Dunk Competition

February 25, 2012 by 2 Comments

It’s about that time again. The NBA All-Star Weekend is underway and the dunk competition is fast approaching tonight. Needless to say, I don’t think people are nearly as excited for this year’s contest.

Too bad Blake Griffin isn’t going to defend his title this year because not only would we get to enjoy his unbelievable hops, but we would also already know who the winner was going to be. That’s right. I said it. The dunk competition has more or less become a popularity contest that is more about the pre- and post-dunk celebrations and showmanship than the actual dunk itself. Don’t get me wrong, I still like watching it, but it’s just changed a lot over the years and seems much more dried out. I don’t think it’s necessarily the fault of the contestants because I mean, come on, how many different dunks and possibilities are even humanly possible? Maybe it’s just me, but I would rather see a guy perform great dunks, ala Vince Carter, over all the showmanship, ala Nate Robinson.

Even today, in my opinion, I still feel as though Vince Carter’s performance in the 2000 dunk competition was THE best ever and that competition was one of the best ever as well. I feel like the contest has been on a downward spiral ever since “Vinsanity” took over in 2000. Sure, there have been great performances and memorable dunks, most notably Jason Richardson and his performances including his alley-oop, under-the-legs, reverse jam. Nothing, however, can measure up to what Vince did in 2000 though. Let’s take a look at some highlights of that contest.

This year’s contestants consist of a lot of new faces and no real big superstars. That is actually one thing I’m sort of looking forward to. It’s the whole “unknown” and “surprise” factor that comes along with these guys and not really knowing what they can do. None of them necessarily have the popularity won over another like Griffin would either. Let’s go ahead and get to know this group a little better:

  1. Paul George – SG/SF / Indiana Pacers / 2nd year / Fresno State / 6’8″
  2. Derrick Williams – SF/PF / Minnesota Timberwolves / Rookie / Arizona / 6’8″
  3. Chase Budinger – SG/SF / Houston Rockets / 3rd year / Arizona / 6’7″
  4. Jeremy Evans – SF/PF / Utah Jazz / 2nd year / Western Kentucky / 6’9″

When looking at this list, I’m actually excited to see if these guys can come up with some things that will surprise everyone and how they do when the lights come on. I think conventional wisdom would lead us to placing the “favorite” label on D-Will because of the explosiveness we’ve seen out of him so far in his rookie year and last year in college. The guy who is my favorite player of this group and who I really want to win is Paul George. I also think that George is actually going to win as well. I was going to pick Shumpert before he was replaced by Jeremy Evans, simply because he seems like the one who would be the most celebratory and I figured his pre- and post-dunk showmanship would be the best. I also figured, correctly at that, that he would involve Jeremy Lin somehow and the crowd would pretty much love it no matter what as long as they got their dose of “Linsanity” which would have given him a few extra points from the judges. However, I can’t really figure out who, out of this group, will be the biggest showboater, therefore I’m going to have to pick my favorite guy, Paul George. Plus, I have also heard that he has something surprising planned so I’m looking forward to it. With all that said, who do you think is going to win?

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3-Point Competition

February 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Is a repeat in order?

Unlike the dunk competition, the 3-point contest has absolutely nothing to do with judging and popularity and absolutely everything to do with who can make the most shots in the time alotted. Therefore, while the dunk competition is generally considered the main attraction and the more exciting of the two, the 3-point competition is definitely the more fair. Also, unlike the dunk competition, last year’s 3-point champion, James Jones, is returning to defend his title. Joe Johnson was supposed to take part but was a scratch due to injury and has been replaced by Kevin Durant. Let’s take a better look at all of the contestants:

  • James Jones – SG/SF, Miami Heat, reigning champion, 42.0% 3PT this season, 21 3PTM this season, 40.3% 3PT career
  • Kevin Love – PF/C, Minnesota Timberwolves, 34.8% 3PT this season, 49 3PTM this season, 36.5% 3PT career
  • Ryan Anderson – PF/C, Orlando Magic, 43.4% 3PT this season, 99 3PTM this season, 39.2% 3PT career
  • Mario Chalmers – PG, Miami Heat, 45.6% 3PT this season, 68 3PTM this season, 36.7% 3PT career
  • Anthony Morrow – SG/SF, New Jersey Nets, 40.2% 3PT this season, 68 3PTM this season, 43.9% 3PT career
  • Kevin Durant – SF, Oklahoma City Thunder, 36.5% 3PT this season, 58 3PTM this season, 35.8% 3PT career

When looking over the contestants, there are a lot of great shooters as well as big name superstars. I really feel like nobody is the favorite heading into this contest and that anyone can win it. Personally, my pick is going to be Ryan Anderson. He’s just been on fire all year and is having an amazing year. He almost has 100 threes made already (99) and is averaging 2.9 per game so far! If he keeps up that rate, it will be the highest since 2007-08 when Peja Stojakovic and Jason Richardson averaged 3.0 per game. He’s also shooting the second best 3PT% of all the contestants this year behind only Chalmers (45.6%). Another big factor he’ll have on his side is shooting in his home arena and with a hometown crowd cheering him on. My dark horse for the event has to be Anthony Morrow. He’s a guy that nobody is really talking about right now but is known for his 3-point shooting. He has a smooth stroke and has easily the best career 3PT% of all the contestants so definitely watch out for him. With that said, who do you think is going to win?

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Rising Stars BBVA Challenge

February 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Rookie-Sophomore game has changed up a little bit this year. Usually, in years past, it would be a group of the best second year guys facing off against a group of the best rookie players so far. However, this year the NBA changed it up a little bit. Instead of Rookies vs. Sophomores, this year, the NBA had Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal be the managers of the two teams and they drafted their teams. This mixes Rookies and Sophomores onto the same team and should make it a little more interesting, especially with as big of personalities as Shaq and Chuck drafting and managing the teams. They also decided that “Linsanity” couldn’t be possibly left off the rosters, so they added Lin and rookie Norris Cole to the mix. Beforehand, Shaq was heavily favored as I’m sure most viewers figured Shaq at least had a decent of idea of what he was doing. Shaq even joked that he was the “black Pat Riley.” Here are both squads:

  1. Team Shaq                                                                                                 2.  Team Chuck
  • Blake Griffin, LA Clippers                                                                             Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Jeremy Lin, NY Knicks                                                                                  DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
  • Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves                                                     Derrick Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Markieff Morris, Phoenix Suns                                                                     Paul George, Indiana Pacers
  • Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats                                                             MarShon Brooks, NJ Nets
  • Landry Fields, NY Knicks                                                                             John Wall, Washington Wizards
  • Norris Cole, Miami Heat                                                                               Evan Turner, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Brandon Knight, Detroit Pistons                                                                 Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz
  • Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers                                                  Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
  • Greg Monroe, Detroit Pistons                                                                      Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz

Shaq took no time at all in taking Blake Griffin with his first overall pick and then Chuck surprised by taking Kyrie with his first pick. I think Shaq did a nice job by teaming Lin and Rubio with Griffin because I think they fit nicely together. However, I think Chuck has a more versatile team and I don’t understand why Shaq decided to draft Morris so early. When watching it, it looked like he just threw a name out there because of the clock expiring. I would like Shaq’s team a lot better if he would have picked John Wall ahead of Morris, Walker, and Fields, but for some reason both guys let Wall slide until Chuck finally took him with one of his last picks. The last four picks of the draft were randomly drawn and Derrick Favors was an injury replacement for Tiago Splitter.

When looking at both rosters, I feel like this could be a very close and entertaining game. Ultimately, I like the versatility of Chuck’s team and really like the backcourt of Irving and Wall as they are two of my favorite players in the league. I also think that Wall might come out attacking and playing with a chip on his shoulder after being passed up so many times. So, in conclusion, I’m going to have to pick “Team Chuck” as the winner of this exciting game. What do you guys think?

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Top 5 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Dunks of All Time

February 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

With the NBA Slam Dunk Contest coming up, I thought it would be a good time to put out a top 10 NBA Slam Dunk Contest dunks of all time. There are so many candidates that could be on this list; and if some of those players do not make this top-five list, it is in no way disrespecting them. It is pretty difficult to comprise such a list with so many great dunks. This list might not be the dunk that won the individual the title, but simply the best dunks of the contest. I would love to see LeBron James vs Blake Griffin in a dunk contest, but I doubt we will ever see that.

1. Vince Carter: Reverse 360 Windmill Dunk, 2000

No. 1 on this list is Vince Carter’s reverse 360 windmill. This was just spectacular dunk. This was in the first round. He would wow the crowd a couple more times in this contest, but this dunk was simply ridiculous. During the broadcast, TNT announcer, Kenny Smith uttered the words “Let’s go home! Let’s go home!” When you pull a dunk like this in the very first round, then you probably deserve to win the contest, which is what Carter did. I remember watching this live, at nine years old, and simply having my jaw drop in amazement. This is regarded as one of the best dunk contests of all time.

2. Michael Jordan: Free Throw Line Dunk, 1988

His Airness, Michael Jordan, graces my list at the No. 2 spot. A lot of people will argue that this should be No. 1, but not in my mind. Don’t get me wrong, whoever thinks it could be number one has a very strong case. This is one of the most memorable dunks of all time, not just in dunk contests. When people think of a dunk from the foul line, they think of MJ. This was the 1988 dunk contest, and he needed a score of 48 to tie Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks. Jordan ran from the opposite end of the court, and then took off from the free throw line. While in the air, he pumped the ball, before slamming it home. Jordan received a score of 50, and thus won the contest.

3. Jason Richardson: Alley-Oop, Through the Legs, Reverse Dunk, 2003

In the 2003 NBA Slam Dunk Contest finals, Jason Richardson squared off against Desmond Mason of the, then Seattle Supersonics. Richardson was looking to repeat as champion, but he needed a 48 to tie and a 49 to win. He got a 50 on a remarkable dunk. He often, and still to this day, passed to himself, and that was the case here. He started from the baseline corner, threw the ball up, caught it, put it between his legs, and dunked it reverse style with his left hand. This was something new, and he pulled it off perfectly.

4. Andre Iguodala: Behind the Backboard Alley-Oop, 2006

Andre Iguodala had the other A.I., Allen Iverson, assist him with this dunk. He ran from behind the baseline, caught the ball off the back of the backboard, where Iverson had thrown it, then ducked under the backboard and dunked the ball backwards. One of the greatest dunks I have ever seen. It took him a couple tries, but when he finally got it, it was awesome. He should have won this dunk contest, as Nate Robinson, who is listed at 5’9”, won, but took 18 tries to complete his dunk. One of the most memorable dunks I have ever watched live.

5. Vince Carter: Between the Legs off a Bounced Alley-Oop, 2000

Once again, Vinsanity makes the list. In the same dunk contest as his dunk on the number one spot, Carter would have all sorts of spectacular dunks. To me, this was the second best. He was assisted on this dunk by his cousin and then-teammate, Tracy McGrady. T-Mac stood in front of the hoop, bounced the ball in the air, and then VC15 leaped, grabbed it, and put it between his legs and dunked it home. After finishing the dunk, Vinsanity mouthed the words “Its over.” This was another jaw dropping dunk. Carter assisted McGrady earlier in the contest, so this was really fitting.

Originally, I was going to make this a top 10 list, but I decided to reduce it to top 5. There are a ton of dunks that could have gone in my top 5, but these, in my opinion, are the five best dunks from the NBA Slam Dunk Contests.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)
Isaiah Rider- 1994
Spud Webb- 1986
Dwight Howard- 2008
Nate Robinson- 2009
Tracy McGrady- 2000
Larry Nance- 1984
Michael Jordan -1987
Dominique Wilkin- 1990
Kobe Bryant- 1997
Dee Brown- 1991
1988 Slam Dunk Contest
2000 Slam Dunk Contest

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“BaseLINE of the Night”

February 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

For those of you who don’t know, this is a post I do every day or night that pays homage to the guys out there ballin’ hard and making their fantasy owners feel all warm and fuzzy inside. With only 4 games on the slate tonight, it was pretty much a typical Thursday and gave all the guys playing a great shot at winning the award in the last night before All-Star Weekend. Here’s the latest edtion of “BaseLINE of the Night” for Thursday, February 23rd, 2012.

Well with Kevin Durant on the slate tonight, could he be the top line for the third time in his last four games? He would have to beat out LeBron and Wade and the Heat and Kobe to do it. KD wasn’t going to let that deter him from keeping up this remarkable hot streak! He is absolutely on fire right now as he actually has been the top line in three of his last four games with the other game he had to “settle” for third best line. This is why this guy is taken first overall in many drafts. He gives you consistent all-around production, night in and night out and don’t expect anything less for the rest of the year. I mentioned before how I might need to start finding more highlights of Durant and I guess I really need to start having them pre-saved for a quick find. Check out his award-winning line tonight:

  • 33 Pts (12-22 FG, 2-8 3PT, 7-7 FT)/4 Reb/6 Ast/3 Stl/1 Blk/2 TO

The Durantula strikes once again!


While Durant reigns supreme for a night (and pretty much the whole week), let’s take a look at the guys who came oh-so-close to being awarded the “BaseLINE of the Night” award. Rounding out the top 5 are:

2. LeBron James – 20 Pts (7-16 FG, 6-6 FT)/9 Reb/8 Ast/5 Stl/2 Blk/4 TO

3. DeJuan Blair – 28 Pts (12-21 FG, 4-4 FT)/12 Reb/3 Ast/2 Stl/1 Blk

4. Richard Jefferson – 17 Pts (5-8 FG, 5-7 3PT, 2-2 FT)/8 Reb/1 Ast/1 Stl

5. Metta World Peace – 9 Pts (3-3 FG, 3-5 3PT)/4 Reb/5 Ast/2 Stl

*Suprising Line of the Night*

  • Danny Green (12% owned) –  16 Pts (6-12 FG, 1-5 3PT, 3-4 FT)/6 Reb/2 Ast/3 Stl/2 TO

Green has really grown a lot this year under Greg Popovich. Heading into the season, Danny was an afterthought for the Spurs. However, being that the Spurs have sustained a lot of injuries and Pops wants to rest his veterans for the playoffs, it has created a good opportunity for Green and he has taken advantage of it. He’s averaging career-highs in every single category except for FG%, granted he hasn’t played much in his career so far. He has also shown flashes of being an all-around fantasy contributor. At only 22 min a game, he is averaging 1.2 threes a game, 0.8 steals a game, and 0.8 blocks a game making him so close to joining a unique group of players that are so valuable in fantasy and that’s the 1-1-1 (threes-blocks-steals) club. If he were to get consistent starting role and 30+ minutes a night, he could definitely accomplish that. In the short term, expect Green to keep starting and getting decent time until Ginobili returns. Even still, his play will be inconsistent and once Manu comes back it’ll be interesting to see what his role is.

While these guys weren’t the best of the best, they certainly had their owners smiling after their performance. As I always say, In the words of Cleveland fans (myself included), “There’s always next year,” or, in this case, next game.

That’s it for this edition of “BaseLINE of the Night,” but make sure to check back tonight/tomorrow to see who takes home the award.

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“BaseLINE of the Night”

February 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

 

For those of you who don’t know, this is a post I do every day or night that pays homage to the guys out there ballin’ hard and making their fantasy owners feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was pretty much a full night around the league which is regular for a Wednesday. Here’s the latest edtion of “BaseLINE of the Night” for Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012.

 Well the Kevin Durant watch was on as he tried to be the main man for three consecutive games which would be amazing. He failed to accomplish the feat, although he did wind up as the third best player on the night so I’m sure his owners are still quite pleased. This night, however, belonged to Chris Paul. Expectations were huge once he was teamed up with DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin. Many, including myself, expected that CP3 would lead the league in assists hands down. While he hasn’t led the league, he is sitting at fourth in the NBA and is ranked as the third best player in fantasy this season. That’s not too shabby as he was generally ranked third heading into the season behind LeBron and KD, so he’s giving you pretty much what you paid for him. Wednesday night just showed another reason why he’s an elite performer in fantasy basketball. Check out that line:
  • 36 Pts (11-16 FG, 3-7 3PT, 11-12 FT)/1 Reb/9 Ast/2 Stl/3 TO

Poor Tony Parker!


While CP3 reigns supreme for a night, let’s take a look at the guys who came oh-so-close to being awarded the “BaseLINE of the Night” award. Rounding out the top 5 are:

2. Paul Millsap – 25 Pts (10-17 FG, 5-5 FT)/9 Reb/2 Ast/2 Stl/2 Blk/1 TO

3. Kevin Durant – 28 Pts (9-22 FG, 2-4 3PT,  8-9 FT)/9 Reb/6 Ast/4 Stl/3 TO

4. Marcin Gortat – 21 Pts (9-13 FG, 3-3 FT)/15 Reb/1 Ast/1 Stl/1 Blk

5. MarShon Brooks – 24 Pts (10-15 FG, 4-7 3PT)/5 Reb/2 Ast/2 Stl/1 TO

*Suprising Line of the Night*

  • Jordan Crawford (29% owned) –  32 Pts (12-19 FG, 3-6 3PT, 5-6 FT)/2 Reb/4 Ast/1 Stl/3 TO

Crawford is an interesting player. When given regular minutes, he has shown flashes of greatness. For example, when Nick Young went down with an injury last year, Crawford stepped right in and played great. The problem is that when both are healthy, both will be inconsistent. Crawford is on a hot streak right now though. He must have been feeling the love on Valentine’s Day because ever since then, this is what he has been doing: 30.7 MPG, 21.2 PPG, 1.8 3PG, 3.2 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 54.1% FG, 89.5% FT, and 2.8 TOPG. This line is good for the 41st best player over that span. What’s more impressive is that he’s hit at least one three-pointer in every game during that stretch and has scored 20+ in four of the five games as well with the other game being a 12-point performance which is still double figures. As you can see, he’s been getting a lot of playing time lately and that should only continue with the way he is playing right now. Pick him up if you are in need of scoring and threes with a good FT% and decent steals and ride this hot streak. However, don’t think that he will keep this FG% up because he’s still only at 39.4 % for the year and finished last season at 39.0%. It might be worthwhile to scoop him up and enjoy the hot streak while you can and maybe see if you can sell high on him before that FG% comes crashing back down.

While these guys weren’t the best of the best, they certainly had their owners smiling after their performance. As I always say, In the words of Cleveland fans (myself included), “There’s always next year,” or, in this case, next game.

That’s it for this edition of “BaseLINE of the Night,” but make sure to check back tonight/tomorrow to see who takes home the award.

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“BaseLINE of the Night”

February 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

For those of you who don’t know, this is a post I do every day or night that pays homage to the guys out there ballin’ hard and making their fantasy owners feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was pretty much a full night around the league which is regular for a Wednesday. Here’s the latest edtion of “BaseLINE of the Night” for Tuesday, February 21st, 2012.

Well Kevin Durant was off tonight so I guess that gave everyone else in the league a shot at being the main man for a night. We’ll see tomorrow night if the Durantula can post the “BaseLINE of the Night” for his third straight game. He was the first to do it in consecutive nights and I wouldn’t put anything past him. Tonight Dwyane Wade takes over as the top baller making his first stop of what I’m sure is to be multiple stops atop the leaderboard. This comes as no surprise considering Wade is consistently an early first round pick in fantasy given that he can provide help in almost every area. Just check out his line to see what kind of damage he can do across the board:

  • 30 Pts (11-16 FG, 8-10 FT)/4 Reb/10 Ast/3 Stl/2 Blk/2 TO

Fall seven times…. Stand up eight!


While D-Wade reigns supreme for a night, let’s take a look at the guys who came oh-so-close to being awarded the “BaseLINE of the Night” award. Rounding out the top 5 are:

2. Kyrie Irving – 25 Pts (8-15 FG, 3-4 3PT, 6-6 FT)/5 Reb/8 Ast/2 Stl/2 Blk/6 TO

3. Greg Monroe – 19 Pts (8-16 FG, 3-4 FT)/11 Reb/7 Ast/3 Stl/1 Blk/2 TO

4. LaMarcus Aldridge – 21 Pts (8-12 FG, 5-5 FT)/7 Reb/3 Ast/2 Stl/1 Blk/1 TO

T5. Jamal Crawford – 20 Pts (6-8 FG, 5-7 3PT, 3-3 FT)/4 Reb/8 Ast/1 TO

T5. Gerald Wallace – 19 Pts (6-10 FG, 1-2 3PT, 6-6 FT)/10 Reb/6 Ast/3 Blk/3 TO

 

*Suprising Line of the Night*

  • Isaiah Thomas (39% owned) –  24 Pts (7-14 FG, 5-8 3PT, 5-5 FT)/3 Reb/5 Ast/2 TO

I featured Thomas in this section two nights ago and since then his ownership has jumped from 11% to 39%. Like I said before with Thomas, his counting stats are going to be there. I would not expect his efficiency to always be there and more times than not, it won’t be. Of course he should give you a decent amount of points, assists, and threes with a pretty good FT% with occasional steals, but the other areas are obvious question marks given his stature. Of course this is all hinged upon whether he can retain the starting role, but he’s showing no signs of giving it up anytime soon with the type of play he is giving on a nightly basis. He should be added in most leagues so consider this your last chance to scoop him up.

While these guys weren’t the best of the best, they certainly had their owners smiling after their performance. As I always say, In the words of Cleveland fans (myself included), “There’s always next year,” or, in this case, next game.

That’s it for this edition of “BaseLINE of the Night,” but make sure to check back tonight/tomorrow to see who takes home the award.

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“BaseLINE of the Night”

February 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

For those of you who don’t know, this is a post I do every day or night that pays homage to the guys out there ballin’ hard and making their fantasy owners feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was pretty much a full night around the league which is regular for a Wednesday. Here’s the latest edtion of “BaseLINE of the Night” for Monday, February 20th, 2012.

So how does Durant follow up a career scoring night? He goes out and drops an efficient 31 points and gives his owners the best overall line for a second night in a row! This is why many of you drafted him with your first overall pick. He can pretty much do it all on the court and usually does it pretty efficiently. If you are a Durant owner, enjoy the ride and I would expect nothing less than elite play for the rest of the season. Don’t be surprised if the Durantula shows up many more times as the main man on any given night. I guess I’m going to have to find a bunch of different highlight films.

  • 31 Pts (10-19 FG, 3-7 3PT, 8-9 FT)/8 Reb/4 Ast/2 Stl/1 Blk/1 TO

The Durantula strikes again!


While Durant reigns supreme for a night (again), let’s take a look at the guys who came oh-so-close to being awarded the “Line of the Night” award. Rounding out the top 5 are:

2. Deron Williams – 38 Pts (10-22 FG, 8-14 3PT, 10-12 FT)/4 Reb/6 Ast/1 Stl/3 TO

3. Kyle Lowry – 24 Pts (7-17 FG, 3-7 3PT, 7-7 FT)/7 Reb/9 Ast/4 Stl/4 TO

4. Monta Ellis – 32 Pts (11-20 FG, 4-4 3PT, 6-6 FT)/5 Reb/4 Ast/1 Stl/3 TO

5. Dirk Nowitzki – 26 Pts (10-24 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-5 FT)/16 Reb/1 Ast/1 Stl/2 Blk/1 TO

*Suprising Line of the Night*

  • Matt Bonner (15% owned) –  20 Pts (6-8 FG, 5-6 3PT, 3-3 FT)/1 Reb/1 Ast/1 Stl/1 TO

The Red Rocket has taken off the past two games. With Tiago Splitter out for two weeks with a right calf strain, Bonner has been given 31+ minutes a night for the past two games and has done pretty well with it. He’ll never really hurt you with turnovers and won’t necessarily give you much counting stats, besides some occasional good rebounding games, but he can be a good source of points and at a high efficiency at that. He also is a unique player that is center-eligible and is a great three point shooter so that makes him that much more valuable. At only 15% owned right now, I expect that to rise over the next week or so. With the all-star break coming up, it should kill a little bit of the buzz, but he should still be good for at least a week or two after the break while Splitter will be just returning, and really who knows when it comes to calf strains right Bargnani?

While these guys weren’t the best of the best, they certainly had their owners smiling after their performance. As I always say, In the words of Cleveland fans (myself included), “There’s always next year,” or, in this case, next game.

That’s it for this edition of “BaseLINE of the Night,” but make sure to check back tonight/tomorrow to see who takes home the award.

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Fantasy Basketball Find: Isaiah Thomas

February 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I’m sure you have heard the name Isaiah Thomas, but I am not referring to the Hall of Fame point guard from the Pistons that has been known more recently for his shortcomings in NBA front offices.

I’m talking about the rookie point guard out of the University of Washington that has been heating things up for the Sacramento Kings.

He has reached double-figures in his past three games, averaging 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.3 three-pointer while shooting 51.4 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from downtown, and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe.

On Sunday he nearly messed around and got a triple-double, racking up 23 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists.

He was a nice college player though, averaging 15.5, 16.9, and 16.8 ppg in his three seasons for the Huskies. He had decent assist numbers in his first two seasons at 2.6 and 3.2 before really stepping it up in his final year with a 6.1 apg average.

His season numbers are hardly impressive at 7.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, 0.6 spg, and 1.0 3pg. He has started his past two games with the Kings though so he should continue to see heavy minutes if he continues to produce. Even if he ends up coming off the bench, he has earned a spot in the rotation for now.

If he keeps putting up solid numbers your window of opportunity to grab him will be gone. Currently he is owned in 51.1 percent of ESPN and 34.0 percent of Yahoo! leagues. As always, you have to have an expendable player if you want to move on Thomas.

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“Line of the Night”

February 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

For those of you who don’t know, this is a post I do every day or night that pays homage to the guys out there ballin’ hard and making their fantasy owners feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was pretty much a full night around the league which is regular for a Wednesday. Here’s the latest edtion of “Line of the Night” for Sunday, February 19th, 2012.

So who was the main man on Sunday? This guy posted a monster line tonight and it’s none other than last year’s scoring champ and a top three fantasy pick in pretty much every single league, Kevin Durant. KD dropped a career-high in scoring tonight, which is kind of surprising that he led the league in scoring without ever having topped 50. That just speaks to how consistently he scores and boy was he consistently scoring tonight. Go ahead and check out this line and then pick up your jaw from off the floor.

  • 51 Pts (19-28 FG, 5-6 3PT, 8-10 FT)/8 Reb/3 Ast/4 Stl/5 TO

A salute to KD for a career night!


While Durant reigns supreme for a night, let’s take a look at the guys who came oh-so-close to being awarded the “Line of the Night” award. Rounding out the top 5 are:

2. Kyle Lowry – 32 Pts (9-13 FG, 7-8 3PT, 7-7 FT)/1 Reb/9 Ast/1 Stl/1 TO

3. Russell Westbrook – 40 Pts (16-29 FG, 3-6 3PT, 5-5 FT)/4 Reb/9 Ast/1 Blk/2 TO

4. Serge Ibaka – 14 Pts (6-7 FG, 2-4 FT)/15 Reb/1 Stl/11 Blk/1 TO

5. Ersan Ilyasova – 29 Pts (11-23 FG, 2-4 3PT, 5-6 FT)/25 Reb/1 Stl/1 Blk/1 TO

*Suprising Line of the Night*

  • Isaiah Thomas (11% owned) –  23 Pts (8-16 FG, 3-7 3PT, 4-5 FT)/8 Reb/11 Ast/1 Blk/2 TO

The new Isaiah Thomas was the 60th pick of this past summer’s draft out of Washington. He’s been working hard to get more playing time and it’s showing. The Kings have been tinkering with their lineup and their most recent change has been to insert Thomas at the point and slide Tyreke over to SF. It’s seemed to work out at least for Thomas anyways as he has put up pretty good numbers, especially tonight as he posted the ninth best line of the entire NBA tonight! I feel as though Thomas is capable of putting up pretty good numbers if he continues to start and get good playing time, especially in scoring, threes, FT%, and assists so if you need help in those areas I wouldn’t hesitate to pick him up.

While these guys weren’t the best of the best, they certainly had their owners smiling after their performance. As I always say, In the words of Cleveland fans (myself included), “There’s always next year,” or, in this case, next game.

That’s it for this edition of “Line of the Night,” but make sure to check back tonight/tomorrow to see who takes home the award.

Filed under Baseline Articles, Fantasy Basketball, NBA Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

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