LOGIN

The Utah Jazz are the most interesting team for fantasy heading into the 2022-23 NBA season. It is a team on the downswing with plenty of veteran players to trade and young players to develop. Not to mention a talented few players who are gonna get a huge usage rate boost. The tricky part is determining which players are which, who’s gonna thrive, and who’s not gonna get any playing time at all.

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?

As an American living in England, it’s heartwarming to hear about the Thanksgiving traditions that are increasingly embraced by the British public.  And no, I’m not talking about enjoying the fellowship of others, eating great food, or reflecting on the many blessings that we enjoy in our affluent societies.  I’m talkin’ ’bout busting down the doors of the cheap electronics store at 4 AM, crushing skulls underfoot, and stampeding toward the flat screens! USA! USA! USA!  Amazingly, I’ve come across several Brits who harbor resentment toward America for exporting this time-honored tradition, but thankfully their ranks are thinning.  I’m confident we’ll eventually win them all over, one special edition ‘Friends’ box set at a time…

Fortunately for us waiver wire scavengers, there are always Black Friday deals to be found in fantasy hoops if one looks hard enough (and reads this post).  My goal is to highlight players who are on 50% or fewer rosters in ESPN and/or Yahoo leagues so that you can find the best fit to win your head-to-head matchup.

If you entered the Metuverse like I did last week, you hopefully benefitted from the threes, rebounds, steals, and blocks that Chimezie Metu provided in the Kings’ final two games of your matchup.  However, our journey ended abruptly with the firing of Luke Walton and the installment of Alvin Gentry, which has resulted in back-to-back DNP-CDs for Metu thus far.  It’s time to snap back to the real world and find some alternatives.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Let’s be honest, the Detroit Pistons are currently a bit of a dumpster fire. But even dumpster fires can be beautiful. Ask anyone involved with the production of “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” Side note: That only came out a year ago. I know, it feels like five years ago. We’ll never survive this, but I digress.

There’s actually plenty to like if you’re a Pistons fan for the long term with newcomer Cade Cunningham along with returning players Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, and Isaiah Stewart. They are going to have their growing pains no doubt, but they should be competitive in most games. They’ve been relatively competitive ever since Dwayne Casey was named head coach in 2018 and the front office has done a decent job giving the roster some sort of direction.

But how long will it take this young core to gel? Will they be interested in winning all season or turn on the tank in the end? And where the hell does Trey Lyles fit into all this?!?!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Shake Milton lit it up off the bench for Philly, dropping 27 points on uber-efficient 10-of-14 shooting (including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc). That marks the eighth consecutive game Milton has scored in double figures—topping 20 points for the third time in that span. Consider picking up Shake (22 percent owned in Yahoo!) if you need points and threes.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It’s about that time again, isn’t it? The trade deadline has come and gone, the sun is starting to peek out with some regularity, and teams who have had long, dark, unsuccessful winters are beginning to look ahead to a little summer vacay. Even with the expanded playoff format for this season, there are still a handful of teams that are done. We haven’t gotten to “Cancun on three” yet, but if you’re in Orlando or Oklahoma City you can start thinking about it. 

For this week’s Hangin’, I looked at a couple of these lost causes and the opportunities for fantasy help that exist there. It’s not an exhaustive list, but all of the teams featured are 12th or worse in their conference and have gestured toward giving up. But just because they’re done with the year does not mean that the year is done with them. Every game needs to have 240 minutes of statistics accounted for, and we’re in the interest of compiling numbers. 

This is a bigger one, so let’s get to it. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Down goes Horford. We all lamented at the recent news of Al Horford getting shut down for the rest of the season, but it came as no surprise to some who have been playing fantasy basketball for going on two decades. The Oklahoma City Thunder have zero incentive to attempt to win basketball games as they try to squeeze the most value of their million draft picks.

The reality of this season is that COVID-19 continues to screw everything up. The second half of the season for every single NBA team this season is BRUTAL, with things like three games in four nights, and multiple back-to-backs. We are about to see a bunch of people sit out games they may have otherwise played.

In that same vein, we will likely see more shutdowns this season than ever before, as teams decide that playing for that playoff play-in isn’t as important as developing pieces for the future. We saw it with Al Horford, and we will see it again with other players.

But who will they be? Here is my best speculation:

*PLEASE NOTE: RECORDS AND STATS TAKEN BEFORE THE GAMES ON 3/28*

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Mason Plumlee: With Flake Griffin sitting, it’s the point center show in the Motor City.  This savvy Dukie can wheel and deal, pound and confound, folks.  Underrated center in the Association, who by the way has raised his FT% to 67%, which doesn’t sound like much, but up from career average of 56%.  See, old dogs CAN learn new trix.  Shhh, he taught Joker all he knows.  Case in point, 10 assists with only 1 turnover!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Welcome to your midweek guidance for week 10! It’s time to identify the competitive categories in your matchup and fortify the categories in which you already have an advantage. Based on various punt strategies, I’ll be profiling a few stream options that will increase your chances of winning the week.

Last week’s recommendations featured some players who boosted your win probability (Robert Williams III, Saddiq Bey, Jae’sean Tate) along with a dud (Grayson Allen), so hopefully you were able to find the players that helped your specific situation.

The players listed below players have two or more games remaining in the current week and are rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

In some ways, I have sympathy for what happened to the Celtics last night. After all, who among us hasn’t done the groggy barter with the alarm clock in the morning and hit the snooze button? Five more minutes, we tell ourselves, just a bit longer and then I’m getting up. Sometimes it’s fine — the bonus z’s make you feel better and you leisurely arrive at your morning rested and ready to go — and sometimes you really needed to get out of bed on time.

Roosters, nature’s alarm clock, have no snooze button. When it’s time to go to work, they’re going to let you know about it. Last night, the NBA’s Rooster crowed loudly and emphatically, but the Celtics slept right through it.

Danilo Gallinari

PTS REB AST STL BLK TO 3PT FG FT
38 6 2 2 0 4 10 13/16 2/21

Unable to get up for their game against Atlanta, the C’s instead found themselves in waking nightmare featuring a 6’10” gamecock that also happened to be absolutely on fire. While the guys in green were rubbing sleep out of their eyes, Gallo canned the wide open triples. By the time Boston had put their slippers on and started closing out to him, Danilo had extended his range out to the logo. All told, Gallinari hit seven first half threes. The bonus three balls in the second stanza were his way of tucking Boston back into bed. Buona notte!

Sleep on the Rooster at your own peril.

Here’s what else happened on a busy Wednesday in the NBA:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I have repeatedly mentioned my dislike for Anthony Edwards’ fantasy game and he has recently also been featured in the “Sell” column, but the man can fly. The man can definitely fly.

Poor Watanabe, I credit him for trying to contest but he had no chance. Next year, if he can improve his percentages and learn to handle all his athleticism, he could be a different player. Finally, before moving to the fantasy side of things, I have repeatedly touched on the subject of NBA officiating and another great example happened last week, with JJ Redick getting ejected for passing the ball to the referee.

I can not offer any more comments on this really. If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.

Regarding last week’s suggestions, Joe Hart and Jae Crowder are both on a roll and I hope you capitalized on your chance to add them last week. Grayson Allen was also fine but a level below the two mentioned, Dorian Finney-Smith was a complete disaster combining for a total of 4 points in 2 games while Blake Griffin is still not playing and is a deserving “Sell” candidate.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

There are four types of fossil fuels currently in existence: petroleum, coal, natural gas, and orimulsion. They are all made from plants and animals that decompose. As of 2018, petroleum accounted for 34% of the world’s energy source, coal 27%, and natural gas 24%. What is orimulsion? Is it like Bitcoin and Top Shot? Nuclear energy was 4.4%, hydroelectric 6.8%, while solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, and wind combined for 4%. In the three years since those percentages were tabulated, the numbers have skewed more towards the non-fossil sources as the world has become more conscious about saving Mother Earth. Yipee! Halliburton, though, is one of the world’s largest oil field service companies and is the Dolph Lundgren to Mother Earth: If she dies, she dies. They make billions of dollars, keeping their shareholders happy but draw the ire of the children of Mother Earth. But, but, but…..a new energy source has been discovered in Sacramento and his name is Tyrese Haliburton. Is he a fossil fuel? Well, he does kill defenders and decomposes them into the stat sheet, so yes. But he is also a green source of energy because he delivers the goods so cleanly and efficiently. Win, win for everyone. 

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
23 5 9 3 1 1 4/9 9/20 1/2

In 40 minutes off the bench. Haliburton has only started two games this season yet is a top 40 player on the season. Over the last four games, he’s been a top 20 player averaging 34.2 minutes. 17.5 points, 2.8 tres, 3.5 boards, 6.5 dimes, two steals, and 0.8 blocks while shooting 48% from the field and 75% from the line. Dayam. Since 2000, only seven rookies have finished inside the top 40 at season’s end. Both LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton could accomplish the feat this year. 

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?