Posts Tagged Tony Parker

Week 19 Recap (I don’t like mosquitoes) and Week 20 Pickups

The Week 19 Recap will be a little different this week because, amazingly, I only spent 5 minutes checking fantasy stats while vacationing in Central America, with just one mid-week check-in on my main H2H squad to make sure Gerald Wallace and Dwight Howard weren’t pummeling me too much.  (A special thanks to Andrew Bogut for making me rest easy the rest of the week.)

The final fantasy tally from my trip? About 13 fishies devoured, 2 oceans dipped in, 1 cave spelunked, 1 river rafted, 1 military coup averted, 30+ mosquito bites, 3 fire ant bites, 1 sprained ankle, 1 allergic reaction, and 1 cartoonishly swollen foot.  (Unfortunately, the last four items all occurred to the same foot.  I’d post pictures but they’re NSFW.)

And now back to reality.  Or, uh, fantasy.  After a Sunday of devouring stats and updates, here are the…

WEEK 20 PICKUPS

First of all, make sure guys like Drew Gooden (49%), Taj Gibson (42%), and George Hill (48%) aren’t taken.  You might also want to consider Richard Jefferson, who’s owned in 50+% of Yahoo leagues but might have been dropped anytime in the last several weeks.  He carried some of the offensive burden when Tony Parker exited the Spurs’ last game with a broken hand.  Carlos Delfino (46%) is another guy who might have been dropped recently who is putting things together again.

Quentin Richardson (21%)

He’s on fire, with 12 makes from downtown over his last 2 games.  It’s hard to fully endorse him because he’s been streaky his entire career, but with Jermaine O’Neal out, Q is taking more shots and could singlehandedly decide 3′s in H2H leagues.

Anthony Tolliver (17%)

I probably overhyped him the first time I mentioned him several weeks ago, but with Andris Biedrins out, Tolliver is a nice Channing Frye-ish (pre-Robin Lopez) clone.  Ronny Turiaf is also useful for blocks, although I’d rather own the guy two spots below.

Rodrigue Beaubois (14%)

Beaubois was my first pickup upon returning stateside.  He’s posted back-to-back-to-back career highs in scoring his last three games with Jason Terry out of commission.

JaVale McGee (21%)

He’s slowly rounding into the form that made him one of my “must-owns” (at least in deeper leagues) in the aftermath of the trade deadline, averaging nearly 4 bpg over his last 5.

Jonas Jerebko (18%)

Posted near-1/1/1 stats last week and is getting plenty of touches as DET continues to jostle for lottery position.

Keep an eye on:

James Harden (32% — his up-and-down rookie season was “up” last week), Jrue Holiday (11% — ditto), J.J. Hickson (17%), Matt Bonner (6% — another candidate to hoist more shots sans Tony P), Matt Barnes (20% — playing well + nice sked this week), Bill Walker (5%), Serge Ibaka (4%).

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Week 16 Recap (That was short) and Week 17 Pickups

WEEK 16 RECAP

After a shortened week and a lackluster dunk contest, I have to admit the All Star game itself was kind of exciting, at least for an exhibition game.  You could tell the 108,000+ spectators helped to motivate the players (or distract, in the case of one Deron Williams).

Hmm, did anything else happen last week?  Well, there was that trade.  And oh yeah, Stephen Curry put up a ridiculous triple-double (36, 10, and 13 with 7 treys) thanks to a buzzer-beating rebound with the help of one of the most clutch box-outs I’ve ever seen…by Anthony Tolliver (more on him below).  Check out the 6:30 mark for the play:

In fact, Curry has been so impressive lately, I’m not even going to mention those two other guys until they show me they’re capable of making this a Fantasy ROY race again.

See, I told you Week 16 was short.

WEEK 17 PICKUPS

As has been the theme around here lately, most of these pickups will actually be speculative long-term adds based on trade rumors.  Others will be named Anthony Tolliver.  (p.s. Anthony Morrow and Darren Collison have both cleared the 50% ownership mark required for this list, but make sure neither are taken before continuing below.)

Andray Blatche (34%)

See my post from over the weekend.  But essentially, with Brendan Haywood out of the picture and Antawn Jamison likely (but not surely) to follow, the door is open for Blatche to get 35+ minutes a night.  In 4 games as a starter this year, Blatche is only averaging 11 ppg and 7.5 rpg with 1.8 bpg in 34 mpg, but that was as a starting PF playing alongside Haywood.  Last year, he averaged 12 ppg and 6 rpg with ~1 spg/bpg in 28 mpg as a starting C without Haywood.  Project that to 35 mpg, and those numbers come out to roughly 14 ppg and 8 rpg with 1+ spg/bpg.  Add in the Wizards’ great playoff schedule in H2H leagues, and you want to own this kid.

Drew Gooden (28%)

I also like Gooden’s value to take a step up as he’ll get more consistent minutes in WAS (assuming he isn’t flipped to a contender).  In fact, the only downside to owning Blatche will be seeing Gooden gobble up double-digit boards on certain nights, while Blatche only snatches 5 or so.  That being said, I’d still prefer Blatche for his steals and blocks, but Gooden will be an excellent source of rebounds.

Anthony Tolliver (7%)

Curry and Tolliver probably won't lead Golden State to many W's this year.  Good thing we live in a fantasy world.  (Getty)

Curry and Tolliver probably won't lead Golden State to many W's this year. Good thing we live in a fantasy world. (Getty)

Gasp!  What is this — a player who likely doesn’t stand to benefit from a trade on this list?  Well, with the rate that Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, and the rest of the Warriors get injured, Tolliver is essentially getting theboost in minutes a trade would have.  (Not to mention Andris Biedrins actually has been mentioned in some rumors.  But then again, who hasn’t this year?)  There are so many different ways to hype Tolliver, but I’ll just go with his averages from the last 3 games: 17 ppg and 8 rpg with 1.3/1.0/0.7 3s/stl/blk.

The Warriors recently decided to cut Speedy Claxton’s valuable expiring contract to keep Tolliver (a move that angered many GS fans), so you can expect management will give him plenty of minutes to prove himself the rest of the way.  I recently picked up Tolliver, then dropped him for Blatche.  If Carlos Boozer doesn’t get traded, I’m dropping Paul Millsap for this kid.

[02/18/10 UPDATE -- Boozer didn't get dealt, but Ronnie Brewer did, freeing up time for both Andrei Kirilenko and Millsap.  Add in the fact that Millsap has been on fire lately and looks to get 30+ mpg, and no, I am in fact not dropping him for Tolliver at this point.  Just to clarify...]

Robin Lopez (38%)

He sputtered a bit last week, but with Amare Stoudemire trade rumors swirling faster than a Mid-Atlantic snowstorm, Lopez is worth owning (or at least keeping a close eye on) over the next 3 days.

J.J. Hickson (9%)

Speaking of Amare trade rumors, Hickson will be a likely beneficiary of any trade the Cavs make because the Cavs will likely be bringing in a stud PF (Amare, Jamison, or Troy Murphy), leaving a nice, empty starting PF spot on the other team.  Of course, Hickson wouldn’t have LeBron James feeding him for easy scores anymore, but considering the opposing team would most likely be rebuilding (except in the case of the Suns), and Hickson should get more run than he did/does in CLE.

Keep an eye on:

Wow, I didn’t realize this list was so F-C heavy.  Here are some other guys to keep an eye on (including G’s!), either due to trade speculation or strong play: Brad Miller and Taj Gibson (43% and 10% respectively — Joakim Noah still hurting and Tyrus Thomas on the trade block), Ryan Gomes (32%), Marcus Thornton (38% — coming back from injury and should still benefit from Chris Paul’s absence), DeJuan Blair (25%), George Hill (38% — better with Tony Parker healthy?), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (8% — 11 rpg over last 3), Jared Jeffries (8%), T.J. Ford (33% — don’t get your hopes up, but back in rotation), Marquis Daniels (2%), Charlie Bell (4% — a trey in 12 straight games)

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Week 14 Recap (Who Dat? It’s Darren Collison) and Week 15 Pickups

Week 14 was business as usual for the most part… until it was reported Sunday that Chris Paul will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and miss 1-2 months.  Before you even read anything else, run out and pick up Darren Collison, who had 18 assists in Paul’s absence on Saturday.  More on that below, but first the (abbrev.) recap:

Darren Collison, it's time to shake up some fantasy basketball leagues.  (Getty Images)

Darren Collison, it's time to shake up some fantasy basketball leagues. (Getty Images)

WEEK 14 RECAP

  • Mike Miller exploded for 25, 9, and 8 including 7-10 from downtown against the Knicks on Saturday.  When news of Gilbert Arenas’ legal woes first broke, I thought Miller would give Randy Foye a run for his money in terms of being the most valuable pickup.  It’s just one game (and chances are the Knicks won’t play zone against WAS when they meet again this week), but at the very least make sure Miller isn’t a FA in your league.
  • Attention, Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings: Stephen Curry is running away with the fantasy ROY race.
  • The Detroit backcourt is slowly getting healthy… putting a dent in the fantasy values of every member of that team, as there are only so many minutes to go around.
  • Channing Frye might be better as a sixth man, as he’s become a much more efficient player.  Lou Williams: better as a sixth man?  Not so much.  (Although Lou posted a nice line Sunday, it seems whenever Jrue Holiday or Willie Green are playing well, Lou is the odd man out.)  Both are worth holding, especially Frye, as the Suns and 76ers figure to make deals before the trade deadline.  (I dropped Lou for Paul Millsap in one league though.)  And if Amare Stoudemire gets shipped out of Phoenix, Frye could very well end up back in the starting lineup starting alongside Robin Lopez.
  • Andrew Bynum is learning to coexist with Pau Gasol.
  • And after nearly getting suspended earlier in the week, J.R. Smith had his best week of the year, averaging 17 ppg, 3.3 threes and 2.3 spg in Carmelo Anthony’s absence.  Meanwhile, Kenyon Martin continues to dominate the boards, hurting Nene Hilario’s value.  I expect that to even out (some) in the long term though, and since KMart is a perennial injury risk, I would sell high.  (Nene could be a sneaky buy low as well, as nagging injuries have slowed him down some lately.)

WEEK 15 PICKUPS

In New Orleans, everyone's saying "Who Dat?" lately.  Why, it's Darren Collison again.  Pick him up.  (Getty Images)

In New Orleans, everyone's saying "Who Dat?" lately. Why, it's Darren Collison again. Pick him up. (Getty Images)

Darren Collison (15%)

At the time I’m writing this, Collison has already jumped up from being owned in 2% of Yahoo leagues to start the week to 15% and rising.  He filled in admirably for Paul on Saturday night and could deliver some teams to fantasy victory in the coming months.

Marcus Thornton (25%)

Likewise, Thornton should benefit from Paul’s absence.  I was already going to include him on this list as he was recently inserted into the starting lineup, but now his playing time/value increases even more.  In 4 games as a starter (one without CP3), Thornton is averaging 18 ppg and 2.3 treys.

Goerge Hill (23%)

Continuing with the point/combo-guard theme, Hill is a great add with Tony Parker out in the short term.  And, like Thornton above, Hill had recently been inserted into the starting lineup anyway, where he was already being productive.  I give a slight nod to Thornton in preference, but only because the Hornets will need him to step up without CP3 the next 1-2 months, whereas Parker’s injury isn’t as serious.

Brandon Rush (39%)

One of my preseason sleepers, Rush is quietly averaging 13.6 ppg and 5 rpg to go with 2.1/0.6/1.0 threes/stl/blk per game over the last two weeks.  Like I mentioned last week, Danny Granger’s return has really sparked him.

Robin Lopez (40%)

There’s no reason Lopez should be owned in less than half of Yahoo leagues (unless all his owners are dropping him for Collison).  If Amare Stoudemire does in fact get traded, Lopez should get all the minutes he can handle, with Steve Nash spoon-feeding him buckets.  He had a mediocre week last week, but he’s still worth a calculated gamble in my book.

Jared Jeffries (5%)

If you need defensive help in deeper leagues, Jeffries has averaged 1.3 spg and bpg over the last two months.

Keep an eye on: Keyon Dooling (2% — check Devin Harris’ status), Brad Miller (41% — resurrected his season this past week), Kris Humprhies (7%), Chase Budinger (3% — second guy off the bench with Kyle Lowry out), Goran Dragic (16%)

And before I go…

Corey Brewer (54%)

He’s made my “Keep an eye on” list the last several weeks, and Brewer has finally cleared the 50% hurdle with another stellar 3-pt shooting week.  Add in the fact that MIN only has 2 games this week, and you’re probably wondering why I’m including him here though.  Well, I just needed an excuse to post this video.  (Apologies, Derek Fisher.)

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Injury Timeout(s): Tony Parker and Carlos Boozer

According to Rotoworld, Tony Parker will miss “several games” with an ankle injury, which means George Hill — who has already been very productive since starting at SG (see my latest pickups) — will get an extra boost in value.  He’s only taken in 14% of Yahoo leagues, up from 8% over the weekend and sure to rise by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, with Carlos Boozer suffering a calf strain last night, Paul Millsap is the obvious beneficiary.  Since Millsap is already taken in most leagues (75%), this is more a reminder that you might want to actually start him now (depending on Boozer’s status).

If you’re thinking more long-term, once Parker returns, Hill will likely slide back to the starting SG spot where he’s already been fairly productive.  As for Millsap, he gets a huge boost in long-term value if a) Boozer’s injury turns out to be serious or b) Boozer is dealt by the trade deadline.  Depending on what you need, I think they’re both worth stashing, and Millsap has a higher risk/reward payout.

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Week 10 Recap (Starring Gilbert Arenas as a Washington Bullet) and Week 11 Pickups

Three explosive fantasy guards dominated the headlines in Week 10, with only one of them doing it for the right reasons.

Are you ready for your mug shot, or, er, close up, Mr. Arenas?  (The Canadian Press)

Are you ready for your mug shot, or, er, close up, Mr. Arenas? (The Canadian Press)

Gilbert Arenas

Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to…  Oh.  That is a gun in your pocket.  Agent Zero made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week as he inexplicably brought/stored three guns at work.  In his defense though, he’s kind of a bonehead (and the guns were unloaded).  There are sources reporting everything from Hibachi trying to pull off a practical joke gone awry to Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton going Alien vs. Predator on one another over a gambling debt.  I have a feeling it’s a little closer to the former, but regardless of the intent, this doesn’t bode well if you own Arenas.

Some people, including Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo sports, think Arenas could be in store for an extended suspension.  David Stern is hard to predict, but if he decides to make an example of Arenas, Caron Butler and Randy Foye (in theory) would enjoy an immediate jump in value.  We should all know Arenas’ fate by Monday.  Keep your fingers crossed if you spent a third round pick on him.

Nate Robinson

KryptoNate came back down to earth on Sunday, but I think you can forgive him after his 41-pt, 6-reb, 8-ast effort on Friday night — single-handedly carrying the Knicks over the Hawks.  In his post-game interview, Robinson seemed genuinely humbled by his month layoff at the hands of Mike D’Antoni, and more importantly, in the game he seemed hungry.  He’s still available in 47% of Yahoo leagues.  (I added him in one league over the weekend.)

And on a side note, Larry Hughes hasn’t played the last 2 games.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Fantasy Basketball Draft Rankings: 51-60

Fantasy basketball draft rankings: 51-60

These rankings are based on a standard 9-category format, with a slight leaning towards H2H leagues, although differing strategies for roto leagues are noted when applicable.


Player Team POS Analysis
51 Tony Parker SA PG As I mentioned above, his numbers probably won’t be too far off from Derrick Rose’s.  But I guess since he’s already been around the block a few times, everyone’s gunning for the young guy.  Sorry, Tony.  As a consolation, you’re dating Eva Longoria.
52 Andris Biedrins GS C Nellie still drives me crazy.  Biedrins was wildly erratic month-to-month last year, largely because of playing time.  Plus, it’s hard to predict what kind of sickness Anthony Randolph will bring to the table.  At the least, Biedrins should still be good for a double-double with solid FG% and 1+ bpg.
53 Rudy Gay MEM SF I was looking for him to have a nice bounce-back year…until MEM signed Zach Randolph.  Then Allen Iverson.  (Sound familiar?)  Still, as a potential 1/1/1 guy I expect Gay to sneak into  the Top 50, but probably not the Top 25 as I was thinking pre-Z-Bo and AI.
54 Jason Richardson PHO SG, SF While Richardson has become somewhat of a category specialist in recent years, he is suddenly the #2 scoring option on a rejuvenated Suns team. It’s unfair to expect him to shoot 49% like he did with PHO last year, but I wouldn’t be surprised by a near-return to his GS numbers, except in AST. (Side note: With his F-eligibility in Yahoo leagues, I’d rank him a little higher.)
55 Andrew Bynum LAK C He has the upside (not to mention the favorable schedule in H2H leagues) but can he finally stay healthy?  I think he’s worth the gamble in the late fifth round of drafts for 12-team leagues, but you might be able to wait a little longer.  Just try not to remind anyone of that dominant 5-game stretch right before Kobe went Tonya Harding on his knee last year.
56 Mo Williams CLE PG He’ll be more comfortable in his second year as LBJ’s sidekick, but I expect that to help his FG% more than his AST.  LeBron simply handles the ball too much for Williams to average more than 5 apg.  Still, the 3′s plus CLE’s great schedule are nice positives.
57 Michael Redd MIL SG, SF Coming back from a major injury, Redd’s season is tough to project, although reports indicate he should be ready by training camp.  With only Andrew Bogut and Hakim Warrick as proven scorers, Redd will likely fill up the PTS and 3PM columns when he’s healthy.  However, his FG% and AST could suffer as a result of playing with so little talent around him.
58 Shawn Marion DAL SF, PF Reunited with J-Kidd in an up-offense won’t totally resurrect the Matrix’s career. But it means he will likely provide great value in the middle rounds. While I think his PTS and REB will tick back up, because of his age I’m more hesitant about his STL/BLK, although he still has 1/1/1 potential. The 3′s are also a difficult call. If he starts taking them again during the preseason, I’d bump him up. (Update: It seems like about one in eight people I talk to absolutely loves Marion this year, meaning if you are one of those people, you’ll likely need to draft Marion in the third/fourth rounds.)
59 Mehmet Okur UTA PF, C With Boozer and Millsap both healthy and taking up minutes, Okur could see a slight dip in his minutes and production this season. Last year, he also attempted fewer 3′s than he had in the previous few seasons. While this translated into better efficiency last year, this year be prepared for a slight dip across the board, especially in PTS and REB.
60 Ron Artest LAK SG, SF Artest has never played on a team with as much talent as the Lakers, and consequently won’t be asked to do as much on the offensive end.  His PTS will surely decrease, but theoretically with a boost in efficiency.  On the defensive end, I like him to approach his lifetimes averages of 2.1 spg and 0.6 bpg as he will be able to take more risks with Bynum and Gasol behind him.

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