The NBA is BACK baby and so are the daily notes. This morning, fantasy owners were greeted by their players with a trick or treat. Oh LeBron James (26/10/3/2, 2 3PM), a snickers bar! Thank you Rajon Rondo (20/7/14, 9-14 FG), I love butterfingers! Kyrie Irving (29/6/3/0/1, 3 3PM), I can take two?!! Uh Steve Nash (7/2/4/0/1, 1 3PM), a f*cking apple? Are you joking me? Don’t you know parents make you throw shit like that away? WTF, and besides who wants an apple?! Sigh. In case you didn’t hear the general panic from California, the Lakers lost last night to the Dirkless Mavs. It’s OK though, in the spirit of Halloween they let the Bobcats dress up as Lakers and let them play. Such nice guys. The important thing to remember about the first week or two is don’t overreact/panic. Don’t suddenly trade Nash or give up on Bradley Beal (8/3/3/1, 2 3PM). There were only 3 games last night but here’s the other fantasy relevant news from the NBA…
But first, we have yet another Razzball Commenter League open for those of you who really procrastinate! Okay, now on to the relevant news:
Trevor Ariza – The Good: 2 3PM, 3 rebs, 4 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk. The Bad: 9 points. The Ugly: 3-8 FG and 1-2 FT. Besides the blocks, this is status quo from Ariza. If you’re punting %’s, he’s your man!
Jordan Crawford – 11/3/5/1/1. Tied with A.J. Price (Wizards starting PG!) with the most minutes (29) despite coming off the bench. Crawford should be a factor in fantasy but beware his ghastly FG% (4-13 last night, 0-6 from 3).
Anderson Varejao – 9 points, 23 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 blocks. I’m taking all stat lines against the Wizards this year with a grain of salt. If you see the Wizards coming up for your fantasy player, rejoice!
Tristan Thompson – See Varejao, Anderson. 12/10/5/1
Dion Waiters – Despite it being against the Wiz, it was good to see Waiters taking the second most shots on the team. Looks like I’m going to have to learn how to pronounce his name after all. 17/2/0/3 with 2 3PM.
Darren Collison – If Collison can torch Steve Nash like this, I think I’d start even A.J. Price against the lakers. 17 points, 2 boards, 4 dimes, 3 steals and 8-12 FG.
Jae Crowder – 8/3/2/1 with 2 3PM. After a very successful preseason he may see limited minutes like last night (20) if Shawn Marion (11/9/4/1/1) continues to be this effective. Oh, preseason.
The Lakers Bench – Absolutely worthless with no one playing over 15 minutes. They’re gonna play Nash and Kobe Bryant like it’s 2002.
Brandon Bass – Very effective last night going 6-11 from the field with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 1 assist. With Jared Sullinger and Jeff Green competing for minutes, this is a great sign for owners who took Bass with a late round flyer. Could be matchup based though, so be careful.
Mario Chalmers – 36 minutes along with 8 points, 1 board, 11 assists, 3 steals. Norris Cole? 6 minutes.
Ray Allen – Tried to downplay all the leaving Boston hoopla but I think the stat line says it all. 5-7 FG, 7-8 FT, 2 3PM, 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists. After the game was over, he ran over to Kevin Garnett and mercifully pulled the knife out of his back. Allen smiled the entire time.
