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The latest trade in the NBA featured the rebuilding Hornets moving Scary Terry Rozier to Miami for a 1st round pick and a half season rental of Kyle Lowry and his slightly oversized behind. Apart from the real life and fantasy implications, this trade has sparked some insights into Charlotte’s perceived losing culture, after some […]

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The Bergens are coming, AHHH. The Bergens are coming, AHHH. The Bergens are coming, AHHH. The Bergens are coming, AHHH. 

For those without kids, that’s Branch in “Trolls” overreacting because he’s scared of success (and friendship), just like so many fantasy basketball players will overreact to the first couple games, when regular bench rotations guys will be proclaimed breakouts of the season, and busts will be said to abound as the rust gets knocked off the boots. 

However, while we definitely don’t want to overreact, let’s remember: Branch ended up being right. You don’t want to be caught with that average penny stock and telling yourself, “any day now, it’s gunna go crazy!” [Checks portfolio, sighs with depression, gets back to basketball.] Keep an eye on minutes, rotations and usage more than the general stat lines in these early going. 

And with that piece of nonsensical advice, let’s get on with the show! Here’s what caught my eye in the 12 games of the unofficial official opening night in The Association.

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The season is all but here and it is time to lay all the cards on the line. And what a great natural segue, as where do you find playing cards and basketball? That’s right folks, at the casino. And while we do things with the fantasy tilt here at Razz, unfortunately it’s nye impossible to talk anything sports nowadays without the almighty dollar attached to it. You know because I brought out the Olde Ye English. The technical term for serious talk between us and you shan’t forget it. Anyways, we’ll have the usual “potentially” entertaining analysis and content below plus the New World Order (aka the Vegas SPREAD) and my takes on the O/U. So let’s get to the Eastern Conference, a setting that generally feels a lot less competitive than its Western counterparts, but still offers an interesting blend of playoff juggernauts, underperforming teams, and everything in-between. There’s also the Hornets, but really, that should be a category in of all itself. Maybe the “hide your women when they come to town” type of category.

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As the wheels continued to fall off the Wizards’ season Wednesday night, Nikola Jokic kept rollin’ in the opposite direction to the tune of 31 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in a convincing 118-104 win for Denver. His absolutely insane efficiency continued, as he shot 12-of-16 from the field and 5-of-5 at the charity stripe. This guy fills up the box score and basically doesn’t miss in the process.

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As Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport fire off one “BREAKING” tweet after another, I just have to be honest: Writing about basketball tonight sort of feels like being the undercard for a Jon Jones fight. Is anyone gonna care about the NBA tonight, while the NFL free agency frenzy carries on deep into the wee hours?

NO? Well, I’ll just go ahead and MAKE you care. Didn’t mean to sound like Tony Soprano, sorry. Let’s get into my NBA Wednesday fantasy basketball notes and analysis.

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It’s playoff season, and in standard head-to-head leagues like the Razzball Writers’ League, every waiver wire pickup is critical at this point. Facing Beats By Dray in the first round,  I head into the weekend hoping I didn’t chum the waters on (as in, threw up all over) my chances to advance. 

All week, San Antonio second-year big man, Charles Bassey, has been discussed as a hot wire add for the tanking Spurs. Bassey has been a borderline standard league over the last few weeks, averaging about 8 points, 7 boards, 2 assists a steal and a block a game in 17.5 minutes. 

I’ve been trolling around the Bassey interest all season, which he spent much of tearing up the G League. In 14 games in the minors, he was 3rd in fantasy points (yes, G League keeps track of fantasy points per game leaders on its stats page), averaging about 23-10-2-1-2 on 67% shooting. The Spurs saw enough positives in his development to fully guarantee the former Western Kentucky Hilltopper’s contract for its first two years. With that vote of confidence, and the tank rolling, it makes sense to believe Bassey could be a strong asset for fantasy playoffs. 

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The self titled BBall Oracle back again here to break down some NBA DFS. We have a large 10 game slate right before the All-Star break. #1 piece of advice as always is to be up to date on injuries, as the info in this article will only be up to date as of Tuesday night. I’d expect quite a bit of phantom injuries and rest for players right before the break.

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Welcome Razzball Nation to your weekly digest where we try to reveal value from a player who is not quite hitting the expected mark, so to speak.

Timing can be everything in fantasy basketball, as the right deal at the right moment can make all the difference in your quest for greatness, or at the very least a weekly win. You know what they say about luck, opportunity meets preparation. That is the mission here as I try to equip you with the necessary information needed to take full advantage in your respective leagues and catch a frustrated or sleepy GM slipping.

We are nearing the trade deadline in the NBA, which can also signal some movement across the fantasy landscape as well. Even the most rigid of GM’s will ease their stance and entertain a trade at this time of the year.

So, carpe diem!

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I was high on Precious Achiuwa in the offseason, as he showed flashes at the end of last season, both offensively and defensively. He improved his shooting and was able to make it rain from downtown. In addition, he exhibited the ability to make life difficult for Joel Embiid while also being able to switch on the perimeter against guards. Most importantly, though, Nick Nurse spoke glowingly about him over the summer, commenting on his work ethic and finally “getting it.” Then the season started, and it didn’t go as planned. He had two monster games while playing over 33 minutes in each, but after that, was relegated to playing in the teens. To stick a rusty knife into my belly, Achiuwa then succumbed to injury and missed the next 24 games. My Precious once had bling that blinded the eyes, but now was as dull as my jokes. Upon returning to action, he was once again playing in the teens, but slowly but surely, the playing time increased. Christian Koloko was sent down to the G League and my Precious began to glisten once again. Over the last five games, he received 28, 21, 26, 21 and 37 minutes, starting in the most recent contest and putting up 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

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Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week 14!  In this post, I identify widely-available players who can help you win your head-to-head matchup.  We’re now at the point in many fantasy leagues when the playoff race and its participants are well defined.  For struggling managers, you have to adopt a more aggressive mindset that prioritizes streaming over holding long-term injuries and/or stashing guys who might benefit from a trade.  As an example, if you’re in a battle for one of your league’s final playoff spots in a tournament that starts February 27th (Week 19), there’s not much use in holding Devin Vassell when he might be ready to play after the All-Star Break.  He’ll hurt you in the interim by occupying a valuable IL slot, and will likely miss games even after he returns as the Spurs adopt a cautious (tanking) mindset.  I’ll give one more example: Isaiah Jackson.  Is it worth holding him just in case Myles Turner gets traded if you’re taking L’s in the meantime?  Probably not.  Time to move on and free up that spot for guys that can help you right now.

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