Week 14 has wrapped up in our Razzball Elite league, and we’ve finally got a shake-up atop the standings. Feeling a lot less nature-y this past week with a 4-5 loss to Scurry to the Left, The Nature Boy is now tied for first with Kap’s Team. But even more exciting was my first huge win! No hangover from the beard ride Slim gave me last week… We shouldn’t have made “didgeri-don’t” the safe word! Only six weeks of the regular season remain, so it’s crunch time for the teams out of the top 6. Read more below from owners that chimed in on their squads as we recap week 14:
1. Kap’s Team (84-41-1)
FAAB Remaining: $81 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
2. The Nature Boy (83-40-3)
FAAB Remaining: $70 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
3. Barking BassetHounds (80-43-3)
FAAB Remaining: $20 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
4. Like A Josh – IFBL (80-44-2)
FAAB Remaining: $61 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
5. Cigar Smoking Monkey (79-47-0)
FAAB Remaining: $6 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
6. Breaking Batum (75-51-0)
FAAB Remaining: $82 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
7. Slim – Razzball (70-53-3)
FAAB Remaining: $5 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
Everything finally appears to be going as planned. The 7-2 win is nothing out of the norm but I finally managed to make up some ground due to the 6th place team losing 4-5. My 6 and 1/2 game deficit was nearly cut in half as I now sit a mere 3 and 1/2 games out of the playoffs with 6 weeks to play. Plenty of time but there is still little room for a misstep. There’s no shortage of positives to take away from the week so instead I’ll focus on the bottom of the roster. My last 3 spots are currently held by Cory Joseph, Jeremy Evans, and Alexis Ajinca. Maybe an argument could be made for Steven Adams to be on this list but he’s an A+ keeper prospect in my eyes and whatever he gives for now I simply consider to be a bonus. Cory Joseph continues to start and see about 24 minutes nightly. He hasn’t blown up but he’s shown at every stop that he’s a scorer and over the last 2 weeks he’s managed to also help in steals, assists, and a few blocks. At only 22 years old there’s enough keeper potential for me to sit back and wait to see how he responds to the extra playing time. I payed a hefty $21 in waiver cash for Jeremy Evans way back when and lately the returns have been worth it. He even got a start on Friday but fell hard, bruised his tail bone, and remains day-to-day. Frustrating to say the least but I need to show patience. I still believe there is some cheap keeper potential with Evans. Alexis Ajinca has been highly unpredictable from game to game and if I have extra players on a heavy schedule day then Ajinca tends to be my 1st choice to sit, mostly because I haven’t really needed his blocks. The turnovers are unbelievable but he continues to start and get about 18 minutes so I’ll continue to hold the course and see where it takes me. The double-double with 2 block upside is obvious but until he can play under control that upside will remain unrealized.
8. Scurry to the Left (68-57-1)
FAAB Remaining: $76 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
9. Martyball – IFBL (66-59-1)
FAAB Remaining: $76 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
10. JB Gilpin – Razzball (63-62-1)
FAAB Remaining: $1 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
Wait, what?! Above .500?! How did this happen?! A huge 8-1 win, only my third 6+ win week, finally makes me a winning team. It’s been a struggle! Benefiting from Hoopus A not having Kemba Walker, I got solid contributions from almost every player to help ease the blow of Kawhi’s injury. The big surprise was how well Nick Calathes played (and how long – 40+ minutes!) given the Mike Conley injury. $1 well spent! As opposed to a lot of other bad buys… A full week of Kemba would have made 3s close and probably won Hoopus Asts and Stls, so thanks Charlotte for keeping it cautious! I’m deluding myself into thinking I have a shot at the playoffs, but… maybe I do! This will be a huge week against the 3rd place BassetHounds then I finish the year against teams all out of the top 8 in weeks 16-20. So the schedule should help. I get a huge boost with Calathes probably giving me four high-minute starts in place of Conley, Khris Middleton looking fairly solidified in his role for now, and Serge Ibaka playing great ball lately. Hopefully it’s enough to give me a W this week.
11. Doug – tdbsports.com (63-62-1)
FAAB Remaining: $78 FAAB Moves this week: Metta World Peace ($20)
12. Hoopus Alleyoopus (62-62-2)
FAAB Remaining: $55 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
Well, JB seasoned me with a 8-1 beatdown. I was in 9th place last week and I felt I was within striking distance of the 6th and final playoff spot. Without Kemba Walker, I didn’t love my chances but thought I might be able to escape with a 5-4 win or lose 4-5 and live to fight another day. WRONG. Now 12 games back with 6 weeks to play with an added 3 teams to leapfrog, I can probably shift my focus to next season. So, uh thanks for that I guess JB. I will still try to win every week, but am more likely now to trade with an eye on the future.
This being a dynasty league, I wasn’t sure if my team would compete this year. I was more focused on getting young players for good prices so that I could be competitive every year. I think I did that. Now it is a matter of picking the right complementary players, because apparently Javale McGee and Derrick Williams were less than optimal choices.
13. Ben – RotoGold (58-66-2)
FAAB Remaining: $98 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
14. Pete Nice – Razzball (57-67-2)
FAAB Remaining: $10 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
15. I’m a Currian (50-74-2)
FAAB Remaining: $59 FAAB Moves this week: Nate Wolters ($6), Ricky Ledo ($1)
16. Mr Green – Nowhere (50-75-1)
FAAB Remaining: $26 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
For (I believe) the first time this season I didn’t make any waiver claims. I’m not sure if that is either a) because my team is playing better as evidenced by my 6-3 win this week, or b) due to the lack of talent available on the wire. I did however make a trade last week, which I guess keeps my revolving roster moving for yet another week. I traded away a guy I just got for a $1 waiver claim the day before in order to grab a 25 year old player who has a rotation spot firmly locked up. He’s got seasons with average or better per 36 numbers in points, assists, steals, 3PT, FT%, and for a guard his rebounding numbers are alright too. Having said all of that, I’m obviously choosing to ignore the fact that Jordan Crawford is on his 4th team in his 4th season in the league, and that he is firmly behind Curry and Iggy on the depth chart for at least one more year. Of course if that wasn’t the case he probably wouldn’t have been available for trade as a $2 potential keeper.
A win is a win is a win! Despite the fact that I was playing a team that was lower than me in the standings, it was really nice to finally get another win after 6 straight losses. I choose to ignore the fact that for some reason Lebron was on my opponents bench for 2 of his games. Oh well. I’m really hoping to make it 2 wins in a row this week, since after this I get matchups against the #4, 5, 6 and 7 teams. Even if I’m not in the playoff picture, I’ll be happy to play the part of spoiler if I can manage a surprise win any where during that stretch.
A quick look at my roster tells me that Nicholson and Porter are either out of the rotation now, or are on the verge of being out of it. Both have long term potential though, so I’m hoping they are given a chance to play at some point soon by their respective coaches. Other than those two and Arnett Moultrie, who is either ready to come back from injury or only weeks away depending on which days sound bite you listen to, everybody else on my roster (excluding Nerlens Noel) appears to be at least somewhat involved in their respective rotations. That is a nice change compared to where my team has been for the past couple months. I’m really hoping that just getting more games played will give me a better chance to compete each week.
17. Nashed Potatoes (43-82-1)
FAAB Remaining: $91 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
18. ChazTop-KevinBottom (41-84-1)
FAAB Remaining: $75 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
19. Team Tough Guy Town (38-86-2)
FAAB Remaining: $89 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
20. Kinsey’s Team (34-89-3)
FAAB Remaining: $100 FAAB Moves this week: n/a
Remember REL teams, if you are in the league and want your recap in the post, hit me up any time before Tuesday morning. Good luck in week 15!
