Give Me The Rock
this is fantasy basketball
If the Pistons are the Has Beens, the Timberolves are the Never Weres. (And don’t confuse that “were” for being something cool with like a Were-Timberwolf. Although even if you did, it would still apply, since – with one exception – all the guys on the roster will not be and have never been mistaken for Were-Timberwolves) The thing is, I think the Wolves management is doing it on purpose…
I’m not sure if there’s a team that’s made more questionable decisions, and not just this summer, but through their entire existence. If you look at HoopsHype’s salary page, it’s like they’re actively trying to avoid actually paying anyone more than $5M a year. What I’m wondering is if they’re even bringing in enough revenue to afford that? Does Kahn realize that if he paid good players and had a good team, he might be able to afford to pay the good guys? I mean, if no one wants to watch your team or buy your merchandise then I suppose there are only two routes: 1) Save every penny and spend your time shining them, playing online blackjack games, and swimming in a pool of pennies or 2) spend more money and make up for the higher contracts with increased revenues.
“A bunch of so-so, hobbled players does not a logjam make” – Detroit Bad Boys
I have no idea what Joe Dumars THINKS he’s doing, however, I know what he’s actually done – and that is assemble a team of more has-beens and never-beens than the entire cast of the Expendables. Unlike Sly Stallone and company, the Pistons don’t have copious amounts of artillery to simply blow up their opponents, although that tactic would probably win them more games this season than actually playing basketball.
Coming off a season in which they lost 55 games, Detroit’s big move was to sign Tracy McGrady to a 1 year contract. McGrady, who was nearly out of the league this summer, insists that he’s not washed up and that he’s ready to contribute in a big way. Not surprisingly, Pistons’ fans aren’t exactly buying it.
Until they are able to move one of their veteran players, the Pistons have a rotation that is about 11 or 12 deep. Charlie Villanueva is looking to start this season. So is Will Bynum. Pistons’ fans want Greg Monroe to start. Rodney Stuckey is more of a SG, but the team already has 5 shooting guards. Jonas Jerebko could play small forward, except that Tayshaun Prince, Tracy McGrady and Austin Daye will soak up all the minutes there.
Yikes. This preview could get ugly.
Best Guess at a Depth Chart
PG Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum
SG Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Terrico White
SF Tayshaun Prince, Tracy McGrady, Austin Daye, Dajuan Summers
PF Jonas Jerebko, Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiell
C Ben Wallace, Greg Monroe, Chris Wilcox
As Patrick mentioned, Yahoo! fantasy basketball is up. Auctions drafts are now a new option for the fantasy hoops population to indulge in and enjoy. As you may have read, Patrick really, really, really loves it.
Another thing that is up as well, it the mock drafting app that was launched last year. “So what?” – you may ask. Well here are five reasons to at least give one mock a shot.
I’m not sure what percentage of fantasy basketball leagues use the traditional serpentine “draft” as their way to select players, but based on my experiences I’d put it at around 99%. And that’s a shame because auctions need more love. A lot more love.
If you have no idea what a fantasy auction is; it basically works like any other type of auction. You get a set amount of money (which may or may not be related to some buy in amount to get into the league, shhh), say $100 or $200, and you use that money to bid on players in monetary increments (usually $1). One person starts the auction by selecting a player to bid on and teams take turns either placing a bid on a player or removing their team from the bidding. The team with the highest bid (the last team standing) gets the player. Things continue player by player until you are either out of money or have a full team.
Now I love drafts. I will mock draft anytime, anywhere. fbasketballBlog set up a mock draft recently that I participated in while ignoring my crying one month old child behind me.* And yet, I feel that auction leagues are better than drafts in every conceivable way (except for one). Why?
Fun. You know what isn’t fun? Drafting a player and then waiting 15 minutes for the draft to get back to your spot. Also not fun? Getting slotted in a draft position that sucks. On the other hand, fun is having a new player to bid on every minute and having to quickly decide if he fits in with your team. Fun is having 5 seconds to decide whether you’re going to bid $76 dollars on Kevin Durant and blow half your load 5 minutes into the auction, or let that douche you hate get him for $75.
Total control over the team you build. There are certainly some draft strategies that you can use to mold your team in certain ways (like going big or small) but you never really have complete control over a team because teams do not get the opportunity to draft every player. You make a pick and then watch players come off the board until it’s your turn again. Auctions allow you to go after and get any player you want… for the right price. If you want to build your fantasy team like this year’s Miami Heat, you can probably do it in an auction.
The Money Game. Not only are you building a team during an auction, but you also have to make a decision on how you are going to use your money. Going to spend it all on a few great players (known as the stars and scrubs method)? Looking for value? Hording your money until the end to pick up good players on the cheap? It’s a game within a game. Just don’t break the cardinal rule of auctions – leaving money on the table – because it’s not like you can walk away with it at the end.
The Drama. No draft can create the kind of tension of an auction bidding war. Seeing two owners going after the same guy in an auction is great to watch as a spectator. However, as a participant it more often than not involves swearing as well as threats of physical harm.
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Up until recently, there have been two distinct disadvantages of auctions: 1) they take longer than drafts from start to finish and, 2) they are complex to conduct.
The time commitment isn’t going to change. With all the bidding going on, auctions just take a long time to get through. Most of the ones I’ve done have been in the 2-4 hour range, which can be a pretty significant time commitment (especially if you’ve got a child crying behind you the entire time).
The good news is that auctions are getting easier and easier to run. There was a time – not long ago – when auctions required the entire league to physically together in a room (usually you had to walk uphill both ways in a snowstorm with no shoes to get there). Then came third party auction software and other types of online tools. But now we’ve reached the next level. Last year, ESPN added auction capability to their fantasy basketball leagues and this year, Yahoo is doing the same. So now the two big boys in the industry give leagues the ability to conduct auctions instead of drafts. I tried ESPN’s auction software last year and it is slick. Given Yahoo’s track record, their auction software should be easy to use as well.
If you’ve read this far, then you already know my recommendation. Give auction leagues a try this year. Chances are you won’t look back.
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*Not true. My wife made me leave.
Bye-bye Amar’e.
Amar’e has decided to take his scoring ability, fat paycheck, poked eye, semi-wonky knee, and what’s left of his athleticism to the city that never sleeps. Life, the Suns downward spiraling hopes for an NBA title, and fantasy basketball move on.
(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
He’s left a void, while not impossible, will be one that is going to be challenging to fill, perhaps at times “by committee.” The new Phoenix Suns – Or what I now like to call, the biggest collection of guard-forwards west of, pretty much everywhere – will have an interesting 2010 season. Is that necessarily a bad thing? The proof dear friends, as they say, will be in the pudding.
As far as fantasy basketball is concerned, it affects players’ playing time and lends itself to possibly inconsistent minutes and consequently fantasy production. I wouldn’t worry, too much. Alvin Gentry has a masters in the D’Antoni School of minutes juggling. Remember Leandro Barbosa? Well back when he was still in Phoenix (now with Toronto), still healthy, and was actually able to deliver serviceable numbers off the Suns’ bench (at virtually starter’s minutes). That was way back in ‘07, where he did almost 16 PPG at 29 minutes per outing. So yes, it will take a little bit of management, but overcrowding may not be (too much of) an issue.
The non-fantasy storyline here is who will be standing on the shoulders of which giants when it comes to the Lakers and the new Big Three. You can apply the same storyline to fantasy basketball, though, much easier than you might think. (Or perhaps equally as easy as you might think. But probably not less easily than you might think. Which is to assume that you do in fact think. Which might be more than we can safely say when it comes to this author.)
Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have proven they are first round fantasy players even when they’re on the same team. And while the same is probably going to be true for “him” and D-Wade when the regular season ends, right now, we’re just playing Magic 8 Ball. Not only that, but Kobe’s numbers from the past two years are coming despite an injured finger. Yes, he missed 9 games, but you can expect that from just about any player. Even in the Top 12, only 8 played more than 73 games.
Next, when comparing the Superfriends to the Lakers, don’t make the mistake of bringing up how the Lakers basically got Pau Gasol for nothing much like Miami did in their trade for Chris Bosh. That is a quaint and outdated notion now that Marc Gasol is a double-double threat and Top 50 player. Odds are that’s better than whatever the Raptors get from their two picks in next year’s draft (one of which was originally theirs anyway). Of course, if you don’t like Pau Gasol on a personal level then maybe it doesn’t matter anyway. (Really, though, how could you not love this guy?)
So, without a 3rd bonafide superstar, how are the rest of the Lakers role players going to match up fantasy-wise?
Well, since we’re already at risk of going overboard with Miami comparisons and Miami mockeries, I won’t do a spot-by-spot comparison. I’ll just give you the normal schpeel and you can compare to the Heat team preview yourself if you care to do so. (This is also an important object lesson: While we can provide you with all the information we possibly can, when it comes time to act, you must act by yourself. An important lesson not just in fantasy basketball, but in life. You are welcome.)
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