image courtesy of Shaq's twitter.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
So long Cavs
I know hindsight is 20/20 and all, but I bet the Cavs sure wish they had made a play for Shaq at the trade deadline now. I mean, if they had offered Wally/Pavlovic for Shaq... I bet the Suns would have taken it in a heartbeat (Wally is an expiring and Pavlovic only has $2 mil guaranteed next year... that'd save the Suns ~$17 mil next year, not including tax). Hell, even a bigger trade of Wally/Pavlovic/Wallace for Shaq/J-Rich probably would have gotten done as well. I mean, yeah, the Cavs were all scared of messing with their chemistry and defense and all... but Varejao and Big Z's defense weren't much to write home about either. The Cavs defense got shredded by Dwight to the tune of 25.8 pts, 13 rebs, on 65% shooting for the series. For a comparison, Perkins and the Garnett-less Celtics frontline "contained" Dwight to the tune of 16.4 pts, 17 rebs, on 55% shooting. Keep in mind that the rebounding differential is mostly due to the higher volume of shots (attempted and missed) by the Celts. Offensive rebound wise, Dwight averaged 4 per in both series. If this loss ends up tipping James on the decision to leave Cleveland, the CLE front office is gonna be kicking themselves for YEARS to come. What an opportunity wasted... sad, sad, sad.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Another Suns Draft Failure
Though its technically old news, this was new (surprisingly) to me... but apparently Marcin Gortat (aka "The Polish Hammer") was a 2nd round pick of the Suns back in 2005. Good job Phoenix front office and Mike D'Antoni... that's ANOTHER good solid young building block that you gave up for CASH CONSIDERATIONS. I hope that million dollars or two feels good in your pocket books while the Suns sit at home this spring.
I know Marcin's not a star by any means but he's a legit 7 footer and banger who would be great as the 1st big off the bench and a decent starter in a pinch. Basically everything you would WANT Robin Lopez to be (but probably never will). And for those that think I'm overhyping a scrub... in 3 games as a starter this season (when Dwight was out), the Polish Hammer averaged a double-double with 10 pts, 11.7 rebs, and 3 blks, in 33 minutes resulting in a 2-1 record. And when Dwight was suspended for game 6 of the Philly series, Marcin came through with a 11 pt, 15 reb, 4 stl performance in 40 minutes for a closeout playoff win against the 76ers (on the road too!).
Of course, this is not first, nor the biggest blunder of the PHX front office in recent years. No, those mistakes have been well documented. Luol Deng (7th, 2004), Nate Robinson (21st, 2005), Rajon Rondo (21st, 2006), Rudy Fernandez (24th, 2007)... all traded away for cash. Way to mortgage you future guys! Now I know if the Suns HAD kept some of these picks then of course records/draft positions would have been different in subsequent years, so its likely they would not have gotten ALL of these players. And also, in most cases the Suns were probably picking for other teams so its not for certain they would have picked the same players if they were going to keep them. Still though, its a nice example of all the wasted opportunities that the Phoenix Suns COULD have had. Its one thing to screw up once or twice in a draft (Darko anybody?) but to do some in 4 CONSECUTIVE drafts, I mean, come on... that has to be record or something.
Seriously, from now on, they should just send out feelers to let other teams *think* PHX is gonna sell their pick and get an idea of who the other teams are gonna take, then just draft the guys themselves.
I know Marcin's not a star by any means but he's a legit 7 footer and banger who would be great as the 1st big off the bench and a decent starter in a pinch. Basically everything you would WANT Robin Lopez to be (but probably never will). And for those that think I'm overhyping a scrub... in 3 games as a starter this season (when Dwight was out), the Polish Hammer averaged a double-double with 10 pts, 11.7 rebs, and 3 blks, in 33 minutes resulting in a 2-1 record. And when Dwight was suspended for game 6 of the Philly series, Marcin came through with a 11 pt, 15 reb, 4 stl performance in 40 minutes for a closeout playoff win against the 76ers (on the road too!).
Of course, this is not first, nor the biggest blunder of the PHX front office in recent years. No, those mistakes have been well documented. Luol Deng (7th, 2004), Nate Robinson (21st, 2005), Rajon Rondo (21st, 2006), Rudy Fernandez (24th, 2007)... all traded away for cash. Way to mortgage you future guys! Now I know if the Suns HAD kept some of these picks then of course records/draft positions would have been different in subsequent years, so its likely they would not have gotten ALL of these players. And also, in most cases the Suns were probably picking for other teams so its not for certain they would have picked the same players if they were going to keep them. Still though, its a nice example of all the wasted opportunities that the Phoenix Suns COULD have had. Its one thing to screw up once or twice in a draft (Darko anybody?) but to do some in 4 CONSECUTIVE drafts, I mean, come on... that has to be record or something.
Seriously, from now on, they should just send out feelers to let other teams *think* PHX is gonna sell their pick and get an idea of who the other teams are gonna take, then just draft the guys themselves.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
UNSTOPPABLE
Here's another quicky... though I'm finding most of the Kobe/LeBron puppet commercials to be a bit underwhelming... this one is hilarious.
Also, we're less than a month away from the NBA draft (6/25). YAY!!!!!
Second also... GO NUGGETS!!!! (wow, never thought I'd be cheering on a Carmelo team, but anybody but Kobe, right?)
Also, we're less than a month away from the NBA draft (6/25). YAY!!!!!
Second also... GO NUGGETS!!!! (wow, never thought I'd be cheering on a Carmelo team, but anybody but Kobe, right?)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Who's the Boss
LOL... quicky, but in case there was ANY doubt who's calling the shots in Cleveland. Prior to game 2 of the CLE/ORL series, Sasha Pavolvic has played all of 4 min. in the last THREE games combined. That includes TWO double digit wins in Atlanta. Then after game 1 of the Orlando series, Lebron James publicly lobbies for more minutes for Sasha.
"I think Sasha can be huge for us," James said. "Mentally, if Sasha's in tune, he could be really good for us with his 6-7 or 6-8, 240-pound frame, he could really help us on the defensive end, and he's also an offensive threat. You just cannot leave him open on the offensive end because he can make shots. Mentally, if Sasha's in tune, which I think he can be, and if he's called upon, I think he can be really good for us. We need that type of active body on the defensive end who can take a little bit of the load of myself and Delonte. ... We could use him out there."
So what happens in game 2? Sasha is the first guy off the bench. In fact, as of this post (7 minutes left in the 2nd qtr) Sasha has already logged 8+ minutes and more than DOUBLE that of his last 3 games COMBINED. Maybe they should take back Mike Brown's COY award and give it to James instead ;-)
FWIW... as of this post, James was right. Sasha has played well (3/3 from the field, 7 pts total) and a +18 for the game with the Cavs enjoying an early 23 pt. lead (43-20).
"I think Sasha can be huge for us," James said. "Mentally, if Sasha's in tune, he could be really good for us with his 6-7 or 6-8, 240-pound frame, he could really help us on the defensive end, and he's also an offensive threat. You just cannot leave him open on the offensive end because he can make shots. Mentally, if Sasha's in tune, which I think he can be, and if he's called upon, I think he can be really good for us. We need that type of active body on the defensive end who can take a little bit of the load of myself and Delonte. ... We could use him out there."
So what happens in game 2? Sasha is the first guy off the bench. In fact, as of this post (7 minutes left in the 2nd qtr) Sasha has already logged 8+ minutes and more than DOUBLE that of his last 3 games COMBINED. Maybe they should take back Mike Brown's COY award and give it to James instead ;-)
FWIW... as of this post, James was right. Sasha has played well (3/3 from the field, 7 pts total) and a +18 for the game with the Cavs enjoying an early 23 pt. lead (43-20).
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Slow Season
Hi all, sorry about the lack of updates. To be honest, after the Suns got eliminated from playoff contention, I just haven't been THAT interested in basketball. Hence the lack of updates. I guess I'm what Shaq really despises, and that's a frontrunner. At least Shaq knows what he's talking about;-)
Anyhoo... lets see what's been going on in the month or so since my last post. Well, I managed to get out to Vegas on the weekend of the 28th. Tried out my "Friday Lines" on the Saturday games and placed a $10 bet on every spread and over/under (with exception of the DET/WAS game since that was Gil's first game back and I had no idea what to expect from him or the Wiz). 14 NBA bets total. Overall, I pretty much split all my NBA bets, which I guess is typical, since the odds are designed to be 50/50 by Vegas. What little profit I did make, I made from the March Madness games. $40 on Oklahoma over Syracuse and $20 on UConn over Purdue. Yay! I dunno... I made money betting on what I know the least (college bball) while I barely broke even on what I follow the most (NBA)... not sure if that's a good thing or not. Maybe I'm just full of hot air ;-)
On the fantasy front... I missed out on the playoffs in all three of my CBS leagues. Ah wells. It was worth a try. It was definitely different from the Yahoo experience and I'm pretty sure I WON'T be returning to CBS in the fall.
On the Yahoo fantasy front though... I was AWESOME. I was in three leagues total and I finished 1st in my keeper league, 1st in my expert league, and 3rd in my public league.
My Keeper team was just stacked. It wasn't really fair at all. I had Paul as a keeper and was able to snag Kidd and Terry late in the draft and also managed to steal Lee and Harrington off waivers (for the brief couple days they were on there at the beginning of the season). Towards the end of the season, one of the other guys straight up dropped Amare (even though we're a keeper league) and I was able to pick him up for free... who I then parlayed to one of the other teams already out of contention for Turkoglu. Yay me!
My expert league I'm especially proud of. I've already wrote a lot about that league and my team in my previous post... but suffice to say that I had a disaster of a draft and rebuilt my team completely throughout the season and was able to secure one of the last playoff spots during the last week of the season. Then through lots (and I emphasize LOTS) of timely pickups, I was able to secure the 1st place by beating the 1st and 3rd regular season teams.
I'm just throwing this out there cuz the last week in my expert league, the guy I was beating got a little chippy about it, but I'm not ashamed to say that I exploited the whole add/drop strategy to win my expert league. Yahoo has an option to limit max moves per week and/or max per season and I do advise commissioners out there to set them. FWIW, I have a max 4 moves per week limit in my keeper league. But IF there's no move limit, then I see no problem making as many moves as necessary to secure the win. While this is just a game, you should still try everything you can within the rules to win. And the strategy is available to all teams. The point is to be COMPETITIVE, right? Else why bother even playing?
Well, that's all I got for now. My posts will probably be sparse throughout the playoffs (baring some crazy play by the Blazers). Though expect some more posts around the draft lottery (May 19th) and leading up to the draft (June 25th). I love the draft and it's probably my second favorite day of the year (behind Christmas).
Oh and one early draft tidbit... Ricky Rubio is declaring for the draft. I bet he goes 2nd overall in the draft. The Suns have a 1.1% chance (.005 at 1st pick, .006 at 2nd pick) at landing the top 2 picks in the draft... that's better than the real lottery, right?
And finally, here's a couple playoff youtubes to make up for the past few weeks of inactivity.
TNT 2009 Playoff Promo - Game of Kings
Cavaliers 2009 Playoff Promo - Proposal
Anyhoo... lets see what's been going on in the month or so since my last post. Well, I managed to get out to Vegas on the weekend of the 28th. Tried out my "Friday Lines" on the Saturday games and placed a $10 bet on every spread and over/under (with exception of the DET/WAS game since that was Gil's first game back and I had no idea what to expect from him or the Wiz). 14 NBA bets total. Overall, I pretty much split all my NBA bets, which I guess is typical, since the odds are designed to be 50/50 by Vegas. What little profit I did make, I made from the March Madness games. $40 on Oklahoma over Syracuse and $20 on UConn over Purdue. Yay! I dunno... I made money betting on what I know the least (college bball) while I barely broke even on what I follow the most (NBA)... not sure if that's a good thing or not. Maybe I'm just full of hot air ;-)
On the fantasy front... I missed out on the playoffs in all three of my CBS leagues. Ah wells. It was worth a try. It was definitely different from the Yahoo experience and I'm pretty sure I WON'T be returning to CBS in the fall.
On the Yahoo fantasy front though... I was AWESOME. I was in three leagues total and I finished 1st in my keeper league, 1st in my expert league, and 3rd in my public league.
My Keeper team was just stacked. It wasn't really fair at all. I had Paul as a keeper and was able to snag Kidd and Terry late in the draft and also managed to steal Lee and Harrington off waivers (for the brief couple days they were on there at the beginning of the season). Towards the end of the season, one of the other guys straight up dropped Amare (even though we're a keeper league) and I was able to pick him up for free... who I then parlayed to one of the other teams already out of contention for Turkoglu. Yay me!
My expert league I'm especially proud of. I've already wrote a lot about that league and my team in my previous post... but suffice to say that I had a disaster of a draft and rebuilt my team completely throughout the season and was able to secure one of the last playoff spots during the last week of the season. Then through lots (and I emphasize LOTS) of timely pickups, I was able to secure the 1st place by beating the 1st and 3rd regular season teams.
I'm just throwing this out there cuz the last week in my expert league, the guy I was beating got a little chippy about it, but I'm not ashamed to say that I exploited the whole add/drop strategy to win my expert league. Yahoo has an option to limit max moves per week and/or max per season and I do advise commissioners out there to set them. FWIW, I have a max 4 moves per week limit in my keeper league. But IF there's no move limit, then I see no problem making as many moves as necessary to secure the win. While this is just a game, you should still try everything you can within the rules to win. And the strategy is available to all teams. The point is to be COMPETITIVE, right? Else why bother even playing?
Well, that's all I got for now. My posts will probably be sparse throughout the playoffs (baring some crazy play by the Blazers). Though expect some more posts around the draft lottery (May 19th) and leading up to the draft (June 25th). I love the draft and it's probably my second favorite day of the year (behind Christmas).
Oh and one early draft tidbit... Ricky Rubio is declaring for the draft. I bet he goes 2nd overall in the draft. The Suns have a 1.1% chance (.005 at 1st pick, .006 at 2nd pick) at landing the top 2 picks in the draft... that's better than the real lottery, right?
And finally, here's a couple playoff youtubes to make up for the past few weeks of inactivity.
TNT 2009 Playoff Promo - Game of Kings
Cavaliers 2009 Playoff Promo - Proposal
Monday, March 23, 2009
Bye Week
So, this week is the start of fantasy playoffs in Yahoo. If you rocked your leagues (like me) and got a top 2 seed, then you've got a nice and relaxing bye week ahead. To be honest, I only rocked it in one of my three leagues this year. I'm riding high in first in my keeper league and my roster is stacked (Paul, Boozer, Roy, Kidd, Iggy, etc, the list goes on and on!) and I'm feeling really confident about it. My other two leagues... eh... not so much. I'm 5th in both leagues and with mediocre teams. At least my fantasy playoff streak is alive, 20 h2h and counting.
My "expert" league though, I'm especially proud of. The league has 15 man rosters (10 active, 5 bench) and I have ZERO players from my original draft. That's right, every single one of my guys had been either dropped or traded. I rebuilt that team on the fly when my team was under performing. At my worst in early December, I was actually dead last in the league. And as few as a month ago, I was stuck in 9th and nearly 14 games back from 6th place. But some timely trades and pickups (McDyess FTW!), I dominated these last 4 weeks, going 41-11, and secured myself a 5th seed.
I think this shows that no matter how bad your team might be, you can still make the playoffs if you're willing to make the adjustments (trades, drops). The important thing is to recognize your problem early (don't wait until February) and stay active on the FA lists. I'd say if you were over 1.5 full weeks behind 6th place around December/January, it's time for a major shakeup. For standard Yahoo leagues with 9 cats, that'd be ~13-14 games behind. And when it's time for a major shakeup, don't get too hung up on your major names that might be slumping/injured. When you're behind, it's important to get your games played. Even scrapping my 5-4 or 4-5 is better than consistent 2-7 beatdowns. You don't want to slip too far back in the rankings.
FWIW, here's my original roster and their current replacements, obtained either via trade or pickup.
And on a semi-related note, I'm also dominating my March Madness Bracket too. 42/48 correct picks and I still got every team going to the sweet 16. Yes, that means #12 Arizona and #5 Purdue. Go me! I rock at fantasy. Somebody should hire me to be a real gm/analyst ;-)
And now, here's a couple random new Shaq videos. Cuz you know, I'm all about the Diesel.
My "expert" league though, I'm especially proud of. The league has 15 man rosters (10 active, 5 bench) and I have ZERO players from my original draft. That's right, every single one of my guys had been either dropped or traded. I rebuilt that team on the fly when my team was under performing. At my worst in early December, I was actually dead last in the league. And as few as a month ago, I was stuck in 9th and nearly 14 games back from 6th place. But some timely trades and pickups (McDyess FTW!), I dominated these last 4 weeks, going 41-11, and secured myself a 5th seed.
I think this shows that no matter how bad your team might be, you can still make the playoffs if you're willing to make the adjustments (trades, drops). The important thing is to recognize your problem early (don't wait until February) and stay active on the FA lists. I'd say if you were over 1.5 full weeks behind 6th place around December/January, it's time for a major shakeup. For standard Yahoo leagues with 9 cats, that'd be ~13-14 games behind. And when it's time for a major shakeup, don't get too hung up on your major names that might be slumping/injured. When you're behind, it's important to get your games played. Even scrapping my 5-4 or 4-5 is better than consistent 2-7 beatdowns. You don't want to slip too far back in the rankings.
FWIW, here's my original roster and their current replacements, obtained either via trade or pickup.
| Drafted | Current Roster | |
| 1 | Carlos Boozer | Steve Nash |
| 2 | Deron Williams | Jason Kidd |
| 3 | Chris Kaman | Antonio McDyess |
| 4 | Gerald Wallace | Andre Igudala |
| 5 | Andrew Bogut | Kendrick Perkins |
| 6 | David Lee | Chris Anderson |
| 7 | Derrick Rose | Mike Miller |
| 8 | Raymond Felton | Raja Bell |
| 9 | Monta Ellis | Jason Terry |
| 10 | Kirk Hinrich | Anthony Randolph |
| 11 | Rudy Fernandez | JR Smith |
| 12 | Grant Hill | Ronnie Brewer |
| 13 | Tyrus Thomas | Thabo Sefolosha |
| 14 | Luke Ridnour | Ramon Sessions |
| 15 | Quentin Richardson | Darius Songalia |
And on a semi-related note, I'm also dominating my March Madness Bracket too. 42/48 correct picks and I still got every team going to the sweet 16. Yes, that means #12 Arizona and #5 Purdue. Go me! I rock at fantasy. Somebody should hire me to be a real gm/analyst ;-)
And now, here's a couple random new Shaq videos. Cuz you know, I'm all about the Diesel.
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