Day 109: Manimal Valuable Player

Posted Feb 16 2013 by Nels in , , with 20 Comments

Kenneth-Faried-Rising-Stars-MVP

If there were a line of the night for the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, it would clearly go to Kenneth Faried who had 40 points on 18 of 22 shooting (take that, LeBron!) along with 10 rebounds and a three-pointer. We don’t measure efficiency on a per minute basis in fantasy basketball, but he did that all in only 22 minutes for Team Chuck (because I guess putting the rookies against the sophomores got passe or something).

“I always had [that range] — just don’t pull it out in games,” Faried said. “Coach Karl won’t let me.”

I don’t really know what else happened (besides Kyrie Irving taking out Brandon Knight) because I was at the Madhouse on Madison watching the league leading Blackhawks win their 5th of the last 6 games. Oh, and the Ice Crew…

blackhawks-ice-crew

In other basketball-related news, it appears that talks between the Clippers and Celtics are getting serious regarding a Garnett for Bledsoe and Jordan trade. That is huge news in a positive way for anyone trying to decide what to do with Bledsoe, whose minutes have plummetted with the return of Chauncey Billups. It’s probably also good news for anyone with DeAndre Jordan (who is still 75% owned in Yahoo leagues), since he’d probably see a small bump in minutes that might allow him to get back to an actual standard league-worthy ranking. The news is not so positive for Garnett owners, but it’s not terrible. Even though he’ll be playing alongside Blake Griffin, he’ll have Chris Paul setting him up, and Griffin down low might actually help Garnett get more of those long jumpers that he likes. Since Bledsoe is the only one with a low enough ownership rate that you might be able to still get him, if you’ve got someone right now you’re not so confident about going forward, you might want to consider the Celtics 4 games per week in weeks 21-23 and 5 games in the last “championship” week…

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  • sanny350z

    Is it a good idea to change my team to where they are really strong in at least 5 category as the playoffs approaches in a 9cat H2H league; whereas for the regular season my team was very well balance so that I could win more category against my opponents. I was thinking while I may not get my usual 6-3 win, I will still get the W which is all that matter once I’m in the playoffs.

    • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

      While in theory it’s a good idea to consolidate categories as you approach the playoffs in H2H leagues for the very reason you mentioned, in reality I’ve found it very difficult to win with a strategy focusing on ONLY 5 categories. In that scenario, if any one thing goes wrong or a certain guy has a bad week, you are generally screwed compared to a team that is slightly more balanced. I think it’s always a good idea to punt at least one category in an H2H league and generally two as you head to the playoffs, but I’ve never been able to win with a team that punts 4 categories.

      So, consolidate a couple categories for the playoffs – yes – but taken to the extreme – no.

      • zee

        If you punt 4 categories though, that means you have a very large lead in the other 5, meaning you can afford to have a guy have a bad week, no? I.e. if you’re ahead by 15 three pointers a week, it won’t hurt to lose Mike Dunleavy, etc. because you’ll still win by like 7 threes?
        This makes even more sense if you’re going for efficiency categories, as losing a player on a %s+TO team just means more or less the same %s and less TOs.

        • http://nelswadycki.com/ Nels

          I think the key part of Patrick’s answer and your question as well is “in theory” … In theory, yes, the strategy makes perfect sense. 100%. Right on.

          In practice, though… It’s like Patrick said, it’s much harder if you are just giving up on the other 4 categories. Maybe instead of someone just having a bad week, you lose a player to injury (even a guy who contributes minimally across the board as opposed to a guy who contributes heavily to one single category)… You might still be able to win a “push” type category that you didn’t punt, but if you have punted 4 categories, it becomes much harder to hang on to the other 5.

          Just to make it clear: Yes. trying to win only 5 categories is the absolute most right/correct strategy. Winning 5 categories in each matchup in the playoffs will win a championship.

          But take it from guys who have more than 20 years of combined experience (not even counting Erik), you might win that way, but you are setting yourself up to get screwed.

        • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

          I believe both Nels and I have experimented with 5 category teams in the past and we’ve failed miserably on all accounts. Maybe someone else could make it work (and we’ve just been unlucky), but the problem you run into (especially during H2H playoffs) is that you might have the best rebounding team in the league and typically win the rebounding category by 50 rebounds per week, but eventually you’ll face off against the second best rebounding team in the league, maybe one that your only 5 rebounds better than. And in that situation, if your team has a bad rebounding week, you are screwed because you aren’t going to be winning the 4 categories you are punting. So you really do end up painting yourself into a corner where nothing can go wrong.

          • zee

            That makes sense. Thanks guys

  • Razvan

    KG got a no trade clause and he said he won’t give that up. Lots of rumors and speculation as usual but its far from being even taken in consideration.

    Still this is the time to get players and risk it.

    • http://nelswadycki.com/ Nels

      I’m not sure why KG wouldn’t want to go to the Clippers though… I don’t think the Celtics have a chance to win this year, and he must know that. But if he goes to LA, those guys have a legit chance.

  • zee

    If Dalembert gets traded, whats the likelihood he ends up in a spot where he gets more than 20 minutes? Seems like most of the teams he might land in only want him off the bench, meaning he dips down to his season averages. So isn’t it a good idea to sell right now?

    • Razvan

      It’s a bit complicated, Sanders is out with back issues(which i suffer for about a month now) and they don’t seem to go away and SD its their only legit big man, i am not sure they want to trade him now unless they give up Jennings, i only see them go together somewhere, in that case the bucks just let this season slide.

      • zee

        The Bucks have sooo many big men, it’s inaccurate to say SD is their only legit one. Mbah a Moute, Henson (also a young developing big), Udoh, even Drew Gooden.

        Also, Sanders’ tests came back negative. He’s still sore, but with the All Star break giving him 5 days of rest, I doubt he misses much time.

        • Razvan

          I said legit big man. Sammy is the only half decent among those you mentioned. I just let you know that even though i have no structural damage my back issues linger for over a month now. It’s a pain in the ass having a bad back and it takes a lot of time to recover.

        • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

          Looks like the Bucks are now making noise in a potential Josh Smith deal. If it turns out to be Jennings + Dalembert + whatever for Smith, that sounds like just about the best case scenario Dalembert. He can start at center for the team and they can slide Horford to PF. Anywhere else though? Probably not quite as exciting.

          I also agree that Sanders returns post All-Star break, so it behooves the Bucks to trade Dalembert asap. Which I’m sure they would if they could.

  • asdfasdf

    I could use some FT% help and would like to unload Smoove… Would you trade Josh Smith and Rubio for Millsap and Joe Johnson? Thanks

    • Razvan

      No, i won’t do it.

      • asdfasdf

        Okay, thanks… But I really need to raise my FT% and he is the main culprit. Who is a close comparison to him? I figured maybe Millsap is the closest b/c of his boards, blocks, and steals, plus he might be even better if Al Jefferson is traded.

        • Razvan

          I would not trade Smith yet but if you do you should get Millsap and Johnson for him, and a 2nd player back just as a filler.

          • asdfasdf

            Okay, thanks. Would this be better?

            Smith and Rubio for Ibaka and Parsons.

          • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

            It’s a great trade for you in terms of overall value, although Parsons hasn’t exactly been lighting it from the line lately himself. Still, I’d make it. If you want someone with a higher FT%, Kawhi Leonard is a guy I can’t recommend highly enough (although the Spurs, like the Rockets, don’t have a great schedule to end the year).

    • zee

      It’s a decent trade in terms of value, but in terms of name, Josh Smith carries by far the most weight in that conversation (seeing as he went in 1st round in many drafts). So basically, I think you could ask for more than Joe Johnson. Maybe aim for someone like Jeff Teague to help make up Rubio’s stats.