Beaten up - and bad

This was a rough week in the Give Me The Rock Readers' League, as many things transpired agin' me, like Boozer getting hurt, Turkoglu deciding to crap the bed this week, and just all around sucking to the point of suckitude. All in all, a large but not insurmountable bump in the road. Just like in Million Dollar Baby, when Mo Cuishle got beaten up a little along the way to the title. I can't wait until the sequel, when Hilary Swank tries not to get soft in her title defense. C'mon Clint, find some crazy black lady with a Mohawk and a lot of jewelry to be her foil. Everyone wants to see how Maggie handles success.

Looking back, a bunch of things went wrong. My high volume shooters - Joe Johnson, Hedo Turkoglu, OJ Mayo (even Rudy Fernandez) all shot under 40%. My rebounders tweren't a-rebounding, and with FG% down, not enough 3's were made. The three weeks previous, I had won FT%, points, and steals. But a nifty harmonic convergence of injuries, illness, and games played disadvantage conspired to bite me on the ass. I salvaged a tie in TO's thanks to the late night Kings-Lakers game. That tie could salvage my season in March. I really hope it comes down to that.

Anyway, I've got a bad assists and blocks team, so I'll need to work on/completely punt them. The silver lining of the week - both Corey Maggette and David Lee gained an eligible position. Maggette is now a SG,SF,PF, and David Lee is a SF, PF, C. Really, I don't know how that happened, but I guess now if I wanted to do a blockbuster trade, I can open it up without regard to position. That's about it.

UPDATE: Oh, thanks to wikipedia, I just realized that Hilary Swank dies at the end of Million Dollar Baby. Curse you cable, for other things being on so I flipped onto something else before it ended. No offense, Clint, but a sequel to MDB would really suck and be kind of a downer. Like Weekend at Bernie's 2.

Clip and save for posterity!

After 2 weeks in the Give Me The Rock Monster League (20 teams, 8 active players, 9 cats), I am in first place with a nearly insurmountable lead of 1-1/2 games with only 19 weeks left to play. I think my magic number is 169.

I wouldn't say it's been smoke and mirrors, but I have had David Lee and Nick Collison in my lineup the last 2 weeks and still won by a nice margin. Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh have been my cornerstones so far, with a pleasant surprise coming from Mickael Pietrus.

I've been mildly active on the waiver wire - not much out there with 200 people on rosters. I benched Nick Collison for this week, but he's worth holding onto if Chris Wilcox stays hurt for any length of time, just like the end of last year. I picked up Aaron Brooks, early during Thursday night's game with Portland. He was on my radar, and I knew that he had the potential for a big night. And last night his picture was in the boxscore on Yahoo - that means he's a superduperstar, right? He's on the bench right now, but if he ever becomes a starter, look out. He's pretty much a scorer right now, not much defense or passing. Not the best of attributes for a PG.

Anyway, here's my lineup for this week, locked and loaded:

PG - Joe Johnson (4 games)
SG - Mike Miller (3)
G - Mario Chalmers (4)
SF - Mickael Pietrus (4)
PF - Chris Bosh (3)
F - Marvin Williams (4)
C - David Lee (4)
U - Flip Murray (4)

Opponent - One Eyed Monster (Hi Jake!)
PG - Devin Harris (4)
SG - DeShawn Stevenson (2)
G - Derrick Rose (3)
SF - Danny Granger (4)
PF - Pau Gasol (3)
F - Emeka Okafor (3)
C - Brook Lopez (4)
U - Kendrick Perkins (4)

Well, I outgame him 30-27, but the key will be Devin Harris's ankle. If he can play the full compliment of games, that hurts me. He hasn't been big on assists or FG%, but free throws are very solid. He's playing 4 center eligibles, so he should win rebounding, but I'm not giving up FG% just yet. He's only got one true 3-point gunner in Stevenson, but only playing 2 games definitely helps. The 2 I'm really worried about are Gasol and Granger. Those are the money players, but I think Bosh and Johnson can cancel them out. I'm eyeing another 6-3 or 5-4 win, with wins in points, FT%,3's, and steals, losses in blocks, rebounds and turnovers, and with FG% and assists in play. Not a walk in the park, but this is a week where champions put these teams away, like the '06 Mavericks.


Aside from this, what's with all the ankle owies? Josh Smith, Tony Parker, Devin Harris, Kevin Martin, some other guys with less fantasy impact. Guys, tape it up - or is this your way of boosting the economy by trying to pump up Johnson & Johnson? Kirk Hinrich, thank you for being so bold as to give up your thumb, as opposed to a pedestrian ankle. I salute you.

Now that's an NBA night!

Tony Parker did what Sammy Hagar could not and drove for 55. The only thing better would be if he could rap in French - oh wait, he can! Amare decided not to miss anywhere on the floor - the guy is going to be huge all year the 2nd game of Phoenix's back-to-backs as Shaq will need a hoagie break. LeBron do what LeBron do, filling up the sheet and torching Los Bulls. Tayshaun Prince is really going to piss me off this year. When I finally relent and acquire/pick him up, he'll throw out a few "2 pts, 1-4 FG, 3 reb" games. Boston won; you beat the Thunder by 13. Yay. Mario Chalmers stole the ball as many times as Ferris Bueller was absent. Charlotte lost in Larry Brown's not-so-triumphant return to NYC, but 6 Bobbin'-cats scored in double figures, so there may be some interesting things happening in Charlotte, fantasy-wise, not so much wins and losses-wise.

Atlanta didn't steal a win in New Orleans, they went out and grabbed it by the throat and wouldn't let go. 12-30 from way outside and most of them were good shots. This is going to be one dangerous little team. I don't know whether I love OJ Mayo shooting 19 times to Rudy Gay's 12 or whether I hate it. I'm just glad Marc Gasol didn't go off again because he's sitting on my bench this week. Is there a reason why Steve Blake is getting 30+ minutes a night in Portland? Some decent numbers last night, I'll give him that. I'm kinda rooting for him to be on NBA rosters for the next 8 years so he can be this generation's John Crotty. DeMarcus Nelson may be this generation's Marc Iavaroni - start, play 6 minutes, then sit on the pine (excuse me, padded chairs that have the "NBA Cares" logo on them) for the rest of the night. Or maybe it's an elaborate Don Nelson hazing ritual.

Man, I love these NBA Wednesdays where almost everyone plays and your fantasy scoreboard is active all night. Let's do it again Friday, we'll meet Stu for NBA Shootaround. You know, flip side of pillow, butter ... roll, etc.

I've been Millsapped!

millsap, verb (millsapping, millsapped) 1. In fantasy basketball, to disregard a bench player, thinking his value will be minimal, and in turn have that player's shizznit blow up. 2. In fantasy basketball, to play against an opponent by picking up a bench player on a team playing 4 games in a week, then having that player put up gaudy numbers.
"I saw that Houston was playing 4 games this week against some weak competition, so I picked up Carl Landry and totally millsapped Johnny's team."

I totally undersold Paul Millsap the other night. Now please back it up and don't come with a 2 point, 4 foul game next. Again, it's a shame Utah is not dumb, because if this guy was in Charlotte, he'd be way up in various big boards.

If I had some roster space, I might stash Millsap on my bench until late March when Utah has their 5 game week, then do some serious millsapping. Heck, 2nd Round Reach in the GMTR Monster League is millsapping someone RAT NOW!

Cheikh Samb traded - fantasy impact

Cheikh Samb has been traded from Detroit to Denver, with a few of players thrown in to make things work out for NBA salary cap purposes ( a former Knick, a former Timberwolf, and a former Georgetown Hoya). The African nation of Senegal ... rejoices? mourns? goes about what they normally do in Senegal?

The one time Fort Wayne Mad Ant (about to be Colorado 14er? (fingers crossed)) for some reason had not got a lot of playing time in Detroit. It's like they had 5 all-stars in front of him or something. Here's what Rotoworld had to say about the Samb deal:

Big man Cheick Samb was traded to the Nuggets in the Allen Iverson deal on Monday. He has some talent and has played well in the D-League, but he's not like to be worth owning in fantasy leagues this season.

Well, I guess that's that.

Very, very short term, if you had Chauncey this week in a locked weekly H2H league, you thought you'd be getting 4 games of Mr. Big Shot's big shots, but that ain't happening now. If Tayshaun Prince were to get a lot of shots, it would have been tonight. Eventually, the Pistons rotation will get figured out, and once it does, you could see a little rise in Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell. If you were in a deep league and had McDyess, you might as well drop him, since he'll be bought out. And if he really only wants to play for the Pistons, he won't be around until after you've opened a few windows on your advent calendar.

Godspeed, Cheikh Samb

A look ahead, week 2

Week 1 is nearly in the books, save for a couple of games. Personally, I like having a Knick or a Raptor on my team, because they like to those noon Sunday games once the NFL schedule goes by. Also, those Pacific division teams like those Sunday night games, so sometimes your week hangs in the balance because you need Stephen Jackson to throw the ball into the fourth row a few times. It's been known to happen.

Anyway, week 2 is coming, and there hasn't been anything earth shattering about week 1, except if you had Tyson Chandler and Baron Davis active, which was kind of a pisser. And special thanks to the guys I matched up against the the GMTR Reader and GMTR Monster league for keeping Carmelo Anthony active even though he was out 2 games for sauce + vroom-vroom. If only he didn't get 11 pts. in the 4th quarter Saturday night, it would have been perfect.

Looking back, based on Basketball Monster numbers, Chris Paul is the number 1 rated player so far, to be expected. Greg Oden is dead last, only a few spots behind the aforementioned Carmelo. Quit smiling, JJ Redick you're not too much better. Go write a poem. And the Pistons need to hurry up and play some more games, because right now Walter Herrmann is a top 20 player.

Forward, this is the first real week, as plenty of teams have 4 teamers, as opposed to the crappy Bucks, who may have wanted you to play Luke Ridnour as your PG. The Lakers are the only team that plays 2 games, maybe that will help all those Kobe opponents. Thank Jobu I don't have any real Lakers in my lineups, because that thing may not shake out for a while, and I don't want to have to sort through it in week 2.

Teams that play 4 - Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Golden State, Houston, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, Phoenix, Sacramento, and Utah. Here are guys who are on those teams that you think will be good plays because they have the full game complement, but will probably just piss you off:

Boston - the poster boy for this, Ray Allen.

Charlotte - Raymond Felton. Not on my watch.

Chicago - Tyrus Thomas. Damn, those blocks are appealing. Everything else, not so much. That Lamarcus Aldridge draft day trade is looking mighty smooth, Mr. Paxson. Drew Gooden will confound me again this year. He could be a non-express bus this year, a lot of pickups and dropoffs.

Cleveland - Anderson Varejao. He's on my watch list, as he'll be on the floor for the Cavs in crunch time. Cleveland needs a few more overtimes to convince me.

Dallas - Desagana Diop/Eric Dampier. Are fouls a category in your league?

Detroit - Tayshaun Prince. Every time he puts up a twenty point game, he'll come back with a 2 point game. In head-to-head leagues, I call him Roster Poison. A friend of mine who went to Kentucky used to call him Dijon, like the mustard. She probably still does. Tayshaun is like dijon mustard when it comes to a burger. It would not be your first mustard choice, and if you overdo it, it ruins the experience. Of course, if you mix it with some honey, you can have a nice chicken finger dipping sauce. Where am I going with this? I sometimes like dijon mustard, and I usually don't like Tayshaun in head to head. I'm done.

Golden State - Demarcus Nelson. Nice little story, but there's probably a reason he was undrafted. Of course, Charlotte drafted Alexis Ajinca, so maybe there isn't a reason. I've watched a ton of Duke games over the last 2 decades, and he is probably one of the least inspiring players in my memory. In his early years there, he seemed to always be good for 1 or 2 offensive fouls a game. He'll be jerked around by Nellie soon. Al Harrington, Kelenna Azubuike, tell him how it is.

Houston - Aaron Brooks. I'm starting to like this guy. I'm not one to wish ill will on anyone, but if a high ankle sprain were to happen to Skip To My Lou sometime soon, I'd like to see what would happen if he had plenty of rest (and soup, maybe a nice tomato basil).

Los Angeles Clippers - Al Thornton. I've got him on a couple rosters. Maybe it's the Italian in me, but he's going to give me the agita like I've eaten to much pasta e fagioli.

Memphis - Darrell Arthur. Nice to see you put up results when they decide to give you the start. Darko's another candidate for your 4 gamer headache as well.

Phoenix - Leandro Barbosa. Holy crap, he had a JJ Redick like week. I don't think this is what people were expecting when they thought to themselves in round 9 of their drafts, "I need a PG and some guy to hit threes."

Sacramento - Beno Udrih. Everybody who stayed away from him on draft day, remember that feeling.

Utah - Carlos Boozer. 20 and 10 - like he'll keep that up all year. No, I mean Paul Millsap. Boy, if they ever traded this guy to Charlotte. It's a shame that Utah is not dumb and Charlotte is not bright.

Oh well, off to watch some Bucks-Knicks on NBA TV. Who's genius idea was it to make the numbers so small on the scorebox in the bottom left corner? I'm in Atlanta, maybe I'll knock on their door.