Fantasy Basketball Infirmary: Week 11 Injury Analysis

January 9, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 11 Comments

Operation shutdown: when a team shuts down a star player in order to preserve them for the future. It’s a fear of every fantasy owner and that’s exactly what the Knicks are contemplating doing with Carmelo Anthony and his sore knee.

As a DC sports fan, I’m all too familiar with the shutdown. Different sport, different circumstances, but it’s the same idea.

As of now, Anthony refuses to be shut down. He’s said that his knee won’t get any worse by playing on it, but he’s already missed the last five games with the injury.

Having lost 14 games in a row, the Knicks have now surpassed the 76ers as the worst team in the league. It’s clear that the Knicks are in total rebuild mode. This week, the Knicks waived Samuel Dalembert and traded JR “I’ve Never Taken a Bad Shot” Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavaliers in a salary cap dump.

Right now, Anthony is day-to-day without a timetable for his return. He says he wants to play next week in London, but we don’t know for sure.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

BUY/SELL: Cavs And Knicks Are Up To Thunderous Tricks

January 7, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Buy/Sell | 24 Comments

by: Dan A

I’ll admit it – I have very little to say of importance about the trade in relation to fantasy basketball, but the Cavs did get better, if Iman Shumpert can get (and stay!) healthy, he may have deep league defensive potential. Think a poor, poor man’s K.J. McDaniels. Poor. Maybe I’m reaching here to find some fantasy relevance, but to be clear, this is a “take stock of the flat top”, not “drop flop for flat top”, as he isn’t guaranteed the starting job when he comes back. I know JB already wrote something similar, but Dion Waiters is gonna have to show me he can get touches before I even speculate on him, as he’s clearly going to be coming off the bench. Really, unless you’re a fan of the 3 teams involved, it wasn’t really all that spectacular for any one team. So the Cavs won the trade, as they only gave up a 2019 second rounder, and nothing much else, (got J.R. Smith as a replacement for Waiters, so that was a lateral move) and got a potential defensive upgrade for the starting 5. We should all take the cue from the General Managers in our beloved NBA, and look at our fantasy squads and see who could be had, and who should be shipped out. If you’re considering making a move, have a gander at these fine fellows:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

BUY/SELL: It’s Time To Play The Music…

December 31, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Buy/Sell | 25 Comments

by: Dan A

…It’s time to dress up right, it’s time to get things started on the muppet show tonight! My man John Henson, is back shoving his hands up muppets’s butts! With 10 blocks in 2 games, Henson is doing his best Pepe the King Prawn impression, blocking balls all over the place. We all know that with Coach Kidd at the helm, the SS Deer is likely to run aground soon, and Henson could easily be a casualty, as he’s not really getting any shot at power forward. But he should be in the line up more, I think I can safely say. And that makes me think of who else I think should be in the line up more in the new year, but isn’t currently, I think. Hmm, that could be a theme. A New Year’s theme…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Nuggets Get Blazed In Denver

November 13, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 122 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

No Nicolas Batum, no problem!

The Blazers went nuts in the first half last night, putting up 84 on the hapless Nuggets through 24 minutes. Indiana won last night at Miami scoring 81! All your usual suspects had some good games, but who was the Keyser Soze? The greatest trick bench players have ever pulled was convincing the fantasy basketball world they don’t matter! But Chris Kaman is off yet another brilliant game, putting up 16/7/2/1/2 on 6-8 shooting (4-5 FT), and needs to be owned in virtually all leagues. Was a little in junk time? Sure. Is he better than Robin Lopez? Who isn’t?! Will he start any time soon? Well, no, but dude has grabbed at least 5 boards in every game and averaging over a block and a half a night. The minutes are going to be there all year, as several NBA teams needing a starting big man have got to be mad they didn’t float Kaman a little offerewski. And he’s a must add for RoLo fantasy owners, as while he had a good game last night scoring 19, zero blocks, only 5 boards, and most importantly only 21 minutes. Blowout induced, yes, but topped 30 minutes only twice this year after averaging 32 a game last year. He’s down 4 MPG from 2013-14 as Terry Stotts is utilizing the Blazers’ vastly improved bench, but thus far RoLo’s numbers are nearly identical from last year, and I don’t see that continuing with such lower PT. So sell RoLo high! And when other owners try to figure out why, tell em because you got high. Here’s what else went down in fantasy action last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

BUY/SELL: Calm Yo Tats!

October 31, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Buy/Sell | 73 Comments

by: Dan A

I’m back y’all! It’s gonna be a stunted article, as the season started Tuesday, and I’m writing this on Thursday evening to submit, so please, just be happy for this small sample of what’s to come. Think of it as dessert before dinner. Then more… dessert?

Ok: I have been contacted by a few of you out there , already stressing about your squad (you know who you are, don’t look around the class!) It’s been a few games. Please try to “chill”, as the kids are saying these days. Adopt your Macaulay Culkin stance in the Michael Jackson video, as a baaad mutha…

First and foremost, I council patience. Don’t tinker too much with your squad in the first 3 days, nobody has any idea what’s what in the world of fantasy, too small a slice thus far. But since I am contractually obligated to come up with something, consider the following as guys to consider, considering what I just asked you to consider:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Thursday: An Apt Day For An Emo Cryfest

October 31, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 212 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Ugh…

So any readers out there grow up in that emo scene or get into any of that stuff at the turn of the century? I was all about the band Thursday’s CD Full Collapse, and man, listening back to it now is ridiculous! Even in high school I could make fun of the music that was going on then, talking about how emo bands had a crier. But Paris in Flames legit sounds like there’s some dude in the corner cry-yelling! Hey, it beats the Slipnkot dude who’s one job is to bang the trashcan lid…

Where to start with the cryfest? I think we gotta go with Russell Westbrook, and well, hold a seance for all Thunder fans right now. Sustained a fracture in his hand last night, and will likely miss about a month. We’ll know more by later today, but I think OKC should change their uniforms to the Bubble Boy outfits. Look where that movie took Jake Gyllenhaall! Kinda hard not to think about picking up Sebastian Telfair, but he’s still behind the Donald Sloan-types. Shooting up with some medium-term value is Reggie Jackson if his ankle heals up. I’d look to see if he was dropped in your league, as now he’s a dynamite hold until healthy, as long as it’s not another month for him as well… We still don’t really have a clear picture, so I think Telfair can make a couple starts.

Then the other biggie… My Panthers… I was actually at the game, and man, the amount of angst and frustration in the stands really could’ve been an emo wah-party. Pop quiz, who had more TOs – Cam or the main Cav?! Well, it was the main Cav, but we’ll start there and then get into everything else that went down last night in fantasy hoops:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Undraftables AKA The Top 200 For 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball

September 4, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 10 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

With the full 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball Rankings now complete, let’s take a look at the final 50. Sean Connery. Kevin Costner. Tons of Great Depression-esque costumes. I’d imagine if you’re in a deep league and looking at the field below with your last pick or two, you’re feeling something like this:

It’s pretty hopeless, as in 12-teamers these are all likely guys you’re merely starring on your watch list post draft. There’s some questionable talent, some questionable roles, maybe even someone that’ll give you The Grapes of Wrath, but some untapped upside! Here’s my top 200 for the 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball Season (based on 9-cat H2H):

Please, blog, may I have some more?

NBA Free Agency Wrap Up: Cleveland Rocks

July 30, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 4 Comments

by: SethDaSportsMan

As we head into August, now is a perfect time to take a look back at the free agency period for the upcoming 2014-15 NBA season.

While there is one big name yet to sign (Eric Bledsoe), a few less-intriguing options still on the market (Michael Beasley, Andray Blatche, Kent Bazemore, Jordan Crawford), and another who’s unsure whether he’ll play or retire (Ray Allen), most of the fantasy basketball world knows where guys will be playing this season. Of course, that still doesn’t include the possibility of Kevin Love finding a new home by the end of the summer, but that could be the subject of an entirely different article.

There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that Love will land in Cleveland, which will make them a huge force in the Eastern Conference — and in the entire NBA.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Knicks/Mavericks Trade: Instant Karma For The Zen Master

June 29, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 8 Comments

by: SethDaSportsMan

Thursday night’s Draft was as exciting as advertised. Some of the top prospects we’ve seen come around in a while found homes amongst the NBA’s 30 teams — yet, there were very few surprises, outside of maybe Aaron Gordon getting picked No. 4 overall by the Orlando Magic.

Those of us expecting some big trades to go down were also disappointed. There was really only one trade that didn’t involve a straight swap of picks or previously picked players, and that was D-League phenom Pierre Jackson getting shipped from NOLA to Philly for Russ Smith.

The big trade news around the league came a few days prior to the Draft when the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks announced a blockbuster deal that sent Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton from the Big Apple to D-Town in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington and two second-round picks, which ended up being Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo.

Now, how does this affect fantasy basketball owners going forward?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Blake Griffin Triple Doubles, Triple Doubles His Injuries

April 4, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 86 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

“Whoa JB, two straight titles with ‘Triple Double’ in em. You get an F for creativity, ya wank!” Well, I have an F for you troll commenter! Hard not to talk about trip dubs, especially when you have only two games and with under ten seconds left the dude hurts himself again. Monster line from Blake Griffin in the loss to the Mavs, putting up 25/10/11/1/1 on 9-23 shooting, with 7-7 FT. After missing a game with back spasms, Blake was able to suit up and was no worse for the wear. For 47:51 that is. Well, except maybe getting posterized by Brandan Wright. Bias alert! TNT didn’t show A SINGLE replay of that dunk. Say whaaaa?! Anyway, with under 10 seconds left, Blake took an inbounds pass and rolled his ankle on the court with no contact. They were down six anyway! Reminds me of Rob Gronkowski on the special teams and breaking his arm on a PAT up like 30 points. Eh, maybe not the best comparison, but the game was over! He said his back is ok and his ankle is fine, he’s just clumsy. “Clumsy Clara!” We’ll get more updates throughout the day, but if he has some swelling in that ankle or his back is still jacked when he gets up this morning, we might get a DNP. Which spells terror for title bids coming into the final weekend for standard leagues. Spells apocalypse. Which ironically I found hard to spell for the longest while… The horror. The horror… Here’s what else I saw last night in NBA action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Swaggy P And The ThrAGNOF Explosion

April 2, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 28 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Hmmmm, ok, who did you pick in you office “who scores 40 points tonight” pool? I bet the Vegas odds were… a million to one on Nick Young. “So you’re saying there’s a chance!” Too bad Nick Young sucks in fantasy. You actually have to go back 15 games to find him putting up a 5 in any counting stat other than treys. The ThrAGNOF fairy strikes again! Dude went a preposterous 15-26 (6-13 3PTM 4-5 FT) 40/4/1/2/0 and only had one turnover last night. The Blazers should be ashamed. I’m pretty sure this game never actually happened, and it was some sort of elaborate April Fool’s joke. Swaggy P shockingly led the Lakers in minutes off the bench, and with his shoot first, ask questions later attitude, Mike D’Anotni’s rape stache kept curling upwards in facial hair glee. By the end of the game (and yes, another Lakers loss), D’Anotni’s mustache looked like Rollie Fingers. Here’s what else I saw last night in fantasy basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Boards-N-Blocks: Ball Hawks

March 31, 2014 | Boards-n-Blocks | 2 Comments

by: Pete Nice

Fantasy basketball gurus started drooling around the All-Star break: The Atlanta Hawks have a schedule that’s favorable to the fantasy basketball playoffs! Mark your calendars! Set the alarms on your smart phone device thingys!

That’s right, fantasy ballers in search of boards and blocks, this means guys like Pero Antic, Elton Brand, Mike Scott and Mike Muscala will have four games in each of the next two weeks! And they are probably sitting on your waiver wire right now! And that means … uh, hello? Where’d everyone go?

Please, blog, may I have some more?