Fantasy BBall

[Zanchief]

Remade the same league as last year. We had a really low turnout last year but I'm hoping to bump it up to at least 10 people.

I'm not that picky about your knowledge but I'd like you to atleast be active if you want to join.

PM me if you want in.

[vonkaar]

hehe, I autodrafted... let's see how well I can do =p.

sorta pissed at getting D.Galianiariarira over people like Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer, but whatever

[Zanchief]

Your first few rounds were stellar. David Lee and Manu (starting now) both dropped down to you and I think both are in for great fantasy years. Some of your later picks I felt bad for you though. I think you're confusing Gallinari with Bargs though? He's a good fantasy option at Utility. I was thinking of making a trade offer but looking at your team I don't think I could have gotten anything to work.

OMG you got The Dark! Xaoshaen would be proud. You may have picked up a late round steal in Jack as he will likely be the starter all season long, but he's not a great Fantasy player (not a great game player either unfortunately). Calderon has been really playing himself out of the starting lineup lately.

Anyway. My interest in basketball is very high this year even though my guys are going to be in the toilet.

Any early predictions?

Scoring leader
Obvious: Durant
Gamble: Amare

MVP
Obvious: Durant
Gamble: Dirk

6th Man
Obvious: Crawford
Gamble: Barbosa (do they give the award to players on terrible teams)

MIP
Obvious: Collison
Gamble: Jru Holiday

Worst Record
Detroit

Best Record
Orlando

[vonkaar]

my biggest gripe is where I picked Ray Allen... who I wouldn't have picked even in the 8th. I just don't like him.

I can see Orlando getting the best record. I'm rooting for them and Boston (ick ick ick) because I fucking hate Miami so badly right now. MVP to Durant, definitely... as well as the scoring title. He is so much fun to watch. It's like a younger, nicer Jordon with better teammates (than he had at his age)... in a tiny city that absolutely worships them.

The Mavs have like 15 'ifs' that 'if' they go right, could put us in the finals. Unfortunately, all of them have to happen and the best of them is barely a 50% chance to happen. I'm predicting that we'll win the SW, Dirk will have an amazing year and we'll lose in the second round to any of the scary 8 teams in the west, which could go anyway... I think Al Jefferson will blossom under Sloan, especially if he teaches him the Karl Malone Elbow's OUT and SWINGING rebounding skill.

This year especially, I'm cheering for the teams that did it 'right'. They built their team around solid 50/50 trades, drafted well, hired good coaches and treat their players right. None of those 'good' teams that fell into greatness simply because someone got lazy with trades (Pau, KG, AJ) or players went around the tampering rules to build 'super-teams'. Do it 'right' like Bird, Jordon, Johnson, et al. Those teams this year are Dallas, Orlando, San Antonio, Atlanta, Phoenix (my choice for 'watch-out' squad), Houston, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee.

6th man... I'm hoping Jason Terry comes back into form.

Coach of the Year - Jerry Sloan or Avery Johnson. AJ taking that team to the playoffs with a winning record >> Sloan's boring shit any day.

Most Improved - Bogut. Watch out... dude is ready to roll (though this might curse his ankles... just wait).

Defensive - Howard, easily.

Rookie - Blake Griffin. Dude is a bigger stud than Wall and has better talent around him. Plus I always secretly cheer for the Clips.

Seeding:

west
1) LAL
2) Oklahoma City
3) Dallas
4) Phoenix
5) San Antonio
6) Utah
7) Portland
8) Houston
9) Memphis (breakout year for them!)
10) Denver, after trading Melo to NY for a 2nd round pick in 2015 and 2 scrubs
11) LAC
12) New Orleans
13) Sacramento
14) Golden State
15) Minnesota

East:
1) Orlando
2) Boston
3) Chicago
4) Miami
5) Milwaukee
6) New York
7) Atlanta
8) New Jersey
9) Washington
10) Charlotte
11) Philly
12) Indiana
13) Toronto
14) Cleveland
15) Detroit


WCF - Dallas & LA, LA wins.
ECF - Orlando & Miami, Miami wins because Dwight fouls out of 3 games with less than 20 minutes played
Finals - LA / Miami. Kobe sets a single game final's record for points and complete dominates... Pau owns Chris, Wade dislocates his shoulder and screams like a baby as he's carted out. Shaun Livingston's knee calls him a pussy.

[Zanchief]

Even though he's a bigot I root for Sloan every year for coach of the year. I mean Sam Mitchell has a coach of the year and he doesn't?

I can't get into OKC like other people. I really dig Durant but I just don't watch many of their games for some reason.

This year I'm only rooting for teams that have never won a championship. Orlando and Dallas I think might be my best options. I'm hoping for good things from Dallas this year. I think Butler is going to have a great year. I think Chandler and Haywood will be a much better Center tandem then you have had in the past. Chandler especially could be a difference maker. I just think you need one more scoring option to really do some damage. Maybe Beaubois will be that guy but I don't think he's ready.

I don't share your enthusiasm for PHO. We saw them twice in the preseason (I know it's preseason) but they look terrible. Really really terrible. Hedo was a really bad pickup. That's a vet team and if things start to go south early they're going to be looking to move all those pieces to contenders.

My surprise team is LAC. They're slowly putting together a very solid team. I could see them surpassing a lot of teams like PHO, Denver, Houston, maybe even Portland (probably not).

I'm high on Utah though. I think Jefferson will fit right and they have so many solid bigs it's crazy.

In the east I hate Miami obviously, hate Boston as always, hate New York even though they suck. I'd root for Atlanta but TOR has not had a good history with them so I kind of hate them too. I like Milwaukee (who could hate those guys), but I'm not crazy about their off season moves. Not sold on Charlotte at all. I see them moving right back into the toilet. Possibly even under Toronto. I guess it's just Orlando in the east. Maybe NJ can move up but they haven't improved at all since last year.

[Reynaldo]

Noob question but what does the +/- stat mean in the box score of NBA games?

[Zanchief]

It's the point differential while that player was on the court.

[Reynaldo]

Such as if Wade is on the court and the score is Heat 50, Magic 60, and when he subs out the score is Heat 75, Magic 75, he'd have a +/- of +10?

[Zanchief]

Yes

[vonkaar]

It's a hotly debated stat, but I like it. It helps to tell the 'real' story for some players that might not show up on the stat sheet, yet had a tremendous impact on the game. Bruce Bowen, for example, often had great +/- because he was such a defensive (asshole) stalwart. The other team didn't score as much, therefore he had a good positive impact. Star players will usually have a high +/- because not only do they score, their presence opens up defensive breakdowns for other players. If you see a REALLY bad negative... something was going very badly that day.

Adjusted plus-minusis the superior younger cousin...