Boogie Gives DC A “Can’t Beat Em, Join Em!” Trade Deadline Preview

November 29, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 122 Comments

Ahhhhh, DeMarcus Cousins. Build like a brick shithouse (did I get that phrase right?), puts up monster numbers, and the Kings franchise is terrible. We need a change of scenery! After years of speculation and “Lord give me strength” tweets, it looks like this year might finally be the year.

Boogie went nuts last night against the Wizards, going 36/20/4/2/1 (Goromotaro!), but the Kings still got another kick in the SAC in the OT loss. Cousins tried to put this team on his back! Scored the pivotal last two baskets to put it into extra time, but the Wizards are like the Borg. “Resistance is futile!”

Trekkie jokes! Despite the huge line and burning Marcin Gortat on drives, Boogie still did Boogie things, with 5 TO and 3-10 FT. I saw he almost got a technical foul by complaining to the rim! “Is that goal regulation size or WHAT?!” Even though he has 32+ points in the past 4, the D stats are down, and a looming trade would inevitably hurt his value. Actually, staying put would hurt too, as he’d be a major DNP candidate. One Boogie rumor is that he could be playing for last night’s enemy, and reuniting with Kentucky teammate John Wall. It would probably take Bradley Beal and some pieces, likely some picks thrown in there too, but the Wizards look like they need a shake-up, I think we can all agree there. Scotty Brooks can manage superstar personalities, and might be the best coach for Cousins. That said, the Wiz are 4-2 over the past 6, and might be ever-so-slightly turning it around.

With the trade rumor mill churning and the D stats down (giving Boogie a surprisingly-low 19th per-game valuation on BBmonster), I think now is the time to shop him around. You’re feeling great with your returns if you got him in the second round, so maybe a fantasy owner will want to take on Boogie’s temperamental stats more aggressively than an NBA GM. That is, if this hypothetical NBA GM isn’t a big fantasy player! Although if the GM plays in 8-cat, he’ll spend like crazzzzzzy to get Boogie! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy hoops action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Harden The Interruption

November 18, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 33 Comments

by: Adam

Feb 23, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) and fans celebrate Harden's three point shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Toyota Center. Rockets won 113 to 102. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports The Rockets put up 41 in the first quarter, with a lot of help from the beard. Harden finished the game with a 26/12/14/3/0 triple double, while only turning the ball over 4 times… That really isn’t that bad for the Rockets! A fair amount of blowouts last night, but the games were still quite enjoyable! Particularly, the matchup of KAT and EMBIIIIIID.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

As Our Faith In Democracy Is Rattled, We Can Finally Revert Back To A Monarachy And Lord Covington

November 10, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 98 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

It’s been over 24 hours now. The sun rose. The sun set. People played basketball.

Regardless of how you felt through Tuesday night, I think pretty much everyone can agree it was morally exhausting. My wife actually wanted to watch the SNL Election Special last night that we DVRed, and all the laughing I did through the year plus of skits just got no response from me this time. Well, the Jay Pharoah as Ben Carson was still pretty boss… But it was a poor DVR choice!

With all the divisiveness and vitriol flying around, I just don’t know if democracy is working any more. Bring back a monarchy! Hell, The Walking Dead is doing it… (I think I’m going to make Nene‘s nickname King Ezekiel, but I’ll work on graphics for that later) No more Healthcare.Mozgov, it’s time to [re]embrace Lord Covington! His followers were jumping off the bandwagon like they were in Paris in 1789, but now we need a strong leader to get behind! 23/6/1/1/1 with no TO for Robert Covington against the Pacers for by far his best line on the season, hitting 8-16 FG with 5 treys. Just needs to get in more uptempo games! Honestly, I know I lost some RobCo faith, but I’m back on the bandwagon. I’m a flip flopper! Sue me! So be sure he wasn’t cut in your 10 or 12 team leagues, and scoop him up if so. Looks like his shot is back. It is worth mentioning that USG-whore Joel Embiid got a DNP though, so that might have helped things open up, but then again Embiid tweeted this yesterday.

Embiid 2020! If it becomes a contest of which candidate – Embiid or the incumbent – is bigger in the downstairs, we all know who would win that one!

Apr 15, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during warm ups before a game against the Miami Heat at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s what else went down in Fantasy Hoops last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2016-17 NBA Team Previews: Washington Wizards

October 14, 2016 | Team Previews | 54 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

As we prepare for the 2016-17 Fantasy Basketball Season, I’ll be taking a look at each NBA team with their major adds and drops to see if we can pan for any surprise rotational gold. This open is especially witty for the Nuggets… We’ll be counting down from worst NBA regular season to the best, mainly because I’m still figuring out how to rank the Warriors…

Washington Wizards (41-41)

wizards

Key Acquisitions:

C Ian Mahinmi

F Andrew Nicholson

G Trey Burke

C Jason Smith

G Tomas Satoransky

Key Losses:

F Jared Dudley

C Nene

G Ramon Sessions

G Garrett Temple

G Gary Neal

Whhhhhhhhhhit MAN!

You have to say “Whhhhhitman!” like you’re almost about to whistle. Whhhhhhhhit! Hah, anyway, the Wiz were one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA last year, after being a tough out in the East in 14-15. Head coach Randy Whitman got the axe, they brought in a good replacement in Scotty Brooks, but didn’t really change too much of their roster. Kieff didn’t give them the spark they were looking for in a deadline deal, but maybe with a full offseason training with the team (and hopefully only getting detailed for a ton of weed at Philly’s airport will be his only off-the-court distraction), he can return to his peak Suns days. Other than that, it’s really your same Wiz regulars with a re-vamped second unit. Here’s how the Wizards roster is taking shape for the season:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Kristaps Pours It On The Bulls

March 24, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes |

by: Peter Kap

The precursor to the much-hyped Clippers and Warriors game was the game between the Bulls and Knicks. On paper, this wasn’t the best choice by ESPN, considering the Knicks are out of the playoffs and the Bulls are competing for the 8^th spot.

However, it featured two of the best, youngest international stars. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis dunked and shot his way to 29 points and 10 rebounds. He may have hit the so-called “rookie wall,” but he still contributes enough in a variety of categories to matter in fantasy for the playoffs.

Nikola Mirotic almost single handedly brought the Bulls back in the 4^th quarter. He knocked down 9-13 from downtown, on his way to 35 points and 6 rebounds off the bench. Can you name the last Bull to knock down 8 threes in a game? Ben Gordon did it in 2008-09. While Gordon had a serviceable career, I hope both Mirotic and Porzingis have better careers than Gordon. Based on Wednesday, their futures look very bright.

Now only the other nightly notables:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

You Don’t Know BoBo

March 18, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 54 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

I don’t know BoBo! You don’t know Bobo! Let’s call the whole thing off!

Who is this Bojan Bogdanovic we’re seeing lately!? Once a disappearing act at the starting 2 in Brooklyn, BoBo has moved to the 3 and it’s done wonders for his numbers. As we all know, the Nets’ SG position is the NBA’s Bermuda Triangle, so once he broke free of the curse, he finally started rackin’ up da goods! After putting up 44 on the Sixers earlier in the week, it seeming like less of a fluke after going 26/3/5/1/0 against the Bulls last night in only 29 minutes. It was uber-efficient too, going 10-17 from the field with 2 treys and 4-4 FT. What’s surprising about this scoring outburst is in these 70 Pts the last two games, only 18 have come from treys. As a starting F, he’s 18.9/4.2/2.4 with 2.2 treys in 10 games, further proof that the Nets SG position has been hexed by Miss Cleo. “I have drawn the ThrAGNOF, fluke, relegated to D-League and sub-15 minute cards!” At 55% owned, BoBo the bear could easily still be on the wire in your league, as he was even out there in one of my RCLs. Unfortunately he didn’t fit my needs – read: I was out of moves. Ugh! I got antsy with streaming as my non-bye week playoff teams are getting hexed by Miss Cleo too! “I have drawn the suck, suck, brick, and suck card!” Here’s what else went down last night in NBA action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

NBA Trade Deadline – More Tryptophan Than Binge-Eating A Whole Turkey, plus Thursday’s Daily Notes

February 19, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 103 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Wow, we certainly got polar opposite trade deadlines the past two years!

With shocking move after shocking move around 3:00 PM last year, 2016 was a nice afternoon siesta, putting the “dead” in Trade Deadline. This is why it’s impossible to predict trades! I might use this year’s deadline as a response to “who is most likely to be traded” quandaries. Is there a shrug emoticon?! Because in 2016, every NBA GM was too busy playing Candy Crush to make phone calls to other teams!

Really the biggest trade had very little fantasy impact too… Markieff Morris comes to the Wizards, and just like Archie Goodwin‘s neck, he puts a stranglehold on the PF position. Watch me whip! Watch me Nene! …watch me never play again 🙁 Even though Nene started last night over Jared Dudley (and had a decent game too), I think that’s more about having him be a placeholder to get ready for the new Wiz rotation once Kieff gets there. I just think Wizards fans should be happy Gilbert Arenas isn’t still there, that locker room might get fiestier than in Memphis! We’ll get to that later… Kieff should’ve been owned in all leagues already, and you can happily drop Dudley in almost all leagues. That was my first text to Slim! Pssshhh, Slim arguing to hold Dudley… On the flip side, Phoenix got trash and roster dumpage, with Kris Humphries mayyyyybe playing some backups kims. I mean mins. The big takeaway is Alex Len should be nabbed in all 12ers, and when the news broke, he was owned in only 30% of leagues (and still is at 30% apparently)… He should get a nice boost in consistency, minutes wise. Here’s what else went down over this snoozer of a deadline, plus the Daily Notes from last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Klay Thompson – JB’s True American Hero

December 9, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 102 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

So I know what you’re thinking – where is Matty this morning?! He’s been awesome! Well, I’m here today to fill in while Matty takes a Canadian spa day. What happens is you go to this facility and everything is made of poutines. All you can eat is poutines, all the liquid you intake is gravy, the spa pillows are made of cheese curd… Wait, why am I making fun of this, that sounds like the best day of my life! Matty – true Canadian hero.

But back here in The Colonies, Klay Thompson has become MY true AMERICAN hero! Going 13-21 from the field including 10-16 from deep, Thompson had a monster breakout going 39/7/6/0/1 against the Pacers, leading the Warriors to 23-0. And speaking of “and-0s”, look at JB taking the 1-0 lead on the 30-point challenge board! Looking like another season where I’m going to trounce Slim in the 30-pt challenge. It’s not official yet, but I’ve heard mumblings that the IQ test will soon be phased out for the 30-pt challenge as the most accurate test for intelligence… Anyway, it’s funny how perception and time can change a player’s analysis. I went from slamming Thompson for being a ThrAGNOF, to finally buying in, and then defending his cold start suggesting making buy low offers. All the sudden after last night, all he’s missing is 3.5 Pts and half a steal from having nearly identical stats from 14-15. Of course as all of this unfolded last night, it ended with a monster cliffhanger after Klay got a kankle and looked like he was in some serious pain on the bench. X-rays were negative, and luckily Klay says it’s not too bad and should be back in a few days. Whew! Let’s hope this doesn’t slow down his reacharound! I mean turnaround! Here’s what else happened last night in fantasy basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Trust The Process Or A Bunch Of Nonsense?

November 17, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 53 Comments

by: charlie

After witnessing the Philadelphia lose their eleventh straight contest this year, needless to say, it certainly takes balls to be a 76ers fan right now. I’m not referring to testicular fortitude or alpha masculinity, but rather literally, to the ping pong balls of hope known as the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery. With the possibility of multiple lottery picks in the 2016 Draft, it’s going to be okay Philadelphia fans. Put down your weapons, we’ll get through this together.

But it may take some time, since the franchise is focusing on future contention; the on-court product suffers as the 76ers appear to be the worst team in basketball once again.

At this point, I’m just surprised Philadelphia still has a team website, since they can’t string three “W’s” together…

I think I’m going to hide in a corner for the rest of my life after that joke.

Philly, I’m rooting for you, and I’m rooting for the process!

Jahil Okafor continued to impact the box score with a 19 points, 11 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. The Rookie of the Year frontrunner recorded his second straight double double against a soft Dallas front court. Luckily for fantasy owners, Okafor will see plenty of minutes to develop in the interim despite concerns about his immediate impact to the team’s chances of winning. Long term, his inabilities to defend the rim and stretch the floor may impact his fit in Philadelphia. I don’t think the coaching staff has any surprising moves in store for 2015 (such as playing more small ball around Noel or limiting Okafor’s minutes experimenting with more perimeter-based lineups), but moving forward, it is a trend to monitor as he continues to develop this year.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

RazzWired: The Artist Formerly Known As Ron Artest

November 12, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 83 Comments

by: Adam

Ok, so I’ll admit that I’m really stretching this, just so I can write the name Metta World Peace. However! The artist formerly known as Ron Artest is averaging over a 3, steal and a block per game so far. That’s fantasy gold if you ask me! On top of that, he’s started when Kobe Bryant misses time, and Kobe is likely to miss a lot of time… From a basketball standpoint, his shot is looking good, and he actually dropped 4 trey-balls in his last start. Basically, I’m not telling you to run out and grab World Peace, but I’m not telling you not to either… Make sense? Good, didn’t think so!

For this weeks article, I’m not going to separate by category, since not a huge amount has changed from the first two weeks. If you want to see the first couple weeks of recommended pickups, check the links: Here and Here! Just follow those as the main recommendations based on category, and this will simply be a few guys that have stood out this week! (I’ll get back to the category format next week, there just isn’t enough new in every category to do that this week.)

That being said, lets get it started!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Das Bank Is Open: Vintage Dirk

November 12, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 65 Comments

by: Peter Kap

Maybe he didn’t call glass on his clutch three with 1:05 left in the 4^th, but when you’re Dirk Nowitzki, a future hall of famer, who cares? I know fantasy owners don’t care whether it was a swish or a banked in three. All we care about are the final stats. And, boy, did Dirk deliver.

Down one going into the second half, Dirk took over for the Mavericks, leading them to a 10-point win against the Clippers. Dirk finished the game with 31 points and 11 rebounds on 11-14 shooting, including 5-6 from downtown. It was vintage Dirk.

Midway through the 3^rd quarter he caught a Zaza Pachulia pass off of an offensive rebound and without squaring up, knocked down an one foot fade away jumper without hesitation. He knocked down threes with DeAndre Jordan in his grill. It was truly a great game.

As a fan of the game, it’s amazing to watch games like this, but as a fantasy owner, you have to realize that these games aren’t as common for the 37 year-old as they used to be. It was Dirk’s first 30-point game since December 28, 2014. In his 18^th year in the NBA, Dirk is still a top 50 player when he plays, but just be aware his minutes are monitored more closely and he sits on back to backs, hurting his total overall value.

Now onto the other nightly notables:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Patience Is An Andrew …and the 7 Ahead

November 9, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 190 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

When you go out on a limb on a guy and it starts slow, at least I can pull the “it’s a long season” card. Or the “his back has been a little spasmy” card. Hah, little Pod joke there…

I gotta say, I love you commenters here on Razzball. A lot of Andrew Wiggins frustration has been thrown around, like “he single-handedly killed my FG%”, and “he’s why I started 1-8”, and “Wiggins must be dating yet another one of those Kardashians”. But I was really honored to say almost all of the vitriol wasn’t at me. Hell, I was expecting to be served on the coals for that one! Or some sort of cliche that works… Maybe it was out of the decency of your hearts since I obviously own him on several teams with this rank. I got way more hate for saying Nate Robinson was a good opening night streamer/last draft pick in 12ers! But like the worst drunken one night stand in history, I got rid of Nate about 4 or 5 minutes in. While with Wiggins, I’m entrenched in a life-long relationship. Hope my wife isn’t reading this! After a really rocky start, Wiggins finally looked like the breakout talent I was hoping for on Saturday night against the Bulls, going 31/3/2/0/1 with only 1 TO and hit 4 treys. Of course it wouldn’t be a pristine line, but then again what relationship is suddenly perfect?! Except my marriage of course! Wiggy still shot like poo (11-27) and had an odd 5-10 FT game. He’s usually gonna be a high-volume 80% guy from the stripe, plus he hit 4-5 from deep, so there’s still hope the FG% climbs as his bum back gets healthier and he shoots his way out of it. Of course you can point to Kevin Martin not playing (personal) for the burst in treys, but big picture we still think K-Mart gets moved. Even with K-Mart, they’re using him as a 6th man and Wiggy is the only real perimeter option in the starting 5 anyway. I also think with a little more health, he’ll play more aggressive on D. The one swat he had was a legit one, not a lazy strip that’s scored a block, WHICH STILL FRUSTRATES ME! The buy low window is closing rapidly, so if you’re still hoping to buy in on Wiggy, I’d wait until tonight and see if he has another rough shooting game before opening the floodgates. If you own Wiggy, definitely hold, particularly with the Wolves playing 5 games this week. Here’s what else went down over the weekend in NBA action, plus The 7 Ahead for week 3:

Please, blog, may I have some more?