Fantasy Basketball: Lillard Out, Blazers Still Rout

January 27, 2019 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes |

Damian Lillard got the night off in Portland to get some well deserved rest, and the rest of the Blazers all got a decided boost; none more than CJ McCollum, who went 2-28-10-10-1-0-3 on 10-of-23 shooting and 6-for-7 from the line. This was CJ’s first career triple-double and just shows he’s more of a complete player than people thought. He still didn’t give you much in the way of defensive stats, but this will probably go down as one of his best stat-lines of the season. Just keep in mind if Lillard misses any other games, CJ and the rest of his Blazer Buddies become viable DFS options. It was a pretty short schedule for a Saturday night with only five games. I guess with no real NFL games in the week before the Super Bowl, they wanted to stack Sunday, with no competition from football. Anyway, there is still a lot to get into so without further ado, here’s what else went down last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Basketball: Look Ahead – Trade Deadline Edition

January 25, 2019 | Look Ahead | 10 Comments

by: Hampton Kid

Look ahead—Trade Deadline Edition

Now we are just past the halfway mark of the season and into the annual fun that masquerades as the trade deadline.

Teams are either hoping to find the one additional piece to move them into championship contention, ensure that playoff slot which has eluded the home fans for several seasons, or offload some contracts to save a few bucks and better the future.

The interesting thing is figuring out who the sellers and buyers are. More intriguing for us fantasy hoop heads is how it affects/changes/improves/negates the numbers of current players and what kind of new opportunities can now be found for players in new situations.

We will take a look at the Eastern Conference first – identify some trade targets and discuss what that might mean. Then we will do the same with the West.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Basketball: OladipNOOOOOO….

January 24, 2019 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 19 Comments

by: Son

Victor Oladipo missed 11 games due to a right knee injury two months ago. Since returning from that injury, he’s been a top 65 player (19 games), averaging 17.3 points, 1.9 threeecolas, 4.9 boards, 5.8 dimes, 1.8 steals, and 0.2 blocks. The shooting efficiency was a putrid 40%. A far cry from the 47% efficiency and top 10 production from last season. His owners were not happy. Our very own “I Just Wanna Kawhi” couldn’t take it anymore and shipped him away last week. I need to hit him up for the upcoming Powerball numbers because his owners will no longer have to worry due to the injury Oladipo suffered yesterday. Defending a full court pass, Oladipo jumped and his knee gave out, the same knee that caused him to miss those 11 games. The trainers draped a towel over his leg and he was taken to the locker room via stretcher. Prayers up for Oladipo and his family. Since this is a fantasy website, we need to discuss who replaces him and how it affects the Pacers rotations. The most obvious replacement is Tyreke Evans, who was scooped right away in a few of the RCLs I’m in. Y’all are too sharp and fast on the draw. In 715 minutes without Oladipo on the floor, Evans has a 29.3% usage rate and produces 1.05 fantasy points per minute. The player that saw the biggest increase in usage with Oladipo off the floor, though, was Bojan Bogdanovic, with an increase of 2.1% to a 23.2% usage rate. Domantas Sabonis is the Pacer that scores the most fantasy points per minute at 1.39 with Oladipo off the floor. If you want to do a little speculating, Aaron Holiday could be a nice pickup. He’s played 275 minutes without Oladipo on the court and has garnered a 24.1% usage rate and scored 1.06 fantasy points per minute. Granted, most of that run came earlier in the year, as he hasn’t received 10 minutes of run in any game this month, but someone to keep an eye on. Anyways, hate to see injuries and let’s all send good vibes towards the Oladipo family. Oladipo Ho! Oladipo Ho! Oladipo Ho!

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Basketball: Buy/Sell – Fool Me Once…

January 23, 2019 | Fantasy Basketball Buy/Sell | 6 Comments

by: Kostas

I know people are supposed to learn from their mistakes, reflect on past decisions, and try to improve. Remember last year, when Jahlil Okafor was traded to the Brooklyn Nets and I was quick to label him “must-own” and feature him as the main Buy suggestion? I hope you don’t, as we all know how that worked out. I hope I’m not replicating the same mistake by suggesting him again today, due to Antony Davis’ latest injury. More discussion on him coming up on him on his respective blurb. I just hope that with this introduction I can finally combat my Achilles heel, my kryptonite, this man right here…

Taking a look at last week’s suggestions, Victor Oladipo is gaining some momentum again after a 21 point performance, but the buy-low window is still there. Alec Burks and Richaun Holmes were not helpful for different reasons, as the former flat out underperformed while the latter got injured. Finally, Donovan Mitchell continued his scoring tear, but Ricky Rubio has returned so this might be the last chance to sell really high on him. Special shout-out to Corey Brewer who played a team-high 32 minutes against the Rockets and did everything in his power to annoy James Harden with his “unorthodox” defense…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Basketball: Buy/Sell – The Return of the Real Fantasy King

January 16, 2019 | Fantasy Basketball Buy/Sell | 6 Comments

by: Kostas

I’m back after a one-week break due to unavoidable obligations (I know, boring real-life) and a lot happened while I was gone in the fantastic world of the NBA. Giannis and James Harden are literally going head-to-head for the MVP award, the Lakers are in a disarray without Lebron, but the most important news report surfaced yesterday. The Philadelphia 76ers are signing the one, the only, the real fantasy king and Son’s favorite player of this century, Corey Brewer!!

Get up from your chair at work, from your bed, or from your bathroom and run to pick up the player that was projected 91^st this summer. Sorry Son, I had to do it. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, acquaint yourselves to our inside joke by searching for the 91^st ranked player here and taking a look at the comments…

The only upside to not publishing an article last week is that my suggestions can be judged on a two-week basis, which is a markedly larger sample size, so let’s quickly go through them. Both Tomas Satoransky and Thomas Bryant had great performances and will continue to have solid value without John Wall around. The same cannot be said for Willy Hernangomez, who has so far failed to capitalize on his increased opportunity and is thus a tough hold in standard leagues. But to compensate for this bad suggestion and, if you allow me to toot my own horn, both Derrick White and Austin Rivers have outperformed expectations and possibly have won some matchups with their performance during the last two weeks. Finally, it’s been a rollercoaster ride with Luke Kornet, as he had three awesome games and three bad one. Enes Kanter missed some time but Mitchell Robinson’s potential return could complicate things for Luke. I will have the pleasure to watch him in all his awkwardness live in the London game, so you will have a first-hand report of his performance next week.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Dynasty Deep Dive: Redraft Top 100 Comparison (Craig vs Son)

September 4, 2018 | Dynasty Deep Dive, Top 100 | 4 Comments

by: Craig Bozic

It’s September, which means draft season is around the corner. Son published his Top 100, so after many a podcast & Twitter battle between us (all in good spirits of course) I figured that the best thing to do was publish a comparison piece. I promise there will be no talk of Corey Brewer in here (yeah, nah), but as Son attested to in his comments, personal biases and intangibles must be accounted for when looking at rankings. We all build teams and weight categories uniquely. There is more than one way to build a winner.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at the Top 100 comparisons between our fierce leader Son and myself.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Dynasty Deep Dive – Dynasty Rookie Rankings Part Two (16-30)

July 26, 2018 | Dynasty, Dynasty Deep Dive | 7 Comments

by: Craig Bozic

Here is the next installment of the Dynasty Deep Dive Rookie Rankings, which will cover players 16-30. If you missed Part One (1-15), do not fear, as you can find it HERE.

Now that we’ve gone over the potential superstars from the class, let’s delve into the potential steals. If you think picks 16-30 don’t/won’t matter, let’s rewind the calendar to last year when the Atlanta Hawks selected John Collins with the 19th overall pick, the Kings picked Harry Giles at 20, Jarrett Allen went 22nd to the Nets, OG Anunoby was scooped at 23 by the Raptors, and the Lakers cleaned up with Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart at picks 27 and 30 respectively.

History has shown that many in this area will bust, but I’m here to help you find those potential golden nuggets.

Let’s rock and roll and see who made the cut. Part Three of the rankings will be released soon, so come back and check to see who cracked the top 45.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

What You Talkin’ ‘Bout Mr. Drummond?

March 30, 2018 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 2 Comments

by: Brent

Sorry Andre, but there is breaking news: Joel Embiid will have surgery to fix an orbital bone fracture and will miss at least 2 games but could be out as much as 4 weeks. I would wait to hear something more sound before dropping him, but it definitely makes Richaun Holmes a nice pick-up. Ok, back to your regularly scheduled recap:

Andre “Beast Mode” Drummond had his old school ground and pound game working last night as he led the Pistons to an 11 point win over the playoff-bound Washington Wizards. Even without Blake Griffin, who went through warm-ups but could not play and is now headed for an MRI on his injured ankle, the Pistons were able to blow the game wide-open in the 3^rd quarter mostly because of Drummond’s pure dominance in the paint.

Andre put the beat down on Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi to the tune of 0/24/23/4/0/1 with only 1 turnover in 37 minutes. Drummond shot 10-16 from the floor and 4-7 from the line, which is the type of efficiency spoiled fantasy owners have come to expect from Mr. Drummond this season. The free-throw shooting still isn’t Curry-esque, but it has become strong enough to elevate Drummond to the elite fantasy player level.

Besides the lesson in classic center play that Drummond gave the Wizards, here is what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Not Your Average Joe

March 26, 2018 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 20 Comments

by: Son

Average. Middle. Meh? I guess it all depends on perception. Someone born into poverty would be praised if he/she achieved average economic status. On the flip side, if you are a one-percenter, I assume that average would prompt seppuku. Average is often associated with boring. He/she was average in the sack. The higher above the line probably correlates well with intenstity of orgasm. For flip side? Supplant higher with lower. Why does average get such a bad rap? It ain’t great, but it puts food on the table. It often gives 1.5 children and a white picket fence, if you are so inclined to have either. With that said, we are a “what have you done for me lately” society. We are all about celebrating the highs, while conveniently eschewing the trials and tribulations. Well, yesterday Joe Harris was not your Average Joe.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
30	7	2	1	0	1	6/7	11/14	2/2

The CLE defense is atrocious, but let’s not forget about the……REVENGE!!!! Harris was drafted by the Cavaliers back in 2014. He played two seasons there, never averaging more than 10 points or scoring 3 points a game. During the 2016 season, though, Joe underwent surgery on his foot and was traded to ORL a week later. Then he was immediately waived. BKN picked him up and the rest, as they say, is history. Two years with the Nets has produced…..wait for it (an homage to HIMYM)…..average results. This season, in particular, Joe is averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 boards, 1.5 dimes, and 1.8 downtowners in 25.1 minutes a game. He’s scored double figures in 41 of 71 games played, but has not eclipsed the 20 point threshold once. Anyways, I clowned him earlier in the season, but Harris is no Average Joe, and the Nets don’t think so either. Even with all the wing players that they have, Joe has been getting consistent playing time for most of the season. He can shoot and is able to drive strong to the rack and finish. An Average Joe on most nights, but yesterday, he was anything but.

Here’s what else I saw yesterday:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Run The Numbers: Know Your Punt Specialists

March 22, 2018 | Run the Numbers |

by: Tad

KRAMER: Wide open, I was wide open underneath! I had three inches on that guy. You two were hogging the ball.
GEORGE: Me? It wasn’t me. I never even saw the ball. All you do is dribble.
JERRY: I have to dribble, if I give it to you, you just shoot. You’re a chucker.
GEORGE: Oh, I’m a chucker.
JERRY: That’s right, every time you get the ball you shoot.
GEORGE: I can’t believe you called me a chucker. No way I’m a chucker, I do not chuck, never chucked, never have chucked, never will chuck, no chuck!
JERRY: You chuck.
GEROGE: Kramer, am I a chucker?
KRAMER: You’re a chucker.
GEORGE: All these years I’ve been chuckin’ and you’ve never told me?
JERRY: Well it’s not an easy thing to bring up.

You’re a punter. It’s not an easy thing to bring up. But you are. The good news is that your opponents are, too, but they may not know it yet. No, you probably didn’t plan to punt a category. But, at this point in the season? Yes, you should be punting at least one category. It might be because you’re out of the running in assists in your roto league. Maybe you’re just stuck in the middle, 300 rebounds behind the team ahead of you, and 300 ahead of the team behind you. Or, in head-to-head, you’ve seen your playoff opponent’s team, and you know you’ll double that team’s threes easily, while it’s even clearer that you have no chance to compete in FG%. You are now punting those categories that can’t help or hurt you. You can use the word ignoring instead, if that helps. You’re not trying to get players that are bad at the categories that no longer matter. You just don’t care about them anymore. So, it’s going to take a bit more work to figure out who’s worth more to your team now. That’s where today’s Run The Numbers comes in.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Buy/Sell: Not Even Kelly Can Solve The Brow Mystery

March 21, 2018 | Fantasy Basketball Buy/Sell |

by: Kostas

Just three weeks left in the NBA regular season. Man, how quickly time flies. Seems like just yesterday when preseason rankings were all the hype and Anthony Davis was viewed as more of a top 8 than top 5 player.

Boy, were we wrong. The Brow’s averages during this month are 31.2/0.8/12.7/1.9/1.8/3.4/2.5 on 52.5%/87.2% shooting and he has already played 64 games on the season. Utterly ridiculous performances all around and we might be witnessing one of the strongest fantasy months of all time. Many fantasy teams that will win it all this year will have him on their roster and it will be hard to take him anywhere below no 1 in next year’s drafts. Thoughts and prayers to all the owners that have to face him in the fantasy playoffs.

As per usual, starting with a quick recap of last week’s suggestions, Terry Rozier is currently getting all the minutes he can handle in Boston and will continue to produce even when Kyrie Irving returns, so congrats if you added him for the stretch run. I was also very impressed with Corey Brewer, who continues to defy expectations with a great week in which he averaged 3.7 steals and 14.3 points and was the 13^th best player in fantasy during this span. Kyle O’Quinn’s contribution in the blocks department was also steady with 1.7 and he even helped in other categories with 9.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals. Finally, Allen Crabbe missed all but one game this week and, although, he was very efficient, he is just too inconsistent for my taste while Ish Smith’s minimal appeal is officially nonexistent with Reggie Jackson returning to the Pistons starting lineup.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

No D for Ennis Schroder

March 21, 2018 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 4 Comments

by: Son

Basketball is a funny game. The Atlanta Hawks were riding a six-game losing streak and heading to Utah to face off against one of the best defensive teams in the league. Dennis Schroder, the point guard for the Hawks, had failed to score 20 points in each of the six losses. Then, a funny thing happened. The D went missing. Did Dennis change his name to Ennis? No!

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
41	5	7	0	0	2	3/7	16/28	6/10

Forty burger! Against a team that was 8th in defensive efficiency against the point guard position. Against Ricky Rubio, who was 10th in defensive real plus minus. Schroder had a 42.7 usage rate last night! Going forward, though, I wouldn’t expect too many performances like last night. Taurean Prince, who had been the alpha in terms of usage, got Prince’D, so someone had to step up. In addition, while Schroder has had a couple of big games this season, they have been too few to count on. Expect scoring to be in the 18-20 point range with 5-7 assists, and 2-3 boards.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?