fBasketballBlog

Lawson is a fantasy beast, through and through. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: Ty Lawson finished with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, eight steals and two three-pointers last night in a loss to the Trail Blazers. He shot 63 percent (10-16) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Lawson is off to a very solid start in his first three games of the season. Though he’s not dishing out many assists (3.0 per game), he’s shooting like a center (62 percent from the field), hitting threes (1.7 per game) and thieving like Winona Ryder (4.0 per game). There’s little standing in his way to giving his owners top 30 value this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Deron Williams: 2-12 FG (17%), 6-8 FT (75%), 10 Pts, 4 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 6 TO; flawed lines could be the norm for D-Will this season

Dwight Howard: 7-9 FG (78%), 2-9 FT (22%), 16 Pts, 24 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 Blk, 3 TO; I don’t think he wants to play in Jersey anymore

DeJuan Blair: 8-17 FG (47%), 6-8 FT (75%), 22 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast; some steals and blocks (zero total so far this season) would be nice (continue reading…)

Yep, this will be fun. (Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images)

The 2011-12 NBA season is finally within reach, ready to be ripped open by the childishly eager fingers of ravenous fans. For fantasy basketball owners, the joy comes with a bit of business. Once they cut through the excitement of seeing the first tip-off of the season, they’ll immediately wonder how their draft picks will pay off, what clues they can pick up in the early going and which players sitting in the free-agent pool might be worth a pickup.

While making heavy-handed conclusions after just the first day of games isn’t recommended, it doesn’t hurt to have a list of things to watch and hope for during the first official day of this unique NBA season. Below is a Christmas Day wish list for fantasy basketball owners who have players participating in the first day’s games. (continue reading…)

The smirk of a man who knows he hasn't yet reached his ceiling. (Flickr/adifansnet)

Depth chart:
PG: Derrick Rose, C.J. Watson, Jannero Pargo, John Lucas
SG: Keith Bogans, Ronnie Brewer
SF: Luol Deng, Kyle Korver, Jimmy Butler, Rasual Butler*^
PF: Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Brian Scalabrine*
C: Joakim Noah, Omer Asik, Kurt Thomas*

* unrestricted free agent
^ locked into overseas contract with no opt-out clause (continue reading…)

This might make sense if you read this post.

Around this time last year this blog was kicking it with mock drafts and updates about the realm of fantasy basketball. This summer is different, for obvious reasons.

With the lockout in full swing and the fount of NBA news slowed to a muddy trickle by inane updates about which players are “considering” playing overseas, I’ve had more time to keep abreast of non-NBA news. One story that recently caught my eye was about Abercrombie & Fitch paying Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino not to wear its merchandise.

Before I proceed, I’ll admit that I’ve never been drunk enough mustered up enough courage to sit down and watch a single minute of a single episode of “Jersey Shore.” This means my low regard for Mr. Sorrentino is fueled by snippets I’ve seen on TV or read on the Internet, and by his awful delivery.

That said, this news story compelled me to ask myself a question: Which players would I (figuratively) pay to not be on my fantasy basketball team?

Thus, a blog post was born.

Assuming an act of God forced me to miss my next fantasy basketball draft, here are 10 players I’d “pay” to leave my team if the dreaded auto-draft pooped them onto my roster. Following each player’s blurb is a series of “Situations” reflecting how badly I’d want these players off my team. (continue reading…)

Rose has blossomed this season. There -- I finally said it. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Weekend Wonder: Derrick Rose averaged 31.5 points, three rebounds, 8.5 assists, 2.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and two threes in two back-to-back games this past weekend. He shot 51 percent from the field, 84 percent from the foul line and turned the ball over 3.5 times per game. Needless to say, Rose is off to a great start to the final stretch of the regular season.

Lines for Discussion:
Carlos Boozer (4/1): 9-13 FG (69%), 4-6 FT (67%), 22 Pts, 8 Reb, 7 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO

Marc Gasol (4/2): 5-7 FG (71%), 10 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Stl, 1 Blk (continue reading…)