Trade Deadline LIVE POST!

February 19, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 153 Comments

[We’ve got the Trade Deadline Podcast up! Slim and I react to all this hooblah as this post continues to be updated – you can find the Pod the post below this one as well as that link.]

Razzball Nation!

The Trade Deadline is nigh, which is to say, soon. Can I trade the start of this open with a different one…? “Did you hear the one about how the Hawks got nothing for the broke ass of Josh Smith last trade deadline?!” Imagine the Hawks with a lottery pick as well… I guess as fortune-tellers, they knew they didn’t need anything for Smoove!

The 2015 NBA Trade Deadline will pass at 3:00 PM EST, and up until the closing moments, I’ll be updating this post as each trade moves across my virtual news desk. Fantasy spins galore! That’s the younger sister of Pussy Galore… So be sure to constantly ping that refresh like Goldfinger on Kitco! Here’s what’s gone down so far:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Basketball Infirmary: Week 8 Injury Analysis

December 19, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 19 Comments

by: Peter Kap

The biggest injury news of the week definitely belongs to Jabari Parker. Initially diagnosed as a strained knee, Parker underwent more tests and it was discovered that he tore his ACL. As a result, Parker will miss the rest of his rookie season.

This is a tough blow to the Bucks. At 14-13, they are currently in the 6^th spot in the East and are in the hunt for a playoff berth. That says more about the pitiful East, than it does about the Bucks.

As my roommates can attest, I may not be able to pronounce his name, but I know Giannis Antetokounmpo is good. He’s athletic and long enough to play multiple positions and should continue to make strides this season. Khris Middleton isn’t as versatile as the Greek Freak, but can still provide fantasy owners with value. He put up 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals off the bench in Wednesday’s game, before putting up a dud (only 1/2/1) in Thursday’s game.

Brandon Knight, OJ Mayo, Jared Dudley, and even Ersan Ilyasova will also see added looks on offense as well. Ilyasova won’t return from his facial fracture and concussion until at least next week, but is a player to watch. He was playing well prior to his injury and could be a sleeper pickup if he can return to the 13 ppg, 7 rpg, and 1 three per game from a few seasons ago.

Jason Kidd will probably mix and match with his lineups and these guys may be inconsistent night in and night out, but they are guys to watch as their production and minutes rise.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Heat, Incomplete

December 16, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 113 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Replace “Heat” with “Jay Cutler” and that’s what I have on in the background…

So a rough couple of days for Miami fans as both Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts suffered seemingly minor injuries over the weekend, with some really bleak news coming out on Monday. McBob’s knee injury that came out of nowhere in last Wednesday’s shootaround was diagnosed as a torn meniscus and needs to go under the knife. Yikes. Probably out for the season, and right when he was turning it on. Then to Bosh, who has reports swirling his bum calf might cost him a few weeks. It’s murky waters for the Brontosaurus, but for the long-term, you’re just sitting and praying to the Fantasy God of Injury. I mean, dude was already so busy over the weekend! Bosh is still staying involved with practice on a limited basis, but then again we all know what happens when “we talkin’ bout practice.” In the interim, Shawne Williams probably gets the biggest uptick in minutes. But he was pretty low-ceiling in big minutes to start the year… He had a couple nice games early on, very blah though. Justin Hamilton is looking at a big role as well, off 10/3/1/2/0 in 33 minutes last Sunday. A low-yield big role… A little bit lost in the shuffle is Da Birdman! Chris Andersen returned for Sunday, playing 18 minutes for 2/3/1/0/1. He’s not going to get a ton of run given his age, but should offer a little blocking upside in a slight uptick of minutes. Really none of these guys move the needle for me much, as it’s just an Abyss out there on the front line, with no aliens to save you by raising the ocean floor on some platform thingy. I’m still in Lovington with Robert Covington and want it in the booty for Rudy. They’re way above any of these Heat fill-in schlubs. Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy hoops:

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?

KD’s Worth A Million Bucks

December 10, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 73 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Welcome back, Mr. Slim Reaper! It’s a perfectly apt nickname too, because I own him in the JB vs. Slim RCL league and he’s going to be Slim’s reaper! Even though I’m getting crushed this week so far…

After a decent enough start, Kevin Durant was still without the big eruption type game in his first three back, but last night dismantled the Bucks in an uber-efficient 23/9/7/1/1 game shooting 7-11 FG and 8-8 FT. He’s worth 9 or 10 Bucks, at the least! Was 1-5 from deep, so didn’t miss within the arc. All of that in 29 minutes, as Beam-me-up Scotty Brooks benched the Thunder studs down the stretch of the double-digit win. Even though this was against the young Bucks, the Thunder as a whole are coming together with Russell Westbrook having a fantastic 28/5/7 night with like, a million free throws made, and Serge Ibaka is back to his %-gold ways for 15/5/0/2/2 shooting 5-5 FG & 5-5 FT. Durantula and Westy are going to command their first-round values in trades, but I bet you could still swindle Ibaka away at a buy-low price. 3+ blocks the past four games and 16-26 from the field his last three, and isn’t needing to force shots anymore. Things are right in order for OKC to go on a mad run, so be counting your lucky stars if you got KD at a discount on draft day! What we preached all preseason post-injury! Here’s some other happenings from the NBA last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

One, Is The Loneliest Number You’ll Ever Do…

December 4, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 73 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

… especially since the Sixers are probably going to stay with that one in the win column for a good while!

One… The number of restarts to the Sixers game… What, was Tim Donaghy reffing and have odds on the Wolves scoring first?! Seriously, the Sixers couldn’t win a game without controversy?! Then again there was that Bucks game, sheesh (more below).

One… The number of TOs Michael Carter-Williams will never have in a game… Only one game under three TO this year, but hey, everything else is pretty sexy out there! Near tripdub last night in the Sixers W for 20/9/9 and three steals. Finally putting the W in MCW! Shot 9-20 from the field, but when he’s at the FT line it still gives him delirium triggers like a recovering alcoholic! It’s actually “delirium tremens”, but man I love that old Coheed song! 2-7 from the stripe last night with the whopping 6 giveaways, and it’s what you bargain for as an MCW owner. It’s almost like he sold his soul to the efficiency gods just to put up sexy triple-double stats. Maybe when Tony Wroten comes back, he can just be MCW’s TO-surrogate. “Tony, just turn it over a few times, and it’ll get em out of my system.” I feel like trading away/for MCW has been the most frequently asked comment… I was huge on him heading into the year, and even though his FT/TO drain hurt him in the metrics, I think if you can build around that – even in 9-cat – he’s probably worth more than most owners think. While those 9-cat metrics that rate everything equally are how they should work, remember it’s a team game and strengths/weaknesses play off each other. All you really want is one! One more win than the other team in the fantasy championship. Of course in Roto, you can’t handle those ones! So I would be selling in those formats. Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Basketball Infirmary: Week 1 Injury Analysis

October 31, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 24 Comments

by: Peter Kap

We’re only but a few games into the 2014-2015 NBA season and we’ve already had a lot injuries to promising young players. Here’s the Week 1 injury update:

After getting an inadvertent elbow to the face in practice, Victor Oladipo is out for the first month of the season with a facial fracture. No injury is a blessing, but the time off will give Oladipo ample time to rest his MCL. He had previously missed games in the preseason due to the sprained MCL in his right knee.

Elfrid Payton will continue to start at point guard, with or without Oladipo in the lineup. There will be some growing pains, but he’s a star in the making. To replace Oladipo at shooting guard, the Magic will rely on Ben Gordon and Evan Fournier. Ben Gordon is coming off of a horrible season, where he averaged 5.2 ppg in 14.7 mpg. His minutes, scoring, and field goal percentages have all declined in the last three years. Now he could have a game or two where he explodes for some threes, like he did against the Wizards on Thursday (22 points on 7-12 shooting), but I wouldn’t count on it and waste a roster spot waiting for those games. He scored only 5 points on 1-8 shooting in the first game. Gone are the days where he is worthy of a fantasy spot.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Stumpy P-thumb

October 8, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 68 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Preseason is here! Preseason is here! I’m as giddy as N64 kid on Christmas Day.

But before we got into any action, Nick Young had a rough end of to his week last week, jacking up his thumb on his shooting hand requiring surgery. He’ll be out 8 weeks, which puts him back in Purp-n-Gold mid-to-late November, optimistically. You can drop him off your fantasy teams now! He’s got a plenty big cast to hitchhike his way somewhere else. I would say to “Scrubtown” but if you say that three times fast it starts to sound kinda like Scranton and I don’t want to offend Scrantonites or fans of The Office.

I wasn’t big on Swaggy P anyway, but no reason to touch him except in the very deepest of leagues. Pretty empty scoring. Wesley Johnson gets a minor bump up, and that’s the extent of the impact. Now back to preseason! Of course every performance must be taken with a grain of salt, and this early it’s a friggin’ pillar of salt, but it’s never too early to see how players are doing – especially this year’s ridiculous class of rooks. Here’s what’s gone on across the league:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Last Rounds And Top 150 For 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball

September 3, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 66 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

With the full 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball Rankings now complete, let’s take a look at the double digit rounds. The debate over Scrub A or Scrub B. We don’t want no scrubs! Well, play in a shallower league then! People say you win your leagues in the later rounds. I don’t know who these people are, but they’re probably jaded after drafting Derrick Rose in the 2nd round last year. Where’s the violins?! What I would say, is if you hit on one guy in the late rounds with 30th or 40th overall value, you’re set. 75% of your last picks are probably going to be drops. So 75% of your late picks will be passes to Brandon LaFell. Wrong sport! Still bitter about how bad he was… Go Kelvin Benjamin! Aka my favorite Panther. Stay focused! Here’s my top 150 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.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Free Agency Update And NBA Players Inexplicably Playing Pickup At The Y

July 8, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 11 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Free agency is here! It has been a bit mum since the FA pool is awaiting that LeBron James cannonball, leaving us without a good snapshot of how the league will look in 2014-15. But we’ve got Summer League getting into gear and a couple interesting FA moves.

With the The Decision 2.0 on hold, even P.J. Hairston is antsy and trying to get some ball in. According to reports, he got into a fight with a high school senior, literally at the YMCA closest to the one where I play pickup (Chapel Hill). While some guys are really good at Chapel Hill, there aren’t any NBA players actin’ a fool and calling three in the key! This is likely a non-story, but it just makes you shake your head. Almost as much as my former rookie nookie Archie Goodwin getting arrested at an Arkansas skating rink. Sure, you can tweet “Don’t assume if you don’t know the whole story…” to which I say, “the hell you gonna get into that kinda situation at a skating rink for!” Man, that pine gonna stay warm this year, Archie! Here’s some other [actually useful for fantasy] news and notes of free agent signings and early Summer League performances:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2014 NBA Draft Recap: The One You’ll Be Telling Your Grandkids About

June 27, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 59 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

What a night, what a night! While we didn’t see the fireworks of say, a QB drafted by San Diego saying he’d only play for the Giants, but we had some interesting reaches, some surprising fallers, and one very happy/newly re-acquainted Hornets fan!

The crew and I had a blast tweeting through the draft, so I have a few other thoughts sprinkled in the first round recap below. It didn’t go quite (read: at all) like Slim and I’s mock draft, but here’s how the draft went down, with a fantasy outlook for these rookies for the 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball Season:

Please, blog, may I have some more?