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| LARRY SANDERS! |
Showing posts with label Basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Basketball. Show all posts
FIWK the NBA - Outperformers vs. Underperformers
It's NBA mid season recap time! Who has destroyed expectations? Who has destroyed fantasy seasons? Let's investigate. (Spoiler: I am going to say LARRY SANDERS! a lot.)
FIWK the NBA: It's raining young guards
In reviewing the FIWK draft primer at the halfway point of the season, I always find it helpful to look at who has achieved expectations and who has underperformed so far. Without question, the standout performers have been mostly young guards. In fact, the overall recommendation to ‘draft young’ has been a winner. Among those listed, here are the young players outperforming draft position:
Ty Lawson (especially before injury); DeMarcus Cousins (still insane though); Mike Conley; Greg Monroe; James Harden; Marcus Thornton; DeAndre Jordan; Jeff Teague; Paul George; Kyle Lowry; Marcin Gortat; Roy Hibbert; Jarrett Jack
And in the interest of fairness, here are the duds from my list:
Tyreke Evans (started slow, playing better now); Serge Ibaka (same as Evans); JaVale McGee (not terrible, but not a big jump); Toney Douglas; JJ Barea; Ty Thomas; Landry Fields … and that’s about it. Seriously, most of the young dudes have been balling.
Ty Lawson (especially before injury); DeMarcus Cousins (still insane though); Mike Conley; Greg Monroe; James Harden; Marcus Thornton; DeAndre Jordan; Jeff Teague; Paul George; Kyle Lowry; Marcin Gortat; Roy Hibbert; Jarrett Jack
And in the interest of fairness, here are the duds from my list:
Tyreke Evans (started slow, playing better now); Serge Ibaka (same as Evans); JaVale McGee (not terrible, but not a big jump); Toney Douglas; JJ Barea; Ty Thomas; Landry Fields … and that’s about it. Seriously, most of the young dudes have been balling.
FIWK the NBA: Fantasy basketball time!
[note: this article was written before Christmas Day but I was unable to post until now... the strategies herein still apply however]
Drafting a fantasy NBA squad is like trying to assemble a team of Action Movie All-Stars out of the cast of Hollywood actors. Some are better suited for the all-offense role, others are legitimately good actors who aren’t great holding a gun.
If you were drafting the Action Movie All-Stars, Jason Statham would be a top pick. Awesome in Crank, Transporter, etc. Probably not going to carry you to an Oscar as a lead man, however. Bruce Willis gets you a little closer; amazing in Die Hard, has a slightly funny side, can be dramatic in Pulp Fiction for instance. Viggo Mortensen is even more of a good actor/great action guy mix. Denzel Washington: the total package. Great in action movies like Man on Fire and Book of Eli, an amazing all-around actor, he can do it all.
Drafting a fantasy NBA squad is like trying to assemble a team of Action Movie All-Stars out of the cast of Hollywood actors. Some are better suited for the all-offense role, others are legitimately good actors who aren’t great holding a gun.
If you were drafting the Action Movie All-Stars, Jason Statham would be a top pick. Awesome in Crank, Transporter, etc. Probably not going to carry you to an Oscar as a lead man, however. Bruce Willis gets you a little closer; amazing in Die Hard, has a slightly funny side, can be dramatic in Pulp Fiction for instance. Viggo Mortensen is even more of a good actor/great action guy mix. Denzel Washington: the total package. Great in action movies like Man on Fire and Book of Eli, an amazing all-around actor, he can do it all.
Michael Jordan - The Greatest There Ever Will Be
My buddy created a phenomenal highlight video of Jordan's greatest moments, and recently he uploaded an HD version of that video to YouTube. Enjoy:
Artest Never Punched Anyone
Remember the Artest Melee? Hard foul, unruly fans, Ron Artest charges into the stands and goes grade-A crazy. Watch the video for a gentle reminder, with stirring narration by ESPN's Mike Breen and Bill Walton.
Royce couldn't believe that Artest was mentioned as "allegedly" punching a fan. My hunch was right: if you look at the video, Artest never lands a punch. It doesn't even really look like he tries to, because as soon as he gets to the offending fan, all hell breaks loose. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, he never punches anyone.
Personally, I feel like I just watched the Zapruder Film for the first time. Artest's entire career to this point has been defined by this incident - and there is little doubt that the incident will define the rest of his career (yes, even if he wins a title with Kobe in LA). When it happened, this was the most egregious case of on-court violence since Kermit Washington sucker-punched Rudy Tomjanovich and almost killed him. You know the rest: suspensions galore, with Artest getting an unprecedented 86-game suspension(remaining 72 regular-season games plus 14 postseason games), and the Pacers were never the same again. But look at the tape again: does he ever hit anyone?
And should that matter?
Royce couldn't believe that Artest was mentioned as "allegedly" punching a fan. My hunch was right: if you look at the video, Artest never lands a punch. It doesn't even really look like he tries to, because as soon as he gets to the offending fan, all hell breaks loose. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, he never punches anyone.
Personally, I feel like I just watched the Zapruder Film for the first time. Artest's entire career to this point has been defined by this incident - and there is little doubt that the incident will define the rest of his career (yes, even if he wins a title with Kobe in LA). When it happened, this was the most egregious case of on-court violence since Kermit Washington sucker-punched Rudy Tomjanovich and almost killed him. You know the rest: suspensions galore, with Artest getting an unprecedented 86-game suspension(remaining 72 regular-season games plus 14 postseason games), and the Pacers were never the same again. But look at the tape again: does he ever hit anyone?
And should that matter?
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