Harrison Barnes

Son

Fantasy Basketball: P. S. – Pascal Siakam Is No Afterthought

February 14, 2019 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 28 Comments

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P. S. stands for postscript, which comes from the Latin word postscriptum and literally means “written after.” It’s used for an afterthought, not cool enough to be a part of the main piece. Like, oh by the way, I forgot to mention this but blah blah blah. It gets a bad rap, but as Shaun Usher of the Wall Street Journal wrote, “The P. S. is the most charming part of a letter. It’s the wink you give as you walk away.” It’s the cherry on top, the bam for the wham, and the mic drop. Like, P. S. – You the shiznitz. What? What?! Which segues perfectly to Pascal Siakam.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
44 10 2 0 3 4 4/5 15/25 10/12

A career-high in points scored. On the season, Siakam has been a top 40 player, but over the past four games, he’s been top 25. The usage rate has spiked to 28 and he’s averaged 35.3 minutes, 26 points, 1.5 tres, 9 boards, 3 dimes, 1.3 steals, and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field and 81% from the line on 8 attempts! He literally does it all. Like literally, as he can play center or be a point forward. The improvement in his game has been nothing short of amazing. P. S. is no longer an afterthought and has to be a no-brainer for Most Improved Player.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: Pristine Conditions at McGee Mountain

February 11, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 14 Comments

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I live in Los Angeles and enjoy skiing and snowboarding. I also like long walks on the beach while strumming tunes on my ukulele. Although there are ski resorts less than two hours drive away, it doesn’t rain often here. Los Angeles averages around 12.8 inches of rain per year. Last year, LA received 4 inches of rain. Only Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Diego average less. For perspective, New Orleans averages 62.7 inches, while many of the big cities in the U. S. are in the 40-50 range. If it doesn’t rain often, then it doesn’t snow often, which means the slopes are no bueno, even with the artificial snow makers. Now, recently it’s been raining so much that I’ve been Googling ark blueprints. All that rain has been like frozen manna for the local resorts. A picturesque perfection of powder. Which describes the situation for JaVale McGee.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
21 13 1 1 1 1 0 10/15 1/3

McGee has started the last two games because Ivica Zubac was traded to the Clippers. He’s played 26 and 30 minutes, and averaged 19 points, 10.5 boards, 1 block, and 0.5 steals. Per 36, he’s averaging 18.3 points, 11.2 boards, 1 steal, and 3.4 blocks! He’s probably not going to get 36 minutes of run per night, but with only Tyson Chandler, Moritz Wagner, and Mike Muscala the only threats to playing time, McGee should get close to 30 minutes per night. The conditions are pristine at McGee Mountain. Enjoy your stay.

Here’s what else I saw yesterday:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: DLoading No Longer Buffering

February 7, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 20 Comments

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I was never a huge fan of D’Angelo Russell when he was a Laker. The shooting efficiency was poor, the D was porous, and the decision-making and decisiveness were lacking. It was as if DLoading was a picture loading back in the dial-up internet days; one line of pixels at a time. At least now the buffering just shows a ring with a percentage number. Anyways, Russell was a young pup back then. Only 19 and 20 years old. Now, he’s a grizzled, 22-year-old veteran. I kid, but he’s really developed and improved his game, to the point where he’s leading his team to victory over one of the top teams in the NBA.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
27 6 11 0 0 3 6/9 10/23 1/1

In his first three years in the league, Russell was a 41% shooter from the field and never topped 80% from the line. Now, he’s a 43% shooter from the field and 81% from the line. He’s averaging a tick under 20 points per game, 2.7 tres, 3.7 boards, 6.4 dimes, and 1.1 steals. He’s increased both the tres and dimes by almost 1 per game. In addition, he’s jacking up over 17 shots per game, has a usage rate north of 30, and is a top 50 player on the season for fantasy. When Caris LeVert returns from injury, things could change and Russell could cede some usage, but Russell will continue being a vital part of this Nets team. All the pixels have been revealed and the picture is a glorious one.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: The Big Unicorn in the Room

February 1, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 30 Comments

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At 3:50 pm EST on January 31, 2019, Kristaps Porzingis, along with Courtney Lee, Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke, and two future first-round picks (one unprotected) were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., Wes Matthews, and DeAndre Jordan. Whoa. There are so many layers to address that let’s just get right into it. WTF! Porzingis just got traded! 7′ 3″ and 240 pounds, Porzingis can do it all; post up, break defenders down on the perimeter, shoot from downtown, and protect the rim on defense. Really, the only thing he didn’t do much of was dish out dimes (1.3 career assists per game). He was rightfully nicknamed The Unicorn.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: Full Monte

January 31, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 19 Comments

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For the one woman reader out there, if you got excited because you thought this post would correlate to The Full Monty, I have three things to say to you. First, thank you for being the lone woman reader. Second, I apologize. Third, get your mind out of the gutter. Pervert. This post is about Monte Morris of the Denver Nuggets. He’s been a solid player all season for the Nuggets, but last night? Well, we got the Full Monte as he received his second start of the season because Jamal Murray is still recovering from an ankle injury.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
20 7 7 2 0 0 3/4 8/12 1/1

Played a team-high and whopping 40 minutes! I wasn’t joking about the Full Monte bit. Now, Murray is the entrenched starter, so Morris won’t be surpassing him on the depth chart, but he’s still a valuable backup and will get run on a nightly basis. Coming into last night’s game, Morris had been averaging a tick under 25 minutes, 10.2 points, 1.2 threeecolas, 2.5 boards, 3.7 dimes, and 0.9 steals. He was shooting 48% from the field and 79% from the line. The key number for Morris is the assist-to-turnover ratio (5.45), which is second in the NBA. 180 assists to 33 turnovers in 49 games. That’s an endearing quality to have when it comes to NBA coaches. Almost as captivating as asian parents seeing their daughter date a man with a PhD in medicine. Bottom line, Morris is going to get run, which gives him a high floor. As evidenced last night, though, when he starts, you get the Full Monte.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: Boy, Nothing Curious About George

January 23, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 32 Comments

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The Oklahoma City Thunder are Russell Westbrook’s team. Or are they? Westbrook was drafted by the Thunder and has known no other team in his 11-year career. He also leads the team in usage with a 31.2 rate. But….it can be argued that Paul George has been the best player for the Thunder this season. George is averaging more points, more threeecolas, shoots more efficiently from both the field and line, and takes care of the ball better. Last night, George put up:

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
36 8 4 5 1 3 3/6 10/21 13/15

Westbrook also had a great game, which I will discuss further below, so it’s an interesting debate as to who’s been the better player, but there’s no question that George has been a beast this year. From a fantasy perspective, he’s been a top 10 player, consistently for the entire season. That type of performance must place him in the pantheon of Georges: Boy George, Curious George, and now Paul George.

Beep. Boop. Bop. The Stocktonator had George as the #2 player last night.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Tad

Fantasy Basketball: Run The Numbers – Uncover Out-of-Position Stats

January 17, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Run the Numbers |

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While perusing the standings the other day, I was surprised to see we’re already past the half-way mark of the NBA season. And for those in head-to-head leagues, that means we’re almost 2/3rds of the way through the fantasy regular season! It’s time to take stock of our team(s) and see where injuries, pick-ups, and dropped busts have left us situated. For example, half my starters this week on one team have been free agent pickups. I have some idea of my team’s strengths and weaknesses, but it’s a vastly different group than what I started with. Once we identify our short-comings, it’s as simple as grabbing a couple centers for a pair of guards to make up ground in boards and blocks, right? Maybe. But there are constraints that might make it more complicated than that. You may be losing stats you need by doing that and you may not be able to fit two extra centers into your lineup, anyway.

This week I’d like to bring up a concept many of you are probably familiar with, but often goes forgotten: Out-of-position stats. What if you’re low in rebounds, but you don’t have room to add/start a center? Well, you could trade a traditional point guard (assuming you were set with PG stats) for Dejounte Murray (9.5 rebounds per 36 minutes last season, and yes, by the way, I’m choosing an alternate universe in which he’s healthy for this hypothetical situation). Considering trading for or picking up players that get atypical stats for their position can make a ton of sense for a lot of reasons. Maybe you lost a big assist guy like John Wall or your dominant rebounder in Clint Capela. Maybe you’ve got another out-of-position stats guy that hurts you because of what he lacks (Dejounte’s assists and three-pointers, for example). Also, when you have out-of-position stats, like say Nikola Mirotic’s 3s, you can afford to have additional atypical players that others in your league might devalue, like Elfrid Payton, a guard that doesn’t hit many threes. Get creative and check out some of the players I’ve listed below.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: Kneel4Beal 2020

January 14, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 17 Comments

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It’s a contentious time in our nation’s capital. Bryce Harper may be departing, the name White House is being taken a little too literally, and questions abound regarding the viability of the Wall. That is why I propose that we, as a fantasy nation, Kneel4Beal 2020. Good things come from kneeling: marriage proposals, getting knighted, […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: A Harden Fast Rule

January 1, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 14 Comments

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When I first started writing these recaps, Grey imparted into my tiny brain the wisdom of not writing about the same player in the lede. It wasn’t a hard and fast rule, but it made sense and I’ve tried to adhere to it as much as possible. But, but, but….Yes, I’m studdering mother [email protected]#!er. Sometimes a player is so good, so brilliant, so dominant that he moon walks over all the competition and I’m forced to do it. Let’s call it the James Harden fast rule.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
43 10 13 2 0 9 6/12 8/19 21/27

That’s four straight games with at least 40 points. According to Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen), Harden joined Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the only players over the last 30 years to score 400 points in 10 games. According to Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA), Harden was the first person in NBA history to score at least 40 points on eight field goal makes. He now has four trip-dubs on the season and 39 for his career. He’s been the #1 player for fantasy over the past seven games. All that is nice and dandy, but do you know what the craziest stat is? With both Chris Paul and Eric Gordon off the court, Harden has a 51.8 usage rate, an increase of 10.3%!!! The Harden Fast Rule is that when Paul and Gordon are off the court, James is gonna eat.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: Save the Last Nance

December 19, 2018 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 20 Comments

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Last. A truly underrated word that gets a bad rap. We often associate the word with the sad events of life: that last kiss, last breath, last meal, last dollar, last call, last game, last day….sniff, sniff. I’m sad. But fret not, because one word can represent emotions at opposite ends of the spectrum. What do you think of when you read last man standing? Or last team left? Last = winner in that context. How about when the last shot goes in for the last score to leave the last team victorious? That’s exactly what Larry Nance Jr. did last night:

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
15 16 6 3 1 2 1/3 7/14 0

Got the start, played 33 minutes, and tipped in the last shot to bring victory to Cleveland. Duh!! Play the man, especially at center, where he beasts. You did pay the man with a four-year, $45 million contract after all. Not talking to you, my much appreciated reader. Cleveland! Do you hear me??!!! I know you like Ante Zizic, but c’mon man! Over the past eight games, Nance has averaged 29.6 minutes, 11.3 points, 0.8 threeecolas, 8.8 boards, 4.5 dimes, 1.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks. He’s shot 58% from the field and 75% from the free throw line. He’s been a top 20 player! Wake up Cleveland! Or you will literally be the last team, but maybe that’s what they want in order to draft LeBron 2.0.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?