When you go out on a limb on a guy and it starts slow, at least I can pull the “it’s a long season” card. Or the “his back has been a little spasmy” card. Hah, little Pod joke there…
I gotta say, I love you commenters here on Razzball. A lot of Andrew Wiggins frustration has been thrown around, like “he single-handedly killed my FG%”, and “he’s why I started 1-8”, and “Wiggins must be dating yet another one of those Kardashians”. But I was really honored to say almost all of the vitriol wasn’t at me. Hell, I was expecting to be served on the coals for that one! Or some sort of cliche that works… Maybe it was out of the decency of your hearts since I obviously own him on several teams with this rank. I got way more hate for saying Nate Robinson was a good opening night streamer/last draft pick in 12ers! But like the worst drunken one night stand in history, I got rid of Nate about 4 or 5 minutes in. While with Wiggins, I’m entrenched in a life-long relationship. Hope my wife isn’t reading this! After a really rocky start, Wiggins finally looked like the breakout talent I was hoping for on Saturday night against the Bulls, going 31/3/2/0/1 with only 1 TO and hit 4 treys. Of course it wouldn’t be a pristine line, but then again what relationship is suddenly perfect?! Except my marriage of course! Wiggy still shot like poo (11-27) and had an odd 5-10 FT game. He’s usually gonna be a high-volume 80% guy from the stripe, plus he hit 4-5 from deep, so there’s still hope the FG% climbs as his bum back gets healthier and he shoots his way out of it. Of course you can point to Kevin Martin not playing (personal) for the burst in treys, but big picture we still think K-Mart gets moved. Even with K-Mart, they’re using him as a 6th man and Wiggy is the only real perimeter option in the starting 5 anyway. I also think with a little more health, he’ll play more aggressive on D. The one swat he had was a legit one, not a lazy strip that’s scored a block, WHICH STILL FRUSTRATES ME! The buy low window is closing rapidly, so if you’re still hoping to buy in on Wiggy, I’d wait until tonight and see if he has another rough shooting game before opening the floodgates. If you own Wiggy, definitely hold, particularly with the Wolves playing 5 games this week. Here’s what else went down over the weekend in NBA action, plus The 7 Ahead for week 3:
Chris Paul – Out with a bum groin and doubtful tonight. “Ow, my finger!” Yeah, yeah, I listen to that mainstream garbage too… Gotta keep a well-balanced information level! Austin Rivers got the start Saturday and was awful. I fear for seat cushions everywhere…
Elfrid Payton – Well, after Skiles put Elfird on the Shelfrid, frustrated fantasy owners were wondering if THEY could put the Elfrid on the Shelfrid. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, get outta here with this Christmas talk! I emphatically said hold, and patient owners got a nice 20/2/5/3/1 game Saturday on 8-10 shooting (4-4 FT) with only 1 TO, given against Philly. Skiles was like, “fantasy owners hate your shooting, TO and %s, fix those and you get run!”
Dewayne Dedmon – Back-to-back 3 block games getting starts for the brittle Nikola Vucevic. Don’t get me wrong, love Vuc’s game and the added layer of D-stats make him a saucy lasagna, but one of those really leaky ones where it’s hard to get a clean square out of the pan…
Jared Sullinger – One of the bigger weekends – at least in my book as he went from being in a rotational hell to a must-add – Sully followed up a rainbow line with a 21/8/3/1/2 Friday night, shooting 9-13 with 3 treys. Only 22 minutes, but even though B-Rad won’t play him 30, this was an epic blowout that kept them even lower.
Kelly Olynyk – Well, if Olynyk also chimed in with how bad he’s started, maybe that whole game Friday v. the Wiz should be thrown out! 19/7/4/4/1 with 3 treys, and if either of these guys played under 10 minutes next time out, it really wouldn’t surprise anyone…
Bradley Beal – Left in a ton of pain Saturday night with a shoulder issue. I didn’t see a single update even from the X-rays yesterday, so I’m pretty friggin’ worried. Stay tuned there; Gary Neal likely slides in as the starting two, and maybe my boy Kelly Oubre can finally get his blue balls off the bench. Dude just wants to run!
John Wall – This is just getting stupid. 3 blocks Friday and another Saturday, giving him a block in every game this year. Great Wall of Why-You-Tryin-A?!
T.J. McConnell – The run of Sixers fantasy assets coming out of nowhere continues! Little bit of a down Friday going 8/1/4, but salvaged it with a couple of treys. Then just went nuts Saturday, eschewing the Great Wall of Why-You-Tryin-A for 6/8/9/3/2. Who’s getting blocked by friggin’ T.J. McConnell?!?! Hopefully it was Elfrid or else he’s be on my Shelfrid too!
Nerlens Noel – Did his normal Noelsian things for a rainbow 18/12/2/5/2 against the Cavs, but decided to try and give Jason Smith a flat top haircut using his bicep and got thrown out Saturday against the Magic.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson – I don’t know if there’s been a worse position in basketball the past year+ than starting SG in Brooklyn. RHJ, even for his sushi rawness, might have automatically been the best on his first start. Not getting huge run, but 5/11/3/1/0 and 2/7/5/3/0 with no TO is better than 95% of the games Nets starting SGs have given them. The 0-7 Nets are about to blow it all up, so RHJ has a little upside too for more run as the season moves on.
Giannis Antetokounmpo – Whoa, his full name is exactly 20 letters long! So on any given night, we now EXPECT him to score a point for every letter. 20/7/1/2/1 on Friday, but then disappointed us for 11/6/2 Saturday. Greek Freak is only 10 letters, at least he did better than every letter for that one!
John Henson – A tale of two Achilles! After being held out several games, went nuts against the Knicks on Friday for 22/5/1/1/3 on a crazy efficient night (8-12 FG 6-7 FT), but then Kidd eased off the throttle and played Mr. Muppet 9 minutes Saturday of bleh. You have to imagine they were being careful on a back-to-back, so it’s good seeing him out there at all. Right there in the Aaron Gordon/Myles Turner range.
Michael Carter-Williams – Continues to miss time with a kankle, and the Bucks continue to send out their clown car of PG replacements. Joining the fun is Tyler Ennis, who spends a good 15 minutes blowing up balloon animals and haunting 15% of the population’s dreams.
Kent Bazemore – I know I’ve written this a few times, but it’s just nuts that a guy I saw in college in the CAA who wasn’t even a standout is all the sudden a full-fledged fantasy contributor. Look at his college stats! For Old Dominion! Given I saw him in either 08-09 or 09-10, but shot 40.7% from the field as a senior?! Man, good for him to get to where he is now! 25/4/3/2/0 with 4 treys on Saturday, and wow, yeah he’s must-own in 12ers… Who woulda thought…
Kyle Korver – Finally had a game worth the name on the back of his jersey on Friday, going 22/7/5/3/1 on an absurd 8-8 shooting hitting all 4 treys. But then it went blah again, for 7/2/6/0/0 with one trey on Saturday.
Anthony Davis – Finally had that monster Brow game to make all of our eyebrows jealous, going 43/10/3/4/3 on Friday night, but then was only a normal Brow for 25/6/4/1/2 against the Mavs. Normalcy mostly because he let a schlub like Jeremy Evans do this to him… And shocker, the Pelicans lost them both. What a joke franchise.
Will Barton – I lied. On Friday I called him one of the most consistent bench contributors this year, but he was better than just a contributor AND started Friday against the Warriors! 19/8/5/2/1 slash with a pair of treys, playing a whopping 39 minutes. Wilson Chandler still looms once his titanium hip heals up, but for the short-term, Barton is worth an add in virtually all leagues.
James Harden – Harden owners themselves were fearing the beard and the FG%, but eliteness came with the swiftness of a Joe Flacco throw this weekend with 43/6/13 and 46/4/2 lines, with 9 total treys and his usual bajillion FT.
Clint Capela – Showed what he can do on Dwight Howard DNPs with a 13/12/2/0/4 line against the Kings on Friday. Also showed the Rockets they can survive by resting Dwight. Nothing looking good for Dwight.
Marcus Thornton – As the Rockets keep going small with Terrence Jones healing his eyelid that was attacked by a rabid mountain lion, the Bayou Bomber is getting starts and hitting treys! Nothing but a ThrAGNOF though…
Darren Collison – Colly hurtin’ the hammy. Colly hurting the Razzball Friends and Family. Colly make me no jolly. MRI made him cry. The missed time is a friggin’ crime.
Rajon Rondo – Well, the real crime is it made Rondo look like a good fantasy player again! 14/12/15/4/0 against the Warriors, but I am hereby stripping his tripdub since he took 20 shots. 20 shots, Rondo?! That was the least advised 20 shots an NBA player took since that “super” night P.J. Tucker had last summer.
Nikola Mirotic – Wowwwwww, it’s almost like we know what we’re talking about! Three straight awful games where he’s been both cold and putrid on defense. In the ranks, I said “but I do question his defense costing him some minutes at times.” That’s me quoting me!
Joakim Noah – While somehow his shooting continues to regress (maybe the awful form is catching up with him), he still showed how he could be valuable with a 3/11/7/1/1 line against the Wolves. Although when Miro is hot and not giving up a basket every touch near him, Noah’s minutes will be rough.
Nemanja Bjelica – By far his best game in the NBA for 17/11/5/1/1 against the Bulls in the shocking OT win. No K-Mart helped the minutes and shots, but not to give away too much, he’s worth a look this week (read below)!
Dwight Powell – Starting to buy in as a 12er hold option. In comments and a few tweets I initially said the minutes keep him in the streaming class, but if he keeps getting better and better, it’s tough to see the Mavs pushing his run down. That said, 15/7/1/0/1 last time out, but he wants to be a shooter and shot 7-9. That won’t continue. He hasn’t topped 26 minutes yet either, and won’t unless Dirk Nowitzki is out. Realllllly close to a must-own in 12ers, but I think Sully is a better own and in weekly I’d rather roll out a 5-game Bjelica.
Matthew Dellavedova – Another 9 assists, in one of the most improbable 4 out of 5 game 7+ assist runs we’ll see this season. Well, if you’re starting Richard Jefferson and playing him 30+ minutes, I guess ANYTHING IS POSSSSSIBLLLEEEEE!
Paul George – A 4-game week of near fantasy-MVP level basketball. Awesome to go against him in REL.
Robin Lopez – A lot of “drop Rolo” sentiment out there, and like last year, here I am again saying to hold onto this worthless guy! 14/13/4/0/1 yesterday afternoon, given it was against a soft Lakers front line. Roy Hibbert out there trying to grab rebounds like they’re shrimp cocktails!
Eric Bledsoe – Brandon Knight played another game of TO-vortex to give E Bled the biggie! Knight with 8 TO, while E Bled for 28/2/11 and “only” 2 TO. I feel like someone in OKC was giving Knight the ol’ Happy Gilmore heckle. “Green’s that way, and you’re that way! Hahahaha, jackass!”
Kevin Durant – Didn’t get a block last night for the first time this season. CUT HIM IMMEDIATELY!
Bang The Drummond Slowly – We made a Razzball term for hack-a-Drummond, and yet it never seems to be utilized by Pistons opponents! The Blazers went for it late last night, and Drummond went a solid 1-6. Eesh. Here’s to hoping a game the Blazers still lost by 17 didn’t lose Drummond owners FT%… Then again, you easily won boards with another ridiculous 29/27 outing with 2 steals and 3 blocks.
Reggie Jackson – Was LeBron in the playoffs in 2007 against the Pistons-esque. Pistons fans are both happy for the R-Jax praise and hate me for the reference simultaneously! Jackson went nuts for 26 in the 4th quarter, leading the Pistons to a 17 point win in a, wait for it, 41-11 4th quarter. Ended up with a career-high 40 burger.
The 7 Ahead
- 5-game week: Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2-game weeks: Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards
- Weekly League Streamers (by Y! ownership percent/games this week): Nemanja Bjelica (26%/5), Will Barton (17%/4), Zach LaVine (20%/5), Dwight Powell (13%/4)
- Stream day: Thursday
Overall Thoughts: My REL squad has suffered through two steals ties and an AST tie with Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine having a 2 then 3 game week. Frustrating. The Wolves finally get their big run in week 3. In weekly leagues, all your 2-game week teams are untouchable, save for your absolute studs. I decided to only highlight 5 and 2 game weeks (or any other outliers) for the rest of the season, since 4-game weeks were a little too common to be worthy of any highlighting. Fairly full slates every day this week except for Thursday, so be sure to maximize your streaming!
Monday: After that crazy DET victory, they go straight to @GSW. Yikes. Either they’ll stay hot and be close, or have an epic hangover. IND and POR are your other back-to-backs, no big worries there. Bulls go @PHI – Mirotic’s defense finally won’t be an issue! I expect he breaks back out, but not playing him in weekly.
Tuesday: Only the Wolves have a back-to-back, and I don’t think we see any DNPs for the regulars. No, Kevin Garnett doesn’t count, as he is irregular on a fantasy roster. As of this writing, we’re still awaiting news on Beal, but it seems very likely he’ll miss at least one game. Gary Neal will be needed for some scoring and pace against OKC. DAL goes @NO, the worst run franchise in the NBA, and head into a back-to-back. Wouldn’t be surprised to see some vet DNPs in that one before the Clips on Wednesday. BOS, CHA, LAL, MIL, NOP, NYK, & TOR also head into back-to-backs; I’m keeping an eye on DeMarre Carroll‘s plantar fascia that cost him the game yesterday and how the Bucks handle Henson’s minutes. Jrue Holiday likely sits one.
Wednesday: Same back-to-back concerns with Tuesday as some teams may sit the second leg, and GSW and LAC head into back-to-backs. Not a huge concern for any of their players though. ATL plays NOP at home, aka easiest win ever. Dennis Schroder makes a nice DFS play especially if this is the NOP game Jrue sits, but on a full slate in year-long, I dunno how many lineups he cracks. Warriors probably blow out the Grizz again, so maybe they hold off on starters’ minutes. Raptors go at Philly – if Carroll is being managed, this would be the one to sit him.
Thursday: Three games, GSW@MIN, LAC@PHO, and UTA@MIA. Ohhhhhh man, Hassan Whiteside vs. Rudy Gobert!!!!!! Also the battle of Slim’s favorite teams… Tyler Johnson and Justise Winslow have been OK, but I dunno how much you wanna buy them as streamers, and the Jazz have no one usable that is widely available. T.J Warren is off a 17-pt game and could be a nice fill-in, and P.J. Tucker has been decent enough for the streamer range as well. Zach LaVine might be a good roll of the dice if the Warriors make that game out of hand. MIN and UTA are the teams heading into back-to-backs, so maybe the Wolves limit Rubio a tad in a blowout. Festus Ezeli could continue to be a nice blocking streamer, even with Andrew Bogut back.
Friday: Another very full slate, with BKN, CLE, DAL, DEN, HOU, ORL, & PHI heading into back-to-backs. Brook Lopez‘s clownfoot avoided a major injury, but gotta think he sits Fri or Sat on a West Coast back-to-back. Playing some weaker Eastern teams, maybe the Cavs sit a vet, especially with LeBron James already banged up. DAL is playing the Lakers Fri then @HOU, gotta imagine against the Lakers is the game to sit healing vets. OKC hosts PHI, Dion Waiters stream time!!!!
Saturday: Same list above heading into the second day of b2bs, with only DET playing both Saturday and Sunday. Not really any great streamers anymore on DET by %-owned. GSW is gonna throttle the Nets at home, I’d be cautioned by the fringy guys there. Oh dear lord, the Spurs host the Sixers. Pop is going to bench everyone, or play everyone only 15 minutes… Yikes.
Sunday: Nice 7-game Sunday with roughly half the teams going, but obviously end-of-week streaming is paramount. BOS, LAL, MEM, OKC & POR head into back-to-backs. If anyone is banged up, be sure to check in if they’re playing or have a good sense of certainly if picking them up in daily moves-tomorrow settings like RCLs. Schroder seems to bounce around on my line-ups, definitely don’t like him agaisnt the Jazz. Hornets host Portland, so Jeremy Lamb could see nice run. Knicks host those terrible Pelicans, I like both Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway as G streamers. Up front it’s tough to see streamers I love right now other than Bjelica, maybe you roll with Steven Adams who is always a popular big man stream play.
I hope everyone’s week 2 went solid, and we’re pumped for week 3! Hard to believe 2 weeks are already in the books… Hope you had a good weekend, Razzball Nation!
