“Wahhhhhhh, I’m Still Only 39% Owned!”

December 30, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 69 Comments

“Wahhhhhhh, I’m Jarrett Jack!”

He’s. Just. So. Sad! Cheer up, buttercup! Deron Williams is just plain terrible these days… Which means starting minutes!

Even though he didn’t set the world on fire last night (16/3/2/1/0), Jack seems to have a stronghold on the Nets starting PG spot. With the range for treys (one 3PTM the past three games) and a great FT%, Jack is a must-own in all leagues for me. However, there is a major concern. The Showcase Showdown! Brooklyn is trying to pawn Williams off like a bad case of gonorrhea, and sometimes you have to coax out the virus before it goes away! Hah – let’s hope that’s not true, totally making that up (cough, cough…). With another bajillion dollars left on D-Will’s contract, the injury-riddled walking kankle is a tough sell. Then again, maybe keeping him off the bench will protect him from another injury making him go from normally hard to sell to “leave him on the curb and hope someone takes him” hard to sell. Regardless, most teams even in 10ers should have room for Jack, as I think it’s likely he starts the rest of the season for the soon-to-be rebuilding Nets. And there’s no one else that’s even waiting in the wings… So pick up Jack where you can if he’s still out there, if only to cheer him up! Here’s what else went down last night in Fantasy Basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Pretty Much The Exact Opposite Of Sean Astin

December 15, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 147 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Tracking Rudy Gobert‘s path to the NBA has been movie worthy. After an accident at his former job at the local steel mill, Rudy had Jon Favreau (he really could be French!) keep his grades up in exchange for Rudy helping Jonny out with the ladies. Gobert almost gave up on his dream for basketball, but Charles S. Dutton gave a heartfelt speech on BEING REAL! Utah fans tried carrying Gobert off the court chanting “Rudy! Rudy!” after that win against the Spurs last Tuesday, but it was a big hazard to the overhead lights.

Derrick Favors‘ ankle turned into a kankle over the weekend, but luckily X-rays were negative and he’s day-to-day. No reason for the lowly Jazz to throw him out there gimpy. Monsieur Elbow time! Filling in for Favors on Friday night, Rudy had one of the best games of his young career for 9/11/4/1/5 shooting 2-2 FG and 5-6 FT. Followed it up with a start last night next to Enes Kanter for 7/9/0/2/3 in 31 minutes. Playing with the big boys! A wingspan that would make a pterodactyl jealous, Gobert should murder blocks for you if you’re able to stream him through the couple starts he’s likely to get this week. No timetable for Favors, but big men + kankles = John Goodman. I mean, not good for a speedy return.

Boy did the Fantasy God of Injuries not get enough human sacrifices over the weekend! This might turn out to be the most depressing NBA recap I’ve ever written. Stay positive JB! Stay positive JB! Thanks inner monologue… Any other advice to help me get through today’s news? Well, remember when in Interstellar it looked like there was no hope due to another Dust Bowl, then he just finds the newly incarnated NASA – – Wait, how does any of that make sense, they didn’t know he was alive yet he was their best hope!? And then there’s that giant plot hole with the planet with the – – it just makes no – – uhughuhguhguhguhgug – – – – F, now my inner monologue is injured… Here’s how the weekend of death went down in NBA action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Behind The Music – What Happened To JB’s Rapping Career

December 12, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 14 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

“Who wants to win part of $45K for only $2 to play?!”

Yes, it’s Friday which means it’s DratKings night! And I’m hopping in one of my low-risk, high-reward contests where I can win it big if I smoke da rest like a cig. OK, I’m done with this bit, it’s just terrible isn’t it?! I’ll be hopping in the NBA $45K LAYUP, with the $2 buy-in good enough to win me $5,000 if I can top the field. Of course, all you have to do is finish in the top 20% to money, something Slim and I both did last week to double and triple up. Slim did better! Flaunting his $6 around like a Little Rascal. Why daily fantasy is fun with your friends – instant gratification. So hop in the contest tonight, follow our entries (“jbrazzball” & “SlimRazzball”), and let’s get Razzball Nation winnin’ some paper! Here’s a look at five of my DK picks for tonight:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

LeBron Leaves Cleveland… AGAIN!

December 12, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 74 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Well, so much for the prime time matchup last night! Yesterday afternoon LeBron James‘ knee flared up, and after a mid-afternoon report that the Cavs weren’t worried but would be cautious, they ended up holding him out. I think LeBron was mostly worried about another Serge Ibaka wrister.

How you can finish that play after breaking your nose…?! Legit. Anyway, for the Cavs it didn’t mean much to the Big Two, but somehow Tristan Thompson is playing his way into relevance again. Yes, Slim and I’s oft-discussed, Pts/Reb only Tristan Thompson – except these days he’s hitting some other cats! 14/13/1/0/2 last night, shooting 4-8 FG and 6-8 FT in 30 minutes. He’s finally making shots at an acceptable rate this year, with his FG% at 53.6% before last night and got the blocks back up to nearly 1 a game after being at 0.4 last year in almost 6 more minutes per. The big catalyst here is getting back that big run with the second unit. After only topping 30 minutes one time through the first 14 games, is over 30 four of the past seven culminating in dubdubs three of the past four. I’m frankly surprised he’s owned in 38% of Yahoo leagues already, but for the streamers/DraftKings players out there, LeBron might sit one more and assure another big workload for TT. I don’t think he plays this much long-term, but you can get some big man stats on the cheap. It’s no conundrum! Here’s what else went down in the two games last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Will You Marry Me, DeMarre?

December 11, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 66 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

I’ve got the ring in the cake. The scoreboard operator has got it cued up for the 2nd quarter under-8 timeout. The plane with some really carcinogenic toxins is ready to pollute the atmosphere in a “Will U Marry Me?” loopy smokestream.

An unsung contributor this year, DeMarre Carroll racked up another under-the-radar line last night for 14 Pts, 11 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 3PTM, and a partridge in a pear tree! No TO, and other than blocks really hits all the Silver Bells and whistles. Hitting a career best 1.6 treys a game, it’s a Christmas miracle his FG% is at 46%. The dimes don’t do much either, but there’s no reason not to to Sleigh Ride him while he’s hitting most of the cats this hard. Even a Silent Night or two won’t scare me away, and at only 61% ownership in Yahoo, I feel like there’s still a lot of leagues where he could bring Joy to the World. So sing a holiday carol for DeMarre, and even though nothing is too sexy, I felt like I needed Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (full disclosure, I had to look up a list of Christmas songs for this bit, I’m such a Grinch). Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

[Insert K Word] Juice!

December 2, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 83 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Boy is the Kikkoman Juice (less sodium) flowing!

With Tony Wroten out with a knee injury (banged it against a barrel of turnovers), it’s given Brett Brown a bitch slap of sanity to run K.J. McDaniels like he deserves minutes. Who else is there to even play, Eric Snow?! McDaniels hadn’t played 30 minutes in a game this year, until surpassing that mark the past three games including a swashbuckler against the Spurs last night. Getting rainbows that have golden arcs bigger than McDowell’s with a 10/9/2/3/2 line last night, after 21/13/1/1/2 & 18/6/1/0/1 in this latest minutes explosion the last three 76ers ~~games~~ losses. While he’s playing better than I imagined, there’s still minutes for Wroten when he gets healthy, so I’m not ready to put all my Kookaburra eggs in my Kookaburra juice carton. Worth owning in all leagues right now while getting the PT, but if he’s back down to 20 minutes when Wroten is healthy and T-Wrote plays his trademarked brickfest game (Wroten plays Tetris!), I’m fine moving on. So for now, pour that sweet sweet kabob juice all over your line-up! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy hoops:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Russell Westback

December 1, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 126 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Kinda sounds like a porn name, doesn’t it?

After a day of giving thanks, fantasy owners got a huge boost while scarfing microwaved plates of Thanksgiving leftovers with Russell Westbrook healing up and putting on a historic comeback off the broken hand. Is this guy’s bones made of Adamantium or what?! Señor Westback seems to beat his timetable every injury the past few years, which I don’t know if it’s really a good or bad thing… Can heal fast, but is gettin’ hurt a lot! Reckless Russell. The made-for-TV Skinimax sequel to Wreck-It Ralph starring Russell Westback. I’d watch that! Although they’re apparently making a Wreck-It Ralph 2, which I hope embraces some Grand Theft Auto elements. Would make sense to star Russell Westback! Rated R, sorry kids… It’s like confusing them with Death to Smoochy having a purple dinosaur. Anyway, Westbrook absolutely torched the Knicks last Friday night in his return for 32/7/8 hitting 12-17 shots and notching three treys. Twas the first 32 Pts 8 Ast game in 24 minutes or less in the shot-clock era. It was like stealing the car, then running over the driver trying to sprint away for good measure. Even though it’s “just” his hand, got a huge layoff from that game until facing the Pelicans tomorrow. Plenty of time to catch up on his turkey leftovers, and refuel to give fantasy owners that first-round production for the bulk of the season ahead. So drop the confetti, and welcome Westback! But let’s hope it’s a little less Reckless, and we’ll take 25/5/5 every 24 minutes without any issues… Here’s what else went on around the league since we’ve been off from Thanksgiving:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Welcome To The Band, Perry

November 3, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 90 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t listen to country music… I don’t listen to that emo we talked about last Friday anymore either… This is quickly turning into JB’s music blog (I’ll always shoot anyone some recommendations if you want rock/shoegaze/ambient stuff! Flip side to Grey’s rapcoin!)…

Anyway, I googled The Band Perry, because well, I know that they’re something popular, and the first image looks like some hot chick standing in front of two of the Stark ninnies from Game of Thrones. Which would be a pretty apt way to think about the Thunder a mere month ago. Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook standing in front of some ninnies. Don’t get me wrong, RJax and Lurch are some exciting young talent, but I preach da truff! Then the injury bug swept the Thunder locker room more aggressively than Ebola media coverage (I would say just Ebola, but even THAT isn’t spreading as fast…), and everyone is hurt. With all that offense recovering and enjoying painkiller prescriptions, somebody was bound to step up. And why not the talented Perry Jones, who I compared in his first mention last year to James Johnson – multi-cat with 3s. I knew the tags would help me! Click on a player name on the bottom of the article there and you get every article that dude was mentioned… Focus! After that huge 32/7/3 breakout last Thursday night, encored it with 23/4/2/2/0 Saturday shooting 9-18 with three treys in a whopping 41 minutes. While his rest of season outlook remains a little murky when the rest of Perry’s cast of Friends return, he’s an obvious must-add for the short term. Another big week, and you can sell him faster than a Courtney Cox sitcom about boning cougars. Here’s what else went down over the weekend in fantasy basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Season (And More Importantly, Guess The Kobe Stat Line) Is Here Baby!

October 28, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 184 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

It’s finally here! “The lockout is over!” You’re like, “wtf, a lockout?!” I’m quoting a Dave Cowens commercial! And after the 98-99 Lockout at that! Anything vintage Hornets is nostalgic gold right now. Ridiculous amounts of bonus points to readers who are Hornets fans and remember that commercial and/or can find the video. Because I couldn’t!

The return of the Hornets is one of the many things I’m looking forward to this year. Getting past my horrific Jonas Valanciunas love, finally changing the page to a new season, is another. But one of the biggest is a healthy (for now) Kobe Bryant and the return of the “Guess Kobe Bryant’s Stat Line”! Even if you’re a long-time reader, you might not know this one! It’s like the NBA scheduled the Lakers on a light opening night just for this momentous Razzball event, not because the Lakers are a widely popular team or anything…

I don’t remember exactly what spawned this prestigious contest, but as with everything that is oddly conversational in Razzball, traditions can start any time! Like how we all guessed what Kobe would do, the like, 5 games he played last year. So in order to carry this tradition, and to accurately-ish credit the winner, guess the Kobe line will be limited to the PTS/REB/AST projection to determine the victor. Feel free to guess more stats than that, but when we did it last year with steals and blocks and turnovers, it was hard to say which commenter was closer than another. The winner gets a shout out in the recap the next day, along with the jealous ire of all other Razzballers… I think Kobe has a big one in the opener vs. Houston… I’m going 31/5/6. Shoot your guesses below, and happy return to Fantasy Basketball! We’re pumped for our biggest season to date here at Razzball, and thanks to everyone for checking us out through the offseason!

Here’s some other news and notes since the last wrap-up, and what I’ll be focusing on for opening night (and we’re daily every weekday with the wrap-ups here on out!):

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Undraftables AKA The Top 200 For 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball

September 4, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 10 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

With the full 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball Rankings now complete, let’s take a look at the final 50. Sean Connery. Kevin Costner. Tons of Great Depression-esque costumes. I’d imagine if you’re in a deep league and looking at the field below with your last pick or two, you’re feeling something like this:

It’s pretty hopeless, as in 12-teamers these are all likely guys you’re merely starring on your watch list post draft. There’s some questionable talent, some questionable roles, maybe even someone that’ll give you The Grapes of Wrath, but some untapped upside! Here’s my top 200 for the 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball Season (based on 9-cat H2H):

Please, blog, may I have some more?

NBA Free Agency Wrap Up: Cleveland Rocks

July 30, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 4 Comments

by: SethDaSportsMan

As we head into August, now is a perfect time to take a look back at the free agency period for the upcoming 2014-15 NBA season.

While there is one big name yet to sign (Eric Bledsoe), a few less-intriguing options still on the market (Michael Beasley, Andray Blatche, Kent Bazemore, Jordan Crawford), and another who’s unsure whether he’ll play or retire (Ray Allen), most of the fantasy basketball world knows where guys will be playing this season. Of course, that still doesn’t include the possibility of Kevin Love finding a new home by the end of the summer, but that could be the subject of an entirely different article.

There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that Love will land in Cleveland, which will make them a huge force in the Eastern Conference — and in the entire NBA.

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“I’m Coming Home” And Other Free Agency Buffoonery

July 16, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 16 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

We all know the story. Cleveland fans burn things, then stage apology videos. Yeah, let’s put the ashes from last night’s barbecue and put it on top of my LeBron James Cavs jersey and pick it up. Sooooooooooo symbolic. Somebody is already halfway through the 30 for 30 special… But I got an advanced look at LeBron’s first press event with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert:

I love what Slim said in his reaction as a Heat fan. “LeBron’s legacy will now be that of a journeyman.” BURN! Poor choice of the all caps scathing word, JB! LeBron is still the alpha dog of the NBA, but he’s now numero tres in my ranking-os… Never was too good at Spanish. I’m moving Anthony Davis up to 2 and joining Slim’s bandwagon. Even though BronBron had talent around him in Miami, he never had a point guard. Which I mean more literally than not since Mario Chalmers‘ assists look more like Billy Dee Williams’ Dancing with the Stars‘ scores than an NBA PG’s! And now LeBron’s got family on his team! I don’t mean the city of Cleveland, but Uncle Drew! They should mish mash one of those videos with drunk uncle from SNL… Anyway, Kyrie Irving is going to have some balls in his hands (cough), so LeBron will be performing less hernia tests. Kyrie’s three-year arc has been declining FG% but steadily improving Ast/TO ratios and overall dimes. More efficient with the ball, but not hitting the shots. Maybe it’s because the Cavs had no other playmakers… Iso for Anderson Varejao! Dion Waiters just blocked me on Twitter. LeBron will be a huge ease on Kyrie’s defensive pressure, however stemming from that – if Kyrie is hot, he shootin’! Both will have great final numbers, but a little inconsistent game-to-game. LeBron should see his dimes go down a tick as well. Here’s a look at the rest of the free agency movement and some key notes from Summer League:

Please, blog, may I have some more?