Welp. Went up against the first place team and predictable things happened. JokerSmoker outclassed the Infector 6-2, but I did manage a glorious tie in the blocks category! I was within ten points in every category. My strategy of well-rounded guys to start, then fill in the gaps has failed.
What do do when your plan fails? Trade! Scottie Barnes, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Edwards should be able to fetch good big guys. I’m in good shape with rebounds and blocks. I’m finna make some bad offers on paper but try to magnify my strengths and maybe get some Ws. I’m also guessing none of the writers read this site trying to defeat an Infector.
Interesting adds of the week:
PB and G stayed all the way up to 1:30 on Sunday night and grabbed Christian Koloko from the Raptors, who decided Patrick Williams wouldn’t be allowed to shoot and blocked him five times! Up fake, Patrick! Good pickup with Pascal Siakam going down, and the Raptors have been looking for a center for a while.
With Andre Drummond out for an indeterminate time, Patrick Williams has as many minutes as he can handle and as many shots that Koloko can block as he can put up. Maybe sneaky 1-1-1 stats, he does some good stuff at times. Tough to play with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, I imagine. Bulls need him though, so he could get minutes.
Side note: I hate that the NBA lets kids in before age 20. They often aren’t ready, and even the best guys struggle like Paolo Banchero does with his shot. I mean, why in tarnation is Dalen Terry on a roster right now? We would have seen Williams’ lack of motor with more time. Why does the league insist on getting guys in early? Doesn’t hurt the NFL! Put in a 20 year old age requirement.
Team of the Week: PB and Geordies, heartofore and forevermore known as PB because I’m 92% sure I’m spelling Geordies wrong and it’s a lot of effort to click between tabs and check. Second thought, I could have done that in the time I typed this so, as my 13 year old says, “Shut up, Brian.” True story! Sometimes she even does my first name. Apparently, my parenting is about as good as my fantasy basketball skills.
Now that I’m out of my fugue state, this is a solid team build. He only has one wing and a bunch of scoring guards and solid big guys. Devin Booker is playing like an MVP and chipping in 5 dimes with 30 points per game. Mikal Bridges was a great pick and, with Cam Johnson out, look for increased shot attempts but with a decrease in efficiency. Wendell Carter is a beast; hope the Duke product stays healthy for the first time. There are just a lot of guys playing at a high level at the moment.
Health could derail the PB and G; perhaps he should invest in an apple a day to keep the doctors away from this squad. Wow, lots of injury history. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (tanking and will miss time), Carter Jr., Michael Porter Jr., and I erroneously mentioned Kawhi and Embiid last week for a different team. This is a ton of risk which is paying off at the moment! Problem with risk is……….
All these guys could miss time, and are actually likely to do so. Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, and Mike Conley could get traded, which depending on situation will likely affect their production. Will Isaiah Stewart go back with his crazy eyes and lose his marbles on national TV, becoming more known for memes than his game?
But to those who take risks, often go the rewards. He’s projected to be the second place team by the weird Fantrax scoring system that nobody understands and changes every day. But math is probably smarter than me. I’m just a math teacher by day, anyway. Why should I be good at that stuff?
Anyway, thanks for reading and for Razzball for publishing my drivel!
