Underperformer of the Week: Everything is Bigger in Texas

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

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?

Underachiever of the Week: Pick up the Pace

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

by: Joe Bernard

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?

Underperformer of the Week: Blown Pistons

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

by: Joe Bernard

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?

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

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

by: Joe Bernard

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?

Underperformer of the Week: Fast, but not Furious

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

by: Joe Bernard

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?

Underperformer of the Week: Poeltl to Percolate

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

by: Joe Bernard

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?

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

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

by: Joe Bernard

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?

Underperformer of the Week: It is Getting Scary, Terry.

November 22, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week | 2 Comments

by: Joe Bernard

We are back for Week Five of the NBA season. While I admit it is early, there are already some patterns and trends that have begun to crystalize. The Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons will be amongst the worst teams in the league, as they lose for the hope to win the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. Rostering Kawhi Leonard will be a colossal headache and likely not be worth the effort by seasons end, if not earlier. The Los Angeles Lakers will not be winning any rings this year, no matter if they make a trade or not. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the real deal Holyfield. (Mind Blown)

Of all the many things, the one I am most certain of is that this week’s feature player cannot keep shooting this poorly. I mean surely, he cannot, right? Nah, there is no possible way and that is why he is here.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Underperformer of the Week: The Great Scottie Slump

November 15, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week |

by: Joe Bernard

Welcome, Razzball Nation! We continue our weekly dive into uncovering value for players who, at the infancy stage of the season, have yet to yield the dividends envisioned on draft day. For those new to the column, allow me to again go over what the criteria is to be a player featured here. I look for players who are performing well below, not only their ADP (average draft position), but historical production as well. I search for pathways that could indicate improvement, such as heavy minutes and/or increased usage.

This week we are in the 6ix, The T Dot, The North or whatever other nickname you are familiar with when describing Toronto.

Heavy Drizzy Drake quotables afoot.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Underperformer of the Week

November 1, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week |

by: Joe Bernard

Whaddup Razzball Nation?!

Welcome back for another installment of unveiling players who are not quite reaching their potential. Some weeks there may not be much room for improvement between current production and potential production. However, this my friends is not one of those weeks. It is an obvious choice this week, with numbers so glaringly low from what we expect there is literally nowhere to go but up. This will be the challenge in making a trade for this player as his owners also believe that it cannot get any worse than what it is right now.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Underperformer of the Week

October 25, 2022 | 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week | 2 Comments

by: Joe Bernard

Back up in the heezy, baby!

Week One is in the ledger and we have a small sample size to work with, but there is still opportunity to land an underperforming player to help boost your team in the standings. Let me remind everyone the type of player that qualifies to be considered as underperforming by my standards. I will be looking for players who are playing below their rank who have shown consistency in the past to be better than what they are at that moment. I will also be looking for players who may not have the history but possess incredible upside with a path to minutes and production.

This week, upside and opportunity is what we are hoping for with this player who I believe, can be an absolute difference maker on your fantasy team.

It’s Isaiah, Isaiah Jackson, if you’re nasty.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Underperformer of the Week: Silly Season Part Deux

March 30, 2022 | 2021-22 Fantasy Basketball, Underperformer of the Week | 1 Comment

by: Joe Bernard

Bonjour mon ami.

Welcome to those who are still engaged in their respective leagues and looking for that fine tuning in what could be the last week of your fantasy playoffs in head-to-head leagues. For those of you in roto leagues that go down to the bitter end, there will continue to be value off your wire as teams go into full tank mode like a no-limit soldier.

Please, blog, may I have some more?