by: Mr. Hooper
After a weekend touching grass, Joel and Ossie return to survey the fantasy landscape now that NBA preseason is up and running. While both are wary of making dramatic conclusions based on the first games of the preseason, the duo nevertheless take a stab at sorting out Golden State’s rotation, check in on the shooting […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Kostas
The 2023-24 season is almost here and all us fantasy nerds are getting ready to draft for the many leagues (always too many leagues) we will participate this year. As a great coach in real life would do, the offseason is the best time to reflect on last year’s fantasy choices, identify mistakes and improve upon them, to secure fantasy goodness at the end of the season. That is exactly what I will be doing with this article and have been doing since 2017 in this internet fantasy corner, so let’s get on with the review of last year’s roto projections in order to make this year’s projections better, as well as to identify potential opportunities and hazards in the upcoming draft. If you are interested to learn about the math behind the process and how I calculate the accuracy of the projections, check the initial article and I’d be happy to answer questions in the comments.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: PB
Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week 22! In this post, I identify widely-available players who can help you win your head-to-head matchup. We’re almost at the point when we have to start thinking about life after fantasy hoops. Having just lost in the finals of my Yahoo league (congrats, Kris!), I’m just four days away from defeating Bball Oracle (according to my vision board) and no longer needing to obsessively check injury reports ahead of each night’s action. From Monday, I will be doing this solely for your benefit. That is, for the benefit of anyone crazy enough to play fantasy basketball into April. After that, I have to tend to all the things I’ve neglected in my life for six months.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Mr. Hooper
It took a while, but we’re finally here. With the NBA trade deadline just days away, the swapping season is officially off and running and from the look of it, we could be in for a doozy. Way back in November, I floated the idea of buying Nets explosion insurance and now, thirteen weeks later, the bomb has finally gone off. On Friday, star guard Kyrie Irving requested a trade after failing to land a palatable extension offer from Brooklyn. By Sunday, his wishes had been fulfilled, as the Nets agreed to swap Irving and Markieff Morris for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and second-round picks in the 2027 and 2029.
It’s a big move for two franchises and a massive opening salvo to the upcoming trade deadline, but the fantasy fallout is murky and there aren’t a ton of clear pickups or moves to make in its wake. Let’s dig in.
Please, blog, may I have some more?You can’t win a championship at the beginning of a season, but you can lose one. Much as it pains me to say, I think I’ve already lost.
After a successful Writer’s League last year that ended against Kostas in the semifinal and a pretty intensive offseason of thinking about hoops, I came into this year’s draft feeling like I was in decent shape to post a good showing again. But this year ain’t last year. Stats and success don’t carry over, and if you’re resting on laurels rather than applying lessons learned, there’s no way to bank Ws on account of “experience.” If you’ve been following Kelder’s weekly recaps, you might have noticed that my team isn’t anywhere in the mix. Indeed, you’ve got to scroll almost the way to the bottom of the table to see my name. A record of 19-34-1 is good enough for 11th and I feel all but certain the hole that I’ve put myself in is going to be too deep to recover from. I’m not quite ready to quit on some other struggling squads, but I think it’s safe to let go of preseason expectations at this point and set a different goal for the remaining three-quarters of the season here in the Writer’s League.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Mr. Hooper
On a recent podcast with Son, I let slip, “If you’re a center that doesn’t get blocks, I don’t think I have any use for you.” It was a knee-jerk line, one that I hadn’t much considered before it fell out of my mouth, and I’ve been wrestling with how true that might actually be ever since. For most of the summer, I’ve been vexed by the center position because, outside of the elite guys, the shortcomings of the position are obvious and numerous. For many, their usefulness in category leagues extends only to rebounds, blocks and FG%, and oftentimes those few spoils are sacrificed at the altar of points, dimes, triples, and free-throw percentage. Drafting a center that doesn’t, it’s a steep tradeoff in the best of circumstances, so when looking at someone like Deandre Ayton – a top-50ish, center-eligible player who produced exactly enough swats last year to break even in the category by z-score – I began to wonder what exactly the point was.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: PB
Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week 22! In this post, I identify under-rostered players who can help your team as streamers or long-term adds. The ravages of tanking, phantom injuries, and real injuries are undoubtedly taking their toll on your squad. I commend anyone with the intestinal fortitude to play fantasy hoops into late-March or April. That being said, there are a lot of opportunities out there as we head down the stretch.
In the “late news breaking” category, Ja Morant was just listed as out for tonight’s game against Indiana. This SHOULD boost the value of De’Anthony Melton and Tyus Jones, so look to them for those elusive assists.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Son
Can LeBron be corny at times? Yup. Does LeBron flop sometimes? Premier League players break down his tape. Is LeBron entering the final stages of his hooping career? Father Time is undefeated. That said, is LeBron one of the greatest players of all time? He almost won a chip with Eric F’ing Snow at point guard. He’s Magic Johnson in Karl Malone’s body with Zion Williamson hops, before Zion morphed into the long lost Klump. He’s won the chips, received all the accolades and awards, and is still doing this at age 37….
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Kostas
Happy New Year to the Razzball community! I wish everyone good health, happiness, and fantasy basketball goodness. Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season and watched the games, which are some of the few in the year that are scheduled at convenient European times so we can also enjoy them without falling asleep, usually at halftime.
The basketball side of things last week was dominated by none other than DeMar DeRozan, as he became the first NBA player to hit back-to-back game winning buzzer beaters on back-to-back days. One can even say that those games were in two different years, if you didn’t have enough of that uncle who tells that kind of jokes at the Christmas table. Like the all time classic “I haven’t spoken to you since last year” after the New Year’s Eve which usually gets the following kind of reactions.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Kostas
The Covid situation and more specifically the Omicron variant has forced most NBA teams to sign players on 10-day deals, in order to fulfil the minimum roster requirement and avoid postponement of games. Most of those players come from the G-League, some from European Championships but the one signing that caught my eye was the return of Joe Johnson to the Celtics at 40 years old. Exactly 20 years ago, the Celtics drafted Iso Joe with the 10th pick and that age gap is the largest one in NBA history. Of course, what would be more fitting than him making a basket in his return with his usual isolation play.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week Nine! Many of us are approaching the halfway mark of our seasons, with each matchup taking on increasing importance as we jockey for playoff positioning. Meanwhile, cold and flu season is in full swing, with the added ingredient of COVID-19 sewing more chaos as teams scramble to field full rosters for game action. Those of us with players on the Bulls, Pistons, and Raptors are already feeling the burn of game postponements this week. Nonetheless, with every injury or health and safety setback, there are opportunities. Look no further than the value that Cody Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. returned while four of their teammates were out with COVID-19.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Kostas
Regarding last week’s suggestions, Anfernee Simons is still getting minutes due to C.J. McCollum’s injury so he is worth holding, Doug McDermott provided the value you would expect from him but Killian Hayes was pretty underwhelming and is not looking like a standard league fantasy contributor. On the “Sell” front, Kelly Oubre continued his amazing performances but LaMelo Ball’s return is just around the corner so the sell-high window is shrinking, while Andre Drummond is so bad, he is getting outplayed by rookie Charles Bassey for the backup minutes and remains a drop.
Please, blog, may I have some more?A little birdie told me our 2024 Fantasy Baseball subscriptions are live. The little birdie also said it includes our Draft War Room. You really wanna lose in a fantasy baseball league to a little birdie? Would be kinda embarrassing, tbhhttps://t.co/1ag7IFSYS0
— Razzball (@Razzball) January 8, 2024
