2013 NBA DRAFT DIARY: Part III

Hasan R

(Part II of Hasan's diary can be read here).

Pick 11, Philadelphia 76ers: Jrue Holiday is gone and they replace him with Michael Carter-Williams. Advanced metrics place Carter-Williams as a top guard in this draft and he provides Philly with size and a pure PG to throw lobs up for Noel. Throw in the 2014 first-round pick they also got (1-5 protected) and the 76ers came away with a killer haul and have set themselves up for a fantastic future rebuild.

Pick 12, Oklahoma City Thunder: Still reeling from losing James Harden, they need to find a sixth man who can play meaningful minutes behind Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Frankly, this team is pretty stacked and are smart at drafting so I trust their pick. Steven Adams is the announced pick and I’m ok with this. Adams is an athlete with tons of potential. Strong athlete combined with great size makes him a terrific defender, but needs to improve on the offensive side of the ball. Thankfully, offense is something OKC doesn’t suffer and provided that Adams can help them crash the boards and protect the rim would make him a good pick.

Pick 13, Dallas Mavericks: A TRADE! Mavs trade this pick to the Celtics for the no. 16 pick and two future second-round picks. The Boston Celtics in turn draft Kelly Olynyk, a stretch 4 who can catch the ball on the high post and drive to the basket. Definitely part of the rebuilding process for Boston, but by no means an impact pick.

Pick 14, Utah Jazz: Man, watching the draft is fun and exciting, but draining. There is so much dead airspace and ESPN scrambles to put it all together. But I wouldn’t have it any other way! Anyway, the Timberwolves select Shabazz Muhammad. Prolific scorer on the wings and a good shooters, Shabazz proves to be a good pick, especially this far down. Best part of his interview is the fact that he is being asked about the Wolves whilst wearing a Utah Jazz hat. Definitely a highlight in the draft.

Pick 15, Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks select Giannis Adetokunbo. Whoa, try saying that three times fast. This dude can handle the ball, can shoot the 3 and has a crazy wingspan. Scouts peg him as not being NBA ready and we won’t really know if he can make the transition from Greece to the NBA. He will either be a home run or a bust, and we should know in a couple of years. 

More NBA content is available here. 

NBA LESSONS: v5.2: Point/Counterpoint

Felipe M

Interesting question asked by NBA Debates over the weekend: Who has the brightest future: Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, or James Harden? I asked our favorite Sacramento Kings’ fan, Josh C. about it.  What we ended up with was another long-winded conversation about the state of the NBA...

Josh: If it weren't for his ankles, I'd say Curry.  The guy is “Basketball” and might end up being one of the top 3 shooters of all time.  But because of his ankles, I'll reluctantly pick Harden.  He has a pitbull mentality, but there just seems an aura of calmness surrounding him.  He knows he's a top 5 player but doesn't flaunt it. Complete game with a humongous basketball IQ and can really function in the 1, 2 or 3 spots. I also think he wants it bad enough to improve on what he did this year.

Felipe: Just out of curiosity, who's in your top 5 in the NBA? I figure it has to be LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and....?????

Josh: Durant, James, Harden and quite honestly, I'm not sure anymore. With the injuries to Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose, (and Kobe Bryant for that matter), the rest of the top 5 is kind of murky at present time.  Does Dwight Howard deserve to be there? Is Kyrie Irving there yet? Did Paul George just ascend into the conversation? Do I believe Carmelo Anthony is a top 5 player? I guess Chris Paul has to be there by default, but I question how long his knees will let him stay in "elite" territory.  Is it fair to at least mention Tim Duncan after the year he had (even if he was coming off years that pointed towards the inevitable demise of his illustrious career)?  Dwyane Wade is no longer in the conversation, right?  Or does his 24.00 PER suggest otherwise?  Tony Parker? I never imagined I would even think of him as top 10, but I really have to stop and think.

It's so difficult to put a guy up next to another guy (both elite) and say, "yep, this guy is better" (and this goes back to our previous conversation of comparing across generations.  It's just as hard to compare across systems and different positions).

Felipe: I went through the same struggles trying to come up with a top five. Hesitant to add Harden after only one season of him carrying a franchise, but with all the injuries and question marks surrounding the rest of the game's elite, it’s really hard not to include him along James and Durant.

I guess Anthony would be on that list of top 5 players as well. Chris Paul as the league's best, pure point guard would make the rest of that short list

Josh: If you backed me into a corner and made me give you 5 names right now (keeping out Westbrook, Rose, and Kobe due to injury) I'd have to say (in no particular order) Lebron, Durant, Harden, CP3, and--I think I'm going to lean towards ‘Melo, but a case could easily be made for Wade, Parker, and even Steph.  My hesitation with Parker and Duncan is that I'm not sure which one is even better of the 2 at this point.

Felipe: It’s Parker, but regardless--

Josh: Also, the reason I'm not hesitant about putting Harden there is that I argued coming into the season that Harden would be the better player of Harden/Westbrook in 2 seasons, and before the injury, I would have said Westbrook is top 5.  I think Harden played like a top 5 player this season and, most importantly, I don't think it was a fluke. I believe 100% in his talent and that this season was just the starting point.

Felipe: Definitely not a fluke!  Over exceeding even the highest of high expectations that were placed on Harden is what made Harden's season superb.  Like I said, would like to see more than one season of him doing this, but there's no doubt (barring injury) he can easily do it again.  Wade, Parker, and Curry come with too many injury concerns.  So our top 5 of Melo, James, Durant, CP3, and Harden seems to make the most sense as it currently stands right now.

For the record, this is how I would rank these five players:

1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Carmelo Anthony
4. James Harden
5. Chris Paul

Josh: Did you realize there wasn't a single 20/10 guy in the league this year? That's freaking unheard of!  Over the last 12 seasons prior to this one, at least 3 players hit that mark 10 out of the 12 seasons, and 2 of them hit that mark in the other 2 seasons. Just goes to show the wacky season it was

Felipe: Come on dude, I'm way ahead of you!  There are five theories that TrueHoop listed as the possibilities for the lack of 20/10 guys in the NBA this year—meaning 20 points and 10 rebounds just to clarify.         

             

But once again, the evolution of the NBA going with perimeter players to make it a more open, more exciting, fast-paced game is incredibly evident after this regular season concluded.

Josh: Evidenced by the fact that if you made a top 10 players’ list in the league right now (and included Rose, Kobe, Westbrook—even though we don't know for sure if Kobe can come back and be “Kobe,”...), we'd likely end up without a single PF/C (though Dwight can move in there if he redeems himself wherever he goes next year.  And I think Marc Gasol has a strong case to be on the cusp of top 10, too (okay, maybe I'm a bit biased with him).

Felipe: I kind of like the NBA this way 

Josh: Regarding the TrueHoop article: instead of them looking too deep, all they needed to do was look at the surface and see that the 2 reigning, perennial 20/10 guys were shells of their former selves due to injury (but somewhat being a big whiny baby on a team with the mamba).  Those guys were Kevin Love and D-Howard.  The other players that can potentially average 20/10 are mostly in the twilight of their careers, or just slightly declining below 20/10 levels either by changed role on their teams, or simply they don't try as hard as they once did.  This group includes the following:

• Zach Randolph
• Blake Griffin
• Kevin Garnett
• Carlos Boozer
• Al Jefferson

Then you have the guys who can score twenty, but struggle to average even 9 boards a game because, quite frankly, they're afraid of rebounding (one could say there are fewer rebounds available, but I don't think it makes a difference with this group).

• Brook Lopez
• LaMarcus Aldridge

If you take it one step further, we had our other group of 20/10 guys, and that's the PGs that were 20 in the buckets’ category and 10 assisted buckets. We're missing that as well and partially because those players suffer from the same scenario as above (Chris Paul, Deron Williams, etc...).

While the game has evolved and changed, a lot of the perimeter change has to do with the talent coming through as well.  The NBA (as with anything else) is cyclical and while right now the best players in the game are all wings (and point guards if you don't consider a PG as a wing), in a few years that could shift to where our dominant presences are again the larger bodies.  Conversely, perhaps those larger bodies may never come as well.

One of our future 20/10ers is already in the league in the form of one Mr. Anthony Davis.

Felipe: Which was my next point: the 20-10 guys of yesteryear are seeing diminished skills and whereas Dwightmare and K-Love would have been two players that can reach that milestone, the game itself has not developed the big men that are skilled enough to score with relative ease and have the ability to rebound in bunches. I think a big issue is the fact that a lot of the big men that are coming up the high school and college ranks are becoming perimeter players (i.e. Kevin Durant, LeBron James, etc.). Not only that, but these same big men are not being taught to play like the big men that we saw dominate the 1980s and 1990s. A guy like Roy Hibbert is a throwback, but I don't think he has the skill to be a 20-10 guy (Finished 12-8).  Even Davis' potential to be a 20-10 guy (finished 13.5-8) lies heavily in his athleticism. But can he develop into a Tim Duncan-like frontcourt player? I'm not so sure.  He might develop an outside shot before he develops a more fluid post game. And he's still lanky enough where more, well-built big men will find a way to push him around from the boards. 

Maybe DeMarcus Cousins could be that guy (17.1-9.9), but he's already so amazingly skilled and talented, the question should really be, why the hell hasn't he been that 20-10 guy yet?

More NBA content is available here. 

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Why the Grizzlies Don't Need a Superstar

Johnny J

When Russell Westbrook, went out with a knee injury in the first round, I changed my perspective on who was coming out the west. OKC is number one in the Western Conference for a reason. Besides having one of the best scorers in the league in Kevn Durant, the absence of Westbrook, who averaged 23 points and 7 assists in the regular season, makes this an ordinary team, with one star. Ask the casual movie-goer: more stars means the movie is worth watching . One star, means the movie is not worth anything. So Durant without Westbrook, is like Abbot without Costello. So with that said, I changed my West pick from the Thunder to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies are finding ways to win after trading their star perimeter player Rudy Gay in the middle of the season. But it's not about what they gave away but what they got in return. After the six-player exchange was all said and done, they acquired a young developing player in Ed Davis, (Go North Carolina) and veteran Tayshaun Prince, and throw-in Austin Daye. The Grizzlies, who lead the league in points allowed, just got bigger and more Grizzly. Both Davis and Prince are long defenders with a good wingspan. Prince's wingspan would make him about 7-foot-2, which is about 5 inches more than his height. He plays good defense, has good ball-handling skills, and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. I'll take that back in return for my star player who is now watching his former team from his couch.

Now you throw Prince in the mix with Defensive Player of the Year, Marc Gasol and a talented power forward in Z-Bo, (Zach Randolph) and I say you have a talented, man-consuming bear attack!  I call it, "when bears attack for no reason"--NBA Edition.  No need to feed them, they roam in the wilderness. The same place Durant and company are going to play the next two game, Memphis, at the FedEx Forum, where the Grizzlies were 32-9 at home in the regular season, and are 3-0 in the in the playoffs. Sounds like its going to be another bear attack in the South. Just ask L.A. Clippers' Blake Griffin, who went into the woods and just wasn't the same after his bear attack. Yes Griffin is a hard, tough player, but he let Randolph push him around in the playoffs. Griffin is a big guy, but he is harmless, and physical teams will push him around.

The Grizzlies should be up 2-0 in this series against the Thunder, but cub Quincy Pondexter, couldn't hit the free throws. Too much pressure for the cub, who only has two years experience. But like every road team in the playoffs would say, "At least we took away home court advantage from them, by taking one." Now, the Grizzlies, don't have that sense of urgency to win, because they already did the hard part: Win in OKC!
The Grizzlies don't have a traditional "go-to-guy," but they don't need one.  It's like Erik Spoelstra says:

"Who's going to take the last shot? Whoever's open."

When you have a lot of weapons on a team, you're able to do that. Who takes the last shot for the Grizzlies? Whoever is open!  Give it to Gasol, Randolph, Prince or even Mike Conley Jr., who was just one assist shy of a triple double in game 2. Who, would you put your best defender on against Memphis?  Good question.

Whoever made the call to get rid of Gay (Part of the answer can be found here--Ed) made the best move for this franchise.  Defense wins games and that guy didn't have any.  Now every guy is the -go-to-person. With that mentality, who needs a star?  You have a whole team full of co-stars. All their names show-up in the credits anyway.  How do you build a team around the co-stars?  Just add more! I'll take that over one star who breathes the same air as we do. If he misses, its his fault. If the co-stars misses, its the team's fault. 

Memphis should get past OKC and either San Antonio or Golden State will be in trouble. The Spurs are too old and the Warriors are too inexperienced.  Memphis will advance to the Conference Finals and the Spurs/Warriors should be prepared to be mauled by the Grizzlies. No Smokey or Yogi here;  just straight Grizzlies.

More NBA content is available here. 

NBA Playoff coverage can be found here.

THE WESTERN CONFERENCE: Enough Said!

Johnny J

The Western Conference dominance over the Eastern Conference, has been around for some time now. Its not that the west plays a different type of basketball, but its more of a team effort. Compared to the East, teams like the New York Knicks and Miami Heat focus on a superstar.  If you took away the superstar from each team, would they still be Conference title contenders, let alone NBA Title contenders? Out west, teams like Memphis, Golden State and Denver would still find away to win games minus their leading sorer. Truth be told, the West may have more superstars than the East as the latter has won the last three All-Star games. They also won five out of the last eight NBA Finals. That's what I call Conference dominance!

 The East is full of depleted stars this season, due to injuries: Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, Rajon Rondo and Amar'e Stoudemire have all missed a significant amount of games this year because of injury. Who has the best chance of reaching the finals? Obviously its easier to win in the East because of teams missing their stars. So for a team like the Knicks, now is the time to turn that frown upside-down. This could be their year.  The only team in their way--the Miami Heat. The Knicks have beaten them three times this season; once without Carmelo Anthony. Now just make it stick in the playoffs. I see only two teams being able to make the Finals in the East: New York and Miami.

If you look at the eight teams in the playoffs for the West, I would say six of them can make the finals. The only two who I believe won't are the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.

• Houston, we have a problem: James Harden has to go back to OKC and show them why he should have gotten paid. Who's worth more to a team: Harden or Russell Westbrook?  (Russell Westbrook--Ed). My answer is Harden.  He led the league in  free throw attempts with 792. Kevin Durant attempted 750. Imagine having them on the same team. Oh wait , that happened! Now Harden has to take his one man band into Chesapeake Arena, where the Thunder have only lost seven games all year. 
• "Warriors come out and play": This isn't the 1979 classic, but more of the 21st century video game. All I can say is this is going to be a series that doesn't believe in defense. These teams can definitely put up points. Denver lead the league with 106.1 PPG and Golden State came in seventh with 101.2 PPG. Stephen Curry vs Ty Lawson: a 2013 classic!

Matter of fact, if you take the eight seed Rockets and put them in the East, they would be a five seed. If you take the fifth seed Grizzlies and put the in the east, they would be a two seed. So is the West harder than the East?  Yes!  It's because they don't rely on one person; they rely on the team. Six of the the top teams who lead the league in assists are out West. Carmelo Anthony's team ranked 30th in assists. Big difference between ball sharing and ball hogging. It just seems to work for the Knicks. The West also plays at a faster tempo. Its more of a full-court, fast-break style of play. It's all about possession efficiency and pace.  Matter of fact, there is a formula that measures team pace: Team Possessions + Opponent Possessions / 2 X [Team Minutes Played / 5]

Basically, the more possessions you have, the more points a team can put up. The Rockets lead the league with 98.6, followed by the Nuggets with 97.8. Then you have the Warriors, Lakers, and Spurs in the order of four, five, and six. That's how the West dominates. Its simple mathematics. The West plays at a faster pace, while the East is mostly half-court play. Whoever comes out the East will still have to worry about slowing down their Western opponent.  It's that simple!  Easier said than done.

More NBA content is available here. 

BRAGGIN' RIGHTS: 2013 Fantasy Basketball Champion

Different fantasy sport, same team name; same result.

Felipe M

With the NBA Playoffs looming, now would be the time for me to give myself some kudos.  As I explained before, I am part of a highly competitive fantasy basketball keeper league and my team, Baraka Obama, was having a banner year and was coming off a trade that helped me acquire Monta Ellis.  With that move, I solidified my backcourt, but I was still thin at the frontcourt.  Even worse, I had to give up Pau Gasol to make this deal.  I was looking forward to inserting him into the lineup after battling foot issues that cost him a huge chunk of the season.  I would easily had slid him into my starting lineup and help out my frontcourt.  Alas, even with Ellis on board, my squad was still a mess.  

Very late in the season, it's hard to find any reliable and productive players on the waiver wire.  However, there was this one player that I have been keeping tabs on for the entire season.  

We first made a big deal about the firing of Scott Skiles and how that would improve the overall production from their suddenly deep frontcourt.  Not listed was Tobias Harris, but I made it my priority to keep an eye on this guy for the rest of the season.  This was back in early January, but I had this hunch that based on his ability and the scouting report that I acknowledged back on his draft day, I was just simply gravitated towards him and it was imperative to take special notice and follow him for the rest of the year.  

Harris finally busted out to have his most productive week of the season back on February 23, 2013.  It was a good showing by the former Milwaukee Bucks' player.  Considering that the game was his debut with his new team, the Orlando Magic.  Solid effort, but not good enough to warrant a roster move.  Finally, on February 27, 2013, he exploded for 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and two steals in 31 minutes of play.  It was unbelievable that no one else had picked him up.  I immediately dropped Michael Kidd-Gilchrist that night in order to make room for Harris and he performed beyond my wildest imagination.  

With a solid frontcourt intact, my squad was finally ready to be legit contenders for the championship.  Not only that, but the move elevated the play of Omer Asik and most notably, Spencer Hawes.  I don't know what it is, might be a mere coincidence, but sometimes, when you make certain decisions on your fantasy team, it somehow affects the rest of the squad.  We're talking in indirect, intangible terms here, but for those that are serious about their fantasy sports, sometimes outside factors, beyond your control, get together and elevates the entire team to a higher level.  Of course, the converse also holds true as a string of back luck will definitely cripple your squad.

At any rate, I was able to win the Bryant Division (yes, named after Kobe, the most hated player in my little world).  Unfortunately, I was forced to face the hottest team in the last 10 games or so, the Nut Sac Lootmonkeys (the "Sac" stands for Sacramento.  The squad is run by our resident, disgruntled Kings' fan, Josh C). 

You're talking about a team that was not only winning, but with their high scoring, they were humiliating opponents every single week.  They were definitely an immovable force in the 2nd half of the season.  They were led by the following players:

• Goran Dragic
• Brandon Jennings
• Ty Lawson
• John Wall
• Gordon Hayward
• Andre Iguodala
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Paul Pierce
• Marc Gasol
• Al Jefferson

And they still had injured players Kevin Garnett, Andre Drummond, and Kenneth Faried on the bench.  This team was very deep!

I went with my thin lineup of the following players:

• DeMar Derozan
• Monta Ellis
• Jeremy Lin
• Dwyane Wade
• Tim Duncan
• Kevin Durant
• Tobias Harris
• David Lee
• Omer Asik
• Spencer Hawes

Even with Lootmonkeys' injuries, my team just didn't look very formidable compared to his.  I gave myself an optimistic 45% chance of winning this game.  Sure enough, the 'Monkeys scored 350+ points.  Unfortunately for them, I ended up scorign 365 points!  Who would have thought that Duncan, very late in the season, would continue to get enough minutes to produce big time numbers?  And there's Harris with the surprising 44.5 points.  Wade and Ellis combined for 83 big points.  Special note is Hawes accumulated 37.5 points.  Real proud of him and the improvements he made as the season progressed.

On to the Championship Game and once again, I was stuck having to face my divisional foe and longtime nemesis, Eyebrows the Net (or as I like to call him, Tim C from KC).  After beating him in our first match-up, he went on to win the next two contests.  His team, although not as strong as the Lootmonkeys, was picking up steam as they entered the playoffs.  They defeated the best team in the league, in terms of win-loss record, Young Blood, to get to the championship game.  Final score: 346-322.

For the Championship Game and the 4th and final game between us, the Net went with the following lineup:

• Stephen Curry
• Damian Lillard
• Isaiah Thomas
• Russell Westbrook
• Nicolas Batum
• Luol Deng
• Zach Randolph
• Tirstan Thompson
• Anthony Davis
• Greg Monroe

I went with the same lineup that got me into the Championship Game, despite the fact that D-Wade was reported to miss a few games because of an ankle injury.  He would later go on to miss the entire week and post a big, whopping ZERO POINTS!  I was devastated by his absence. I even conceded the match-up to my opponent on that Saturday.  How can my team win short-handed?

What I didn't realize was that the Net was dealing with an injury of their own.  Batum had only posted 15 points as he was dealing with a shoulder problem (eventually would end his season).  With a whole slate of weekend games to go, my situation was not very favorable as I was holding onto a small lead going into the weekend.  However, despite D-Wade's absence, we prevailed!

49 points from my favorite player, Kevin Durant, 41 from Harris, 42 from Lee, Hawes and Asik combined for 60 points at center and even Jeremy Lin showed up with 40.5 to add to Ellis' 44.  

Truly a satisfying season.  I worked hard in my draft preparation during the offseason, went outside my comfort zone and made a whopping FOUR TRADES (I usually am lucky enough to perform one trade per year, let alone four), and kept my eyes glued to the waiver wire.  After years of many losing seasons and seasons where my team was knocked out of the first round of the playoffs, we finally made it over the top, defeated a couple of great teams and now we scream from the mountaintop as champions!

Can't wait for these NBA Playoffs to start all ready, but as we close out another season in our Big Ballers' keeper league season, as always, I'm looking forward for another exciting season in 2013-'14.

We leave you with our review of Tobias Harris' after he was selected by the Bucks:

"Tobias Harris out of Tennessee was selected by Milwaukee. Described as a "versatile" perimeter player with a "high basketball IQ," this player has a reputation for his hard work and for being a gym rat. On the downside, Harris was one of the few players in this draft whose lack of athleticism was a major concern."

More NBA content is available here. 

BRAGGIN' RIGHTS: 2013 Fantasy Basketball Update

Felipe M

My credentials....
(photo courtesy of Felipe M)

I haven't talked too much about my fantasy basketball team, the basketball Baraka Obama, all year long.  This is a travesty because we're having a really good season, so far.  We've lead the BRYANT DIVISION for most of the season, but team Eyebrows the Net have finally caught up and we're deadlocked at 13-5, with only 3 games (including this week) left to this season.  I believe they win the tie-breaker to win the division, but I still control my own destiny in the Wild Card meaning a possible match-up in the playoffs with arch-rival, long-time nemesis, the EJ-led Young Blood (former editor of this blog). 

Quick background on this league:

• It is a keeper league that was established on CBSsportsline, back in 2004, but most of us have been playing fantasy basketball since 2002.
• It's a fantasy point, head-2-head league.
• 1 point for every point scored
• 2 points for Assists
• -1 for turnovers
• 3 points for steals and blocks
• Nightly, individual scores are averaged, so number of games in a week are not important.  It's all about EFFICIENT PRODUCTION.
• Teams must start 4 guards, 4 forwards, 2 centers and can have up to 4 bench players, plus an IR slot for long-term, injured players
• All teams participate in post-season play, but only the top 4 teams play for the Championship.
• The middle 4 teams play for the #5 pick in next year's draft in a consolation bracket.
• The bottom 4 teams play to increase their chances in the lottery sweepstakes, for the #1 pick in next year's draft, in their own, separate bracket.
• Trades are not limited to only 2 teams as 3-way, and I believe even 4-way trades, have been completed before in this league's history.

We've just went through our trade deadline this past week and after a year full of questionable, quirky, and quizzical transactions between two teams (no 3-way deals this year), the trade deadline has thankfully come and gone, but not before its most controversial deal occurred at the last minute.  More on that later.

So far, team Baraka Obama ranks in the following categories... 

....(again, quick review on the evolution of my team name: Formerly team Kingdom Conker: named after the video games Kingdom Hearts and Conker's Bad Fur Day. After almost a decade of losing, changed the name of the team after having Kevin Durant for a 2nd full season to Baraka Obama: named after the character from Mortal Kombat and, of course, the current president of the U.S.A.  Its also the name of my current football team, but thinking of changing the name next season)...

• 3rd in Points For
• 2nd in FG%
• 2nd in FT%
• 3rd in Rebounds, Assists, and Turnovers per game
• 6th in Steals
• 2nd in Blocks per game
• Dead last in 3-point shooting (but, thankfully, this isn't a roto-style league)

We've mentioned Young Blood leading his RODMAN DIVISION, while our very own, disgruntled Sacramento Kings' fan, Josh Chiaratti has wrapped up his dominance of the lowly BARKLEY DIVISION.  Which proves once again that if you contribute to any of my blogs, you will be very successful in fantasy sports (except for Reggie's team, Van Excellence.  He's sitting pretty at 6-12 and on his way to one of the consolation brackets.  To be fair, however, he technically never wrote a sports' article for us so that would explain that).

Clearly, at 13-5, I took my own advice leading up to our annual fantasy basketball draft.  Here's how my team looked for week 1 of play:

GREEN = KEEPER PLAYER

YELLOW =  DRAFTED PLAYER

PURPLE = ACQUIRED VIA TRADE

RED = ACQUIRED VIA FREE AGENCY/WAIVERS

GUARDS

• RAJON RONDO
• JEREMY LIN
• RODNEY STUCKEY
• BRADLEY BEAL

FORWARDS

• KEVIN DURANT
• PAU GASOL*
• TIM DUNCAN
• ANDREI KIRILENKO

CENTERS

• ANDREW BOGUT
• KEVIN GARNETT

BENCH

• J.R. SMITH
• TONY ALLEN
• THOMAS ROBINSON
• HARRISON BARNES

INJURED

• AMAR'E STOUDEMIRE (selected in the 1st round (virtually the 4th round, after keepers) of the draft.  Yep, bad move!)

*Pau Gasol acquired via trade in the offseason for Brook Lopez and swapped draft slots

I got off to an amazing start, but injuries soon caught up to me and my "Greatest Paper Team Ever Drafted" looked very vulnerable and on its way to collapse.  Nevertheless, the resiliency of the squad, led by Durant, kept me in games and maintained my pace towards the playoffs.  However, with a veteran team like this, and with Rondo's imminent exit looming after the season (after this season, I could only keep Durant or Rondo, but not both.  Who would you pick?), I had to ditch my "patient" approach to fantasy sports and get aggressive in the trade market.  At first, these trades looked awful as I was forced to trade producing veterans and depth, for more explosive players and more help (quantity over quality) in the middle.  The trades did, eventually, begin to payoff as I have not suffered a losing streak of more than 2 games all season long.  Nonetheless, I was mostly "winning ugly," while the other elite teams seemed to be crushing the competition on a weekly basis.  

As the trade deadline approached, I needed to make one more move for the final push for the playoffs.  I needed help everywhere it seemed like, but had to go after a guard.  After going through countless trade scenarios, I was approached with a deal that would sacrifice the little frontcourt depth that I had, for that elusive guard. Here's what my team looks like after the trade deadline:

GUARDS

• DWYANE WADE***
• MONTA ELLIS****
• JEREMY LIN
• DEMAR DEROZAN**

FORWARDS

• KEVIN DURANT
• DAVID LEE*
• TIM DUNCAN
• TOBIAS HARRIS

CENTERS

• OMER ASIK**
• MARCIN GORTAT***

BENCH

• AMAR'E STOUDEMIRE
• SPENCER HAWES
• KIRK HINRICH
• TIAGO SPLITTER

*David Lee was acquired in a deal proposed by Van Excellence for Kevin Garnett and Ron Artest

**DeMar DeRozan and Omer Asik were acquired in a deal proposed by Van Excellence for Harrison Barnes, Bradley Beal, and Andrei Kirilenko

***Traded Rajon Rondo and J.R. Smith for Dwyane Wade and Marcin Gortat to Ming Dynasty. A week or so after the trade, Rondo would end up lost for the season due to knee injury.

****Monta Ellis was acquired in a deal proposed by South Beach Talents for Pau Gasol

I hate making trades and work really hard to make sure that I have an excellent draft to avoid making trades and not have to depend on anybody else to improve my team.  As you can see, only 4 players remain from my original team in Week 1.  Making trades was definitely an evil necessity this season.  I don't think I've ever made this many trades in this league before.  

Regardless, there are still holes on my team, mainly the two centers that are currently starting.  Asik has 26 points so far this week, but divisional foe, team Eyebrows, has at least two centers that can score 35+ each on any given week.  No use fretting about it as we continue to march toward the playoffs and will have to continue to keep an eye on the waiver wire.  

But it's worth noting the key players that have helped this team so far.  Tim Duncan is definitely one of them.  After getting mocked at the draft for selecting him and people criticizing his age and diminished skills and body, he still has managed to play at an elite level and has been the most pleasant surprise on my team.  Duncan has always been one of my favorite players and I'm happy to have him on my squad this year.  

I cannot mention Duncan without mentioning Splitter.  He got off to a very slow start, but I've always liked his game and kept tabs on him.  As soon as he had one big game and saw that he was available on waivers, I immediately snatched him up in early December and have not let go since, providing much needed insurance in case Duncan goes down for a long period of time.  

After bashing Lin last season, I took a deeper look at his game and his projections for this season and decided that he would make a great pick in the draft.  Did I want to select him with my 2nd round pick?  Absolutely not, but that is what happened.  He got off to a very slow start as his 3-point shooting was lagging and James Harden was taking over as the primary EVERYTHING on the Houston Rockets (ball-handler, scorer, shooter, perimeter threat, distributor, dribble-driver, etc.).  Eventually, Lin did find his role on the Rockets and has played a lot better of late. 

It was very sad to trade away Rondo, but he was struggling and not producing like in years past.  Even when he would get triple-doubles, he was still not playing to the elite-level status he had been playing in the last 2-3 seasons.  I tried trading him to the Talents for Steph Curry, but it was of no use.  So I'd settled on my 2nd option, D-Wade.  Threw in a hot-streaking J.R. Smith into the deal and even with Gortat not playing as well as I had thought, D-Wade has been playing like its 2006 all over again and combined with Durant, has been one of the best dynamic duos in our league.  Even though Rondo was no longer on my team, it was still sad to see him lost for the year.

Looking back at the David Lee deal, Lee's game has suffered since he was acquired.  From being a player that can explode for +45 points/week, Lee struggled to obtain 35+/week, even scoring a low of 28 on my team (week 15).  He has turned it back on the last 3 weeks, however, and if I can find one more, legit forward, I can always move Lee to center.  

DeMar DeRozan has had a nice year so far, but can be inconsistent sometimes.  But I like his athleticism (he can really fly!), versatility (qualifies at guard/forward), and his tenacity (he really believes that he can turn around the Toronto Raptors' franchise) make him a a must-have player, especially on this team.  

The key here is Stoudemire.  If he can co-exist with Carmelo Anthony and not just flourish whenever Anthony is out with injuries, that will easily put me over the top and solidify my frontcourt and I can even slide him at center.  Currently, he's playing well with Anthony missing, but has averaged 17 points/week in the last 3 weeks with Anthony in the lineup.

And finally, a quick shout-out to Kevin Durant.  It is amazing to see how much he has developed from his rookie year, to now.  I believe I acquired him during his rookie season and he was only averaging 25 points/week in our league.  My team was undergoing yet another hard, tough, losing season and I had to start thinking young and ditch my veterans.  That deal caused an uproar in the league because of all the players I gave up to get Durant, but I didn't care.  I liked this kid since I read about him in a magazine article and how he's constantly working hard and refining his game every day and his mom keeps him in check so he can focus on his game and not get trapped in the NBA lifestyle. To see him become one of the best scoring options in the league, under my team, just makes me beam with pride.  

Is this a sad lifestyle to have to vicariously live through the accomplishments of others?  Perhaps.  But at this point, it's all about BRAGGIN' RIGHTS!

More fantasy basketball content can be read here.

More NBA content is always available here. 

Feel free to share your fantasy basketball season with us.

NBA LESSONS: v2.1

Dan P

Adidas, Nike: let's call it even?
(photo courtesy of Ed Mancia)

Random NBA thoughts by Dan P. 

1.) Somehow, the Boston Celtics are 7-1 without star point guard, Rajon Rondo. 

It's perplexing how the Celtics have been winning since the Rondo injury.  They’ve ranked near the bottom third of the league (18th overall) averaging a mere 96.3 points per game while averaging a tremendous 23.5 assists per game (4th overall).  How the Celtics will continue to keep the high assists numbers is highly questionable.

For all the hype surrounding this win streak, I chalk it up to the Celtics’ veterans who were tired of hearing they couldn't win without Rondo.  Poke an old elephant with a stick and it's still sure to charge.  Ultimately the age of the team and the rigors of the playoffs will doom them; it’s no mystery.  

That's not to say the Celtics can't make some noise come playoff time.  The East is wide open and no team has yet to solidify itself as the true No. 2 seed in the Conference.  

With all that being said, I just can’t picture them going too far without Rondo.

2.) The Brooklyn Nets are pursuing a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith.  

The Hawks are looking for a young center so a third team is likely in the mix.  Look for the following young centers/rebounders on the block: 

• Marcin Gortat-- 11.4 Points Per Game; 8.7 Rebounds Per Game
• JaVale McGee--  10PPG, 5RPG
• DeAndre Jordan-- 9PPG, 7.3RPG
• J.J. Hickson-- 12.9PPG, 10.6RPG
• Nikola Pekovic--  15.8PPG, 8.8RPG
• Kris Humphries-- 5.8PPG, 6.2RPG

3.) The Golden State Warriors will be displaying a new jersey this season with sleeves.

I'm on the fence with these new Golden State jerseys from Adidas, but I'll get to that in a bit. The fabled golden sleeves make their debut February 22nd against the San Antonio Spurs and the team is very excited at the opportunity to start a new trend in the NBA.  The jersey itself is golden yellow with less outlining and stripes than their regular home/road jerseys.  It has a two color "V" style neck design that is reminiscent of the official's jerseys and the sleeves themselves are really only quarter cut length or short t-shirt length.  

When we see changes like this, our initial thought is to run, run far away and cry foul.  However, it only takes a few valid stars like a LeBron James or Kevin Durant (both currently employed by Nike--Ed)  to vouch for them and have their teams also produce these alternatives and then the jersey becomes part of the NBA.  

Everyone thought the Oregon Ducks (also Nike--Ed) were crazy for essentially playing in a different jersey every game but that's what sells and that's what the players want to wear.  Everything is a brand and brands are meant to be recognized.  And if any sport can make it work, its the NBA where fashion is just as important as the tradition.  

For more on the NBA, click here. 

NBA ALL-STAR GAME IMPRESSIONS

Also pictured is Clutch the Bear, the host of the 2013 NBA All-Star Game
(photo courtesy of Ed Mancia)

Johnny J

Johnny looks back and recounts a few of his favorite NBA All-Star moments. And offers his 2-cents on this year's event.

• Nate Robinson winning the dunk contest in 2006 and 2009, 2010. The 5'9" combo guard has mad hops and he always came up big in this event and gave 100% effort and always brought a big bag of tricks. Dunking over Dwight Howard as "KryptoNate" is probably my favorite moment.

• James White of the New York Knick will win this year's Dunk Contest. Although he doesn't get a lot of playing time in New York, this guy has unbelievable hops. He is constantly praised by his teammates who watch him in practice and he has already won the contest in the D-League in 2009. Las Vegas has already favored him to win it. There's a reason why they call him, James "Flight" White.

• Jason Kapono winning the three point contest in 2008. He had tied the record for most made 3-pointers in one round with 25; he still owns the record for most made shots in the final round of the 3-Point Contest.  This guy was an unbelievable shooter for the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately, he never did progress outside of being a 3-point specialist. He now plays in Greece
• This year I believe Steve Novak, of the New York  Knicks, will win the 3-point contest. I think he's going to beat Golden State's Stephen Curry in the Finals. Novak is an unbelievable shooter. Thats all he does in practice is shoot three-pointers. He is a pure shooter. He led the league in 2012 shooting 47.2% percent behind the arc. He is nicknamed "Novakaine" (Is it because he's unconscious from beyond the arc?--Ed).      
• The Western Conference has beaten the Eastern Conference the last 4 out of 6 times. Despite this fact, I still think the East has better players; then again I felt that was the case in last year's game as well. The East should have just dominated, with the guys they had:
• Derrick Rose 
• LeBron Jame
• Dwyane Wade
• Carmelo Anthony

Basically the same team from the East, sans Derrick Rose.
(photo courtesy of Ed Mancia)

I don't know what the best lineup is of all time, but that lineup should be up there with the all time greats, in my most humbled opinion.  But the West won last year, so I'll give them their respect. Kevin Durant won the game's MVP Award.  Nevertheless, I'm going to predict that Carmelo Anthony wins the award this year.  I strongly believe that its his turn to expand his resume.  I'll be rooting hard for him.

The All-Star game is mostly about, individual plays instead of actually running plays. I don't blame them because its all for show. Everybody wants to go home with the MVP or make the highlight reel for that night. It doesn't get serious until the fourth quarter.  However, even though it can be fun to watch, I would like to see the NBA reward the winning Conference, home-court advantage in the NBA Finals: like they do in baseball.  I'm pretty confident that the players will not wait until the 4th quarter to start taking the game seriously.

But the All-Star game is a fun watch, full of good memories, and full of basketball heroics from both superstar and role players.  This year should be no different and look forward to watching it again and see which star will shine the brightest.

More NBA content is available here. 

Check out Johnny's review on this year's Pro Bowl. 

SPORTS FROM THE HIP: A Quick Look at the Sports Week That Was

The following is a collaborative effort as we look back at the week in sports. We only use one sentence or less, or your money back!

Pathological Hate

• Lance Armstrong--The former Tour de France cyclist admitted to doping on the Oprah Winfrey Show: What are your thoughts on Lance Armstrong?

The guy is a fraud. (Felipe M)
Straight Shooter! (Johnny J)
Made cycling sexy, the OWN watchable, and the BBWAA bummed out he didn't play baseball so they could prove a point. (Donny R)
He didn't care what he had to do to reach the top and thoroughly convinced he believes what he did isn't cheating. (Dan P.)
To just call him a cheater would be an insult to the Pete Roses of the world. (C. McLain)
He was still whooping others who admitted doping as well. (Josh C)

•  Manti Te'o--The Linebacker out of Notre Dame is mired in a scandal that dealt with his dead girlfriend...who wound up being not dead... and fake: What are your thoughts on Te'o?

He’s an attention whore. (Felipe M)

False award receiver (Johnny J)
He puts the BS in BCS. (Donny R)
 An idiot and will be a bust in the NFL. (Dan P.)
This story will be footnoted throughout his entire career. (C. McLain)

I still don’t know what to think/feel about this one. (Josh C)

• The Atlanta Falcons ended another post-season in major disappointment: What do the Falcons have to do to get over the hump?

Not a single clue. (Felipe M)

Brand Nubian: "Punks jump up to get beat down," (Johnny J)
If Coca-Cola brought the '96 Olympics to the ATL, they can buy them a better secondary. (Donny R)

Play 60 minutes and, unfortunately, replace Tony Gonzalez. (Dan P.)

Coaching change (C. McLain)

Falcons need to shore up their defense and running games. (Josh C)

• Tom Brady failed to get his team back into the Super Bowl. What do you think of Tom Brady's legacy now?

3-Time, Super Bowl Champ. (Felipe M)

Seventh round wonder! (Johnny J)
He won 3 Rings with a great receiving corps, couldn't wint with Moss, and once again he got some good WRs, but he still couldn't win the big game! (Donny R)
Give credit to the Ravens, but it really doesn’t tarnish Brady’s legacy (Dan P.)
Unchanged. (C. McLain)

Still one of the 3 greatest of all time. (Josh C)

• Former Washington Nationals' OF, Michael Morse, was dealt to the Seattle Mariners: What are your thoughts on Morse?

Cautiously, skeptical on how good he really is. (Felipe M)

Welcome to Triple A son. (Johnny J)
The only thing I know less about Michael Morse is Morse code. (Donny R)
Speechless the Nationals dealt Morse over LaRoche--still in shock. (Dan P.)
What’s the Morse code for Déjà vu? (C. McLain)

Morse can rake. (Josh C)

• Kevin Durant scored 52points in 50 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. Your thoughts on KD?

Just call him, Kid Dynamite (KD)! (Felipe M)

Height always beats size! (Johnny J)
Imagine when this kid starts to play angry--scary! (Donny R)
Having one of the all-time best offensive seasons ever, yet he’s not even the best player in the league somehow (Dan P.)
Du·ran·tu·la-- Bite is believed to have deadly venom. (C. McLain)

Shocked that 52 is his career high--…..S….T……U…..D….. (Josh C)

• The Baltimore Ravens will return to the Super Bowl. What are your thoughts on the Ravens' performance this post-season?

Clutch! (Felipe M)

Riding on Ray Lewis' emotions! (Johnny J)
We get it social media, Ray Lewis may have killed a guy, but coverage isn't fair to the rest of the Ravens. (Donny R)
Joe Flacco is playing as well as he's been telling everyone he is (Dan P.)

Who knew that Ray Lewis’ dances were to the Super Bowl gods? (C. McLain)

Kudos to the Ravens this postseason for being able to close out games after limping into the playoffs. (Josh C)

• The SF 49ers return to the Super Bowl. What are your thoughts on the 49ers' performance this post-season?

Amazing teamwork. (Felipe M)

Thanks for shaking those pom-poms, Alex Smith. (Johnny J)
They have a shut down defense, are electric on offense--there's a lot to like on this team (Donny R)
At times they look like one of the best teams ever and other times they look like the Chicago Bears (Dan P.)
“Those who can, do... Those who can’t, teach” - Jim Harbaugh? (C. McLain)

Electric! (Josh C)


Part II is available here. 

Donny Rodriguez is part of the sketch comedy troupe, Wood Sugars and covers the Chicago Bulls for Gapers Block. Follow him on Twitter, here.

Dan Plotsky is one of the most knowledgeable fans out there and previously helped Pathological Hate contribute to The Curious Case of: Tyreke Evans.

Josh C. is a very opinionated sports fan and, currently, a very disgruntled Sacramento Kings' fan.