Jrue Holiday

Son

Fantasy Basketball: Down By the Westbrook

February 15, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 35 Comments

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If I lived in the country, I’d like to be within walking distance of a brook. Hearing and watching water flow is so relaxing to me. Plus, it could help irrigate my farmland and hopefully fish would swim rampant in it. I like watching fish. I’m a terrible fisherman, though, which bodes well for the fish. Funny story. My buddy took me fishing off the pier once and I caught this fish that was maybe six inches long. Kid next to me, maybe eight years old, looks at my fish, then looks me dead in the eye and says, “That ain’t no fish!” F U kid. Anyways, I mention a brook because I know what to expect from it. It’s going to bring water, fish, and it damn well ain’t going anywhere. Unless the neighbor upstream builds a dam. Damn! Russell Westbrook brings that same consistency.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
44 14 11 1 2 5 4/12 18/30 4/4

11 straight trip-dubs! He now has 128 for his career, 10 behind Magic Johnson and 53 behind Oscar Robertson. He should knock that out in two seasons tops. From a fantasy perspective, the high turnovers and low shooting efficiency keep him down (top 35 over the past seven games), but the counting stats. Oh, those counting stats. He’s AVERAGING a trip-dub. They flow like water down the Westbrook.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

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: A B C D E F G

February 5, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 10 Comments

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A B C D E F G. Usually we continue with H I J K L M N O P, but not today because the Buck stops at G. Is it a coincidence that G is the first letter for both Giannis Antetokounmpo and God? I don’t believe in coincidences. Both God and G have many similarities. They are both freaks and possess mind-blowing characteristics. God with the whole omnipotent and created the universe thing, while G is a physical marvel unrivaled by any human. Now, both usually just go about their business in the world by being awesome, but every once in a while, fury, rage, and anger swell up to deliver a message. Last night was one of those times for G.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
30 15 9 0 3 4 0/2 12/19 6/8

Over the past six games, G has been the #4 player. The usage rate has been 32.5 and he’s even contributed 0.8 tres. 28 points, 12.3 boards, 5.7 dimes, 2 steals, and 1.7 blocks with 53% shooting from the field and 81% from the line on 9.2 attempts is down right filthy. Just wait until he starts draining those tres, though, because it’s going to happen. Regardless, having G as one of the top fantasy players is easy as A B C. What the Nets and the rest of the league learned last night was just as easy; Don’t get G angry.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

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: Cedi Has Been Osman

January 30, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 17 Comments

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Cedi Osman was selected with the 31st overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves back in 2015. His draft rights were immediately traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Osman was stashed away in Europe for two years. When he finally made it over to the States, the playing time was inconsistent but he did show that he could play in the league and had two games in which he logged 39 minutes. Osman showed the ability to contribute across the board, so it wasn’t a surprise when he performed well to begin this season: 32.4 minutes, 13.1 points, 5.3 boards, 3.6 dimes, and 1 steal were his averages in the month of October. While he shot 42% from downtown on 4.7 attempts, the overall field goal percentage was only 38%, something that would plague him as the season progressed. In addition, the peripheral stats all decreased, which resulted in many jumping off the Osman ship. But then something happened. Maybe something clicked, as he’s still only 23 years old and this is only his second season in the NBA. Or maybe it’s small sample size, but whatever the case may be, last night Cedi was freaking Osman!

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
26 5 7 2 1 3 4/8 10/16 2/8

Well, everything but the free throw shooting, but he was instrumental in leading the Cavs to a 116-113 victory over the Wizards. For much of the season, Osman had been a top 200 player for fantasy, but over the three games prior to last night, he’d been top 30, averaging 37.1 minutes, 23.7 points, 3.7 threeecolas, 6.7 boards, 2.7 dimes, and 1.3 steals. He’d been shooting 52% from the field and had a usage rate of 23. Now, the efficiency will likely come down, but there’s also a chance that he’s more comfortable and has improved. Regardless, the Cavs straight stink so Osman is going to get tons of run. Cedi has been Osman. Hopefully, he continues to be.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Joel

Fantasy Basketball: Lillard Out, Blazers Still Rout

January 27, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes |

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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?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: Messing Around by the Westbrook

January 25, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 47 Comments

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A brook is a small stream that invokes a sense of calm and serenity. I see a man painting the beautiful landscape on the canvas held up by an easle. The green grass on the banks reflect off the water while Bruce Lee whispers into my ear, “Be like water.” The birds chirp while the frogs croak. I just want to sit down, cross my legs, and meditate. Ohhhhmmmm. SLAM! BLAM! KAPOW! POP! BOOM! A Westbrook, on the other hand, is….well, imagine a herd of wildebeest crossing the Mara River…..with a bask of crocodiles that haven’t eaten in weeks. That’s Russell Westbrook on the basketball court….and last night he feasted.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
23 17 16 2 0 4 1/3 9/19 4/8

Westbrook has now messed around in back-to-back games and last night marked the fifth time this month. Over the last four games, he’s averaging a trip-dub with 1 threeecola and 1 steal. With that said, he’s only been a top 80 player because of the lack of blocks, 68% shooting from the line, and 4 turnovers per game. Beep. Boop. Bop. I was wondering why the Stocktonator was watching so much Animal Planet yesterday, as it had Westbrook as it’s #1 player last night.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: OladipNOOOOOO….

January 24, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 19 Comments

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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?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: It’s Harden Unfathomable What James Is Doing Right Now

January 17, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 26 Comments

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I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care. I’m not supposed to write about the same player in the lede. I’m supposed to change it up and give others a chance. I’m all about equal opportunity but I ain’t no commie. I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care. Because what James Harden is doing right now, I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t make him the lede every single night. Since December 13th, 2018, Harden has played 18 games. Over that span, he’s AVERAGING 42 points per game. There’s been three 50-burgers and eight games with at least 40. He hasn’t scored less than 32 points. W. T. F…..He’s AVERAGED 38.7 minutes and had a usage rate of 43.4%!!! The true shooting percentage has been 62% while the assist percentage has been 48.5%! W. T. F….W. T. F…..W. T. F!!!! Last night, in an overtime loss, Harden was ridonkulous:

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
58 10 6 1 1 4 5/19 16/34 21/23

He scored 57 the prior night! I’ll never forget 2003 Kobe when he went nine straight games scoring at least 40 points. That was sick. This is…..illmatic. Shout out to Nas.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

Fantasy Basketball: James Makes It Harden Difficult

January 15, 2019 | 2018 Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 30 Comments

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There are some things in life that we can’t refrain from doing. When you text a crush and you see the reply bubble, you writhe with anticipation. When you drive by an accident and talk shit about all the people rubber necking, of course you gawk because traffic has slowed down anyways. When you buy a lottery ticket, you mental masturbate about what you would do if you won. When James Harden plays basketball, no matter how many times I’ve written him as the lede, I have to do it again because he keeps doing ridiculousness.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
57 9 2 2 1 5 6/15 17/33 17/18

In 34 minutes! With a supporting cast of P. J. Tucker, Daniel House Jr., Nene Hilario, and Austin Rivers!! Harden had a usage rate of 57.5 last night!!! His true shooting percentage was 69.6!!!! Exclamation points are no longer sufficient to capture the essence of what he’s doing. You ever seen the movie Boomerang?

That’s where we’re at with Harden. He’s making it difficult for NBA defenses. He’s making it difficult for me not to write him as the lede every night. He’s making it difficult for us to even comprehend what he’s doing. Harden difficult indeed.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?