Fantasy Basketball from Roto Rebel

Week 7 (Yahoo! Week 13) Primer

2012-01-29T11:59:00.000-05:00

Here's how the schedule breaks down for next week.

Teams with Five Games
Detroit, Memphis

Teams with Four Games
Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indiana, L.A. Clippers, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, Toronto, Utah, Washington

Teams with Three Games
Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Golden State, L.A., Lakers, Sacramento

ANALYSIS

Be sure to start Tony Allen, Brandon Knight, OJ Mayo, Rodney Stuckey, and Austin Daye.
Tayshaun Prince is a good play this week.
Dante Cunningham, Marreese Speights, and Jonas Jerebko are usable.

Overrated and Underrated Players in Yahoo!

2012-01-21T18:11:00.001-05:00

One great way to gain advantage in your Yahoo! league is to use the sometimes wacky Yahoo! rankings to your advantage, trading overrated players for underrated ones. To identify overrated and underrated players, you can use Basketball Monster's rankings set to your specific league settings and compare them to the Yahoo! rankings. Of course, that can be time consuming, which is why I have compiled a list of overrated and underrated players in standard eight-category leagues for your convenience. (I used season averages.) I'll update this periodically.

Underrated Players in Yahoo!

John Wall - Ranked 118 in Yahoo! but 61 by Basketball Monster
Kyrie Irving - Ranked 60 in Yahoo! but 34 by BM
Blake Griffin - Ranked 138 in Yahoo! but 77 by BM
Andrew Bynum - Ranked 67 in Yahoo! but 43 by BM
DeMarcus Cousins - Ranked 79 in Yahoo! but 55 by BM
DJ Augustin - Ranked 73 in Yahoo! but 57 by BM
Rudy Gay - Ranked 85 in Yahoo! but 65 by BM
Nene Hilario - Ranked 107 in Yahoo! but 74 by BM
Tyreke Evans - Ranked 117 in Yahoo! but 82 by BM
Stephen Jackson - Ranked 131 in Yahoo! but 87 by BM
Paul Pierce - Ranked 92 in Yahoo! but 75 by BM
Amare Stoudemire - Ranked 109 in Yahoo! but 86 by BM
Brandon Knight - Ranked 155 in Yahoo! but 96 by BM
Ben Gordon - Ranked 161 in Yahoo! but 108 by BM
Raymond Felton - Ranked 185 in Yahoo! but 114 by BM
Chris Kaman - Ranked 147 in Yahoo! but 116 by BM
Zach Randolph - Ranked 150 in Yahoo! but 118 by BM

Overrated Players in Yahoo!

Samuel Dalembert - Ranked 31 in Yahoo! but 64 in BM
James Harden - Ranked 29 in Yahoo! but 51 by BM
Kris Humphries - Ranked 38 in Yahoo! but 60 by BM
Elton Brand - Ranked 56 in Yahoo! but 80 by BM
Kevin Martin - Ranked 41 in Yahoo! but 68 by BM
Dirk Nowitzki - Ranked 42 in Yahoo! but 59 by BM
Luol Deng - Ranked 48 in Yahoo! but 62 by BM
Carlos Boozer - Ranked 53 in Yahoo! but 67 by BM
MarShon Brooks - Ranked 65 in Yahoo! but 78 by BM
George Hill - Ranked 57 in Yahoo! but 83 by BM
Wesley Matthews - Ranked 64 in Yahoo! but 84 by BM
Carlos Delfino - Ranked 72 in Yahoo! but 94 by BM
Serge Ibaka - Ranked 75 in Yahoo! but 97 by BM
Nicolas Batum - Ranked 80 in Yahoo! but 105 by BM
Shawn Marion - Ranked 87 in Yahoo! but 107 by BM
Richard Jefferson - Ranked 91 in Yahoo! but 112 by BM
JJ Redick - Ranked 81 in Yahoo! but 113 by BM
Dorell Wright - Ranked 88 in Yahoo! but 117 by BM

Week 6 (Yahoo! Week 12) Primer

2012-01-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

Here's how the schedule breaks down for next week.

Teams with five games
Orlando

Teams with four games
Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indiana, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, Toronto, Washington

Teams with three games
Denver, Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Utah

ANALYSIS

JJ Redick is a good play this week.
Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson should be in your lineup.
Glen Davis is usable at center.
Don't bench Ty Lawson, Monta Ellis, Russell Westbrook, Kobe, Pau, or Andrew Bynum.
Danilo Gallinari, Nene, James Harden, Al Jefferson, and Paul Millsap should probably remain in your lineup.
David Lee, Blake Griffin, and DeMarcus Cousins are still usable in average to deep leagues.
Andre Miller, Tyreke Evans, and Marcus Thornton are borderline plays.
Rudy Fernandez, Dorell Wright, Caron Butler, DeAndre Jordan, Matt Barnes, and Serge Ibaka should probably be on your bench.
Al Harrington, Arron Afflalo, Mo Williams, Devin Harris, and Derek Fisher should definitely be on your bench.

Top Per-Minute Performers

2012-01-15T12:15:00.000-05:00

In addition to shedding light on the most potent fantasy performers, per-minute numbers can reveal unheralded players poised to provide fantasy value should their playing time increase. So with that in mind, I provide a list of the top per-minute performers each week using rankings from Basketball Monster calculated with the standard eight categories and omitting players who don't meet a minimum number of minutes. This week, used a minimum of 50 minutes played. Go to Basketball Monster for a full list with stats. Comments in line.

Manu Ginobili - Impressive for the 34 year old veteran
LeBron James
Kyle Lowry - I drafted him in the fourth round :)
Kobe Bryant - Guess he's not on the decline after all!
Corey Brewer - Now this is surprising. He's always been a steals machine, but he's also providing a good amount of points and blocks this year, averaging 7.2 points, 0.7 threes, 0.4 blocks, and a steal in just 12 minutes per contest. To put that into perspective, that extrapolates to 22 points, 2.1 threes, three steals, and 1.2 blocks if he were getting 36 minutes a game. So be sure to keep tabs on the Denver SG/SF situation. Coach George Karl said he plans to play him more.
Kevin Durant
CJ Watson - Wow. Watson is averaging 1.2 threes, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals a game in under 14 minutes per game. I don't expect this to continue, though.
Carmelo Anthony
Stephen Curry
Kyrie Irving - More than justifying the first overall pick
Danny Green - Contributes in every category but currently stuck in a timeshare with Gary Neal
Ryan Anderson
Jordan Farmar - Would have nice value if Deron were to miss time
Kevin Love
Spencer Hawes - Still looking like the steal of fantasy drafts
Derrick Rose
Chris Paul
Mario Chalmers - Averaging 1.9 threes, 1.8 steals in 29 minutes. Interesting to note that he is much higher than Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
James Harden
DeMarcus Cousins
Al Harrington
Rodrigue Beaubois - Averaging 5.3 points, 0.6 threes, 2.5, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.4 blocks in just 13 minutes. Note that, in 2009-10, Beaubois finished as the 10th highest per-minute value of players who played in more than 20 games. He just needs minutes to be a stud!
Ty Lawson
Samuel Dalembert - Dalembert ranked in the top 50 in per-minute value in 2009-10, so this is no fluke for the elite shot blocker. His minutes appear to be on the rise, so this would be a good time to buy low.
Steve Nash
Danilo Gallinari
Andris Biedrins - See my earlier post on Biedrins.
Deron Williams
Paul Millsap
Greg Monroe
Markieff Morris - Surprising number of threes from a big guy
Nikola Vucevic - Could be huge if Spencer Hawes misses time
Jason Terry
Ray Allen
Ricky Rubio - His production should only go up as he gets more minutes and comfort
Marcin Gortat
Monta Ellis
Dirk Nowitzki
Greg Stiemsma - Blocking an absurd 1.8 blocks per game in less than 12 minutes. Maybe Tommy Heinsohn's comparison to Bill Russell wasn't so crazy.
LaMarcus Aldridge
Ronny Turiaf - Won't hold up
Louis Williams
Dwyane Wade
Matt Barnes - Has provided very good value at times in the past, so this is not a shock
Hedo Turkoglu
Jeff Foster - Won't hold up
Isaiah Thomas - Is this 1985? The backcourt is crowded in Sacramento, but Thomas could provide value if Marcus Thornton or Tyreke Evans miss time.
Jose Calderon
John Lucas - Again, 1985? Lucas has clearly played well, but there's a little problem of Derrick Rose standing in the way of PT.
Andre Iguodala
Brandon Jennings
Andrea Bargnani
Marc Gasol
Rajon Rondo
Roy Hibbert
Delonte West - Won't hold up
Russell Westbrook
Ramon Sessions - Problem is Kyrie Irving!
Channing Frye
Iman Shumpert - Dropped since last time but still producing...especially in steals
Anthony Randolph - Definitely worth a stash in hopes he soon takes over for Darko. Was in the top 25 in per-minute value in 2009-10.
Al Jefferson
Andrew Bynum
Mike Conley
Jerryd Bayless
Jamal Crawford
Gerald Wallace
Anthony Morrow - Was in the top 80 in per-minute value two seasons ago
Chauncey Billups
Pau Gasol
Von Wafer - Don't expect him to sustain this
Kevin Seraphin - Premier shot blocker
Nate Robinson - Nate has provided value before when given minutes
JaVale McGee
Vladimir Radmanovic - Was actually a top-60 per-minute performer last year
DJ Augustin
George Hill
Kyle Korver - Too streaky
MarShon Brooks
Jrue Holiday
Rudy Fernandez
Sundiata Gaines - Won't hold up
Nene Hilario
Chris Bosh - Overrated. Checkout the Boshtrich video. Hilarious
Chris Kaman
Terrel Harris - Skewed by one game in which he pulled down 14 boards. He has five other rebounds on the season.
Marcus Thornton
Stephen Jackson
Josh Smith - Very disappointing
Kosta Koufos - Not a top-200 per-minute performer in either of the last two seasons
Wesley Matthews
Paul George
Juan Jose Barea
Tyson Chandler
JJ Redick
Greivis Vasquez
Byron Mullens
Al Horford
Tim Duncan
Blake Griffin - Just more evidence that he's better in reality than fantasy.

Week 5 (Yahoo! Week 11) Primer

2012-01-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

Here's how the schedule breaks down for next week.

Teams with Five Games
Los Angeles Clippers

Teams with Four Games
Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto, Washington

Teams with Three Games
Golden State, Indiana, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Utah

ANALYSIS

Make sure DeAndre Jordan, Caron Butler, and obviously Chauncey Billups active.
Mo Williams is a safe play.
David Lee's value takes a hit, but he should still provide decent production if he plays like he has in his last two games.
Consider benching Dorell Wright given the low number of games, his lack of production, and the knee bruise that caused him to miss Thursday's game.
I know I advised picking up Andris Biedrins, but this is probably not the week to plug him in unless you are really hurting at that second center spot.
You should still start Danny Granger and Russell Westbrook.
You should probably still use James Harden and Al Jefferson, unless you're in a shallow league.
If you're league has two centers, you'll probably need to use Marcin Gortat, Roy Hibbert, and Serge Ibaka; if it has one, you can bench them.
Channing Frye is a borderline play at best, but keep in mind that he is trending upward...kind of.
Paul Millsap, Paul George, Darren Collison, and Jared Dudley aren't great plays this week.
If you're stacked at guard, Steve Nash might be the odd man out this week.
Bench Grant Hill, Markieff Morris, David West, Devin Harris, and George Hill.

Get Biedrins!

2012-01-12T21:11:00.001-05:00

With news that Kwame Brown will be out at least three months due to a torn pectoral muscle, scooping up Andris Biedrins would be a smarter move than you might think. First of all, fantasy veterans know that the big Latvian used to be a stud. In the 2008-09 season, he averaged 11.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and a steal per game. He shot a miserable 55 percent from the line but balanced that off with a 57.8 percent from the field. And it's not like he was a one-hit wonder; he put up similar numbers the previous year...as a 22 year old at that. Since then various injuries have contributed to a major dropoff. There was hope that he would make a comeback this season--especially after a promising first game in which he went for 10-8-3 in just 20 minutes. However, a timeshare with Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh and a sprained ankle have limited his court time. But a look at Basketball Monster's per-minute rankings has Biedrins at 37 on the season so for the standard eight categories. He may only be averaging 3.7 points, 5.0 boards, 1.5 blocks, and 0.7 steals, but then again he's only been logging 13 minutes a contest. Double those minutes, and theoretically you are looking at 7.4 points, 10 boards, 3 blocks, and 1.4 steals. Great numbers for a guy off the scrap heap!

Sure, injuries (and foul trouble) may continue to be an issue for Biedrins, but given his past success and the fact that he's still only 25 years old, those looking for a center ought to jump on this opportunity.

Iman Shumpert Looks Legit

2012-01-07T00:19:00.000-05:00

After his big performance tonight, in which he started the second half at the point and finished with five steals, seven assists, ten points, and a three in 37 minutes, New York's Iman Shumpert has firmly grabbed the attention of the fantasy world. But who is Iman Shumpert exactly? Well, as you may know, he is a rookie who was drafted by the Knicks with the 17th overall pick in 2011. He impressed right out of the gate in this season's opener against the Celtics on Christmas Day, looking explosive, versatile, confident, and composed in that game. A genuine "Who is this guy???" moment. Unfortunately, however, he suffered a sprained MCL in that game and missed two weeks before returning on Wednesday, when he once again impressed with an all-category buffet of 18 points, four threes, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. So tonight's performance makes three eye-opening outings in three tries. And judging by his resume, it appears the 6-5 "combo guard" indeed has the tools to not only succeed in the NBA but also to provide in many fantasy categories. During his last season at Georgia Tech, he led the Yellow Jackets in scoring, assists, and rebounds--not to mention he ranked seventh in the nation in steals. Then at the 2011 combine, he "stole the show" and looked "like clearly the most physically gifted player in this entire draft class" according to Draft Express.

Hats off to the Knicks for stealing him, and hats off to you as well if you grabbed him before anyone else could. We may be looking at the next Kyle Lowry.

Week 4 (Yahoo! Week 10) Breakdown

2012-01-05T23:47:00.000-05:00

Here's how the schedule breaks down for the coming week.

Teams with Five Games
Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Toronto

Teams with Four Games
Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Utah, and Washington

Teams with Three Games
Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, and Oklahoma City

Teams with Two Games
Orlando

Analysis

Make sure you get DJ Augustin, Joakim Noah, Ben Gordon, Rodney Stuckey, Boris Diaw, Thaddeus Young, DeMar DeRozan, and Gerald Henderson active.
You probably want to use Richard Hamilton, Lou Williams, Amir Johnson, and Corey Maggette (if healthy).
Strongly consider using Tyrus Thomas, if he's healthy.
You could do worse than Jonas Jerebko, Evan Turner, James Johnson, or Leandro Barbosa.
If there was ever a time to take a leap of faith on DJ White....But of course Tyrus Thomas is due back soon, so stay on top of the situation if you're thinking about using White.
Kemba Walker and Brandon Knight still don't belong in your starting lineup.
Shallow leaguers might want to bench Brandon Jennings, James Harden, Kevin Garnett, Rudy Gay, Ray Allen, and Blake Griffin.
Give Mike Conley, Serge Ibaka, Kyrie Irving, Carlos Delfino, Stephen Jackson, DeAndre Jordan, Antawn Jamison, and Anderson Varejao the week off.

Evan Turner Turns it on

2012-01-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

Evan Turner broke out for 21 points (on 8 of 12 shooting), six rebounds, and four assists. Equally as encouraging, he logged 30 minutes for the first time this year. Is this the start of something good for the talented sophomore who was taken with the 2nd pick in the 2010 draft? Well it's possible. That said, Lou Williams, Turner's competition for minutes, has certainly earned his playing time. (In fact, he's the 58th ranked player in terms of per-minute value according to Basketball Monster's rankings.) But Williams played a season low 21 minutes tonight. While it's very possible Doug Collins was going with the hot hand, this should just reinforce that Turner deserves to be firmly planted on your radar if not stashed on your bench.

Waiver Alert: Greg Stiemsma

2012-01-02T21:56:00.000-05:00

With Jermaine O'Neal out due to a hamstring injury, Greg Stiemsma got the start at center for the Celtics tonight. With five minutes left in the game, he had 13 points, seven boards, two assists and two blocks. Stiemsma is essentially an unknown, but if O'Neal misses significant time, he will almost certainly provide fantasy value. The reigning NBDL Defensive Player of the Year, the big guy can swat shots with the best of them. In fact, he averaged 3.6 rejections a game during his time in the NBDL. With enough PT, he could also provide an acceptable amount of rebounds. And, despite not being much of a scorer to this point, he has actually displayed a nice shot. So there's a chance he won't hurt you too badly in the points column. Being a Celtics fan, I've seen a lot of Stiemsma, and I definitely like what I see. Chances of O'Neal missing time or disappointing are good, so Stiemsma makes a nice pick-up candidate.

Top Per-Minute Performers

2012-01-02T15:59:00.001-05:00

In addition to shedding light on the most potent fantasy performers, per-minute numbers can reveal unheralded players poised to provide fantasy value should their playing time increase. So with that in mind, I plan to provide a list of the top per-minute performers each week. I'll use rankings from Basketball Monster calculated with the standard eight categories, and I will omit players who don't meet a minimum number of minutes. Let's start with a minimum of 30 total minutes. Go to Basketball Monster for a full list with stats.

Manu Ginobili (25 minutes per game)
LeBron James (35 mpg)
Kyle Lowry (32 mpg)
Kevin Durant (36 mpg)
Jon Leuer (14.3 mpg)
Daequan Cook (12.4 mpg)
Derrick Rose (35 mpg)
Andrew Bynum (30 mpg)
C.J. Watson (13.6 mpg)
Jose Calderon (32 mpg)
Andris Biedrins (14.3 mpg)
Mario Chalmers (23.4 mpg)
Ryan Anderson (32 mpg)
Greg Stiemsma (16 mpg)
Rodrigue Beaubois (12.3 mpg)
Ty Lawson (33 mpg)
Markieff Morris (17.3 mpg)
Ramon Sessions (22.3 mpg)
Kevin Love (38 mpg)
Spencer Hawes (33.3 mpg)
Stephen Curry (33.3 mpg)
Samuel Dalembert (19.5 mpg)
Nikola Vucevic (12 mpg)
Louis Williams (27.3 mpg)
Carmelo Anthony (34.8 mpg)
Marvin Williams (24.5 mpg)
Andre Iguodala (34.3 mpg)
Marc Gasol (33.3 mpg)
Vladimir Radmanovic (17.3 mpg)
Larry Sanders (11 mpg)
Al Harrington (26 mpg)
Jamal Crawford (26.5 mpg)
Dirk Nowitzki (31.4 mpg)
Ricky Rubio (27.5 mpg)
Ray Allen (34.4 mpg)
Kobe Bryant (34.7 mpg)
Dwayne Wade (34 mpg)
James Harden (30.6 mpg)
Boris Diaw (30.8 mpg)
Nene Hilario (27.4 mpg)
Nicolas Batum (24.3 mpg)
Daniel Gibson (24.3 mpg)
Zaza Pachilia (18 mpg)
Rajon Rondo (36.2 mpg)
Tyson Chandler (29.5 mpg)
Chris Andersen (13.4 mpg)
Paul Millsap (27.3 mpg)
Kyrie Irving (27 mpg)
Chris Paul (38.5 mpg)
Greg Monroe (31.3 mpg)

Observations

Andris Biedrins has been a big fantasy contributor in the past, but injuries have hampered him for the last two years. Perhaps the 25-year-old big guy is ready for a resurgence?
Jose Calderon is a proven fantasy stud. Hats off to those who drafted him despite concerns of a timeshare.
Ramon Sessions has also proven he can provide value when given the minutes, but he's got Kyrie Irving to contend with at the moment.
Fantasy owners have been waiting on Rodrigue Beaubois to break out. Perhaps this will be the year, but minutes are hard to come by in Dallas.
Spencer Hawes might be the draft steal of the year.
Larry Sanders showed potential last year in his rookie season. Problem is minutes in the Milwaukee front court.
Daequan Cook and C.J. Watson have been around a while and are not likely to establish much value.
Jon Leuer is a rookie second-round pick out of Wisconsin who is posting a lot of steals, rebounds, and blocks per minute. Based on his college numbers, he's unlikely to keep this pace...especially in the steals department.

Greg Stiemsma is a legit shot blocker who was named the best defensive player in the NBDL last year. Problem is he won't provide anything other than a ton of blocks and a fair amount of rebounds.
Nikola Vucevic was the 16th pick in the 2011 draft, so that alone says he has potential. He could potentially be a good source of rebounds and blocks if he gets good minutes.
Markieff Morris was a college star and the 13th pick in the 2011 draft. He's definitely one to keep an eye on.
Knowing their history, I am surprised to see Louis Williams, Marvin Williams, and Vladimir Radmanovic on this list. I doubt they will maintain this level of production.
Is this an indication that Kobe's decline is accelerating?
Very positive sign for Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio.

Radar Alert: Ian Mahinmi

2011-12-31T17:16:00.000-05:00

Mavericks' big man Ian Mahinmi came out of nowhere on Friday to post 19 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. So who is this guy? And might he provide fantasy value? Well, the 25-year-old Ian (which can be pronounced "Ian" or "Yan") actually grew up in France. (His mother is from Jamaica, and his father is from Benin, Africa.) Though drafted by the Spurs with the 28th overall pick back in 2005 as a raw, athletic project, he didn't actually sign with the team until 2007. Prior to that, he spent time with the French national team and French clubs STB La Havre and Pau Orthez.

Prior to signing with San Antonio, he really hadn't put up especially impressive numbers. But he experienced a breakout of sorts with the Austin Toros of the D-League in the 2007-2008 season, averaging 16.8 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. In fact, he led the Toros to the D-League Finals, where they lost to Idaho.

Unfortunately, Mahinmi suffered a severe ankle injury in 2008 and missed the entire 2008-09 season. In 2009-10, he appeared in 26 games for the Spurs, averaging just six minutes a game. In the offseason, he signed with Dallas, and last season he averaged eight minutes a game for the Mavs.

So, all in all, the 6-11 Mahinmi is a bit of a mystery man. Somewhat of a late bloomer who preferred soccer as a young kid, his 2007-08 numbers offer some promise. And with Tyson Chandler leaving town and Brendan Haywood not exactly tearing it up, he has a chance to establish himself as a legitimate NBA player. Whether he will remains to be seen, but he is definitely worth monitoring or even stashing if you have the space.

Read more about Mahinmi on Wikipedia or NBA.com.

Week 3 (Yahoo! Week 9) Schedule Breakdown

2011-12-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

Here's how the schedule breaks down for the coming week:

Teams with Five Games
Atlanta, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, San Antonio

Teams with Four Games
Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah, Washington

Teams with Three Games
Boston, Philadelphia

Teams with Two Games
Los Angeles Clippers

Analysis

Extra incentive to grab Tiago Splitter, Dejuan Blair, and Marvin Williams.
Be sure to get Jeff Teague and James Harden in your lineup!
Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson should have good value.
Ersan Ilyasova, Mike Dunleavy, Serge Ibaka are usable.
Still don't love Thabo Sefolosha, Vladimir Radmanovic, or Matt Bonner.
Bummer for Spencer Hawes owners, but you could still use him if necessary
You probably want to bench Louis Williams and Brandon Bass.
You definitely want to bench Thaddeus Young, Jodie Meeks, and Evan Turner.
All the more reason to bail on Keyon Dooling and Jermaine O'Neal.
Great week to play against Chris Paul or Blake Griffin!

Okur Starts

2011-12-29T23:12:00.000-05:00

Mehmet Okur got the start at center for the Nets tonight. His numbers weren't mind blowing (nine points, six boards, and a three), but he did log 26 minutes despite foul trouble...and he is clearly the most talented big man on the team. Let's just hope Crazy Avery recognizes that. Remember Okur is a former All-Star (2007) who averaged 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and one three pointer per game from 2005 to 2009. A ruptured Achilles in April of 2010 has hindered him since, but if the 32-year old is fully healthy again, he could provide significant value.

MarShon Brooks at it Again

2011-12-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

MarShon Brooks continues to play well. Tonight he tallied two threes, 17 points, three assists, and a steal in 20 minutes. One would expect the Nets to give the talented rookie more run as the season progresses, but then again the ever-erratic Avery Johnson is running things in Jersey. Definitely worth monitoring or even stashing Brooks though.

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Alert: Norris Cole

2011-12-27T23:12:00.002-05:00

Miami rookie Norris Cole just erupted for 20 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 29 minutes. What's more, he played a pivotal role down the stretch in defeating the Celtics. Cole looked dynamic and confident and could very well supplant Mario Chalmers as the starting point guard, if he keeps this up. Grab him!

Fantasy Basketball: Players to Watch

2011-12-27T21:27:00.000-05:00

Drafts are history, and the season is underway, but that doesn't mean it's time to stop looking for sleepers. Predicting who might rise from the pine to come through like a drug store in Canada could very well be the key to your season. With that in mind, here are some guys who could make a difference if their minutes get a boost.

Amir Johnson
In under 26 minutes per game last year, Johnson averaged 9.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks. That was the 47th best per-minute average in the league (going by the standard eight fantasy categories). If he could get upwards of 30 minutes a game, he would certainly be a commodity...especially considering that he should have center eligibility soon. Up until now, the obstacle has been competition with teammate Ed Davis. However, judging by the first game of the season--in which Johnson started and went for 13 points, 13 boards, 3 blocks, 3 assists, and a steal in 33 minutes--his time may already have arrived. Pick him up now if you can.

Derrick Favors
The ship may have already sailed on Favors with today's news that he has claimed the starting power forward job for the Jazz, but at last check third overall pick from 2010 was owned in only 38% of Yahoo! leagues. The sophomore looked great this preseason (tallying 25 points and 12 boards in the first game) and is expected to log time at power forward and center this year. Of course, he has to contend with Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap for playing time, but the trade of Mehmet Okur clears the way for 30 minutes or so for Favors. And center eligibility would make him that much more attractive. Get him now!

Paul George
Owned in 73% of Yahoo! leagues, George is likely not available in most deep leagues. If he is on your wire, scoop him up. The 10th overall pick in the 2010 draft, the 21-year-old sophomore has much potential...especially after growing two inches in the offseason. The Pacers are very high on him, so his minutes and production figure to be on the rise. He's the rare kind of player who can contribute in every category, as evidenced by his output in the first game of the season: two threes, 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.

Carlos Delfino
Delfino was a gem in 2010 before a concussion derailed his season. In the first month of the season, he averaged 2.4 threes and 1.6 steals per game to go along with 12.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. A logjam at small forward/shooting guard could limit his minutes, but if he manages to get 35 a night (and shows he's fully recovered), he will provide plenty of value.

Evan Turner
The Villain hasn't done a whole lot yet, but you have to remember that he was the 2nd overall pick last year. He'll surely improve; the only questions are how quickly and how much. He showed flashes in the preseason, so it's very possible that he will ultimately win the playing time battle with Lou Williams.

Ersan Ilyasova
Over the last three months of the season in 2010-11, Ilyasova averaged 10.5 points, 0.6 threes, 6.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 26 minutes. Again, the minutes are hard to predict in Milwaukee, but the 24-year-old Turk can provide value if he ends up playing big minutes.

Fantasy Basketball Playoff Schedule Breakdown for 2012

2011-12-24T21:32:00.000-05:00

While most of you have drafted by now, it's still very important to consider the fantasy basketball playoff schedule when evaluating trades and waiver wire pickups...especially with this season having a much greater disparity than usual in the number of games played over the final weeks of the NBA regular season.

For your convenience, I've provided a breakdown of games played by NBA team over the span of the fantasy playoffs and during the championship week.

Overall Playoff Breakdown
Here's how it breaks down from Week 22 through 25. (Note that Yahoo! lumps Week 25 in with Week 24.)

Teams with 12 Games
San Antonio

Teams with 11 Games
Charlotte, Cleveland, Golden State, Memphis, Miami, Philadelphia

Teams with 10 Games
Detroit, Indiana, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, Washington

Teams with 9 Games
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Portland, Toronto, Utah

Teams with 8 Games
Minnesota

Championship Week Breakdown
Here's how it breaks down for Weeks 24 and 25 (Week 24 in Yahoo!).

Teams with 8 Games
San Antonio

Teams with 7 Games
Charlotte, Cleveland, Golden State, Miami, Philadelphia,

Teams with 6 Games
Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indiana, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Phoenix, Washington

Teams with 5 Games
Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota, New Jersey, Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah

2011-2012 NBA Schedule Grid for Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball

2011-12-12T21:36:00.001-05:00

Here's your games-per-week schedule grid for 2011-12 aligned with Yahoo!'s schedule. Scroll down for dates associated with each week.

Click here for a general grid that starts with "Week 1."

Week ->	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
ATL	4	5	4	4	4	3	4	3	3	3	4	4	5	4	3	3	6
BOS	5	3	3	4	4	4	4	3	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5
CHA	4	4	5	4	4	3	3	4	1	3	4	4	3	4	4	5	7
CHI	5	4	5	4	4	4	4	3	2	4	4	4	3	4	3	3	6
CLE	4	4	3	4	4	3	4	3	2	4	4	3	4	4	4	5	7
DAL	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	2	4	5	3	4	3	4	4	5
DEN	5	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	3	4	3	4	4	3	4	6
DET	4	4	5	4	4	5	3	4	2	3	3	4	3	4	4	4	6
GSW	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	4	2	4	4	4	5	4	4	4	7
HOU	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	4	4	4	3	4	3	4	6
IND	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	2	2	4	4	4	5	4	4	6
LAC	4	2	3	5	3	4	4	4	2	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	6
LAK	6	4	4	4	3	3	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	5
MEM	4	4	3	4	4	5	4	4	2	3	3	3	4	3	5	5	6
MIA	5	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	3	4	3	4	4	4	7
MIL	3	5	3	4	4	4	4	4	2	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	6
MIN	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	5
NJN	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	4	4	4	4	4	3	5
NOR	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	3	5	3	4	6
NYK	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	4	4	4	4	3	4	6
OKC	5	5	3	3	3	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	6
ORL	5	4	2	4	5	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	3	4	3	4	6
PHI	4	3	5	4	4	4	4	4	2	4	4	3	4	3	4	3	7
PHO	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	5	2	3	3	5	4	3	4	4	6
POR	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	5
SAC	5	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	2	4	4	4	3	4	5	4	5
SAN	4	5	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	4	4	3	4	4	8
TOR	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	3	1	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5
UTA	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	2	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	5
WAS	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	3	3	5	4	4	4	4	6

Dates

Week 8 = 12/25 - 1/1
Week 9 = 1/2 - 1/8
Week 10 = 1/9 - 1/15
Week 11 = 1/16 - 1/22
Week 12 = 1/23 - 1/29
Week 13 = 1/30 - 2/5
Week 14 = 2/6 - 2/12
Week 15 = 2/13 - 2/19
Week 16 = 2/20 - 2/26
Week 17 = 2/27 - 3/4
Week 18 = 3/5 - 3/11
Week 19 = 3/12 - 3/18
Week 20 = 3/19 - 3/25
Week 21 = 3/26 - 4/1
Week 22 = 4/2 - 4/8
Week 23 = 4/9 - 4/15
Week 24 = 4/16 - 4/26

2011 - 2012 NBA Games per Week Schedule Grid for Fantasy Basketball

2011-12-11T18:09:00.011-05:00

Here's your ever-handy NBA games-per-week schedule grid for the shortened 2011-12 fantasy basketball season. Note that, to account for the missed games, Yahoo calls their first week (which is a combination of the first two weeks) "Week 8." Scroll down for the dates associated with each week and the mappings to the Yahoo schedule. I'll follow up with a Yahoo-specific schedule for convenience. Let me know if you'd like to see the schedule specific to other sites. I'll also follow up with some schedule analysis...particularly with regard to the fantasy playoffs.

Update: Here's the Yahoo!-specific grid.

Week ->	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
ATL	0	4	5	4	4	4	3	4	3	3	3	4	4	5	4	3	3	4	2
BOS	1	4	3	3	4	4	4	4	3	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	3	2
CHA	0	4	4	5	4	4	3	3	4	1	3	4	4	3	4	4	5	4	3
CHI	1	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	3	2	4	4	4	3	4	3	3	4	2
CLE	0	4	4	3	4	4	3	4	3	2	4	4	3	4	4	4	5	4	3
DAL	1	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	2	4	5	3	4	3	4	4	4	1
DEN	0	5	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	3	4	3	4	4	3	4	4	2
DET	0	4	4	5	4	4	5	3	4	2	3	3	4	3	4	4	4	4	2
GSW	1	3	4	4	3	3	3	3	4	2	4	4	4	5	4	4	4	5	2
HOU	0	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	4	4	4	3	4	3	4	5	1
IND	0	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	2	2	4	4	4	5	4	4	4	2
LAC	1	3	2	3	5	3	4	4	4	2	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	4	2
LAK	1	5	4	4	4	3	3	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	1
MEM	0	4	4	3	4	4	5	4	4	2	3	3	3	4	3	5	5	4	2
MIA	1	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	3	4	3	4	4	4	5	2
MIL	0	3	5	3	4	4	4	4	4	2	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	3	3
MIN	0	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	1
NJN	0	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2
NOR	0	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	3	5	3	4	4	2
NYK	1	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	2
OKC	1	4	5	3	3	3	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	2
ORL	1	4	4	2	4	5	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	3	4	3	4	4	2
PHI	0	4	3	5	4	4	4	4	4	2	4	4	3	4	3	4	3	4	3
PHO	0	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	5	2	3	3	5	4	3	4	4	4	2
POR	0	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2
SAC	0	5	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	2	4	4	4	3	4	5	4	3	2
SAN	0	4	5	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	4	4	3	4	4	5	3
TOR	0	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	3	1	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2
UTA	0	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	2	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	3	2
WAS	0	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	3	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	3

Dates

Week 1 (Week 8 in Yahoo) - 12/19 - 12/25
Week 2 (Week 8 continued in Yahoo) - 12/26 - 1/1
Week 3 (Week 9 in Yahoo) - 1/2 - 1/8
Week 4 (Week 10 in Yahoo) - 1/9 - 1/15
Week 5 (Week 11 in Yahoo) - 1/16 - 1/22
Week 6 (Week 12 in Yahoo) - 1/23 - 1/29
Week 7 (Week 13 in Yahoo) - 1/30 - 2/5
Week 8 (Week 14 in Yahoo) - 2/6 - 2/12
Week 9 (Week 15 in Yahoo) - 2/13 - 2/19
Week 10 (Week 16 in Yahoo) - 2/20 - 2/26
Week 11 (Week 17 in Yahoo) - 2/27 - 3/4
Week 12 (Week 18 in Yahoo) - 3/5 - 3/11
Week 13 (Week 19 in Yahoo) - 3/12 - 3/18
Week 14 (Week 20 in Yahoo) - 3/19 - 3/25
Week 15 (Week 21 in Yahoo) - 3/26 - 4/1
Week 16 (Week 22 in Yahoo) - 4/2 - 4/8
Week 17 (Week 23 in Yahoo) - 4/9 - 4/15
Week 18 (Week 24 in Yahoo) - 4/16 - 4/22
Week 19 (Week 24 continued in Yahoo) - 4/23 - 4/29

Week 22 Games per Team

2011-03-18T17:54:00.003-04:00

Four Games
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Golden State, Indiana, Memphis, New Jersey, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto, Utah, Washington

Three Games
Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Clippers, Lakers, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland

Two Games
Houston

Week 21 Games per Team

2011-03-13T13:34:00.002-04:00

Four Games
Boston, Dallas, Denver, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, Clippers, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Washington

Three Games
Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Lakers, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Orleans, Orlando, San Antonio, Toronto, Utah

Week 20 Games per Team

2011-03-05T11:56:00.002-05:00

Four Games
Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Golden State, Indiana, Clippers, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, Utah

Three Games
Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Lakers, Memphis, Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Antonio, Toronto

Two Games
Denver, New Jersey, Washington

Week 19 Games per Team

2011-02-26T21:32:00.002-05:00

Four Game
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Golden State, Indiana, Minnesota, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, Washington

Three Games
Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Clippers, Lakers, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah

Save Your Season, Part One: Establishing Dominance in a Majority of Categories

2011-02-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

So it's the All-Star break, and your team isn't exactly tearing it up. You're languishing in the bottom half of the standings, and it's looking less and less like Lady Antebellum-type accolades are in the cards. So what do you do? Make like LeBron in Game 5 and mail it in? Stand pat and hope that several of your mediocre players suddenly transform into Monta Ellis? Well, would you stay in a job with a boss like Bill Lumbergh? Would you stay in a relationship with a nag like Susie from Curb Your Enthusiasm? So why settle for a bad fantasy season? Shake things up, and see if you can make a run. How? Well, I will provide some ideas in a series of posts. In this post, I'll explain how you can establish dominance in a majority of categories. In the next, I'll explain how to get the most out of your weekly matchups.

Part One: Establishing Dominance in a Majority of Categories

In head-to-head leagues you can completely suck at several categories and still win...provided you dominate at least one more than half of the categories. For this reason, sacrificing some categories to bolster others is the best way to turn your season around. Why? Because improving across the board is difficult. It requires making better pickups and trades than other teams. Trading numbers you no longer need for those you're trying to boost, on the other hand, is much more practical.

Here's how to do it:

Figure out which categories you want to punt and which you want to dominate. The best candidates for punting are those in which you are weak (obviously), which you are least likely to be able to improve, and which you can get the most for. The best candidates for dominating are those in which you are strong (obviously) and in which you can improve most easily (or cheaply). If you're weak in points, that is a great category to punt, because it's the toughest category to improve but easiest to sell. Dudes love points and the players who score a lot of them. Rebounds and assists are also good candidates for the same reasons. By contrast, threes and blocks are the best candidates to dominate, because they are undervalued and easiest to improve. One JaVale McGee or Ryan Anderson can goes a long way...and can be had for a reasonable price.

Go to Basketball Monster and generate rankings based only on the categories you want to dominate. For example, if you're looking to dominate threes, assists, steals, blocks, and FT%, enter only those categories for the league settings. This will provide an accurate sense of who is and isn't best suited for your new strategy. (Try different date filters to get a sense for who produced over the course of the season versus who might be coming on strong over the last month or week.)

Grab players off the wire who rank well in the customized Basketball Monster rankings. You will be surprised at some of the gems you find. Also use the rankings to determine which players to cut.

Get busy with trade offers. Use the Basketball Monster rankings to identify good trade targets (players ranked much better than they are in your league rankings). Also use the rankings to determine trade bait (those ranked much worse than they are in your league rankings). Your best bet is to trade a big name player for multiple players who are among the best in the customized Basketball Monster rankings. For example, using the categories mentioned earlier (threes, assists, steals, blocks, and FT%), Jrue Holiday, Jason Kidd, Rajon Rondo, Ramon Sessions, and Randy Foye are all ranked higher than LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony over the last month. So trading one of the latter for two or more of the former would pay great dividends. And the great thing is, such offers have a high chance of being accepted, because most owners can't resist a chance to land a superstar. This year, I traded LeBron James and Rudy Gay (among others), and as a result have jumped from ninth place to third...and put myself in an even better position to succeed in the playoffs by winning a majority of categories.

Coming in the next post: "Save Your Season, Part Two: Maximizing Your Weekly Lineups."