COURTSIDE VIEW: Straight Sixes

Johnny J

Dice have six sides to it--six faces--with one one shot on landing on six for every time its rolled. The odds of rolling a six are 5:1. You can fail five times while only being successful one time. Now moving to a bigger scale. The Miami Heat were favored to beat the San Antonio Spurs, 5:12. That means if someone was betting on the game, they would have received $5 profit for every $12 wagered. But for a team that was favored to win it, the odds are not that high. Now with the Spurs leading three games to two, the outcome of the series can either end in game six or seven. The Heat have to win two games and the odds of them winning are 3:1 in seven games. The odds of the Spurs ending it in game six is 6:1 or 13:2 in seven. The odds are higher because they're not favored. Now for LeBron James to win Finals MVP is 4:9, while Tony Parker's odds are 9:2. But for a role player such as Danny Green on winning are a whopping 30:1. Right now he is the MVP. "Straight Sixes" is the discussion of the Heat's big three vs the Spurs' old three. A look at game six and LeBron James changing his number to six.

The Miami Heat are on the verge of being defeated in the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. James recorded a triple-double in a loss in game one and has been showing flashes of what an MVP should look like by simply looking more for his shots. Triple-doubles are astonishing in an NBA Finals, but it don't mean squat in a loss. Chris Bosh is more of a role player than a star. He puts mediocre stats up, but the biggest surprise to me is Dwyane Wade finding, looking, and driving to find his stats. Wade is doing what he has to do in order to take the pressure off of the King. In game five, he had 25 points and 10 assists. I just now remembered his name is "Flash." Thanks for finally reminding me, D-Wade. While Wade did what he had to, Parker did what he needed to, scoring 26 points. He is the leader of the team.  He knew the Spurs can't be down in the series going back to South Beach. He made Mario Chalmers look like a little kid who couldn't defend. Tim Duncan is amazing at his age. Still a very dangerous low-post threat, posting a double-double in Game Five and has been throughout the series. Manu Ginobili finally found his game in the starting lineup. Welcome to the party; better late than never! It was a great move by Gregg Popovich. It's what needed to be done to get his game going.

Looking ahead to Game Six, I expect the Miami Heat to win. The series has gone win, lose, win, lose for both teams. Home court advantage doesn't seem to matter. I know the NBA is happy as they're getting the most out of this NBA Finals (So is the TV Networks that pony up large sums of money into these Finals--Ed). If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Ginobili will be in the starting lineup again. Put him, Parker, and Duncan around shooters like Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard. That is a dangerous inside and out combination. Green went 6 for 10 behind the arc in Game Five. I felt like everything he threw at the rim was going in. This kid from the University of North Carolina, (Yeah Tar Heels!) has really made a name for himself. No more dancing in the Cleveland Cavaliers circles to entertain James. On the other side, I look for James to be more aggressive in the open-court. It's win or go home!  I don't expect him to do much passing.  I also expect Wade to also be aggressive. He looked good the last two games. I can finally stop saying, "There was a D-Wade sighting on the floor." Besides it's kind of late to make changes in a do or die game. The Spurs experimented with Ginobili and it payed off.

I bet when James and company were dancing on stage in their introduction to the Heat fans a couple of years ago, they probably thought that getting a ring wouldn't be this hard. Now on the verge of dancing back to the couch, I look at the man who changed his jersey number to build his own legacy. James gave up the number 23, for his Olympic jersey number six. He has accomplished a lot, including winning a gold medal. He has only one ring though, which doesn't scream "better than Michael Jordan." So with him changing his number, he showed to Jordan what he thinks about him and all the talk had died down on the comparison. Currently, James does have a lot of individual trophies, but he lacks the most important ones--Championships. Changing your number is fine (Kobe Bryant has went from wearing 8 to 24, but he has five rings!). So it's safe to say he had built his legacy around being a champion and LeBron has built his around being the best player in the game. Jordan changed his number from 23 to 45. Oh wait, he has six rings! How many rings does James have? One. Kobe and Jordan earned the right to change their number. Just like Jordan said, "I'll take Kobe Bryant over Lebron James with the first pick."

Landing on six: Gambling always has the number six involved. The lottery consists of six numbers for at least three of the big games. Straight Sixes: the old big three versus the Heat's big three. It's looking forward to Game Six and the legacy James has built wearing number six. I'm looking forward to see how James is going to come out. Is he going to look to get the Finals MVP with another triple-double, or going to consider winning it all is more important and that he has to take over?  The Heat are better with the floor being spread out, meaning Mike Miller and Ray Allen in at the same time. The Spurs are going to continue to put up points with their "we can't miss mentality." The Spurs are thinking of winning their 5th championship in Game 6 and cementing their own legacy as well.  Game 6 can't arrive fast enough!

More NBA content is available here.

COURTSIDE VIEW: Breaded Rolls and Flat Pop

Johnny J

The pick and roll and the pick in pop, has been around since I can remember.  They are one of the most uncomplicated types of offenses to run and one the most difficult to defend. But for a team that has been titled old and rugged, running this type of offense has made the San Antonio Spurs playing great team basketball. Each and every year under Gregg Popovich, the Spurs have been one of the top teams in the Western Conference. He has four championships since 1999 using the same techniques and he has found players to fill the void, to go with his offense. The pick and roll and pick and pop are ran to perfection by the Spurs because they have good players who run it in Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. When you have players who have been repeating the same songs over and over for a decade, the song must be a hit. Not to mention DJ Pop on the turntables. This song just turned from a hit to a classic.

When Duncan sets a screen or pick for Parker, the 14x All-Star can quickly roll to the hoop, anticipating a pass from Parker for an easy dunk or lay-up. That's called "pick and roll."  If the roll is guarded, Duncan can shoot the rock after getting the ball from Parker off the screen. That's called a "pick and pop."  The same goes for Parker.  If the screen setter is guarded, he can roll to the basket or come off the screen and shoot it. It's the customer's choice; you can either take the bread roll or a flat pop. It's flat because they do it so much that it's getting old. But it works! If a second defender has to help and guard against it, then that person leaves a wide-open shooter, because the floor is always spread out when ran. If you look at Spurs' guard Danny Green in game 2 against the Heat. He was 6-6 from the field, a ridiculous 5-5 from behind the arc (you dare to leave a player from North Carolina open, Miami?). You just get torched from a player that was just standing around.

Think of a young Steve Nash and a much younger Amar'e Stoudemire, who also ran the pick and rolls when the Phoenix Suns were a playoff team. Teams have to have a good point guard to run it and a good center or power forward, who can shoot and finish. The Spurs have that, but Tony Parker isn't just a good point guard, he is a great point guard!  So I call guards like him "Generals."  The floor Generals are the ones who give orders.  They can have the chef serve the dish down your throat or if you your food is rare, they can do it themselves. They have great fundamentals and basketball skills. Good awareness that helps guide the rock to its unnatural home. Its simple, the rock isn't suppose to know who's hands its going to land on, but the General does. He gave the order. Now who would you rather serve you: the chef or the waiter?

Every once in awhile, people call off work. When this happens, the restaurant is short-handed or in total disarray. In Game 2 of the Finals, this is what happened.  Everybody who was on the schedule, had a bad night. Serving the same food, the Spurs committed 17 turnovers.  It wasn't just the waiter, but everyone on staff. Parker had a bad shooting and serving night. It actually looked like the Spurs played better when he was not on the floor.  Duncan had a bad night, too and so did forward Kawhi Leonard.  It looked like they both wanted to call in sick. Although Leonard did go in to pick up his check by playing great defense on LeBron James. James was 7-17 from the field. After Leonard picked up his check, he returned an hour later not wanting to do the work for the check. You have to play both sides of the ball. If Parker and Duncan have a bad night, someone has to pick up their customers' orders.

I already knew this was going to be a long series.  As much as I wanted a sweep and my wallet wanted it to be a sweep, I knew it wasn't going to be one. In the end, I still have the Spurs coming out on top. You think just because the Heat did a good job defending the pick and roll in one night, that the Spurs are going to stop from moving forward?  Not at all!  It's just going to make them work harder at smoothing it out. The next three games are at the Alamo. For a team that has only lost one game at home in the playoffs and six in the regular season, it's going to be tough for any opposing team to disrupt the Spurs' flow at home. The concession stands are going to be packed. I heard all their going to be serving is breaded rolls and flat pop. Enjoy!

More NBA content is available. 

COURTSIDE VIEW: Shiny Spurs on Old Dusty Boots

Johnny J

The San Antonio Spurs have reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007. The Spurs did something I didn't think they could accomplish: they swept the Memphis Grizzlies (So much for that pick--Ed) to reach their fifth championship game in 15 years. I mean they picked up the broom and beat the heck out of them until they turned around and ran.

Side note, I'm out $40 for betting against the Spurs. I guess, I shouldn't bet against Father Time because this is the best I've seen Tony Parker and the aging Tim Duncan. If Chronos, (Greek God of Time) is right, then the Spurs should win the whole thing. The last four times the Spurs have reached the Finals, they've won it. It seems like the more people talk about the aging of the Spurs and what they're not going to do in the playoffs, they prove everyone wrong.

The core of the Spurs consist of four people, yes four. Tim Duncan, (37 years) Manu Ginobili,(35 years) Tony Parker, (31 years) and the coach Gregg Popovich. I have to give Coach Pop credit, he is one of the best coaches in the NBA winning four championships in his era. He is like what DJ Jazzy Jeff was to the Fresh Prince, "He is the DJ, I'm the rapper." They all work together. When the big four came together in 1997, it was the beginning of a dynasty. They have won 70 percent of their games with Duncan in the line-up and have won 50 games or better with him since they drafted him. Now at the end of their careers, they still playing at a high level.

"Shiny Spurs on Old Dusty Boots."

Duncan, averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds against Memphis. He looked unstoppable at time dominating inside and outside. Duncan just divorced his wife and he doesn't even seem phased by it. The man with no emotions is still playing like nothing happened. Ginobili averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The former Sixth Man of the Year recipient (2008) hasn't lost his first step as he continues to drive, get foul and produce. An older version of James Harden (both left-handed too!).  Apparently "Southpaws" can play. The relentless Parker averaged 24 points and 9 assists in the series. He had 37 points in game four.  Alliyah, said it best, "Age ain't nothing but a number." The Spurs are definitely not playing like they belong in a senior citizens' home.

So with an aging core, what does Pop do to help balance the team? He puts playmakers all over the sandy floor for cheap.  Kawhi Leonard, a good wing player, can shoot the three and defend the perimeter. Salary is $1.8 million. Danny Green, (Yeah, North Carolina!) a good role player, helps spread the floor, with good three-point shooting. Salary is $3.5 million. Matt Bonner, a big man, who can also spread the floor with his ridiculous 46 percent three-point shooting. Salary is $3.6 million. Tiago Splitter, is a descent big man, who plays very well around the rim, good-shooter and rebounder (and as we explained before, Splitter and Duncan give the Spurs their best defensive alignment--Ed), and can give solid minutes on the floor to give a breather to Tim Duncan. He made $3.9 million this season. Unbelievable, economically sound role players. They fill holes with minimum costs!

The Spurs are looking to add another championship banner in their arena. Thanks to their play on both ends of the court, they are silencing their critics and my $40 bucks are long gone as the aging core is still performing. They freakin' swept the Grizzlies! "The Big Bad Bears of the South" were made to look like little kids. Their looking to go 5 for 5 in the NBA Finals since 1999. Chronos says they will.  As long as Parker keeps playing like he drank from the fountain of youth, the Spurs are going to be hard to beat. Ginobili is going to do his thing and Duncan is going to continue to not have any emotions. "My wife left me.  Oh well, game on!  DJ Pop please repeat the last song while I do my two-step.  Role players, play your game and show you're worth more than your current wage."

These shiny Spurs on these old dusty boots were made for walking and they're ready to walk all over the Miami Heat or Indiana Pacers.

More NBA content is available. 

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: v2.3

ICYMI... TOGETHER is BIG! Check out our latest #BIG spot, starring @justryod3 & Monta Ellis of the @bucks! #Milwaukee youtu.be/_HaBya2k2vc
— NBA (@NBA) February 24, 2013

Dan P

• TWO’S A COMPANY, THREE’S A—WHOOPS, WRONG TV SHOW: What to do with Milwaukee’s now overcrowded backcourt.

The Milwaukee Bucks, to their credit were the talk of the NBA trade deadline and not only were they the closest to landing veteran forward Josh Smith, but they did pull off a trade for coveted guard J.J. Redick.  Much to my chagrin, they accomplished this without giving up a draft pick and also stole little-known center, Gustavo Ayon: a player who has excelled in small minutes with the New Orleans Hornets and Orlando Magic, previously.  The addition of Redick will bring reliable 3-point shooting and, surprisingly, some size at the guard position as the existing backcourt of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings are both speedy, yet smaller than Redick. 

One cannot even begin to comprehend how much of an improvement Redick is at 3-point shooting than Monta Ellis.  The aforementioned, speedy guard is shooting a capricious 22.7% (42 of 185) from downtown and, yes, that’s not a misprint.  It doesn’t take a math genius to know that Ellis averages worse than 1 for 4 from 3-point land, in every game this season.  No wonder Scott Skiles lost his marbles and wanted out of Milwaukee!  Brandon Jennings, who also shoots a meager 40% from the field, like Ellis, at least connects from downtown at a clip of 37% which is slightly above league average.  Don’t get me wrong, I find Monta Ellis intriguing but he strikes me as the guy that everyone wants on their team but isn’t sure how he fits into a system that isn’t built solely around him (Tyreke Evans fits that description too). 

Here’s the last 5 years of Bucks’ regular season record:  

Bucks Regular Season Records

YEAR	W	L	PCT
2012-13	26	28	.481
*2011-12	31	35	.470
2010-11	35	47	.427
2009-10	46	36	.561
2008-09	34	48	.415

Other than the almost .500 finish in a shortened-season last year, they have only topped 40 wins once in the last five years and counting this year’s as well, if their record holds at the same rate.  Somehow, Coach Jim Boylan will have to balance his three guards to maximize their potential, keep Redick’s minutes up (he was averaging 30 in Orlando), and find out which two guards the Bucks’ brass will have to keep for next year.  Redick and Jennings current contracts will end after this year and Monta has one more year going into 2014.  One strategy would be to ultimately decide that Jennings and Redick are the future and make a more balanced combination than any of the two with Ellis (Kind of like Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry?—Ed).  I tend to like this idea because there seems to be redundancy skill wise between Ellis and Jennings and furthermore, Monta’s expiring contract in 2014 of $11 million is very attractive to any team who can afford it.  Only time will tell but I can hardly see a future where the Bucks keep all three.      

• THE DISASTER OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ANDREW BYNUM

For as bad as Dwight Howard has looked this year, the L.A. Lakers still crushed that deal.  Ok fine, he’s been “bad” Dwight Howard compared to Dwight Howard “standards” (still averages 16.5pts/12reb/2.5blks).  But at least we still have something to compare against his more dominant years and we can still find reason to argue where he will play next year.  The operative word is where, not if or when. 

Andrew Bynum, on the other hand, is a mystery as to when he will play this year or if teams think he’s worth the trouble anymore.  His best, on-the-court skill these days is finding those ridiculous suits for 7-foot centers and, of course, growing an immaculate afro.  Seriously, do a quick search on this topic.  

Let’s look at the raw numbers: Andrew Bynum was a Laker for 7 years and played in 392 out of 554 possible games to a tune of just under 71%.  Add in his 0/54 this season with the Philadelphia 76ers and this yields  392/608, or 64% of all possible games he could have participated.  That is some seriously scary stuff for a guy who doesn’t turn 26 until October 27^th of this year.  I just don't see Bynum playing in that many games this year and if I were his agent, I would advise against him playing.  The worst thing Bynum could do is either come back too early and re-injure his knees or come back and not be all that productive trying to re- acclimate himself in a hostile, environment that is the Philadelphia, sports scene.  Might as well keep teams dreaming of what he can be when he's healthy and move on from a tainted situation.  

• AMAZING RECORD; ALOOF RECEPTION: The San Antonio Spurs

I was recently asked a question that has come up repeatedly over the years: why do the San Antonio Spurs get so little attention and why are they considered "boring"?  

At first I resisted the offer to resort to that question because every true basketball junkie knows about this team and has become accustomed to.  The Spurs are great, they have been great for a long time, and they have one of the most underrated coaches ever in Gregg Popovich.  They have won enough recent titles so I don't feel obligated to feel sorry for them.  So I put it to the side and left it alone trying to concentrate on All-Star weekend.  

Upon resuming the regular season I wanted to take a glance at the standings and see the general landscape of how the playoff schedule might shake out.  And that's when it happened and I began to track the next week or so.  The Spurs as of February 26th are sitting at 45-13.  How is this possible?  Even for Spurs’ standards, that’s quite an impressive record for their aging “Big Three.”  So it must be the defense, right?  Well, yes, they are the 9th stingiest defense in the league giving up 95.8 points per game.  However, they’re really doing it on the offensive end as well, producing 104.3 points per game the (4th) best in the league!  The Spurs (+8.4) trail only the Thunder (+9.1) in point differential and, yes, that means they are ahead of the vaunted Miami Heat (+7.1).  

In month of February so far, Tony Parker leads @nba in pts in the paint/gm (14.0ppg). Very impressive stuff from the @spurs PG
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) February 26, 2013

It is simply incredible given Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker are 36, 35, and 30 years-old, respectively.  There's one shining rank statistically that may shed some light: the Spurs rank #1 in assists in the NBA at 25 per game (Tony Parker is the engine and Pop knows it!-Ed).  

So let’s take a look at the Spurs 5-man units and see what their best lineups are:

Top Five-Man Floor Units

#	Unit	Min	Off	Def	+/-	W	L	Win%
1	Parker-Green-Leonard-Splitter-Duncan	222.8	1.08	0.85	+104	15	2	88.2
2	Parker-Green-Leonard-Diaw-Duncan	139.8	1.10	0.98	+32	9	7	56.2
3	Parker-Green-Leonard-Diaw-Splitter	121.5	1.14	0.99	+32	6	5	54.5
4	Parker-Neal-Green-Blair-Duncan	105.0	1.01	1.07	-13	4	6	40.0

What we can see in the top-three, 5-man units is the Spurs really have their main rotation rounded out and that on paper, the types of players they put out on the floor seem to set up a really nice amount of spacing.  For the record, I stopped after four units since these are the only four units that have play at least 100 minutes together.  Parker creates, Danny Green hangs out at the wings, Kawhi Leonard roams looking to set picks and rebound, Duncan has his butt on the blocks, and Tiago Splitter can play high and low for screens and post ups.  It's a really nice fit and even when they sit either Duncan or Splitter, they have Boris Diaw who has always been a big body who can pass and facilitate on offense.  One thing that seems impossible is that Manu Ginobli isn't on any of these lists, but at 23 minutes per game, he seems to really be playing the super 6th man so probably not surprising.  

So are the Spurs boring?  Well that's just a matter of opinion, but to me it's just great basketball. 

More NBA content is available here.