HOOPLOG: Chris Bosh

Bosh out indefinitely with sprained thumb

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 12:49:19 -0800

Read full story for latest details.

Nothing fits forever

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 21:49:48 -0800

It would seem that last night’s infernal burst of Gilbertology might truly need no comment from ours truly. As in, we live in heaven, he lives alone, our souls are intertwined and the moment need not be soiled by explanation. The more and more I gazed upon that fascinating still—one as destined for iconic status as Tiger with the fist pump or Yao’s scream of antiquity—the more brutally apparent it becomes to me that Arenas, far from being an oddball, is the living, breathing god of my favorite kind of NBA player: the kind you watch, instead of just view. What Iverson, Kobe, Nash, and a handful of others I go out of my way to see play have in common is this ability to not merely produce on any given night, but to casually redefine themselves through masterstrokes of basketball impressionism.

Let me put briefly put aside the strained fire and brimstone that guides this site long enough to admit, as I did last week, that this is by and large a league of consistency. Unlike baseball and football, where one can be violently up and down from one game to the next but still get recognized overall as a fantastic contributor, to be a credible contributor a guy’s got to come with steady output. Freaks and streaks can be profound, but no player’s a recognizable force (or definite failure) in this league until he can be counted on; to scrape the ridges of Mount Dunkmore, he’d better be guaranteed to account for a serious percentage of his team’s production, both in the box score and as a reliable force when the ball hits his hands. Until then, he will always get saddled with the p-word, no matter how impressive he is in spurts.

When you reach the rarified air of superlative hoops accomplishment, there are at least three kind of consistency. Most obviously, there are the rock-solid bequeathers, under-appreciated and often big men like Duncan, Brand, Bosh, Dirk, Jamison, Kidd, Ray Ray and Redd. These folks give it their all with frightening regularity, churning it out from the opening bell and expected to operate as if to a rhythmic tick. I want to stop short of saying that you can intuit them from looking at a box score, but by and large there is no dramatic arc to their in-game performances. Professional, workmanlike, whatever you want to call them, these are consummate anchors of an offense, the given you pencil in at most moments during the season’s onslaught.

In the next category, you find explosive players with a tendency toward predictable outcomes, who ebb and flow over the course of a game, occasionally make you doubt, and ultimately bring you right back to who you always knew they were. I’m talking about Garnett, Pierce, Wade, Vince, Billups, Bibby, Gasol, Melo, Richardson, Jefferson, Sheed, Marion, and Artest himself—unquestioned experts who sometimes lull, sometimes soar, but never have to redeem themselves and are constantly working within their own limits and images. This isn’t a knock on any of these fine, hurling turtles; merely to point out that if you turn on the television to see them play, you know what you’re getting and will be accordingly excited. Each game reinforces their , with ups and downs that end in a pointed reminder of yeah, that’s him.

Gilbert and his gang, as I will now aptly dub them, rest upon their own set of shaggy shoulders. To return to last week’s trope of half-assed existentialism, All-American and yet bleakly Continental, they are players constantly exceeding themselves, or at least engaging in what feels for all the world like a motherfucking statement game. It can LeBron or Amare exerting and expanding their dominance, Kirilenko or Gerald Wallace twisting up the parameters of a box score, Nash working his conductor-ly magic, or Kobe, Iverson or McGrady scoring not only at will, but as if it’s unnatural for them to miss—or even repeat themselves out on the floor. Arenas is a must-see, not only because he’s likely to put on a show, but for what each and every game can do to your sense of him as a player and personality. If Wade proves with each big game that he’s still Wade, still proud, then Gilbert does it up in a way that’s not only unpredictable; with each of these self-transcending events, he also manages to seem unlikely all anew. As does Kobe, Bron, et al. In the crucible of the game, their legend is broken down and created anew, surprising you not only with this most recent installment but, in its reconstitution of the player’s most basic essence, shock you yet again they exist at all, that anything they do has ever happened in the glare of man’s senses.

This may seem like two-bit metaphysics for those of you not in tune with my lifelong education on this planet (or anyone merely taking issue with my late night sloppiness). But next time you find yourself up past bedtime watching one of these aforementioned idols, think about whether or not you feel you’re seeing them for the first time, whether you’re transfixed partly out of the fear that you’re witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Not just a good game from your favorite NBA player, or one of those “instant classics” this blog will reference two years from now; I mean one of those performances where, in some ways, you feel like you’re discovering the sport again for the very first time.

Yao What Do I Do?

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 16:23:36 -0800

So I had a strategy this year going into the draft. It was pretty simple – draft players who were likely to play 80 games, take the best player available over the first 6-7 rounds but also make sure to get two solid centers so I wouldn’t have to play the dreaded “Find a Second Center” game, and do not ignore percentages. It worked pretty well, I think. In a 12-team league I got Dirk-Yao-Pau-Kirk-Cuttino-Sheed-Rip with my first seven picks. I felt that with those picks guys I had seven guys who would stay in my lineup all season, and that included two centers and two guys with an outside shot at qualifying at center.

So you can imagine my frustration now that Yao is going to miss approximately six weeks with a booboo on his big toe. First off, I don’t doubt that the big man is in pain, as when you are 7’6” and nearly 300 pounds, your feet have a lot of weight on them. But the thing is, Yao was playing his best ball of the season right before he got hurt. His last three games before sitting down he was averaging 26/11/1 on 62% from the field on 15 shots per game and 85% from the line at nearly 9 attempts per game. His blocks had been disappointing all season, but you can’t complain about those other numbers. If he had been putting up 14/6 on 43% shooting over five games before going down, then maybe I’d comprehend it a bit more. But as it is, it just doesn’t make sense.

So now I’m stuck without my #2 draft pick for at least a month. Lots of you are in similar situations, if not with Yao then with many of the other guys fighting injuries. So what to do? Don’t freak out. Stick with your strategy. You did have a strategy, right? For all the advice we give on guys who make hot pickups and all that, my team has remained pretty much in tact the entire season. With Eddie Jones and Marquis Daniels as my only SF, I needed some help there so I dumped Daniels this morning (with Josh Howard and Jason Terry back in full force, there’s simply not enough production to go around I feel) for James Jones, who should be able to help me out in 3s when he moves back into the starting lineup. That was just my fourth roster move of the season.

Yao leaves a big hole for me at center, but I kept Brendan Haywood around for this specific reason. This was another part of the strategy – don’t be left without a quality backup at the key positions, those obviously being PG and C. Haywood’s no star, obviously, but he certainly qualifies as a quality backup. His PT is a bit volatile, swinging between 20 and 30 minutes per night, but he does what you want a fill-in center to do: hit a high percentage of his shots and block some shots. His 57% from the field should come down a bit, but he is a 53% career shooter, so there shouldn’t be too much of a drop off. A good number of his shot attempts are layups/dunks/follows. And at 2.0 blocks per game, there are only 14 guys better than him there. What you want from injury fill-ins is to not lose ground. Everyone team in your league will suffer through injuries at some point during the season, and how they deal with them will go a long way towards determining who will end up at the top of the standings.

One thing I certainly won’t be doing is making a panic deal for another center. If you play in a league with people that pay attention, most people will see someone with Yao on their team and think that they’ll be able to gouge that owner for an extra center. The odds just aren’t in my favor in a situation like this. Would I love to someone like Jermaine ONeal manning my other center spot instead of Brendan Haywood? Of course. But to get him I’d have to deal from another strength, and then you invariably end up creating more holes for yourself. Basically, I go with under-management as opposed to over-management as a general rule. That is, as long as you have good players.

And I suppose I should address the Rockets frontcourt situation. As one helpful, anonymous commenter pointed out, Stromile Swift did indeed get nutted by Chris Bosh last night, which led to his receiving the same PT as Lonny Baxter. If Stro has recovered he should be back in the starting lineup as long as Dikembe Mutombo is out. But unless he really explodes, it’s hard to see Van Gundy sticking with him as a starter when Mutombo comes back. The Rockets were having enough trouble outscoring anyone with Yao, so without him they’ll need to be even tougher on D, and even in his second century in the league, Mutombo is still a solid defensive presence. If you are willing to use a roster spot on someone who will help you in blocks while killing you in every other category except rebounds, have fun with Mutombo. As for Juwan Howards … he’s just so boring. He just doesn’t help you anywhere – his per 40 numbers are .7 steals, .1 blocks and 0 3s. He’s shot exactly 45% from the field the past three years, so you know what to expect there. He’ll basically need to go for 21 and 12 like he did last game every night to have even mediocre value.

That should do it for me for a few days, at least in terms of posted content. Have a happy holiday of your choosing.

Lakers could add Artest & Bosh?

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 08:56:10 -0800

Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.com reports on trade talk that could send Ron Artest to the Lakers...Since Artest makes just $7.4 million in 2007 (as opposed to Odom's $13.2 million), the Lakers would be able to keep the same core of...

Bosh, Raptors beat slumping Bobcats (AP)

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 19:38:42 -0800

Chris Bosh had 30 points and 11 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors handed the Charlotte Bobcats their seventh straight loss, 111-103 on Saturday night. With Toronto Leading 99-98, Bosh hit two free throws, then blocked Brevin Knight at the other end, leading to Morris Peterson's driving layup that made it 103-98 with 2:05 left.

Phil Jax: Lakers want Raps Bosh

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 10:14:29 -0800

Phil Jackson, the veteran coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, told reporters yesterday that his team should have room to hire a couple of free agents next season. And when he was asked about who might be on his list,...

Raptors beat Heat 107-94 for first win (AP)

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 14:45:29 -0800

Life is a lot more enjoyable for the Toronto Raptors now that they've finally won a game. "Every one likes each other again," said a chuckling Mike James after the Raptors beat the first-place Miami Heat 107-94 on Sunday to end Toronto's longest losing streak since 2003. Chris Bosh had a season-high 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Raptors, who opened the season 0-9 -- the worst start in their...

The Truth Is Out, Part 2

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 09:39:57 -0800

So BV did his draft recap and now it’s my turn. Like he said, we start 10 players (PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, UT, UT), with three bench spots, 12 teams. So it’s a pretty deep league, and it’s very competitive. Hard to slip sleepers past these guys. Guys like Zaza Pachulia, Marquis Daniels, Eddie Griffin, Mike James, etc. were all gone by the 9th round, for example. My strategy going in was to heed my rankings, take the best player available with most picks, not get too hung up on positions, and not to ignore percentages, which always seem to give me problems. Let’s see how I did.

1st Round (4th overall): Dirk Nowitzki, PF
I was hoping that Marion would fall to me, but he went #3. It’s hard to complain about Dirk, and if continues to trade in a few 3s for a few more blocks, I’ll take it. He’s 27, clearly in his prime, clearly the top option on a perennially high scoring team, and he set career highs in blocks, assists and points last year. I’m banking on a repeat. I was tempted to take Kobe, and even a little tempted to shock the world and take Kirilenko, but in the end Dirk was the obvious choice.

2nd Round (21st overall): Yao Ming, C
I told my dad the day before that draft that if Yao was there for me at 21 I would take him, and I stuck to my word. Even in his “disappointing” season last year he finished 17th on the player rater, and he seems bound to take a leap forward this year, if he can continue to improve his game and his minutes per game by 3 or 4, which is a distinct possibility. I certainly liked him more than Jermaine O’Neal, and I was thought about Vinsanity and Mike Bibby, but a dominant center in the second round without reaching was too good to pass up.

3rd Round (28th overall): Pau Gasol, PF
I deliberated a whole lot here. Gasol was the highest person left on my board, but I’ve drafted him the past two years and have been burned before, by a frustrating rotation and injuries. And did I really want to go with three big men with my first three picks, after I preach about PGs so much? In the end I decided to trust myself and go with Gasol. All three players so far are big men with very solid percentages and Gasol, like Ming, seems likely to increase his effectiveness and playing time as he enters his prime and will be the featured player on a thinned-out Memphis squad. His foot problems are a concern, but I went with him over Bosh, Joe Johnson and Rashard Lewis.

4th Round (45th overall): Kirk Hinrich, G
I was absolutely thrilled to get Captain Kirk near the end of the fourth round. He was my highest ranked player left and I desperately needed a top flight PG. The next four picks – Boozer, Camby, Redd, Parker – show what a drop-off there was. Kirk’s FG% is rather brutal, but I’m hoping those first three guys could help offset it.

5th Round (52nd overall): Cuttino Mobley, SG
The middle rounds are always the toughest, and my strategy was to not give in to hype and to instead draft players who I felt would be sure-thing, solid contributors all season. Mobley may have been a bit of a reach, but he has a history of playing 40 mpg and he could very well see that on a thin Clippers team. And you know he’ll be launching his share of 3s, as well. I was strongly considering Lamar Odom, but figured I had plenty of boards and could use a gunner.

6th Round (69th overall): Rasheed Wallace, FC
Another steady, unspectacular pick. Rasheed has a solid all-around game and the fact that he qualifies at center means that I don’t have to worry about depending on one of those “who the hell knows?” guys that ended up going in the next few rounds. His percentages are rather weak, and he might have some clashes with Flip Saunders, but his track record shows steady production and good health. I might very well regret not going with Rafer Alston or Donyell Marhsall at this spot.

7th Round (76th overall): Richard Hamilton, SG
The ultimate safe pick. I’m not a huge fan of Rip’s fantasy game, but in the 7th round it’s hard to argue. I often overlook points, and Rip is always a nice source. He’s another great free throw shooter, and even if he doesn’t match his 5 apg of last year, he should be a solid contributor (see a theme developing?) there. He’s another person who you can leave in the lineup and not worry about, and I think my first seven picks, while lacking in flashiness are extremely solid.

8th Round (93rd overall): Mark Jaric, G
Here’s where you can start going for riskier picks. Or, at least that’s what I’m saying in retrospect. I don’t love this pick, at all. I’m a huge fan of Jaric’s potential, but he’s always hurt and depending on him as my #2 PG has disaster written all over it. If he stays healthy, I’m rather confident this pick will be a steal, but that’s very iffy. His high assist rate might also drop since Minnesota runs its offense through KG.

9th Round (100th overall): Josh Childress, GF
On the other hand, I was thrilled to land Childress in the 9th round. He was actually the only player that I’ve hyped up this season that ended up on my team. He was almost a top 50 player in the second half of last season, and can help in just about every category. Tayshaun Prince went three rounds earlier and I think Childress will end up with the better numbers at the end of the year.

10th Round (117th overall): Eddie Jones, GF
BV hates this pick, but I stand by it. If he was able to finish 52nd on the rater last season when he averaged nearly five points less than he had the past few seasons, he looks to have a slight resurgence in Memphis where he will be looked to as one of the main options behind Gasol. He had a horrid preseason, but this is one of those cases where I’ll take the 10 years of stats over the few preseason games. If he turns out to be a total bust, it’s only a 10th rounder.

11th Round (124th overall): Brendan Haywood, C
OK, this was a pure homer pick, I admit. Brendan is my girlfriend’s favorite player and I figured by having him on my team, I just bought myself a good 40-50 extra hours of basketball watching this season, at least. And for a third center, he’s not so bad, and it’s always nice to have a player on your favorite team to root for. It was the 11th round – Juan Dixon, Lorenzen Wright and Charlie Villanueva were the next three picks – I feel fine about this. That said, it came down to him and Mike Dunleavy and if I wasn’t a Maryland grad who was a Wizards fan, we know who I would have picked. I hope this one doesn’t haunt me.

12th Round (141st overall): T.J. Ford, PG
This one really upset BV, who cried shenanigans since I have not spoken well of Ford at all here on FBB. But hey, player value is all relative – in the 12th round, with Hinrich and Jaric as my only two PGs, I feel this is a strong pick. I still think Mo Williams is just as good of a player, at least this season, and Ford is a major injury risk, but I needed the depth.

13th Round (148th overall): Mike Sweetney, PF
With my last pick I decided to go with someone with some decent upside but also someone I wouldn’t mind jettisoning early on. Each year the waiver wire offers a few players who emerge in the first few weeks of the season that turn out to be quite valuable and you have to be ready to pounce on them. With news that Sweetney will be coming off the bench initially, and knowing that Scott Skiles can be downright Sloan/Hubie Brown-ish when it comes to rotations, Sweetney might be packing his bags soon.

So there’s my team. I think that it’s pretty (here comes that word) solid top to bottom. My top four picks are all young and in their primes, and the rest of my squad is a good mix of established vets and young, but not necessarily green, players. I don’t have any one-category studs and instead am relying on a group effort to put me at the top of most categories. I’m admittedly thin at point guard, but you know that I’m always ready to rotate through the flavor of the week at that position.

Thoughts on who has the better squad, myself of BV???

Enjoy the first games of the season tonight. Go Dirk!

The Truth is Out.

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 09:27:35 -0800

Here at FBB headquarters, we do our best to make sure that our readers (hi, Mom!) are as prepared as they could possibly be for their fantasy drafts. And because we did all these rankings, analysis, etc., you’d think that we’d be totally ready for our draft, which happened this past weekend. But were we really ready? Well, that’s for you to judge. So, today, I’m going to go over my team and do a little self-analysis. Then tomorrow, DM will do the same for himself.

So you know, our league is 12 teams, and our positions are PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, Util, Util, Bn, Bn, Bn.

BV’s Draft

1st Round (7th overall): Tim Duncan, F/C.
I was expecting at 7 to get the remains of Duncan/Kobe/T-Mac, but then D. Wade went at 6 and I ended up with both T-Mac and Duncan and I had to make a choice. I ended up with Duncan because of my concerns about McGrady’s legs. Sure, Duncan is a big injury risk, but I couldn’t allow myself to enter the season with my stud player already hurt.

2nd Round (18th overall): Stephon Marbury, PG
After Duncan in the first round, I knew I wanted a PG in the second. My choices here were Marbury, Bibby, Baron Davis, and Stevie Franchise. I went with Marbury because of four numbers: 82, 81, 81, 82. Those are the number of games he’s played in the last four seasons. After getting an injury risk with Duncan, I needed someone I could count of for 80 games as my number 2 man.

3rd Round (31st overall): Jason Richardson, SG
After getting both a C and PG in the first two rounds, the third and fourth rounds were going to be purely best-player-available. Richardson was that, just edging out Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard.

4th Round (42nd overall): Chauncey Billups, PG
At this point I was hoping for one of three forwards to slip to me here: Bosh, Howard, or Richard Jefferson. Didn’t happen. Though I didn’t really want 3 guards in my first four picks, Billups was the best player available, just edging out Andre Iguodala.

5th Round (55th overall): Sam Dalembert, C
Well, this was stupid. I wanted a big man, and I liked Dalembert, but I forgot the golden rule of drafting: Before you make your pick, make sure he’s not hurt. I should have taken Carmelo Anthony here. Now, I’ve got some work to do to make up for this pick.

6th round (66th overall): Antawn Jamison, F
Here, we’re really in the worst part of the draft. Guys that you know are going to have to contribute to your team, but nobody that you really want to depend on. I could have gone a bunch of different directions with this pick, but I took Jamison because A) Other than last year, he’s not much of an injury risk, and B) I needed rebounds after the disastrous pick last round, and he gives you that.

7th round (79th overall): Troy Murphy, PF
This late in the draft, if you can find a double-double guy who will also contribute in three’s, you’ve gotta take him. Between him and J-Rich, I’ve got a lot of faith in the Warriors this year.

8th round (90th overall): Jamaal Magloire, C
At this point, I’m still reeling from my Dalembert pick, and I know that I’m going to need some depth at C. So here’s a BCA (Best Center Available) pick, and I’m happy to have him as a fill-in starter/utility man for Duncan and Dalembert.

9th round (103rd overall): Nenad Krstic, C
See above. Now I’ve got 4 centers that I can feel ok about putting into my starting lineup. That will hopefully be enough.

10th round (114th overall): Ricky Davis, G/F
Call it a hunch, maybe, but this late I want someone I can play at the Utility spot when I have to, but that I can also sit on my bench so I can ride a hot hand. Also, as a G/F, he’s going to give me some roster flexibility.

11th round (127th overall): Charlie Villanueva, F
OK, I know, this is early for Illanueva (come on, that’s an awesome nickname for him and you know it). But there were three guys I was targeting to get in the mid-late rounds: Stromile Swift, Eddie Griffin, and Villanueva. Swift went in the sixth, three picks before I was going to take him. Griffin went in the seventh, which nearly made me fall out of my chair. So I reached a little bit so that I was sure to get one of my three targeted guys.

12th round (138th overall): Antoine Walker, F
Seriously? I mean, Walker can be a kiss of death for a fantasy team, but in the 12th round? This is a guy who could have gone in the 7th or 8th and nobody would have blinked.

13th round (151st overall): Rashad McCants, G
Hey, why not? I mean, the kid can score. But at the same time, I don’t expect him to be on my team for more than a week.

So, for those of you keeping score at home:

PG Stephon Marbury
SG Jason Richardson
G Chauncey Billups
SF Antawn Jamison
PF Antoine Walker
F Troy Murphy
C Tim Duncan
C Jamaal Magloire
Ut Nenad Krstic
Ut Ricky Davis
Bn Samuel Dalembert
Bn Charlie Villanueva
Bn Rashard McCants.

My major concern this year will be my FT%, but if Duncan can get back over the 70% mark, I should be ok. Plus, if Dalembert gets healthy soon, then I should have a glut at C which should help me out in the trade market. Only one guy on my squad played under 66 games last year (Magloire), so that is comforting.

Tomorrow: DM.

Eastern Conference Preview - Atlantic Division

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:22:48 -0800

Boston Celtics

What can i say about the Celts? I'm confused by this team year after year. It's nice to see them do well, but sometimes i have to wonder how they do it? Paul Pierce of course is the only consistent scorer Celtics fans have known for years.

This off season they lost Antoine Walker. You know, when Walker came back to the Celtics last season and played next to Pierce again, it was like the good ol' days, before Walker got it through his thick skull that he had a better chance of winning a championship with the Dallas Mavericks and eventually found himself in the worse position of playing for the bottom feeding Atlanta Hawks before he was traded at the deadline back to the Celtics. Once again Walker has taken off for greener pastures and is banking on Shaquille O'Neal's ability to win games and increase his championship aspirations. Walker has even stated he wouldn't mind coming off the bench in Miami. What? Antoine, say it ain't so... Aww.

Mark Blount disappointed last season after signing a big contract. Why does that happen anyway? The player isn't as hungry anymore? Now he's got enough money to buy all the "big man" dinners he can eat.

Ricky Davis was a legitimate sixth man award candidate last season and he brought his game to a new level, toning down on the head games he usually plays and concentrating on coach Doc Rivers' plan of action.

What i wonder now is who will play point guard for the Celtics? Gary Payton has decided to go off and hang from Shaq's nuts for another year in hopes of winning his much desired championship, and for that reason alone i am putting the official HEX on that Miami Heat. The only way they should win the championship is if they trade Payton to the Hornets before the playoffs. That's right, let "the glove" deal with that bit or reality.

The Celtics are deep at point guard still, very deep, but the skill level is questionable. They have young guards capable of shinning at different points, so it will be the coach's job to figure out who will bring the most to the table. Marcus Banks, Delonte West, Orien Greene and Will Bynum will all be competing for minutes at the point.

Another big question mark? Gerald Green. What will the rookie bring to the floor with him? Before the draft he was touted as the next Tracy McGrady, but he sunk from the projected top 6 pick down to where the Celtics picked him at number 18. The look on his face when he was passed by pick after pick was priceless.

Look for Al Jefferson to step up this year and be the starting power forward. Jefferson was the steal of the draft last season and showed a lot of toughness and his skills should be greatly improved after one season in the league.

My Picks:

Best Player: Paul Pierce
Best Rookie: Gerald Green
Prediction: 2nd (Atlantic), 8th (East)

Philadelphia 76'ers

The Sixers made an impressive push for first place in the Atlantic last season. After starting the year badly, Allen Iverson did his usual and saved the team from mediocrity until his teammates and some trades came to relieve some pressure.

The biggest move last season was the acquisition of Chris Webber, or shadow thereof. The power forward was one of the more dominant players years ago. Although he's shown he can still score points and bring down a bunch of rebounds, his paycheck still reflects the performance of years past and his contract along with Iverson's will eventually choke the 76'ers, so they have to win now! There is no time to waste.

The Sixers were able to re-sign most of the free agents they stood to lose and hopefully will benefit from the resigning of Kyle Korver, the sharpshooter and Samuel Dalembert, who seemed destined to make major money, even though he's just shown spurts of what people assume will be a great defensive game and decent offensive abilities.

I was reading another preview article this morning and the name Jamal Mashburn came up. I had to double check the date of the article. Mashburn has been gone from the league so long, he should have joined the cast of "Lost". It seems there is a possibility of Mashburn actually getting some playing time this season. I don't know, i don't buy it. Until i actually see Mash playing some pre-season games, or just plain suiting up for a shoot around, I'm not going to anticipate anything. However, if the Sixers were to get even 40 games out of a player with that kind of skill, it couldn't hurt, could it?

The guy that excites me the most is another solid pick from last years draft, Andre Iguodala. He doesn't seem to show at the top of the scoring sheet, but that kind of honor is obviously bestowed on Iverson and Webber at this point, but Iguodala does everything right. He's a decent defender, and exciting slasher to the basket and DAMN, he's got some hops, that's for sure. I look forward to the "other" AI getting more involved in the team's offensive schemes and I'm sure he won't disappoint.

My Picks:

Best Player: Allen Iverson
Best Rookie: *
Prediction: 3rd (Atlantic), 9th (East)

New Jersey Nets

Ok, first off, living in Toronto tends to skew your view of the Nets. No doubt the Nets were able to pick Rob Babcock's pocket in picking up Vince Carter. The picks Toronto acquired may or may not pan out and that answer is years in the future.

Jason Kidd is the heart and soul of this team and both Richard Jefferson and Carter will take the lead from Kidd. This is a powerful three headed monster we're looking at. If Kidd can remain injury free this season, there is no doubt the Nets will be contending for the top position in the Atlantic.

Carter and Jefferson have to be regarded as the top offensive duo on the Atlantic and the team isn't too shabby on the defensive end either.

Nenad Krstic became one of my favorite players to watch last season. After trading Aaron Williams to Toronto in the afore mentioned Carter trade, not only did Krstic find more minutes to showcase his skills, but he played well enough to earn more minutes than Jason Collins, who's been starting in New Jersey for years.

The off season has been a weird one for the Nets. The Nets' team doctors have uncovered a heart aliment in Robert Traylor and found what may turn into bad knee tendinitis in Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Not signing Traylor was that painful for the Nets, but I'm sure they will be feeling the loss of a player like Abdur-Rahim, who would have made the starting lineup completely well rounded and potent, might leave some fans in New Jersey wondering what could have been.

The Nets did solidify their point guard position with the signing of Jeff McInnis. McInnis is a decent point guard and may see some time as the shooting guard. The signing will also insure the team won't be left high and dry of something were to happen to Kidd this season.

The Nets' first round pick this year, Antoine Wright, by all accounts should be a solid contributor off the bench, a capable scorer and good shooter.

It's doubtful the teams impending move to Brooklyn will weigh on the players minds, but you can't completely discount something like that.

My Picks:

Best Player: Richard Refferson
Best Rookie: Antoine Wright
Prediction: 1st (Atlantic), 5th (East)

Toronto Raptors

Woah Nelly! Another year in Toronto, another set of Desperate Housewives set of dramatic events. The season hasn't yet begun and the media had a field day with GM Rob Babcock. ESPN simply murdered Babcock's pick of Charlie Villanueva on draft night. I must admit, i was sitting at home ready to bury my logitech mouse through my 21" monitor.

Babcock appeared to have been taken advantage of in the trade of Vince Carter last season, getting 3 players and 2 draft picks. None of the 3 players acquired proved to be starters on the Raptors, in fact, the Raptors had to deal with Eric Williams requesting a trade out of Toronto (which he's recently rescinded) and in a move that angered a lot of fans, the Raptors paid Alonzo Mourning $10 million dollars to simply not show up in Toronto, freeing him up to sign with Miami and back up Shaq.

Babcock was also quoted in the media recently as stating that this year's team WILL NOT win more games than last years team. It's true that the team lost Donyell Marshall, who was a good scorer and solid contributor to the team, but once again, the fans went crazy with "Fire Babcock" chants. It may be the truth, but damn, the truth hurts and it shows Babcock's unprofessionalism.

On the court though, things may not be that bad. Chris Bosh has emerged as a powerful weapon the team should move to make the number one option on offense. Jalen Rose is still a good scorer on any team, and when his head is into it, he can play good defense and change the scope of a game with his post skills. Let's hope he can admit the need of the young players getting some much needed minutes if this team is to move forward anytime soon. Rose has been rumored in trade talk with the LA Lakers, and Rob Babcock has stated there is a 50/50 chance of a trade before the beginning of the season and speculation has it, Rose's contract would be a nice one to get rid of.

Villanueva will be a question mark until the team figures out where he's going to fit on the court with Bosh. What ESPN had right in their diatribe, is that the Raptors drafted a player that plays the same position as Bosh, forcing one of the two players to play out of position. Although Bosh had some success playing center, his game is more tuned to the power forward position. Villanueva has been rumored to play the center position, which is possible, but he's also been rumored to play the small forward position, which would be interesting with his size, but most think his lack of foot speed will get him eaten up in the NBA game speed.

Joey Graham is a physical specimen as many are fond of saying. He's got a great NBA body, good work ethic and appears to be able to do everything needed on the court. I see some of Andre Iguodala's game in Graham and if that's the case, it's not a bad thing at all.

What can i say about the point guard? Rafer Alston was actually one of the best point guards in the East last season, no doubt about it. He could have had his assist numbers rival the best dimers in the league, but he did fall in love with his shot towards the All-Star break and the relationship with coach Sam Mitchell was strained towards the end of the season. If Alston understands the game plan this season and begins picking his spots more carefully, his play can open up the offense and give the young players some room to maneuver. Just gotta keep those emotions in check Rafer!

Oh, one more thing. Rafael Araujo has actually regressed if you believe his performance with the Brazilian national team this summer. The backup center on the team seemed to school him at most practices and his opponents on the court were able to get the best of him for the most part. It's true that "big men" take longer to develop, but this is going to be one of those players we will label as an undeniable bust if he doesn't log significant minutes with the Raptors this season. Not just because he was picked at number 8 in last season's draft, but because he's now 25 years old, which was supposed to be a selling point, "he's already a man and understands his responsibility", but was there a player in the league that looked more lost at times on the court? I watch a lot of basketball and i don't remember one.

My Picks:

Best Player: Chris Bosh
Best Rookie: Joey Graham
Prediction: 5th (Atlantic), 14th (East)

New York Knicks

Oh Boy! Hmmm... The Knicks is the team where talent goes to die, or so it seems. The team consists of high paid under achievers with attitudes to boot.

The best move the Knicks made this off season? No, it wasn't trading for Quentin Richardson, it wasn't signing an immobile center in Jerome James, it wasn't deciding to keep Allan Houston and pay him him incredible salary. Their best move was to sign a coach in Larry Brown that seems to make talent gel, regardless of the talent gathered, and damn, they can use some of that magic.

I will keep my Isaiah Thomas rant short, but damn, this guy knows how to spend money, doesn't he? Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, Stephon Marbury, all players i believe are overpaid and are in New York because Thomas wanted them, he can only use the previous GM as an excuse for so long.

With the bad, comes the good. The Knicks were able to acquire Nate Robinson with the Phoenix suns 21st pick in this years draft and if the pre-season is any indication, Robinson is a steal. There is a video being circulated on the Internet of Robinson one-hoop catching an offensive rebound mid-air and dunking it back over 3 Minnesota Timberwolves summer league participants. Incredible, but how much playing time will Robinson get being a rookie and backing up Marbury?

I'm not comfortable predicting anything with the Knicks. I don't like the way the team is managed but i respect their coach's coaching ability.

The team might be a good position to get younger at the end of this season. Will someone trade some youth for Anfernee Hardaway or Tim Thomas? What do these players have to offer that any contender would want?

My Picks:

Best Player: Stephon Marbury
Best Rookie: Nate Robinson
Prediction: 4th (Atlantic), 12th (East)

Lakers eye Raptors forward?

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 10:15:45 -0800

Don't be surprised if the Lakers focus on Raptors forward Chris Bosh, the best least-known and underappreciated big man in the NBA....

2005 Fantasy Tiers by Position: Power Forwards.

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 08:54:32 -0800

Taken early, a power forward can really help shape your draft. Taking a center-esque PF like Elton Brand in the first couple rounds means you can hold off on a center for a good while. Taking a PF that can step outside and knock down a three like Dirk Nowitzki early means you can wait a bit before taking a SG or SF, and concentrate on the scarcity positions.

Taken late, though, your options drop pretty dramatically. Power forwards don’t go terribly deep, mostly because anybody listed as a F/C is undoubtedly going to be played as a center. Luckily, there’s only one PF spot on your roster. Still, it’s nice to have a couple of options at every position, so try to grab two of these guys:

Tier One:
Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki

These guys should be off the board after four picks – maybe three. Garnett is up there with LeBron for the top player in the game, while Nowitzki might not qualify at center anymore, but still is an incredible value as a 7-category player.

Tier Two:
Elton Brand, Jermaine O’Neal, Chris Bosh.

These are your faux-centers. They block. They rebound. They score. If they qualified at center (as they all once did), they’d have incredible value. But they don’t. Still, with centers being at such a premium, guys who act like centers are pretty useful. It may be the difference between reaching for a guy like Zydraunas Ilgauskas in the 4th and being able to wait for someone like Nenad Krstic in the 7th or 8th.

Tier Three:
Dwight Howard, Rasheed Wallace, Pau Gasol.

Admittedly, Chris Bosh likely belongs in this group. But we here at FBB really like him this year. Also, Rasheed Wallace probably belongs with the Centers, but seriously, he’s not a center. We had to take a stand. Anyhow, these guys all could end up with top-25 value, but could also end up somewhere in the 40’s on the player rater at the end of the year. You can’t be terribly excited about any of them, but at some point they do become the best pick.

Tier Four:
Carlos Boozer, Kenyon Martin, Chris Webber, Zach Randolph

I’m not a huge fan of any of these guys. All of them are injury risks, all of them have question marks on the court, and a two of them (Randolph and Boozer) are really 3-category guys, and that’s it. Still, if they slip late enough and you can grab any of these guys in the 5th or 6th round, they could be great value.

Tier Five:
Antawn Jamison, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Tyson Chandler.

These are some small tiers, huh? But that’s just because this position is so thin and varied. Here are the guys that you know you can have on your team and they’ll produce as long as they stay healthy. They might not produce a ton, but they’ll at least have marginal value.

Tier Six:
Donyell Marshall, Drew Gooden, Al Jefferson, Kurt Thomas, Darius Songaila, Troy Murphy, PJ Brown.

This tier are guys who really have an outside chance of being really valuable, but could just as easily be terrible, but JUST good enough that you can’t drop them. Every position has this tier – with Small Forwards it was the third tier. Here, it’s the sixth. DM is a huge fan of Donyell Marshall and he wants him to be much higher, but too bad! I think Troy Murphy could just as easily be a Tier 4 or 5 player.

Tier Seven:
Nick Collison, Eddie Griffin, Joe Smith, Kwame Brown, Vladimir Radmanovic, Udonis Haslem.

This tier could really be broken into high-risk high-reward guys (Kwame, Griffin) and low-but-solid value (Radmanovic, Smith). But we’re tired of all these three-person tiers. Given injuries, playing time, etc., all of these guys might end up with mid-round value, but some things are going to have to fall into place before that happens. Still, they’re all worth late-round flyers.

Tomorrow, we’ll wrap up positional tiers, with Centers.

Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft – Round Five

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 09:01:53 -0800

(For rounds one, two and three, just scroll down)

Players already on the team are in parentheses.

Team A: Jamaal Magloire (J. Terry, R. Allen, P. Stojakovic, K. Garnett)
Team B: Rasheed Wallace (E. Okafor, R. Artest, S. O’Neal, L. James)
Team C: Corey Maggette (A. Iguodala, B. Davis, Y. Ming, D. Nowitzki)
Team D: Zack Randolph (M. Camby, C. Bosh, S. Marbury, S. Marion)
Team E: Cuttino Mobley (A. Miller, B. Wallace, J. O’Neal, T. McGrady)
Team F: Carlos Boozer (R. Jefferson, M. Ginobili, M. Bibby, A. Stoudamire)
Team G: Kenyon Martin (K. Hinrich, S. Francis, E. Brand, K. Bryant)
Team H: Rafer Alston (M. Redd, D. Howard, S. Nash, T. Duncan)
Team I: Rip Hamilton (R. Lewis, J. Johnson, J. Kidd, A. Kirilenko)
Team J: Tyson Chandler (Z. Ilgauskas, C. Billups, V. Carter, D. Wade)
Team K: Samuel Dalembert (L. Hughes, P. Gasol, P. Pierce, A. Iverson)
Team L: Bobby Simmons (J. Richardson, L. Odom, B. Miller , G. Arenas)

In the fifth round, for the first time since round two, we run into 12 players who are all in the same tier in our overall rankings (we’ll get to our overall rankings at some point in early October). This is the last round of the draft where you are drafting a player who will unquestionably be on a roster all year long. Starting in the sixth round, you’ll hear some names that at least have a chance of ending up on the waiver wires. But not here. Everyone here should be getting at least 30 mpg, and will make real contributions to your team.

Because everyone here was in a similar tier, the selections this round really took into account team needs more than player ability. If after five rounds, you’re lacking at either of the scarcity positions, you could be in serious trouble. And as we see here, only 2 teams are left without a center (Teams G and I). Only one has no PG, but they do have LeBron James, who will contribute to assists like a PG would. Put yourself in the position of the two teams with no center as yet. Particularly in leagues like this one where teams are required to start two centers, you’re going to have to either pass up greater talent to select a center in the next few rounds or stick a couple of bums in the starting lineup every day. Neither option is particularly appealing. This is where the “Best Player Available” strategy can handcuff you.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at Round 6, the last round we did for this mock draft. But before we do, anyone have any major disagreements with selections we’ve made?

Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft – Round Four

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 09:43:18 -0800

(For rounds one, two and three, just scroll down)

Players already on the team are in parentheses.

Team L: Jason Richardson (Lamar Odom, Gilbert Arenas, Brad Miller)
Team K: Larry Hughes (Pau Gasol, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce)
Team J: Zydraunas Ilgauskas (Chauncey Billups, Dwayne Wade, Vince Carter)
Team I: Rashard Lewis (Joe Johnson, Andrei Kirilenko, Jason Kidd)
Team H: Michael Redd (Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash)
Team G: Kirk Hinrich (Steve Francis, Kobe Bryant, Elton Brand)
Team F: Richard Jefferson (Manu Ginobili, Amare Soudamire, Mike Bibby)
Team E: Andre Miller (Ben Wallace, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O’Neal)
Team D: Marcus Camby (Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury)
Team C: Andre Iguodala (Baron Davis, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming)
Team B: Emeka Okafor (Ron Artest, Lebron James, Shaquille O’Neal)
Team A: Jason Terry (Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Peja Stojakovic)

In round four of our mock draft, we’re seeing basically an extension of round three. With only about one round left of “solid” players (more on that later in the week), your goal in the fourth has to be to start setting yourself up for the later rounds. You want to be worried about team needs, but at the same time, you want to be able to take the best player available (BPA). There’s nothing worse than really stretching for a guy this early just because your team is really lacking in a category so far. So what you’ll see happening in our mock draft is that teams are settling for someone who at least comes close to qualifying as a team need and a BPA.

The fourth round, perhaps more than any other, is where your draft preparation will really come into play. If you’ve ranked players about 50 or 60 deep, it will make your fourth round much earlier. All you have to do is take your draft sheet, identify the 4 or 5 highest-ranked players, and then choose the one among those who best serves your needs. Take, for example, Team H. The top available players there (according to our lists) were Redd, Hinrich, Jefferson, and Miller. We would have those guys ranked with Jefferson first, then Hinrich, followed by Redd and Miller. However, we felt like this team needed some scoring punch, as it’s possible that neither Dwight Howard nor Steve Nash will put up 16 ppg this year. The highest scoring player among our BPA’s was Michael Redd, so he was the choice there, despite the fact that we had ranked Jefferson and Hinrich ahead of him.

So, what teams do you think look the best so far?

Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft – Round Three

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 09:06:30 -0800

(For rounds one and two, check the previous post)

Players already on the team are in parentheses.

Team A: Ray Allen (Kevin Garnett, Peja Stojakovic)
Team B: Ron Artest (Lebron James, Shaquille O’Neal)
Team C: Baron Davis (Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming)
Team D: Chris Bosh (Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury)
Team E: Ben Wallace (Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O’Neal)
Team F: Manu Ginobili (Amare Soudamire, Mike Bibby)
Team G: Steve Francis (Kobe Bryant, Elton Brand)
Team H: Dwight Howard (Tim Duncan, Steve Nash)
Team I: Joe Johnson (Andrei Kirilenko, Jason Kidd)
Team J: Chauncey Billups (Dwayne Wade, Vince Carter)
Team K: Pau Gasol (Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce)
Team L: Lamar Odom (Gilbert Arenas, Brad Miller)

Round three of our mock draft is arguably the most important round. The first two rounds have put the top talent on your team. The third and fourth rounds will dictate how the rest of your draft will go. A team that is weak in a category after two rounds might be a coincidence. A team that is still weak in those categories after three rounds is a problem. Take, for example, the case of team J, who after three rounds has maybe 1.5 blocks per game to his name. He will need to reach for size at some point in the draft – maybe not in round four, but in the middle rounds he will certainly have to take someone whose strength is blocks, perhaps well before he should be drafted. You don’t want to be put in the position of having to consider drafting Adonal Foyle or Theo Ratliff. Making the right moves here will save you from that fate.

The other important thing to note is that in the third round, we see the end of the third tier of players. DM and I agreed that this drop happens right around where Steve Francis was drafted in our mock. The drop from him to Dwight Howard is pretty significant. While you can make arguments that maybe Joe Johnson or Lamar Odom belong in that third tier, everyone taken after Francis at least makes you hesitate before you pick them.

So after three rounds, which teams look best? I think Team A looks pretty strong, with three players who could have been first round picks last year, as well as the best overall player in the game. Team B certainly has a ton of upside, but after LeBron he took two major question marks. Teams picking in the second half of the first round certainly appear a lot weaker than the teams with earlier picks. The teams with the earlier picks not only got their pick of the top tiers, but also got two of the third tier players. This might even out over the next couple of rounds – we’ll see later this week. Tomorrow, the fourth round.