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Day 25 of 170: What Sweet Lou Can Do For You

Patrick — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:38:27 +0000

Line of the Night: Louis Williams (1.36). Williams is not your prototypical PG, but the dude can score and score well. Just look at last night’s game against the Grizzlies: 31 points on 12-16 shooting, 5 assists, 4 threes and 6 steals. Williams led the team in scoring, while Andre Iguodala led the team in assists with 9. Like Mo Williams, from a fantasy perspective, Sweet Lou is more of a shooting guard with above average assists than anything, but as long as you know what you’re getting from him, there’s nothing wrong with what he can give you.

Honorable Mentions: Lebron James (1.26) had a 40/9/7 and was 13-14 from the line as the Cavs rolled the Pacers; 33 points and 10 boards for Rudy Gay (1.1), who at least early in the season appears to have bounced back from his disappointing 2008-09 one; and Monta Ellis (1.04) played every single second of the Warriors/Blazers game (along with Anthony Morrow) and managed to use his time wisely with 34 points, 8 assists and 6 steals.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: James Harden (0.96). A game after connecting for a career-high 24 points off the bench for the Thunder, Harden outdid himself by scoring a new career high 25 points on 8-11 shooting and 4-6 from three. Harden is only owned in 27% of leagues right now, so he’s more than likely available in yours. BUT, all the signs point to this being a fluky run for Harden. Both games were blowouts in which Harden got some extra run, he shot 8-11 in this game (compared to the 40% he’s shooting on the season), and he still only averaged about 28 minutes in these two games. I’m not buying just yet.

Anthony Morrow (0.85) continues to tease people by alternating great fantasy games with horrible ones. In yesterday’s win over the Blazers, Morrow had 23 points and 6 boards in 48 minutes; and a 27 points explosion for Rasual Butler (0.72) as he led the team in scoring off the bench against Denver. Unfortunately, his season-to-date performance has been the complete opposite of what he did in this game.

The Biggest Loser: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (-0.62). Maybe you were like me and plugged Ilgauskas into your lineup after Shaq got hurt. Oh what a bad move that was. Big Z stumbled his way to a 1-12 shooting night scoring 4 points in 29 minutes on the court.

All Eyez on Me: Some soon-to-be classics today for sure:

New York (2-9) at New Jersey (0-12) – Devin Harris is going to return for this game. The Nets needs him about as much as the Grizzlies DIDN’T need Allen Iverson, which is to say a whole lot. And get those record books ready. The NBA record for losses to start the season is 17.

Atlanta (11-2) at New Orleans (5-8) – How good is Atlanta? Unfortunately, this game won’t tell us much. Although the Hornets have won two straight, expect the Hawks to roll in this one. When they met a week ago, every Hawks starter with the exception of Marvin Williams had a very good game.

Minnesota (1-11) at Portland (9-5) – Canis Hoopus gives us a little insight on what is going on in the heads of the average Wolves fan right now. The answer is the Twins, of course. I’m not sure how much longer the Jonny Flynn experiment is going to go, but the team’s best PG is clearly Ramon Sessions.

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Day 24 of 170: Peja Lives

Patrick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:53:42 +0000

Line of the Night: Peja Stojakovic (0.88). Left for dead through the first two weeks of the season, the Chris Paul injury left the Hornets in desperate need of someone with even a minimal ability to create some offense. Well, as long as his shot is falling, Peja is the man for that job. In a 110-103 win over the Suns, Peja was stroking it hard and he finished the game with 7 threes, scoring 25 points and adding 13 rebounds. As long as Paul remains out, the Hornets are going to be Peja’s team. And if that doesn’t scare you Hornets’ fans, you really might want to get yourself evaluated.

Honorable Mentions: Straight off his dramatic CSI appearance, Pau Gasol (0.85) returned for the Lakers yesterday and jumped right into mid-season form with 24 points and 13 boards (Lamar Odom (-0.09) had an 11 and 8 in 26 minutes off the bench and – surprise, surprise – looks to be the guy hurt the most from Gasol’s return); Andrei Kirilenko (0.69) continues his walk down rejuvenation lane with 13 points, 8 boards and 3 steals in 33 minutes off the bench for the Jazz.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Jared Dudley (0.87). This much I know. There were not a lot in the way of great waiver wire performances in last night’s three games. In fact, Dudley’s 17 points off 5-6 shooting from three was just about the only one. The 27 minutes and the 5 threes were both on the high end of Dudley’s year-to-date performance and he’s a little too inconsistent to rely on in the majority of leagues out there.

The Biggest Loser: I’m not a Bulls fan or own him in any leagues, and yet Luol Deng (-0.44) still frustrates the hell out of me. I’d rather just move on.

At first glance, David West’s (-0.16) line looks horrible, but he sort of salvaged his 2-11 shooting night with 5 assists and a steal. At least that’s what you can tell yourself if you own the guy.

All Eyez on Me:

Cleveland (8-4) at Indiana (5-4) – With Shaq likely to miss the rest of the week with a shoulder injury, Zydrunas Ilgauskas becomes a viable short-term play. LeBron tweaked his wrist on a dunk in the Cavs last game, but should be ready to play tonight.

Orlando (9-3) at Boston (9-3) – Eastern conference finals preview? Maybe, although the Magic just lost PG Jameer Nelson for the next 4-6 weeks after he got surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. If you’re in need of a non-scoring PG, Jason Williams is worth an add in his absence for as long as the veteran can stay healthy.

The Golden Ticket: Portland (9-4) at Golden State (3-8) – The Warriors are currently rolling 8 deep thanks to all their current injuries, and yet Don Nelson is still finding a way not to play Anthony Randolph (24 minutes in the Warriors’ last game). Instead, Vlad Rad got the start and a good 28 minutes.

***

What Are People Talking About?

Day 23 of 170: Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

Patrick — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:45:55 +0000

Some technical difficulties for GMTR over the past couple of days (more on that later), but we’ve busted through it like LeBron on a fast break. Here is the daily write-up for yesterday (Nov 19th). Today’s write-up coming shortly.

Line of the Night: Elton Brand (1.32). As Erik more delicately said on Points in the Paint, it’s put up or shut up time for Brand now that Marreese Speights is out for the next two months with a torn MCL. Well, it looks like the old man isn’t ready to shut up quite yet, as Brand played a season high 42 minutes and finished with 19 points, 11 boards and 6 blocks against the Bobcats. It’s never the greatest sign going forward when a guy’s fantasy performance is driven by blocks (see the mediocre lines Chris Andersen is putting up this year for example), but I’m guessing Brand owners will take whatever they can get from the big guy right now.

Honorable Mentions: Larry Hughes (1.29) was going to be my waiver wire guy of the night, but then I saw he is owned in about two-thirds of leagues. Well, all you Larry Hughes owners were rewarded with an almost-triple-double (22/10/7) including 3 threes and 3 steals. But keep watch on Nate Robinson, who has returned from his injury but has only seen limited minutes in his two games back; Al Jefferson (1.13) returned from a two game absence to put up a solid 20 and 10 double-double on 9-11 shooting; Joe Johnson (1.07) continues his scoring assault with 30 points while going 5-11 from three; Dirk Nowitzki (1.07) just won’t quit. With Josh Howard, Erick Dampier, and Shawn Marion out with various injuries, the Mavs needed every single one of his 41 points and 12 boards to pull out a win over the Spurs in overtime; and Lebron James (1.05) had a ho-hum 34 and 9 in a loss to the Wizards. His 6 turnovers

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: James Harden (1.02). A career high 24 points (and 6-7 from three) for Harden thanks to a career high 31 minutes on the court. Both the minutes and the points can be attributed to the Thunder getting blown out by the Magic. There was a lot of rest for the Thunder starters in this one.

Surprisingly, Chris Douglas-Roberts (0.85) is only owned in 47% of leagues, although probably 0% of the leagues of people who read GMTR. His 31 points and 10 rebounds led New Jersey in both categories. If he’s available in your league, grab him and Terrence Williams for as long as Courtney Lee remains out.

Dahntay Jones (0.83) – 25 points and 6 boards – has been putting up consistent numbers in Troy Murphy’s absence, although Murph is expected back any day now (sure…); and Carlos Delfino (0.79) who’s game has been all over the place this season for the Bucks, got big minutes because Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is injured. Delfino put up 21 points and was 4-8 from three against the Nets.

Rust? What Rust? In his first game back after missing the Wizards first 9 games with a shoulder injury, Antawn Jamison (0.83) came ready to play, scoring 31 points on 12-22 shooting, adding 10 boards and a couple threes. Let me give you some expert advice: you probably want to get him back in your lineup for the Wizards next game.

The Biggest Loser: With the absolute lowest game score of the night, Kevin Durant (-0.75) was public enemy number one in the Thunders’ smackdown at the hands of the Magic. Durant was 4-12 from the floor, finishing with 12 points and 5 turnovers in 26 minutes.

Quiz Time: Is there anyone in the NBA doing less with more than Trenton Hassell (-0.52) right now?

All Eyez on Me: Three games tonight.

Phoenix (10-2) at New Orleans (4-8) – Darren Collison continues to start at point for the injured Chris Paul. But is it a punishable offense if I mention that Devin Brown is actually the player to pick up while CP3 is out?

Utah (5-6) at San Antonio (4-5) – Manu Ginobili is going to be out in this one with a strained groin. Unfortunately for Manu owners everywhere, Michael Finley will get most of his minutes.

Chicago (6-4) at Los Angeles Lakers (8-3) – Pau Gasol is finally expected to make his season debut in this one. And that sound is millions of Lamar Odom owners frantically offering him up in various trade scenarios.

***

What Are People Talking About?

Day 22 of 170: His Name is Nene Hilario

Nels — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:04:02 +0000

Line of the Night: Nene Hilario (1.27) still has a first and last name around these parts. If he could turn out 4 steals and 4 blocks per game for a whole season, though, we’d call him whatever he wanted. He also had 20 and 10 with 61% from the floor and 80% from the line – an extraordinary feat for Mr. Hilario.

Honorable Mentions: LeBron – who needs only one name – (1.07) missed out on his 4th LotN of the season, but helped his owners nevertheless with: 31, 5, and 12, plus a steal and 2 blocks. KobeBrook Lopez (0.87) might not be going by two names for long if he keeps up with 26 point, 16 rebound performances. (In case you’re wondering, my qualification for going by one name is: If you’re not on the Bulls and my wife would recognize you by your single name. LeBron and Kobe both qualify, partly because they have unique names, but also because, who else would you be referring to? See also: Jordan)

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Will Bynum (0.70) did well by the owners in the 35% of leagues in which he’s owned. His 24 points and 6 assists will probably help him to up that number.

JJ Hickson (0.49) also deserves mention since he’s still only owned in 14% of leagues.

The Biggest Loser: TJ Ford (-0.54) was on the court for 32 minutes last night, and did manage to put up some numbers with 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. To get his 7 points, though, he took 10 shots, making only 2 of them, and made only 3 of his 6 free throws. Those are some numbers that will hurt you for sure.

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Day 21 of 170: Capt Jack Sails Away

Patrick — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:48:30 +0000

Line of the Night: Dirk Nowitzki (1.12) may not make an exciting first round pick on draft day, but Dirk owners have got to be excited with what he’s doing so far this year. In an overtime win against the Bucks, Dirk’s latest line included 32 points with 11 boards and a couple steals. After 11 games, his stats are up across the board over last year and he’s partying like its 2005. If Josh Howard ever returns Dirk’s stats could see a drop back to 2008-09 levels, but for now just ride him like a German donkey.

Honorable Mentions: It’s an all-Hawks love affair – Josh Smith (0.76) cruised to another double-double with 20 points and 16 boards in an overtime win against the Blazers; Al Horford (0.75) had a double-double himself with 15 and 10 off 7-10 shooting; and Joe Johnson (0.68) used the overtime to score 35 points and drop 9 assists.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Luke Ridnour (0.83) saw a season high 34 minutes off the bench in the Bucks/Mavs overtime game, scoring 17 points with 6 assists and 4 steals. Ridnour could continue to see increased minutes off the bench while Michael Redd is out, but I’d like to see him do it in a non-overtime game before recommending adding him.

A few days after I suggested dropping Rudy Fernandez (0.7), he hits 4 threes against the Hawks on his way to 19 points in 32 minutes off the bench. I’m still not completely sold on what Fernandez has been doing this year and like Ridnour, I’ll have to see a few more good non-overtime performances from him before I’m buying.

Trade of the Night: It was only a matter of time before the Warriors sent Stephen Jackson packing, but no one really expected his destination to be Charlotte. But that’s where Jackson and Acie Law are headed after being traded for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. In his first game with the Bobcats, Jackson started at SG and scored 13 points on 4-14 shooting with 9 boards and a couple steals. Jackson got 45 minutes on the court compared to 13 for the now completely expendable D.J. Augustin.

The Biggest Loser: Jamal Crawford (-0.62) was the yin to Joe Johnson’s yang, shooting 2-10 on the night and finishing with 6 points, 0 rebounds and 3 turnovers.

Also, I wanted to let everyone know that my ass physically hurts after drafting Marvin Williams (-0.16) in about 4 leagues this season. Williams continued his assault on my sensibilities with 4 points on 2-6 shooting. I’m a fairly patient man when it comes to fantasy, but even I’m getting ready to drop Williams.

The good news is that Rashard Lewis (-0.54) is back from his 10 game suspension. The bad news was a 4-15 shooting night (0-6 from three) to finish with 10 points. Still, the minutes are already there for Lewis and you should let him shoot off the rust in your lineup.

All Eyez on Me:

Golden State (3-6) at Cleveland (7-3) – not only do we get a LeBron vs. Golden State matchup, we get to see how new Warriors Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic fit in with the team. Shaq is doubtful for this game, meaning all you Ilgauskas fans should get him in your lineup asap.

Chicago (5-4) at Sacramento (5-4) – Wait a second, Sacramento has a winning record? After losing Kevin Martin? A big reason why is Jason Thompson, who is getting more minutes than last year and is one of the league’s best rebounders. Rookie Tyreke Evans has also been coming on strong, averaging 24 points a game during the King’s current 4 game winning streak.

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Day 20 of 170: Chris Paul, LeBron James, and now Kevin Durant

Nels — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:14:58 +0000

Those are in fact Thunder Dancers in honor of our Line of the Night player, but you might want to click to get a closer look.

Line of the Night: Kevin Durant (0.96) joins Chris Paul and LeBron James as the third player to get a second Line of the Night for 2009-10. Durant made it happen with 40 points on 56% shooting with 2 threes, adding 8 rebounds, a steal and a block.

Honorable Mentions: Channing Frye (0.87) bounced back to his run of Ridiculousity with 6 three-pointers. At least his game log at this point provides some modicum of proof that his season-starting run was a fluke. Andrew Bynum (0.85) had 21 points, 11 boards, and 5 blocks. He’s at #13 on the Player Rater while Amar’e is hanging out around #113. Changing of the guard anyone?

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Right after Andrew Bynum was his brother from another mother Will Bynum (0.77). Li’l Bynum is only owned in 15% owned of Yahoo leagues, but last night he put up 27 points on 68% shooting, and had 2 steals.

The Biggest Loser: Ben Gordon (-1.16) made Bulls fans feel good last night by making a single one of his 16 shots in 41 minutes of play. He was also 3-6 from the line and turned the ball over 4 times. Only a couple more of those and he’ll be right down with John Salmons.

All Eyez On Me: Atlanta (8-2) hosts Portland (8-3) in a battle that I would not have expected to be between two division leaders, but I guess we’re still only 20 days into the season.

The Golden Ticket: None of the superfast teams are playing today, so instead I’ll make up for my Faux Pas of not giving LeBron his Friday Tiny Dancer last week.

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Day 19 of 170: Just Give Brandon Jennings the ROY Already

Patrick — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:20:32 +0000

Line of the Night: Brandon Jennings (1.42). One of my rules to live by – if a rookie point guard drops 55 points in any one game, I am giving him the LotN no matter what anyone else does on the court. Jennings, who has already surpassed just about everyone’s expectations to start the year, took things to another stratosphere against (you guessed it) the Golden State Warriors. Jennings was 21-34 from the floor and 7-8 from three to finish with 55 points, 5 boards and 5 assists. And the window of opportunity to trade for Jennings if you didn’t own him already has just slammed shut.

Honorable Mentions: Indiana handed Boston their second loss in a row and Danny Granger (1.59) was the main reason why. The Celtics had no one who could stop him and the result was 29 points, 6 rebounds, 6 threes and 3 steals for Granger in the 113-104 win; Dwyane Wade (1.19) “only” had 22 points, but added 6 steals and one three with 0.1 seconds left to stick a dagger through the hearts of the winless Nets; and Josh Smith (0.99) helped the Hawks roll the Hornets with 17 points and 17 boards.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Since Corey Maggette (0.94) is currently owned in 57% of leagues, I guess it has to be Earl Watson (0.64), who is owned in a much less impressive 6% of leagues. Watson – who finished with 12 points and 7 assists – started at point for Indiana because TJ Ford was having back spasms before the game. With Ford currently day-to-day, Watson is a risky add who could get pushed back to the bench at any time. I’d stay away.

The return of Tony Parker pushed George Hill (0.49) back to the bench. But Hill still got a good 31 minutes on the court for the Spurs and scored 18 points with 3 steals. You could do worse if you’re in a deep league; and Ryan Hollins (0.41) has been starting in place of Al Jefferson. He finished with 15 points and 8 boards in 30 minutes against the Grizzlies.

The Biggest Loser: Other than Kwame Brown (-0.65)? Well, Kelenna Azubuike (-0.54) got injured and left the Warriors game after 3 minutes. Unfortunately, that still counts as a game in the world of fantasy. And Jonny Flynn (-0.54) had another 6 turnovers and the 5-14 shooting didn’t help much either.

All Eyez on Me: Four games tonight, including:

Houston (5-4) at Los Angeles Lakers (7-2) – Who’s roster would you want if you were a general manager – the 5-4 Rockets or the 0-10 Nets? And let’s see if Shane Battier can follow up his 23 point explosion with anything resembling offense in this one. My guess is no. Pau Gasol may or may not be back for this game, the Lakers aren’t really saying.

Los Angeles Clippers (3-7) at Oklahoma City (5-4) – A sign that Baron Davis is a little rejuvenated this season – he’s actually dunking the ball again. Hey, Clippers fans will take what they can get. Expect Chris Kaman to have a huge game in this one against the undersized OKC lineup.

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Interview with a Monster

Patrick — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:13:43 +0000

Doneycat, the mad genius behind the fantasy basketball blog Tales of 9 Cats, recently and figuratively sat down with Ken Slight for an interview. Who is Ken? He’s the genius behind every fantasy basketball owner’s go-to website, Basketball Monster.

It’s a highly recommended read if you are a frequent visitor of Basketball Monster to see how it all started, the process, and what to expect from Basketball Monster (not to mention his other sites) in the future.

What Are People Talking About?

Day 18 of 170: Chris Paul Goes Down

Patrick — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:09:24 +0000

Line of the Night: Most of the time when a guy gets so much fantasy hype going into the season, they end up disappointing in a big way (see Randolph, Anthony). Not Trevor Ariza (1.87). He’s done exactly what everyone hoped he would be able to do with the Rockets and more so far this year. His latest line included 28 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals against Sactown. Even the 4-12 from behind the arc works in trawling for fish kind of way.

Ariza has a lot to smile about

Honorable Mentions: Jason Thompson (0.97) continues to be one of the only bright spots for the Kings. He had 27 points, 11 boards and a couple blocks against the Rockets; and you don’t make Dirk Nowitzki (0.95) angry. You just don’t. Dirk scored 15 of his 20 points in the third quarter of the Mavs/Wolves game after arguing with Ryan Hollins about his over frenetic elbows. Dirk also added 11 boards and 3 blocks (overall, not in the third quarter).

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Give it up for Shane Battier (1.22) and his 23 points. In no way am I recommending that you pick up Batter, especially since his 8-11 shooting and 4-6 from three won’t be repeated anytime soon. In fact Battier averaged less than 6 shots (shots, not actual baskets) in the 3 games leading up to this one.

The Knicks/Warriors game produced some nice fantasy lines, but anyone put money down on CJ Watson’s (0.98) line being the best in the game? Watson got a season high 27 minutes off the bench for the Warriors and hit 7 of his 8 shots to finish with 19 points. He added a couple steals, a block and two threes. Don’t bank on this happening again anytime soon (remember, it came against the Knicks) and don’t run out to pick him up off free agency.

Injury of the Night: Chris Paul (0.14) had to be carried off the court in the second half of the Hornets/Blazers matchup. Word is that he sprained his left ankle and will miss the next 1-2 weeks. In the meantime, grab rookie PG Darren Collison (0.44) if you’re really in need of a short-term fix. Rookie SG Marcus Thornton (0.53) might also see some additional playing time.

The Biggest Loser: Since there were no horrific, face-melting performances (ok, Brook Lopez (-0.37) got schooled by Dwight Howard), how about a list of guys that should no longer be on anyone’s team:

Rudy Fernandez (-0.71) was a small sleeper going into the year when we thought he actually might get minutes. Drop him; I was guilty of drafting Ramon Sessions (-0.52) in at least 1 league. Drop him; Julian Wright (-0.45) has been an absolute disaster to the point where the former starter got 1 minute on the court in yesterday’s game. Should already be dropped; You really didn’t think Darko Milicic (-0.45) was going to turn it around in his 28th season in the league, did you? Drop him; Peja Stojakovic (-0.38) has been so bad even his unborn grandchildren are missing three pointers. Drop him.

All Eyez on Me: A full slate of games today, including:

New Jersey (0-9) at Miami (6-2) – NJ looks for their first win of the year against the mighty D-Wade. But who cares about wins, I just want Brook Lopez to bounce back from his 4-point 5-board debacle against Dwight Howard on Friday. Chris Douglas-Roberts returned for the injury plagued Nets yesterday after missing 3 games with the swine flu, while Devin Harris sounds about 5-7 days away from returning.

New Orleans (3-7) at Atlanta (7-2) – The Paul-less Hornets travel to Atlanta for a beating. This should be a very nice fantasy game for all the Hawks involved as long as they can come down from the high of beating the Celtics.

Utah (4-5) at Cleveland (6-3) – Deron Williams left the team to deal with a family emergency and will likely miss this game. That means PG duties will fall on rookie Eric Maynor again, who had 11 assists in the Jazz previous game against the Sixers. I am going to guess that the Cavs will provide a tougher challenge for Maynor.

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Buy or Sell? Guys off to a Slow Start

Patrick — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:03:37 +0000

In Part 1 of this post, we looked at the players who started off the season hot – whether it be a shirtless Danilo Gallinari or Channing Frye dropping threes – and predicted if we thought their fast start was for real or if you should sell high on a player who was playing above his head.

In this post, we’ll look at the flip side of that equation – the players who were drafted high and are now underperforming what was expected from them through this point in the season. Like in the last post, Nels, Erik and I went through the list of underperformers (basically, guys who were drafted in the top 120 of most drafts and are now significantly below their draft position based on the GMTR rankings) and gave them a BUY, HOLD, or SELL using the following guidelines:

BUY – The player is much better than he’s shown so far this year. Time to trade for him or pick him up off free agency while his value is at its lowest.

HOLD – I’d keep him if I owned him, but it isn’t worth the risk to go out and trade for a guy who might be in for a bad year.

SELL – While the guy might not be quite as bad he’s shown so far, it is time to cut him loose while he still has some value left.

So here are the guys who have been killing fantasy owners around the world after the first three weeks of the season (with their current rank on the GMTR player rater in parenthesis).

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Nate Robinson (277)

Nels – BUY
Erik – BUY
Patrick – BUY

Don’t forget: Knicks = Fantasy Magic as long as D’Antoni is around. He had 17 and 6 the game before he sprained his ankle. -Nels

The Knicks have consistently done everything possible to minimize Robinson’s role on the team, which means that the rejuvenation of Larry Hughes and very recent emergence of rookie Toney Douglas is a bad sign for Robinson. Still, considering that he has probably been dropped in a lot of leagues, you’ve got to like the price you can get him for. -Patrick

Nate Robinson is the equivalent of an extra value meal at this point in the season.

Mike Conley (184)

Nels – SELL
Erik – HOLD
Patrick – SELL

Sorry, I lost faith in him a long time ago. Sure, AI is gone now, but the Grizz have some players who are actually pretty decent, so there’s not a need for him to do much more than he’s doing now. -Nels

Even without A.I. he has been erratic at best. Wait. -Erik

Conley only played 17 minutes in the Grizzlies last game before getting benched in place of Marcus Williams. Iverson or no Iverson, Conley just isn’t that good. He did heat up last season around February, but do you really want to wait for him to maybe put it all together again at the end of the season? There are much better PGs in the league to target for a trade. Like all of them.

Andre Miller (169)

Nels – HOLD
Erik – SELL
Patrick – HOLD

He’s shooting poorly for him and will probably improve as he gets used to playing with a team that has more than one other All Star on it. -Nels

He won’t be the Andre Miller of Philly… -Erik

Well, he’s starting now, so that’s good. But his minutes are not going to surpass about 30 a game (6 less than last year) meaning his fantasy-related stats are in for a decline across the board.

Thaddeus Young (159)

Nels – HOLD
Erik – HOLD
Patrick – BUY

I just can’t bring myself to believe that Thad is going to continue his regression for the whole season… -Nels

Wait and see. -Erik

Ok, maybe he’s not quite ready to explode this year, but it simply looks like a case of Young not having his shot to begin the season. The 42% from the floor 19% from three is going to improve, and as a result, so will his scoring. -Patrick

Paul Millsap (151)

Nels – BUY
Erik – HOLD
Patrick – HOLD

Everyone knows we’re just waiting for Boozer to get shipped out before Millsap can get back to doing what he did last season. Don’t overpay, though, cause if that somehow doesn’t happen, Millsap is in a very difficult position. -Nels

I still think Boozer will be traded. -Erik

As a Millsap owner myself, I attest to the fact that no one is buying Millsap at the moment. It’d be great if Boozer got moved, but the Jazz are a much better team with him on the court, so personally I don’t think the outlook is good for Millsap this season. -Patrick

Caron Butler (138)

Nels – HOLD
Erik – SELL
Patrick – BUY

He’s only got 4 assists in 7 games. That can’t be for real. And he’s only shooting 39%. I wouldn’t take a risk in trading for him, but don’t try to sell him right now because you won’t get what he should end up being worth at the end of the season. -Nels

Stage one of several missed games complete. Stand by for more. -Erik

We expected that the return of Arenas might negatively affect Butler’s fantasy value, but damn it’s been ridiculous so far this season. The good news is that Butler has looked a little more like himself in the Wizards last 3 games, including a total of 6 steals over that time. The bad news is that his assists are way down and will likely stay that way because the Wizards have done away with the Princeton offense. -Patrick

Derrick Rose (131)

Nels – BUY
Erik – BUY
Patrick – BUY

He’s still adjusting to life without Ben Gordon, and life with John Salmon’s shooting slump. He’ll definitely end up higher than 131. -Nels

I think it’s just been a slow start, but he should get his fantasy game in order in due time. Perhaps, not to many reachers’ expectations, but definitely a bit better than his current performances. -Erik

Supporting the collective weight of the city of Chicago on his shoulders appears to have slowed down Rose this season. Ok, the ankle injury that kept him out of most of the preseason left him with a ton of rust to shake off while playing in actual games. Grab Rose from his nervous owner in your league if possible because he’ll be fine this year. -Patrick

Jose Calderon (107)

Nels – ?
Erik – BUY
Patrick – BUY

I have no idea. He’s not playing that much worse than last year. His FT shooting is down a lot, but he doesn’t shoot that many of them, so who knows… -Nels

A tentative buy considering his minutes will likely be down from last season. Still, the 71% from the line is going to improve as will the assists. -Patrick

Al Jefferson (95)

Nels – BUY
Erik – HOLD/SELL
Patrick – HOLD

He’s only playing 30 minutes per game this year because he’s still recovering a bit from his surgery last year. If he can work up to playing 35-36 minutes again, he’ll be back to his awesome self. -Nels

Buy if you can get him at a decent price, but considering his draft position and the fact that he plays center, I’m guessing you’d have to overpay to get him. Anytime a guy is “not 100%” in the NBA, be wary of him missing a bunch of games. -Patrick

Jason Kidd (63)

Nels – BUY
Erik – SELL
Patrick – HOLD

I don’t know… I’ve been waiting for Kidd to fall off for a long time now, but I don’t think he’ll end up any lower than where is currently is ranked this year, so if you can get him for someone in that range, I say do it. -Nels

Sigh. It finally arrived, the stat “down turn” – Erik

Kidd’s stats have been on the slow decline for about 3 years now. He is what he is at this point. -Patrick

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