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We’re back from break and podding in the new year! After spending a week in a basketball deprivation tank, Joel and Son kick off 2024 by surveying their fantasy teams and discussing what’s gone right (Alperen Sengun for Son, Grayson Allen for Joel) and what’s gone wrong (Cade Cunningham and Devin Booker for both.) The […]

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Three game slate last night…  I watched the TNT game; Sixers vs. Nuggets, and was highly entertained. The Nuggets continue to have a very stable rotation and there’s not really any takeaways unless someone gets hurt.  Nobody got hurt.  Same with the Sixers.  Just sit back and enjoy Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid go head-to-head, […]

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Seemed like low-hanging fruit, no? And before we switch out the fruit to something a bit more attuned to my diet (saturated fats?), we obviously have to start with some of the interesting storylines in the NBA, now just in it’s third week of play. First up, mostly because of the title (now with less fruit and more Funyuns) let us talk not just about Tyrese Maxey, but also the so far near-dominant 76ers team. Joel Embiid is doing Joel Embiid “non-playoff” type things, which is still a bummer we have to qualify, but lucky for us, fantasy ain’t played in May, ya know? I’ll talk a bit more about it later for the Clippers, but Harden while not being on the team has created an interesting aggregate feedback loop with a touch of confirmation bias mixed in on some of these wild storylines, but the tangible effect, i.e. giving minutes for Tyrese Maxey to flourish cannot be argued with. My concerns with Maxey during the preseason was based on his ability to run the 5, play-call, ball-handle and continuing to develop his offense while doing all that.

So far? All of these things have been done well, but the best part is that it hasn’t come at the cost of his stats. With a career-high 50 points against a very good Pacers team, he also had 7 rebounds with 5 assists, 3 blocks on 20-32 shooting (7-11 from 3-point). At just 23-years-old, it’s pretty likely he’ll be shedding off the Tyler Herro and Jordan Poole comps at some point this season. But can he get to the All-Star game and perhaps even an All-NBA selection this year? Excited to find out…

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Hello Razzball Nation! I am the self-proclaimed BBall Oracle (results may vary) here to provide you with my picks and insights for NBA DFS this season. We’re kicking off this year with a massive post-election day 14 game slate. On a slate this large there are so many viable plays that you don’t need to intentionally get different with ownership. Play the guys you think will score the most points even if you think that guy might be chalky.

My number one piece of advice for NBA DFS in general, but especially on a slate this large, is to be on top of injury updates. Contests are won and lost on backups becoming starters and starters getting increased usage from injuries. In the NBA random injuries happen every night, players get rested for no reason despite the NBA’s best efforts to deter it, and tank-itis is a horrible disease that will luckily not rear its ugly head for another few months. You need to be on top of your lineups up until lock and to give yourself the best chance to win even after lock to monitor late scratches and lingering questionable designations. There will be injury plays that open up with news tomorrow that we just don’t know yet.

That being said, with our current knowledge of injury news (Tuesday night) let’s get down to it. Pricing is always (Fanduel/DraftKings). I play tournaments and my picks will always bias towards volatility and upside.

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Well look, I don’t come here with a set agenda in mind for titles, if anything, I blame the redundant title pun on Damian Lillard‘s roller coaster opening two games thus far, going for 39 points in his debut (with the aforementioned title post) and then just scoring 6 points (on 2-12 FG, 2-8 3pT), which was spoiled with today’s post title. While I ponder the ethics of not using a spoiler alert tag, last night’s game against the Hawks (the most mid team ever?) was truly a question mark. While I’d probably not blow things up if I were the Bucks (if only to stave off more “here’s how the Heat can still trade for Dame!” articles), clearly it was only a matter of time before Wisconsin discovered “Lame time”. But don’t fret, we’re literally in the first week of the season still, so weird sh*t gonna happen folks. I mean, SGA scored seven last night, Steph struggled a lot until the end and Nikola Jokic called Chet fat. The last one doesn’t really matter, but everyone should enjoy Jokic thin-shaming someone…

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NUGGETS GET RINGS AND SOP UP THE LAKERS!

Last night, I got to have the unique experience of watching Nikola Jokic with someone who’d never watched him before, having it on my TV with my wife and 14 year old daughter.   I loved every comment.  It makes you appreciate the Joker’s greatness from a different lens.  A sampling of the comments:

Why are they starting the slow white guy?

How does an NBA player run like that?

He looks so tired.

Wait, that was a really nice move.

How come he’s dribbling up the court if he’s so slow?  Wait, wasn’t that a great pass?

He can shoot 3s too?

They went from laughing to all out appreciation.  I finally told them at halftime that he’s the best player in the world and they should stop besmirching his name.

Oh yeah, he had a 29-13-11 triple double.  Even chipped in a steal and a block to go with 3 treys.  Of course you drafted him number one and he’s a cheat code.

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