Super Bowl Sunday was a fail across the board. Joe Namath messed up the coin toss. The Red Hot Chili Peppers refuse to wear shirts. The Broncos refused to play football. And the only game we got on the NBA slate to rival the Super Fail was the Magic against the Celtics. A combined 28-68 record heading into the game, but hey, at least no one was wearing this coat! Russell Westbrook now has a wardrobe to makeover… Anywho, it was an electric 27 minutes for Rajon Rondo, who had his best game since returning. 9-11 from the field for a 19/6/10/3/0 slash can get anyone rolling. Well, except maybe the Broncos offense… Hopefully Rondo won a few people their matchups this week and their Sundays weren’t ruined by all that food and beer turning into absolute lethargy like I’m feeling right now. But alas we have fantasy’s best sport to pull us through the soul-sucking quicksand that was the Super Bowl as we grow nearer and nearer the playoffs. Here’s what else I saw this weekend in NBA action:
Nate Robinson – Out for the year with an ACL tear. Even though I’m not a Nate fan, brutal injury and I wish him a healthy recovery by opening night next year. Opens the door for the Virgin! Despite shooting only 7-20, Evan Fournier with back-to-back decent games going 18/6/0/2/0 with three treys Friday night. But as with any virgin, he got a little too excited with the ball at times and shot out 7 turnovers. “I have reserves!” Shut up Jason Biggs… Fournier worth a look in 12-teamers.
Randy Foye – Gets the honorary “what the hey?!” stat of the weekend. 16 assists on Friday?! Preposteroni… A Denver Nuggets treat. 10/3/16/2/0, but also turned it over like a Virgin with 8 and shot 4-13. No Ty Lawson who should be back soon, so I’m still not a big Foye believer.
Terrence Ross – Rainbow line flirt! 18/1/3/2/3 shooting 7-10 on Friday. Ross Can! Ross just needs to hit the boards harder. Work on that pivot foot. PIVOT! (haha nice call miles). Then awful on Saturday. Ross Can’t! I feel like we play this song and dance all the time. No consistency.
RainbLabradOodalipo – Hah probably going too far, but geez! Labradoodle patrol, shut down Oladipo! Only 3-16 from the field for 12/3/5/1/0. Still like the V.O. to not have his line smell like B.O. more often than not.
Jeff Green – The Labradoodle patrol’s second most wanted. 2-13. So brutal.
Jared Sullinger – Coming along! I knew this would be a good one, hopefully I helped a few people stay strong. 21/12/1/0/1 shooting 10-15 and managed to play 39 minutes with only 3 fouls. He’s usually hitting the fowl harder than John Madden face-first into his turducken.
Pau Gasol – Well the elderly like to go to Arizona, so why not bring Gasol to Phoenix! Trade rumors are abound, but don’t make any brash decisions just yet. Gasol would be fine in the desert, just would destroy Miles Plumlee‘s value. Might also actually get Jordan Hill some C minutes in LA. Regardless, Gasol will be out at least a week with a strained groin. I want to make a joke here, but just can’t do it. I just don’t understand how they could get an MRI reading on a groin that hairy… I lied!
Kris Humphries – Like his love life, hit it hard, hit it quick, and then try and disappear before being posterized again. Yeah, not the best metaphor, but sounded good at first!
Lakers Mess of PGs – Steve Nash might finally be back this week, Steve Blake looks locked in to be back this week as well, and Jordan Farmar seems close and will probably be back by next week. Kendall Marshall is like, “C’mon old guys, what’s with these healing powers?!” Might turn into a mess of a situation you want no part of, but still hold Marshall for now if he’s a good connect for your dimebag situation.
Tristan Thompson vs. Andray Blatche – While Slim was playing hula hoop with me, he pulled a Andray Blatche and tweaked his hip. Hooray for durability! And just like TT, I was able to marginally hula yet again, albeit it terribly and without much range. 6/7/1/0/0 for Thompson, but no game for Blatche helps out the bet!
Kemba Walker – His last name is a sad, ironic reminder of the device he needs to get around… Had a setback and I doubt he plays by the Bobcats next game tomorrow. Cue the Ramon Sessions love! A sick 9/4/13 line against the no-defense Lakers on Friday, but only 11/0/1 against the Suns Saturday. Just like Helen Hunt in The Sessions, I think you can give him another ride tomorrow night against the Warriors.
Anderson Varejao – Couldn’t quite Sideshow it up to play Saturday night. Sounds like he was close though. If dropped in your league, easy decision to scoop him back up.
Mike Conley – The curse of JB! Last week at some point I said he was the main rock, the main reliable constant for the Grizz, and he jacks up his ankle Friday night. Wear high tops, Mike! Will be re-evaluated in a week, and opens the door for Nick Calathes who rocked out with his Calathes out on Saturday night for 22/5/3/1/0 shooting 8-12 and 4-5 from deep. That game alone is worth the $1 REL pickup I threw at him! Now, it is important to remember this was against the Bucks who had Larry Drew voluntarily start Nate Wolters. So it’s not like he was playing against any sort of defense out there. But Calathes did get 40 minutes and has four games this week – likely all big minute starts. Anyone looking for a solid weekly grab should give Calathes a long hard look.
Trey Burke – Struggling mightily lately – as I suspected would be the case in stretches when I ranked him so low after loving him before he broke his finger and missed all that development time. Run on sentence police are after me, or are they, I don’t know, they can’t stop me no they can’t! That said, I think he can bounce back and is a solid buy low. Gets my official buy low tramp stamp.
Enes Kanter – Went off in a start against the Clippers for 23/14/1/1/0. While he’s shooting a great % from the floor on top of double-digit scoring the past four, only 4 assists, 1 steal, and no blocks in that time frame and this was the only game he boarded well. Not slamming the wire to pick him up.
Tim Hardaway Jr. – 17/1/1/1/0 shooting 7-14 with three treys. ThrAGNOF!
DeMar DeRozan – Monster on Saturday night for 36/4/12 shooting 14-29 with a couple of threes. Did have a bad late TO, but us fantasy-ers don’t care in the least. Having a beast year. Sorry Fenris-77.
Patrick Patterson – 13/9/3/0/1 with a three and continuing to be marginal multi-cat. Pit-pat with multi-cat!
Patrick Beverley – A close second in the “what the hey?!” category of lines on Saturday night… But for P-Bev, I am not too surprised! 0/10/8/5/1 shooting 0-5 with all 5 missed three-pointers. But hey, played 40+ minutes and racked it up!
Jeremy Lin – Speaking of racking it up, triple-double off the bench?! 15/11/10/2/1 as the Rockets guards just embarrassed Cavs boarders with no Varejao. I mean, they’re starting Tyler Zeller at the 5… Even as a Chapel Hill fan and I scoff at that!
Anthony Davis – 24/8/3/3/6 in another ridiculous rainbow. I would gently comb his brow if he would let me…
I’m sure I didn’t hit on everything, but the Miller Lite and bacon cheeseburger sliders sure are hitting on my stomach and it’s time to hibernate for the rest of winter. Well – until tomorrow that is! I hope everyone won their matchups last week and good luck in week 15!
I like the Virgin quite a bit too. The turnovers are unfortunate but I think he should continue to see 30ish minutes. Still have to wait and see what happens with Lawson back but Fournier looks like the future at SG for Denver. And at only 21 his future looks very bright. He’s another guy I’m going to love going into the draft next year. I’m not gonna love him too much though… alright I’ll avoid the Virgin jokes, for now.
Lakers PG is about to be unplayable in any league. Will anyone get over 20 minutes, with D’Antoni at the helm, I doubt it. The Gasol rumors are going to be a plenty but it’s difficult to predict who’s going to play without knowing who’s coming or going. I just hope it doesn’t mess with my RKelly.
Blatche going down doesn’t hurt his per game numbers so I’m not too worried and really that’s all I pay attention to. Tristan on the other hand has finally been dropped in both my 12er money leagues and no one is picking him up. Over his last 5 he has 2 poor percents and not a single steal or block. There are guys out there playing less than 20 minutes who are more helpful in fantasy than Tristan. Now that Bennett is back in the mix I imagine Tristan should see a few less minutes. He’s a must drop in 12ers and borderline in 16ers. But I’ve said that all along.
Why Beverley refuses to attack the rim is unknown by me. The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that he’s being told not to. I’m sure there is usage numbers out there somewhere and I’m sure they are abysmal.
I’m so glad to see Nick Calathes finally get his shot. He should be more of a double-double guy than a 20 point scorer and we should be very careful with his FT shooting. In the past it has been a major weakness. Like Wroten level FT shooting. Speaking of which Wroten has been hitting his FTs and missing his 3s. Very odd. But if he puts it all together Wroten is going to be a real solid fantasy contributor, someday.
@Slim: I like Wroten but yeah man, brutal from deep lately. Why I liked Calathes when I got him, knew he’d see huge run if Conley got hurt. Maybe Beverley’s hand can’t take a hard hit driving to the rim? I dunno, maybe he’s just used as a stretch option right now. TT = brutal but minutes are still there and think he’ll bounce back. But tough to own right now. Then again so is a hurt Blatche. Virgin FTW!
Time to drop Giannis for Hardaway or hold the Greek Freak until someone better comes to.waivers?
@justin.g: Until the Bucks fully commit to Antetok he’s going to be tough to trust on a nightly basis. Sure Hardaway is getting a ton of run with Shumpert out but he’s still a limited fantasy contributor and who knows what’s going to happen when Shumpert returns. With that said my suggestion is to ride Hardaway till the wheels fall off.
@justin.g: Yeah I’d grab Hardaway while hot even though he’s not multi-cat like Giannis’ upside.
Hardaway or Terrence Ross ROS?
@TR: Also, start Hardaway vs Milwaukee or Butler vs Sacramento?
@TR: I would start Jimmy Butler. 40+ minutes in 7 straight. I expect another solid performance from Hardaway but he doesn’t come close to Butler’s steals and boards.
@TR: I’m going with Ross. I feel like his role is more secure and his upside in steals and blocks is significantly better than Hardaway.
@Slim: AAAAAAAAND Wilson chandler was dropped. Do I use my #4 waiver spot on him instead of Ross or hardaway?
@TR: I think so. A waiver number means very little to me. If a guy helps my team then I use it. Wilson Chandler is far and away better right now. I would take him over the other 2.
@TR: Agree I’d use the waiver for Wilson
Jack jumped into starting 5. Better option then Virgin?
@Bobby: @Marcin: James Anderson is free agent also. Please rank them. For me Virgin>Anderson>Jack but i am curious what Jack can do as a starter
@Marcin: ups sorry i pasted @Bobby somehow:p
@Marcin: Like you’ve got it unless Jack somehow gets 36 minutes, is the lead ball handler, and decides to shoot 3s. That’s a tall order. It ain’t gonna happen. Anderson is consistently unimpressive. He’s just a streamer in most leagues.
@Marcin: Bleh. What’s the best case scenerio for Jack? What he did last year. What Fournier is doing right now is better. If the Virgin gets 30 minutes tonight with Lawson back in the lineup then this should be an easy call.
@Marcin: I’d want the Virgin too, Cleveland is in such disarray I really don’t want anyone except Deng Varejao and Kyrie.
Who wins…. Hickson or Afflalo?
T. Ross or Calathes?
@Bobby: Hickson vs Afflalo isn’t really comparable. They are polar opposite contributors. Afflalo is worth more. Hickson is helpful… at best. I would drop either for the other if I needed what either gave more than the other. I had to read that last line a couple of times, I think it makes sense.
Ross vs Calathes is closer. I’ll take Ross unless I was desperate, really desperate, for assists. I’m excited we are actually talking about Nick Calathes but I need to see a lot more before I drop Ross for him.
@Bobby: Afflalo unless you desperately need boards. Ross unless you want assists for like a week then Calathes
@Bobby: I would take Calathes this week over Ross, but definitely not long term. Afflalo I would think has more value than Hickson by a long shot, but I’m not an Afflalo fan so I would take either one for needs
Sup brotha hope you had fun at Super bowl!! So just to remind you I have…
Conley
Jeff Teague
Jj Redick
Stuckey
Foye
Rondo
West
Mello
Millsap
Ariza
Tristan Thompson
McRoberts
Marc Gasol
Reggie Jackson
I just accepted a trade – Rondo, Stuckey and West for Varejeo, Bogut and Wesley Matthews. Do you like it?? I have no big guys right now and I’ll lose assists but I was gonna ask you if I should drop Tristan Thompson and McRoberts for Taj Gibson and/or Steve Blake, Trey Burke, Alec Burks or Markieff Morris.. What do yoU think?? Thanks!!
@Frank White: That’s a big time trade and I really like it. Conley going down is unfortunate… we’ll see how that plays out. OK… I’m going to make you a promise… if you drop Tristan for Taj you will not regret it. I promise. He’s superior in every possible way. So now it looks like…
Conley, Teague, Jackson, Foye
Mello, Millsap, Matthews, Ariza, Redick
M.Gasol, Varejao, Bogut, Taj, McBob
That looks better… I would go with Trey Burke over Blake and you could use the assists. I think McBob is the weakest link and Trey should give more assists. That’s the only, other, move I would do.
Your the best man thanks!!
@Frank White: Yeah I like the trade too. Rondo sucks to lose, but you make some big improvements. I agree I’d want Taj over Thompson and also would take Burke over McBob. Me and Slim thinkin alike!
Jb and slim!!! I beat the second place team 6-3!!! I am 5 games behind the playoffs for the 6th spot!
My current team:
Foye Lilliard augustin Rubio
Fournier Hayward Middleton dunleavy
Boozer frye ibaka illyasova sullinger
Who to drop and pick up!? Hard away is picked up…any thoughts!!
@Ltee: Still plenty of time to make up the ground. Boozer… Does he help? Everything looks pretty good except for maybe adding a few more blocks. I can’t think of any under-owned blocks right now though. Give us a good 5-10 guys and we’ll let you know who we like.
@Ltee: I’m not a big DUnleavy fan but I think everyone else is fine, would depend who to pick up. Love your Fournier add. Go get em!
I was offered Batum and Vucevic for IT2 and Varejao? It’s a H2H league with no FG or FT%. Also, assists and rebounds are worth 1.5 instead of 1 pt.
@Nikko: I’m looking at the stats and I can’t imagine this trade is all that close. Without percents Vucevic is kind of an average guy. Assuming Varejao comes back strong he was putting up much better numbers in that format. IT2 vs Batum is even more one sided. I say keep what you’ve got.
@Nikko: Hmmm I actually like Batum Vuc side. Varejao injury prone and Batum is still solid
Hey JB since pau is out for the week. Drop markieff or pat Beverly for hill?
@Yokevo: Beverley is close but I would hold right now, D’Antoni hates HIll so much I’d need to see a game of nice minutes first
@JB Gilpin: and also sitting in third place and Bledsoe who went all injured on me is starting to ramp up his workouts is it smart to scoop and stash for playoffs I’m confident I’ll be in there like swim wear
@Yokevo: Haha well I personally am not too huge on Bledsoe getting back to his old value by playoff time. Maybe the very end…I’d still hold off right now
@JB Gilpin: thanks jb! But…..last one today I promise lol with Henson out with that wrist should I drop him for hill or bass? Injuries are killing me now with favors, jameer, Henson, and now lowrys damn sore knee would it be a good move?
@yokevo: Haha as many as you need! Ehhhh, Henson’s upside is just so good and not a big fan of HIll (usage) or Bass (his game). I’d try to hold out for Henson. Lowry at least doesn’t sound serious, but it’s Lowry…
12-team, 11-man, 9-cat, h2h league. JB may be getting tired of me beating this drum.
We were patient. We gave them chances. We gave them love. We sacrificed a live chicken; we left Jobu’s rum alone.
But is it time to give up on Tyreke Evans or Jeff Green? I may have a shot at a first-round bye, but I’m also thinking with a mind toward playoffs. Both are shooting beyond abysmally and not doing too much else. My hesitation to drop either of them cost me Reddick and Carroll, and I fear losing out on better and/or more consistent players while these bums get their acts together.
Team is: Lillard, IT2, Burke, Knight, Tyreke, Deng, J.Green, D.Lee, Ibaka, Gibson, and M.Gasol.
Players Available
George Hill
Corey Brewer
Kenneth Faried
Khris Middleton
Raymond Felton
Mario Chalmers
Carlos Boozer
Shawn Marion
Jonas Valanciunas
James Johnson
Jared Sullinger
@Joe: those players are on waivers and you are holding green? Lol
@Joe: Haha never tired! Hmmm lots of the same range of talent. Chalmers might be a solid add looking towards the end of the year. JV I still irrationally like. Felton is playing decent. But Green still has upside, I know @matt: hates him and I don’t like him either, but since you’re looking at a playoff berth already I think I’d hold for right now
Weird nobody’s talking about Demare Carroll?. Dude’s Ben balling lately.
@matt: I mentioned him last week about those 5 steals, but yeah pretty solid weekend. Always liked him pretty decent I ranked him pretty well heading into the year.
Haha thanks for the shoutout man!
@miles proudfoot: Haha it was a great reference!
@miles proudfoot: I concur! One of my fav ever Ross moments. “Pivat! PIV-at!”
Would your BF Knight and Tobias Harris be overpaying for Teague? If so, would you do it if the other side threw in Deng? h2h 8-cat.
If you do like the 2-for-1, could grab Sully, Blatche, Frye or Taj. Trying to sell Tobias ahead of the playoffs where ORL goes 3-3-3.
@Shaft: Interesting on Harris, but you know me and my bf… I couldn’t part with him! Getting Deng back with Teague I’d probably have to take, but I couldn’t sell Knight 🙂
Drop Kobe for Jordan Hill? I need a big man with Henson hurting.
@The Fantasy Dick: Yeah I’d definitely do that. Kobe might not play the ROS
With CP3 on the way back, Collison is about to become useless I’m guessing. I also have Henson on my bench.
My team is pretty solid on PGs withJennings, Curry, Lillard, Rubio and my Centers/PFs are Henson, Sanders, Favors, JV, and Zbo. Henderson, Tobias Harris, and Terrence Jones round out the rest.
I’m thinking of dropping Collison and stashing Kawhi and maybe dropping henson for Ilyasova, thoughts? Steve Blake and Calathes are also available.
@Zar: I’m pretty comfortably in second, 2 games out of 1st and 8.5 games ahead of 3rd so I think I can afford to stash a player like Kawhi.
@Zar: Yeah Ersan is finally looking like an NBA player again… Given your standing though, i think Kawhi is the first grab and stash for Colly. Henson vs. Ersan is tough, but Sanders (hopefully) and Favors should be enough blocks to win you a lot of weeks. I think I might have to make that move too and grab Ersan…
My run with Jeff green is really coming to a head. JR and Pierce on the wire – do I do it? Greens one saving grace is that the dude puts up huge numbers in attempts, so he gets every opportunity. But..
Ersan’s hangin round there too.. But so is Larry Drew, which is why I’m wary. I like D Carolle as well. Doesn’t help tht no ones interested in trading for Green
Also, should I drop JV for Sanders or Faried? I’m getting good boards and nice scoring but hardly anything else from the guy. Very TT numbers. Cheers mate, keep up the nice work
@Lasandro: Thanks man! I think you gotta hold Green unfortunately. Faried is usually pretty pts/boards too, even though blocking well lately, I think I’d hold JV for now. If you needed blocks upside, Sanders still. But all these guys are fairly close
@JB Gilpin: Appreciated JB! FYI, just read something on Rotoworld saying that brad Stevens is actually attributing Green’s shoting slump to the kinds of touches he’s getting. He wants Green to be given more opportunities in the post and on transitions. So, at the very least, he really is trying to help Green out. Good sign. Larry Drew, take note.
@Lasandro: Eh well anything that sounds positive has to help a little! Plus Rondo should help the quality of touches as well… Larry Drew needs all the coaching notes he can get!