Day 64 of 170: Jason Kidd is Top 20

Categorized as: Author: Nels, Dallas Mavericks, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: December 31st, 2008

Image by Atomische.com via Flickr

Since it’s New Year’s Eve, I’ll go out by saying that there are some subtle nuances to fantasy basketball that I still don’t understand. I believe that these aspects are mostly mental and emotional, though, which again shows why if you want to be a true winner in fantasy sports, you must set aside any sort emotion and leave your ruths at the door.

Line of the Night: Jason Kidd (1.29) getting Line of the Night last night is a small example of what I described above. Kidd had 16 assists, yes, but paired that with 14 points on merely decent 45% shooting. He did also have 7 rebounds, 2 threes, 4 steals, and a block, while only turning the ball over 2 times, so with that kind of line, I know I shouldn’t be so surprised that he was the best of 174 players last night. But I have this notion of Kidd as washed up and past his prime, which is, actually, a more apt description for Steve Nash, who currently sits at #95 on the 9-category Player Rater, compared to Kidd, who is indeed a Top 20 player (#17). If you look at the 8-category rater, Nash jumps to 38, but Kidd also moves up to #11.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.

- The Jedi Code (Based on the meditations of Odan-Urr)

Honorable Mentions: Mario Chalmers (1.27) had a line that looks more like a LotN to my emotions: 21 points with 6 threes, shooting 78%; 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 0 turnovers.

Marcus Camby (1.09) pulled down 24 rebounds to go with 15 points, 3 blocks, and a steal.

Jason Terry (1.06) makes the list since he topped 1.0, but his 29 points on 5 threes and 52% shooting isn’t as appealing to my emotions as much since it comes with only 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal.

Andrew Bogut (0.99) was pretty close to the 1.0 mark with his 20 and 14 and 3 blocks.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Grant Hill (0.93) played 39 minutes to Matt Barnes’ 27. In those 39 minutes Hill (who is owned in 49% of Yahoo leagues, thus barely making the cutoff) had 15 and 7 with 6 steals. If you’re in a league with more than 12 teams that also happens to be in the 51% of leagues where Hill is available, he’s probably worth a pickup. Especially recommended for H2H leagues with daily lineup changes because of his inconsistency.

Michael Finley (0.80) had 4 threes, but I wouldn’t expect him to be near the top of the charts on a regular basis.

Luke Ridnour (0.79) who was one of the top players of December who might still be available in your league, is still only taken in 40% of Yahoo leagues. Last night he had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 threes, a steal, and even 2 blocks. He made 60% of his 15 shots, so he’s helping you out in every category except Turnovers (he had 3).

The Biggest Loser: Francisco Garcia (-0.45) has been back since the end of November without making it onto my fantasy radar (even though I drafted him in one league). He’s owned in 54% of leagues, though, which makes him significant enough to point out this line: 23 minutes, 3 points (1/5 from the field, 1/2 from the line), 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover.

All Eyez On Me: It appears that the good holiday games were all used up on Christmas, but with Drew Gooden out, expect good things from Dwight Howard today as Orlando destroys the Bulls.

Golden State Plays: Oklahoma City. Not sure what to say about that, except if you’ve got daily changes, the Thunder players are probably good ones to make sure you’ve got in your lineup. If they had more quality run-n-gun type players I’d list some names for you. Side note: Golden Stats is only 4-16 on the road, while the Thunder are 2-14 at home, so this should be a real Battle Royale.

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Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall set me free.

- The Sith Code

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Tags: Andrew Bogut, Francisco Garcia, Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Luke Ridnour, Marcus Camby, Mario Chalmers