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Regarding last week’s suggestions, Anfernee Simons is still getting minutes due to C.J. McCollum’s injury so he is worth holding, Doug McDermott provided the value you would expect from him but Killian Hayes was pretty underwhelming and is not looking like a standard league fantasy contributor. On the “Sell” front, Kelly Oubre continued his amazing performances but LaMelo Ball’s return is just around the corner so the sell-high window is shrinking, while Andre Drummond is so bad, he is getting outplayed by rookie Charles Bassey for the backup minutes and remains a drop.

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Regarding last week’s suggestions both Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley gained significant playing time with Kemba Walker out of the rotation, as was the case with De’Anthony Melton and Tyus Jones sans Ja Morant. All four of them remain strong holds in my opinion and hopefully, you grabbed your chance to have them in your team. Garrison Mathews also had a productive week and is a must-play as long as Kevin Porter Jr is out. On the “Sell” front, Terry Rozier unfortunately was sidelined due to protocols, so the sell-high window was postponed for his return and Jalen Suggs remains injured and remains unworthy of a roster spot.

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The introduction today will not be so basketball-focused, as Enes Kanter pulled a “Ron Artest → Metta World Peace” on us and legally changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, with Freedom being his surname moving forward. I am not going to analyze Freedom’s political views as everyone can deduce their own conclusions. I’m just going to mention that the issues he tries to bring in the spotlight are worthy of being investigated.

However, this name change and the potential for great wordplay that it produces sent me down an internet rabbit hole, in search of relevant wordplay that could happen or has happened in the past and found some excellent hidden gems. Without comment, the highlights are:

-The Boston Celtics are in talks to trade Freedom for Love
The Boston Celtics have traded Freedom for cash considerations
Commissioner Stern suspends World Peace

And my personal favorite that is a real headline:

Raptors get Gay in Threeway

I am sure you can also come up with some great examples yourselves, if you do, share them in the comments below.

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Regarding last week’s suggestions, Jalen Brunson had an exceptional run sans Luka Doncic, but his return certainly caps his upside. On the bad news front, Chimezie Metu was useful but the coaching change in Sacramento removed him from the rotation altogether and is a clear drop and Talen Horton-Tucker has provided two consecutive stinkers. I am still holding as he is starting, but I can understand the temptation to move from him in shallow leagues. Kevin Love on the other hand was a more than useful streamer, as suggested, while all of Thaddeus Young, Joe Ingles, and Jordan Clarkson did nothing to change my view of them as “Sell” cases.

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Regarding last week’s suggestions both Lethal Weapons (Frank Kaminski and Javale McGee) were great streaming plays but can be safely dropped with Deandre Ayton back in action, while Jrue Holiday improved his play and can be no longer viewed as a buy-low. Daniel Theis had an ok week for streaming as well and regarding the sell candidates, both Chris Boucher and De’Andre Hunter proved me right as they continue to provide no value in standard leagues, while Cole Anthony continues his hot streak and I continue to see him as an excellent sell-very-high, if I may create this term.

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Regarding last week’s suggestions, Patrick Beverley continues to start even with D’Angelo Russell returning and looks like a solid pickup for the rest of the season. Damian Lillard had some encouraging signs in his last games so the buy-low window might be closing, Furkan Korkmaz was and will remain a great streamer for as long as the 76ers are not at full strength, while Derrick Jones Jr didn’t bring the defensive stats we were hoping but remains a specialist streamer. On the sell front, all of Kelly Oubre, Joe Harris, Duncan Robinson did nothing to improve their status, while the sell high window for Kyle Kuzma is shrinking with Rui Hachimura reportedly nearing a return in the coming weeks.

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As is the custom in all articles, the last part before the suggestions is the review of the weekly performance of players mentioned in the last article. Franz Wagner is balling and just had a career-high 28 points game, moving him inside the top 60. Even Chuma Okeke’s return is not looking like it will slow him down so hopefully you went with the advice and have him on your roster. In terms of the buy-low suggestions, Kristaps Porzingis got injured and Michael Porter Jr. continued to underwhelm, but I still view both as terrific buy-low options, even lower now with another week of bad games. Finally, the sell-high suggestions of Ja Morant and Jonas Valanciunas still remain, although the former’s fg% did come down a notch to more logical levels, while Luguentz Dort did nothing to change my view of him as a drop candidate.

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Another fantasy season has started, another season for me to mumble about something that caught my attention in the introduction, review the performance of players suggested in the article of the previous week, and then showcase players to buy/sell every week before we discuss them in the comments with you good folks.

What caught my eye this week is something that is very hard to miss, pun intended. A not-so-flattering image of Zion Williamson’s weight has surfaced, comparing his appearance during the Pelicans’ media days in 2021 and 2019, on the left and right respectively.

Now I am the first to admit that good food is one of the greatest enjoyments in life and can certainly be sympathetic, but in terms of his basketball and fantasy future, this is concerning. His knees and feet, in general, will be under a lot of stress to support his massive frame so this is something to monitor going forward, particularly when he eventually makes his season debut, and hopefully, he is one of the usual weight-loss stories next off-season.

This week’s article contains more players than usual, as I think the start of the season presents many opportunities that should be pursued aggressively in order to get an advantage early on.

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After watching a lot of unnecessary tape of prospects for the draft, patiently waiting for all the free agency and trade dominoes to fall, reflecting upon the performance review of last year’s projections and meditating exactly 14.5 minutes per day while sitting on the crane pose from the original Karate Kid, I am honored and ready to present you my top 155 projections for roto for the 2021-22 season!

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Another NBA season is beginning and as usual, for the fifth year in a row, I am here at Razzball to talk fantasy with you fine folks. As is the custom, the first article of the year is always a review of last year’s projections. This process started all the way back in 2017, before Covid-19 existed, when England was still a part of the EU, and I weighed 7 kgs less. If you are interested in diving into the math behind the whole review process, read the initial article here and shoot me a question in the comments below for any clarifications. On a side note, my thoughts and affiliations for the past NBA season can be summed up as such:

He deserves it more than anyone and his long journey from the open courts and streets in Greece to the NBA championship has been a joy to behold, not only as a fellow Greek but as an admirer of his dedication, persistence, and commitment.

With this out of the way let’s get to the focus of this article.

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There is a reason the last week of the NBA schedule is usually avoided by many fantasy leagues, as it has been called the “Silly” season. Many teams are all out of objectives to chase and are flat out tanking or have already clinched their playoff spots and are resting their stars and even rotational players. This results in many funky boxscores that are not to be expected at any other point of the season. Corey Brewer anyone?

But don’t be afraid, I am here for you to squeeze fantasy value even in this trying part of the fantasy schedule. If your H2H league is still running though, may I suggest an alteration for next year in order to finish it one week earlier, but for you fine folks that play Roto this is the most important week of the year as you chase the categories that can give you that one extra point to win it all. As a result, I don’t see a reason to include a Sell column at this time, as anyone can be safely dropped at this point of the season with so few games left.

Regarding last week’s suggestions, Kent Bazemore and R.J. Hampton continued their solid finish to the season, while Frank Jackson unfortunately got injured. Special mention to Mo Bamba who also got injured but this finish to the season suggests that he will be a major draft target for next year and can be a true breakout star if he can get the starting spot from Wendel Carter Jr.

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The play-in tournament has been a hotly debated topic for the NBA community since its introduction last year. Metrics and revenue suggest that it is a great addition to the excitement building up to the playoffs but many players have voiced their displeasure, most notably Lebron James and Luka Doncic.

The strong counterargument is that most voices surfaced when their respective teams began to get affected by the said tournament. The Lakers for example are currently struggling and are in real danger of falling into the playing positions of the West. From a fantasy standpoint, I think it is slightly beneficial, as more teams are in the hunt for playoff qualification and so the effects of the usual silly season are less obvious with less random rest days and flat-out tanking from teams positioned 10th -12th.

Regarding last week’s suggestions, Oshae Brissett is showing no signs of slowing down with excellent performances in his last games and even averaged 33 minutes in the two games Domantas Sabonis returned. He has been a real difference-maker in fantasy playoffs this year. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was serviceable and while Matisse Thybulle was clutch for those streaming him for stocks, as he accumulated six steals and five blocks in the three games he played last week. Finally, Terrence Ross predictably didn’t play at all and has no reason to be in any fantasy roster.

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