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Authored by Drew Decker - 2nd January, 2009 - 6:26 pm
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Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans
The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The Superstars
Carmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
A Melo Behind The Superstars
Carmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
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All thirty NBA teams are in action tonight to kick off the New Year. This column will shine the spotlight on players from the final ten teams in the league and give you two more lists that you won’t want to miss.
Oklahoma City Thunder - Even though the Thunder have won only four games all year, both Kevin Durant and Jeff Green have been stuffing the stat sheet during the past few weeks. Durant in particular really took his game to new level in December and became a top ten fantasy performer. Currently averaging 23.6 ppg and 5.8 rpg, there is no reason to believe Durant won’t continue to flourish.
Orlando Magic – Hedo Turkoglu has struggled to duplicate the superb numbers he provided during last year’s breakout season. Turk is still shooting below 40% from the floor but has recently begun to show signs of life ((17.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.7 3’s, and 1.1 spg). If you’re looking for a good buy-low trade opportunity, Hedo could be your man.
Philadelphia 76ers – After a very slow start, Andre Iguodala has finally emerged with Elton Brand out of the lineup. Iggy’s numbers are still down (15.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, and 1.6 spg), but at least he’s beginning to justify the lavish contract bestowed upon him during the off-season.
Phoenix Suns – Amar’e Stoudemire was taken in the top five of most fantasy drafts. Although he is still producing at a high level (21.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, and 1.1 bpg), owners are likely a bit disappointed. Calling Stoudemire a bust wouldn’t be accurate, but he hasn’t been a top five caliber player so far this season.
Portland Trailblazers – When Brandon Roy was named to the All-Dtar team last year instead of Deron Williams it definitely raised many eyebrows. This season nary an eyebrow will be raised. Roy is the real deal, and his numbers have been sensational (23.0 ppg 4.5 rpg and 5.3 apg) for a guy likely taken in the 3rd or 4th round.
Sacramento Kings – With Kevin Martin out most of the year with an ankle injury, John Salmons has been the go-to-guy in Sacramento (19.5 ppg and 1.2 3’s). Now that Martin is back, Salmons probably won’t average twenty points a game anymore. However, he is still a guy that needs to be in your lineup every night.
San Antonio Spurs – Tim Duncan continues to get the job done year after year as the main cog in the Spurs “winning machine” (20.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, and 1.7 bpg). Even with early season injuries to Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli, the team is only ½ a game out of 1st place thanks to the stellar play of Duncan.
Toronto Raptors – Quite simply, Jose Calderon is one of the twenty best players in the league. Picking up where he left off last season, Calderon is averaging 13.4 ppg, 9.0 apg, and 1.6 3’s. In addition, Caldy hasn’t missed a free throw all year. Toronto is only 12-20 right now, but Calderon will likely find a way to get the Raptors back in the playoff hunt.
Utah Jazz – No team has been hit harder by injuries this season than Utah and, thanks to Paul Millsap, the team is only two games out of 1st place in the Northwest Division. Carlos Boozer’s absence has barely been noticed as Millsap has been smooth and steady all year (15.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 1.3 bpg).
Washington Wizards - At 6-24 so far this season, this team has been an absolute disaster. However, Antawn Jamison continues to be one of the bright spots (20.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg, and 1.2 3’s). Although he’s not flashy, Jamison has been one of the best all-around fantasy performers for the past few years.
Filling a fantasy roster will all-around performers is one of the primary keys to success. Getting consistent productivity night after night from the players on your team is also very important, but this is often a very tricky proposition.
Why? Because for every "Sure Thing" like Antawn Jamison, there are invariably three or four Fantasy Teases on your roster that make you want to pull your hair out. Everyone who plays fantasy hoops knows what I’m talking about as far as a Tease is concerned: a phenomenal line one night while sitting on your bench followed by a string of abysmal performances when active.
A Fantasy Tease is like the girl in your 8th grade class who resembled a young Scarlett Johansson, wore low-cut blouses and short skirts, touched your shoulder or arm while talking to you and had a reputation for allowing extra base hits (if you know what I mean). Only when she was sitting on the sofa in your living room, she suddenly “wasn’t that kind of girl.”
Raging hormones as an 8th grader equate to the exhilaration of watching one of your guys put up a monster fantasy line. Getting completely shut down without even being able to cop a feel is equivalent to the frustration of that same guy completely tanking during the next game. What follows is a list of the 7 Biggest Teases in Fantasy Hoops:
7. Ronnie Brewer – Good for a 19 point, 7 rebound, 6 assist 5 steal game once every two weeks. The rest of the time he’s mediocrity personified.
6. Hakim Warrick - 23 points and 12 rebounds one night and 3 points 1 rebound the next
5. Charlie Vanillanojuevos – This is actually his name. You can look at up.
4. Yi Jianlian – 27 points and 4 three pointers one night and then you’re screwed for the rest of the week
3. Darko Milicic – Probably the Big Tease poster boy. A 15 point 12 rebound 5 block game to get you excited followed by a DNP-CD and three consecutive games with less than 5 points and 3 rebounds.
2. Tyrus Thomas – Notorious for lines like: 37 minutes, 18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals one night followed by 9 minutes, 3 points 2 boards, 1 block and 0 steals the next.
1. Andrea Bargnani – On New Year’s Eve against the Nuggets, Bargnani exploded for 26 points, 5 blocks, 3 three-pointers and 2 steals. He is now in my lineup this evening and I have no doubt that Bargnani will finish with 7 points along with 0 steals, blocks and 3’s. In a related story, I’ll have significantly less hair by the time I go to bed tonight.
Although I wouldn’t call him a tease, Mickey Rourke is certainly an actor who teased the world with his talent and then seemingly vanished from the face of the earth. Well, Rourke is back and currently receiving considerable Oscar buzz for his tour de force performance in “The Wrestler.” What follows is a list of Six NBA Players Back From Oblivion/Mickey Rourke Movies That Shouldn’t Be Missed:
6. Jameer Nelson/”9 ½ Weeks” – Last year Nelson would have been on my Big Tease list, but not this season. Jameer was a top fifteen fantasy performer in December and a big reason why Orlando is 25-7.
5. Quentin Richardson/”The Pope of Greenwich Village” – Q has once again become a fantasy force in Mike D’Antoni’s high-octane offense and has rewarded owners by averaging 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 three-pointers a game.
4. Jermaine O’Neal/”Body Heat” (Mickey had a very small role) – Although he is injured yet again and likely won’t play tonight, O’Neal was virtually unstoppable in late-December. Currently averaging 14 points, 7 boards and 2 blocks a game.
3. Luke Ridnour/”Rumble Fish” – No joke, Ridnour was a top forty fantasy baller last month. His numbers weren’t spectacular, but current owners aren’t complaining about 11 points, 6 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
2. Mike Bibby/”Angel Heart” - There is no disputing that Bibby is once again in the top tier of NBA point guards. Healthy for the first time in recent memory, owners are rejoicing as Bibby has given them 16.1 ppg, 5.3 apg, 2.5 3’s and 1.3 spg along with a FG% of .466.
1. Shaquille O’Neal/ “Diner” – Nobody is more surprised than me that Shaq is an All-Star caliber center again. The numbers don’t lie, though: 17.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg, and 1.5 bpg. We’ll see if he can keep it up before the inevitable injuries force him to the sidelines.
Happy New Year to everyone and I’ll be back in a few weeks with second half of the season recommendations to help you win your league.
Drew covers the NBA and a lot of other topics at sandiegosportsguy.com and can be reached at drew@sandiegosportsguy.com |
