Preview: Week 17
All the hype surrounding the collaboration between Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones in bringing the 2010 All-Star Game to Dallas wasn’t completely misguided, as the event drew a record crowd of 108,713 people to Cowboys Stadium. The entirety of the weekend proved to be more of a letdown than anything though, with two events in particular standing out as big-time busts.
The H.O.R.S.E. competition featuring Kevin Durant, Rajon Rondo, and Omri Casspi was rushed from start to finish. In the interest of time, the league required each of the three competitors to attempt the ‘fan shot’ right off the bat– a shot through their legs from the free-throw line with their back turned to the basket (that probably took the fan 30+ attempts to convert). None of the competitors were able to make the shot (surprise, surprise) with Rondo being the only one who hit rim, so all three guys had ‘H’s’ just a few minutes into the competition. From there on out it was more of the same deal. Long commercial breaks made it difficult for the competitors to get into any sort of shooting rhythm, and to top things off the whole thing was cut short and converted into a three-point contest between Durant and Rondo. I’d almost prefer watching T.O. throw down blatantly travel during the All-Star Celebrity Game than this excuse of a competition.
While that proved to be a monumental waste of time, the Slam Dunk contest proved to be an even bigger disappointment. We don’t expect nearly as much from the H.O.R.S.E. competition as we do from the dunk contest. The dunk contest has come to define All-Star Weekend in a way — an outlet for all the flair, creativity, and ridiculousness that we expect to pop off when we stick the best players in the world together in one building at the same time. Instead, what we saw was one of the worst displays in recent memory. Charles Barkley succinctly summed up Gerald Wallace’s efforts with this gem of a line, while Shannon Brown made a strong push for his fans to create a new site — dontletshannondunk.com. Brown was headed in the right direction with a 360 Statue of Liberty attempt from the free-throw line to start, but opted for a lackluster mid-air switch one-hander once he missed his first try. Why? The judges have routinely let Nate Robinson get away with multiple dunk attempts (without a point penalty), so why not go for it? Also did anyone notice that Nate pretty much repeated one of his ‘06 dunks on Saturday, except easier? Instead of lobbing the ball to himself, he had Gallinari throw it to him this time …. and he still took three tries to pull it off. It’s embarrassing how much better the D-League Dunk Contest was. Step aside Shannon Brown — Dar Tucker has proven that he is the best dunker in La-La Land, hands down.
But enough with that. We still have our league championships to play for, and with the All-Star Break behind us we’re looking at a straight nine-week shot now until the season ends, meaning that those of you in head-to-head scoring leagues have less than five weeks to tweak your roster before the fantasy playoffs begin. Let’s skip the formalities and dive right in.
WEEK 17 SCHEDULES
Four Games: BOS, CHI, DAL, DET, GSW, HOU, MEM, MIA, MIN, NJN, PHX, SAC, UTA
Three Games: ATL, CHA, CLE, DEN, IND, LAC, MIL, NOR, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, POR, SAS, TOR, WAS
Two Games: LAL
ADD LIST (players owned in 40% or less of standard Yahoo! leagues)
Andray Blatche (PF/C — 36%) — Though Flip Saunders isn’t ready to reveal his cards just yet as to how the rotation will play out after the seven-player trade that went down on Saturday, it’s hard to believe that Blatche will not have a prominent part in the Wizards’ rotation. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is also reporting that Drew Gooden is likely to be bought out by the Wizards, further cementing Blatche’s value the rest of the way. In the 40 games that Blatche has started in since 2008, he has averaged 11.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 0.8 steals, on 46.9% shooting.
WATCH LIST (should be added in 14+ team leagues, monitored in standard 12-team leagues)
Jerryd Bayless (PG/SG — 10%) — Bayless has been a fairly inconsistent option from week-to-week thus far, but he’ll get a chance at some more reliable production with Steve Blake jettisoned to the Clippers. He should be a fixture in the Blazers’ rotation now, which is a promising sign because in the 11 games this year where he has gotten at least 25 minutes of action, Bayless has averaged 14.7 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds, .6 steals, and .5 treys. If you can afford the hit in field-goal percentage then there is certainly something to be had here.
Craig Smith (PF/C — 5%) — This may come as a surprise to most, but Smith is actually an extremely adept scorer. He has posted a high per-minute scoring rate throughout his career (20.4 points per 40 minutes in ‘08-’09, 19.5 points/40 this season), a result of his strength and high basketball IQ. Smith should be the biggest beneficiary amongst the Clippers’ frontcourt with Marcus Camby headed to Portland, and should provide owners with a legitimate 15-point scoring threat who shoots the ball at an efficient rate.
Nick Young (SG/SF — 5%) — Young should get some good run at the 2 with Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson off to Dallas, but his ceiling is pretty limited given his inconsistency issues and lack of an all-around game. He should be good for 12 points and 1.5 treys with a decent free-throw percentage impact, but don’t expect much else from the third-year pro out of USC.
JaVale McGee (PF/C — 4%) — On physical ability and talent alone, McGee is one of the league’s most athletically-gifted big men. The problem is that his game is still way too raw for him to make a consistent impact from game-to-game. His complete ineptitude on the defensive end is a bit worrisome (coaches aren’t exactly crazy about the idea of playing a defensive liability big minutes), but he should get some decent run with Haywood gone and Gooden on his way out, as previously mentioned. The BPG potential is off the charts though so if you’re in a deep league and in need of some blocks then by all means, pick him up.
DeAndre Jordan (PF/C — 3%) — We’ve been here with Jordan several times already, but this time he has a real opportunity to do some damage with the departure of Camby. As usual he will get in his own way with foul trouble (5.2 fouls per 36 minutes this season), but you can’t help but ignore the 10-point, 10-rebound, 2-block potential that he has shown since his rookie year.
DEEP LEAGUE SPECIAL (worth a gamble in deeper leagues — 16+ team owners take note)
Toney Douglas (PG/SG — 1%) & Jordan Hill (SF/PF — 3%) — Coach Mike D’Antoni will look to emphasize more of a youth movement the rest of the way, telling Mike Slane of nyknicks.com, “My biggest thing now is to make sure Gallo and Wilson keep improving and to get a really good look at Jordan and Toney. And from there try to help the rest of the guys either here or wherever they go.” We’ve already seen Douglas put up some big numbers with Nate Robinson and Chris Duhon ineffective/sidelined (16.8 points, 1.8 treys, 2.6 rebounds, 0.8 steals in five games of 20+ minutes), and who knows if Hill could go off with increased minutes. Hill’s per-36 averages actually aren’t all that bad — 14.9 points, 9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks. The potential is there — he just needs the opportunity to prove it.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:00 am
Welcome to the BFFA crew, Justin. This is the closest thing to a press release as you are going to get.
For those of you who don’t know him, Justin was most recently one of the top fantasy basketball writers at RotoWire and has also been published at Yahoo! Sports and NBA.com (amongst other places on the monster web). He brings experience and extensive knowledge of all things basketball, fantasy basketball and otherwise.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Oh, and the best part about the HORSE competition was watching Rondo drain three after three in sudden death. I’d be happy if the kid could hit free throws like that in games, let alone threes.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:36 am
Nice recap of the All Day Saturday Stinker. I felt the same way after both the HORSE and Dunk competitions (big thumbs down).
Good selections in the preview too. It’s like you’ve done this before…
February 17th, 2010 at 12:40 am
Justin, thanks for the preview, was getting withdrawal symptoms when it didn’t appear this week
A couple of other players I’ve been watching:-
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (8%) – he’s been pulling down a lot of boards, getting a lot of PT, scoring efficiently and racking up impressive steals and blocks. He’s what you’d want from a C, except he’s an SG/SF playing at PF
Probably not a safe pickup until after the trade deadline though, as the Bucks have been mentioned in several trade rumours involving PFs (Murphy, Jamison, Tyrus).
Omri Casspi (28%) – It looks like he might be climbing over the rookie wall, with his shot beginning to fall, his minutes on the rise and his shot opportunities increasing.
Also I know Webster’s at 49%, but if he’s available he may well be worth another look. Blake & Outlaw’s departure removes two sources of major minute squeeze.
One last one – Maggette’s been mentioned recently as a trade target for the Cavs. While its unlikely that happens, it really opens the door wide for Tolliver, who’s performing very well lately. The same goes for Morrow, especially if the Warriors let Curry bring the ball up rather than Ellis.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:13 am
My apologies, Prince is listed as an SF/PF. Oh, and for those of us in leagues with a weekly roster, the Bucks have five games next week.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:04 am
Good stuff Andrew. This week’s preview is more of a trade deadline edition than anything with not a whole lot changing since Week 16.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Good job Justin! After last looking at last night’s Portland game, it looks like Rudy Fernandez might start stealing those Bayless minutes though.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
C.J. Watson is one guy I would keep an eye on, with Monta Ellis potentially missing some time with his ailing knee.
Also, just read that Francisco Garcia made his debut last night, for a whopping total of 1 minute. This certainly muddles the wing rotation in Sacramento and is worth keeping an eye on.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
At the moment it looks like Garcia will most likely eat into Udoka’s minutes, which shouldn’t have much effect on Casspi/Greene etc.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Blatche is probably already taken everywhere … but I bet McGee isn’t. If you’re not worried about FT% he looks like a great pickup right now.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:40 am
The Warriors play so much better without Monta’s one vs five offense, and KMart has no hope of stopping CJ Watson.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:45 am
Salmons will almost certainly start for the Bucks, and there’s a good chance it’ll eventually be at his preferred position (SF – Delfino to SG). His value is suddenly a lot higher than it was yesterday.
Gooden’s a real wildcard at the moment. Clips will either trade him or buy him out, and either way he could suddenly end up on a team where he takes a major role (Bucks, Bobcats, Bulls). He could also polish the pine for a contender too
February 18th, 2010 at 1:38 am
Maggette’s strained a hammy. Looks more & more likely his days of big-minute games & production are over for this year.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Looks like Gooden will stay a Clipper. You’d have to think he’d be starting PF…
February 18th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Watch Garcia now the Kings have traded Martin away. Will Garcia start at the 2, or will Westphal keep him coming off the bench (at least for now) and revert Greene back to SG? I can see Garcia in the starting lineup at some point provided he doesn’t have any health setbacks.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Good chance Sasha Rodriguez will be the Bricks starting PG.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Oops, I meant Sergio