2016!

Jock Itch, The Point Guard

2016-17 RCL Basketball Update: Weeks 8 & 9

For J-Rich, It’s Mostly Been For Poorer

Because You’re Mine, I Limp The Lin