The Fantasy Basketball Season Isn’t A Sprint, It’s A 26.2 Myles Long Race

March 25, 2016 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 39 Comments

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! Winning a fantasy hoops season is like the little engine that could, with tough decisions along the way and navigating a billion injuries. But hell, if your railroad tracks get demolished, there’s not much you can do (cough, stupid REL injuries, cough…). Unless ya know, you’re Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom and have some nice Mario Kart music fueling your escape…

Trust me, I’ve never run a marathon – mostly because I don’t want to have to pay for one of those dumb 26.2 bumper stickers – but I ended up cutting Myles Turner as a desperation stream in a cutthroat 5-4 playoff win last week in one of my RCLs. It feels like I sold out to sprint past 1st place during mile 24! Now I’ve lost control of my bowels, my muscles are spasming out of control, and I’m probably sputtering into not completing the race. Fortunately in the JB vs. Slim RCL I had the luxury of the bye and held strong. Strong and steady wins the race (as does 1st round byes…)! Turner went nuts for 24/16/1/0/3 on 11-17 FG last night, in a hell of a way to celebrate his 20th birthday. Dude can play pro ball like this, vote, drive, and CAN’T celebrate with a beer?! It was a strong way to break through that nebulous rookie wall, even though he’d been pretty solid lately anyway. And with a possible DNP from your main Pacer, another big game could be coming to close out your week in the semis. Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy hoops action:

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?

Top 200 For 2015-16 Fantasy Basketball

September 4, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 43 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Time for the undraftables!

It’s an absolute barren wasteland trying to sift through the 151-200 ranks, akin to that 60-year-old retiree scanning a remote beach with his metal detector. Bleep! Bleep! Eureka I found a dime! But none of these guys are good enough to get dimebags!

We’re finally wrapping up the top 200 (Rank 1-10 | Rank 11-20 | Rank 21-50 | Rank 51-75 | Rank 76-100 | Rank 101-150), with most of these guys untouchable in 12ers. However, there is some upside to be had with your last-pick fliers and hopefully help out with the deeper leagues. The deep ballers. “I’m balls deep in sleepers!” If only that were the case – a lot of these guys are likely duds or rooks that won’t see enough PT. “I’m balls deep in DNPs!” So remember upside is a big factor when you get this late, as no one wants to be balls deep in O.J. Mayo‘s 20 minutes off the bench…

If you disagree with these ranks, be sure to put your fantasy acumen to the test in the Razzball Commenter Leagues! We need more commissioners and leagues, so sign up a league today, it takes literally a minute – I stop-watched myself – and face off against the best fantasy basketball community around! Prizes and me shaming myself on YouTube abound!

Back to it, here’s the Top 200 for the 2015-16 Fantasy Basketball Season:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Uncle Drew – “I Want You, Lillard!”

January 29, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 90 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

I imagine Kyrie Irving at tip did something similar to that right there! Off 38 points Tuesday night, Uncle Drew went bonkers against the Blazers for a season-high 55 yesterday, with LeBron James in street clothes. Klay who? 55/4/5/2/0 on 17-36 FG (11-19 3PTM 10-10 FT). That’s 17 treys and 16-16 FT the past two games, for a ho-hum 93 points. That’s a H2H matchup winner right there! As I mentioned in early December, I was fully buying in. Sure there was the horrifc Cavs playoff sched to consider, but that was mad early in the year. Now it’s time to reconsider. At that point I was saying second round value was legit to pay, but I think you might be able to take a sucker for first round value, especially if they’re a points whore. Most metrics have Kyrie at around 7-8 in overall value, and if you can swing that into something that fits the playoff schedule a little bit better, now is the time when the proverbial iron is hot. So while Kyrie is calling out Lillard, he’s also calling out top-seeded fantasy teams to sell him off like the hot bubble stock he is. Investing jokes! We’re an ecletic mix of references here at Razzball Nation… Here’s what else went down last night on a busy Wednesday of fantasy basketball action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Luminescent Lithuanian Shows Us A Glimmer

January 13, 2015 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 68 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Awwwwww, yeah! Yeah J-Val. Gimme a little peek. Gimme a little glimmer of hope!

Oh man, was it a tale of two halves for the Raptors last night! They were lobbin’ shizz all over the place like they were the Globetrotters against the… Who do they play again? That they always beat? Oh yeah, the Knicks, like they were the Globetrotters against the Knicks. Kyle Lowry had 9 dimes in the first quarter and Jonas Valanciunas put up 14 points on 7-8 shooting. Drummo playing uggo! Kinda a “but his D” lately… The Luminescent Lithuanian ended up going 14-15 for 31/12/0/0/1. The FT% is nice (3-4 last night and right at 80% on the year), but his combined – yes COMBINED – Ast/Stl/Blk this year are under 2. Sigh. I thought he could turn into something so much more special! There are some long-term nice things – per-36s he’s cut down a few TO, scoring more, fouls are down – but Casey is playing him lower minutes than last year (and wouldn’t consistently feed him after that hot start) and I don’t know if he’s ever going to be more than a slightly taller Zach Randolph. And with that, J-Val is all insulted, buttoning up his clothes, and not giving me that flash of hope. Dammit, I’m my own cockblocker! Me n Valaciunas are gonna be awkward for a while until safely in the friendzone. Here’s what else went down on a light night of Monday action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Razzball Basketball’s Year In Review – The Year Of #OccupyDraymondGreen Baby!

December 29, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 110 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

I hope everyone in Razzball Nation had a fantastic Christmas! Hopefully Santa brought you many-a-counting-stats presents and stuffed your stocking with the same vigor as John Henson.

So I’m not too big into that Facebook thing, but a lot of the fam seemed to mention their “Year in Review” and the weird shizz it pulled in over the Holidays. Mine was two pictures other people put up and tagged me in, with a message reading “you have no life!” But if the magical minions put together a Razzball Year in Review, it would be peppered with more #OccupyDraymondGreen than you could throw a stick at! It’s hard to believe that the #OccupyDraymondGreen movement started on February 13th this year, and he was at 0% owned only a few games before the name was bequeathed. The #Occupy culture became a viral movement here at Razzball, with only us alternative lifestyle hipsters ranking him top-100 coming into the season. Boo-yah! Season made right there, screw any of that Victor Oladipo nonsense… While I had little-to-no concern David Lee would sap anything from the #Occupiers, Draymond Green had a coincidental teeny-tiny lull before some unreal rainbows on Christmas and last Saturday, going 10/10/3/2/2 on JC’s Bday and the biggie 4/8/6/6/3 against the Wolves in 32 scrappy minutes. Late entry to that comment! As we head into 2015, be sure to reflect on the highs-and-lows and whenever possible – #OccupyDraymondGreen! Here’s what else Santa has brought to us fantasy owners since Christmas:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Twas The Knight Before Christmas

December 24, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 141 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

It’s Christmas Eve! Santa is doing some last-minute shopping at the outlet mall, popping some speed to get over those procrastination eggnogs last night. Or maybe he was celebrating a big night from his fantasy PGs!

Just a reminder that this is the last Daily Notes for the week, which I hope doesn’t bring any coal to my stocking… Then again, no action tonight and then the light-slate Christmas Day games, so you won’t miss me too much! As always, all comments welcome through the weekend which I will get in between opening all my Brandon Knight memorabilia presents for Christmas!

Point guards just went nuts – like, chestnuts on an open fire nuts – all across the league last night. My boyfriend leading the charge! 34/2/5/1/0 for Knight, shooting 13-21 FG (4-7 3PTM 4-4 FT). To say he’s been up-and-down is an understatement, but right now he’s this kind of up! 20+ Pts in 5 of 6 and 4+ dimes in 5 of 6. The steals have come back down to earth a bit, but he’s only had 3 games on the season without a trey. Three! And that high-volume 90% FT shooting is oh so sexy. My advice has been to hold onto Knight all year (unless you could’ve sold high for something ridiculous a week in), and not get too worried about the ebbs and flows. Or else you would’ve missed out on a Christmas present like last night’s line! Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy action:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Pistons Turnover Josh Smith

December 23, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 60 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

It’s like that scene in Moneyball when Beane-y Baby is talking to David Justice and says something along the lines of, “You pissed off the other team so much, they’re paying 2/3 your salary!” Except the Pistons are going to pay 3/3 of Josh Smith‘s salary…

Geez, over the weekend plus a travel day, I feel like I missed two season’s worth of the NBA! Smoove gets waived, there’s trades… I think Andrew Wiggins is even contemplating retirement! In Detroit Rock City, Stan Van is tired of seeing Detroit Brick City. Shooting a career-low (even for Smoove!) 39.1% from the field (including 9-37 from deep for a Gargantuan 24.3 3PTM%), Stan Van is about as sick of labradoodles as Michael Vick. Too soon! I could go Larry Sanders there too, he is on my all-hate team… Wow, this got too serious. Josh Smith is terrible at basketball! Another year of 2.6 TO is doing no favors, but even in only 32 minutes a game (a low since 2005-06), he’s at a career-best 4.7 AST this year. Then again, another flip-side with a career worst 46.8 FT%. I’m rattling things off we already know, but mostly want to mention in H2H leagues, he’s still a useful player if your team is built the right way. And my pre-season rank was hoping he would come off the bench and boost the FG% and bad TO rate by playing against second units. Right now the Rockets are front-runners to pick him up (which also is a big indictment on Terrence Jones coming back any time soon), which should limit his labradoodles and keep him in line for defensive stats. I’m really hating what Stan Van is doing to DET for us fantasy-players – these shifts in minutes and rotations are infuriating – so I’m actually a little encouraged. We’ll see how it shakes out, but if you’ve been able to weather the Smoove storm of horrific efficiency, I’d keep holding. Here’s what else has gone on across the league since we last checked in:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

99 Problems, With The Roof Being One

December 17, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 84 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Who says NBA is an indoor sport?! Roll out the tarp!

During a rainy night in Brooklyn, all the sudden the ballboys were throwing towels on this spot on the court as somewhere in the rafters was a pretty steady leak. I looked away from the game for a minute then looked back, and I thought at first they were cleaning up a massive bleeding injury! At least that wasn’t the case… Ended up being about half an hour rain delay, complete with maintenance rolling out a trash can to collect the water. It’s like Kap said when we were chattin’ last night – just like his high school gym! The Nets arena leaking with the tears of Nets fans…

While Brooklynites had to watch a short-handed Heat team beat them at home, there’s at least some fantasy goodness to be had from some flashy younguns. Professor Plumlee! Young professors I bet would make a killing with college chicks… Anyway, Mason Plumlee for 21/9/1/1/1 last night, shooting 8-12 FG and leading the Nets in scoring. Sure the Heat front line is a bunch of dudes you’ve never heard of and an over-the-chicken coup Birdman, but good to see him hitting on his potential as the starter, finally. There’s still some blemishes – 4 TO and a surprisingly good-for-Plumlee but bad-for-real-life 5-8 FT (stop it with the hyphen phrases!), but if you can handle the FT drain or already have a FT-punting (dammit!) team, he’s a perfect fit. I think he’s as close to a must-own in all leagues while Brook Lopez is out, but many teams don’t have a streamer spot and/or can’t handle the bad FT%. Brolo is getting reevaluated Saturday, meaning he’s out at least three more. So while the Nets are leaking talent, don’t let Plumlee leak through your waiver wire. Here’s how the rest of the NBA big news shook out:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Behind The Music – What Happened To JB’s Rapping Career

December 12, 2014 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 14 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

“Who wants to win part of $45K for only $2 to play?!”

Yes, it’s Friday which means it’s DratKings night! And I’m hopping in one of my low-risk, high-reward contests where I can win it big if I smoke da rest like a cig. OK, I’m done with this bit, it’s just terrible isn’t it?! I’ll be hopping in the NBA $45K LAYUP, with the $2 buy-in good enough to win me $5,000 if I can top the field. Of course, all you have to do is finish in the top 20% to money, something Slim and I both did last week to double and triple up. Slim did better! Flaunting his $6 around like a Little Rascal. Why daily fantasy is fun with your friends – instant gratification. So hop in the contest tonight, follow our entries (“jbrazzball” & “SlimRazzball”), and let’s get Razzball Nation winnin’ some paper! Here’s a look at five of my DK picks for tonight:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

NBA Draft Recap And Top Ten Fantasy Basketball Rookies

July 12, 2013 | Fantasy Basketball Daily Notes | 7 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Razzball Nation! Sorry it has been a slight break from me, but it’s been a wild summer. If I weren’t out of town drinking daiquiris on the beach trying to grow my mustache out and know absolutely nothing about any sport besides baseball, then my summer would’ve felt incomplete…

But I’m back now, back into everything Razzball, and ready to talk some NBA rookies. I know I’m a little behind the draft, but hey, we’ve got a little time before we see these guys in real NBA action. Not that Kelly Olynyk playing in solid color warmups in a gym that looks like one Nikola Pekovic used to play in the Siberian Leagues isn’t entertaining, but c’mon. Let’s get these summer guys playing somewhere nice!

Please, blog, may I have some more?