The typical fantasy basketball manager usually participates in two or more leagues in any given season. With the average roster size around 13 players, it’s easy to realize that as the number of leagues a manger plays in goes up, so does the number of players that the manager must manage (add/drop, trade, bench, play, etc).

I thought about writing this post today after going through the roster of one of my three teams and realizing that one of the players I had picked up a couple of weeks before wasn’t producing in the categories that I needed from him. He was on my roster, playing games and doing close to nothing for my team. Players like this will eat at your limited games played (in Roto leagues) and definitely should be dropped.

Going along with the above example, here are three things a manger can do to “spring clean” their fantasy basketball rosters:

1. Sort your roster by the “Ranks” option and determine if any of your players need to be dropped
   After sorting by rank, you can view the most recent performance of all players on your team. This is important because those less vaunted players on your roster will tend to go through their individual ups and downs. For example, if a player is ranked 100 on the season, 190 in the last month and 230 during the last week, this player is probably going through a rough stretch and probably should be dropped in lieu of a player on more of a hot-streak.

2. Reassess what your team(s) need
   At the beginning of a season, a [good] manager will typically look at his or her roster and determine those categories in which he or she is well-positioned to do well in and those in which he or she is not. Based on this subjective assessment, an experienced manager will attempt to improve in certain categories and de-emphasize others. I think this is a very good way of managing a team, but I find that as mangers we don’t do this nearly enough. As a habitual practice, always reassess your team’s needs.
   
   
3. Always read Yahoo player information notes
   Yahoo helps make a manger’s job easier by sharing valuable player information. Yahoo does this in the form of regular player notes and 24-hour player notes. The latter summarizes crucial information about a player that has come out within the last twenty-four hours. This is especially useful for forecasting extended player absences (because of injury, suspension, etc.).

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To hoops,
Farid

What is the “Big Three”?
The term “Big Three” has been thrown around a lot this year–both in the NBA preseason and now during the regular season–to describe the Boston Celtics tandem of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The term “Big Three” originally stems from Boston’s high-powered trio of the 80’s: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

Best Fantasy “Big Three”
Not entirely reflective of their on-court performance, I decided today to embark on a mission to determine, FANTASY-WISE, what the best big three’s in the NBA were today, by team.

Here are the top 5 (for ranking methodology see below):

1. Phoenix [28]: Marion (2), Stoudemire (12), Nash (14)
2. Denver [65]: Camby (7), Iverson (9), Anthony (49)
   
3. Dallas [71]: Nowitzki (8), Terry (19), J. Howard (44)
   
4. Orlando [72]: Lewis (17), Turkoglu (24), D. Howard (31)
   
5. Utah [75]: Boozer (15), Williams (20), Kirilenko (40)
   

What immediately jumps out is the fact that the Boston Celtics’ “Big Three” are not even amongst the Top 5 “Big Three’s” in the NBA. Almost at the NBA season’s midpoint, the Phoenix Suns are overwhelming winners of The Trading Block’s Best Fantasy “Big Three” Award, with three players in the top-15 of all fantasy players. When I say that Nash, Stoudemire and Marion are in the top-15 of all fantasy players, I am referring to their “rank”, or their season ranks. It shouldn’t be surprising that the Suns came out on top in this analysis because of their style of play (READ: no defense whatsoever) and their propensity to score well over 100 points/game (they score around 110 points/game).

Second in line, Camby and Iverson have been fantasy beasts this season, propelling the Denver Nuggets to the runner-up spot, and Dirk & company have a slight advantage over Orlando and Utah in the #3 position.

Here are 6-10:

6. Boston [77]: Garnett (4), Pierce (18), Allen (55)
   
7. Detroit [87]: Billups (10), Wallace (23), Hamilton (54)
   
8. LA Lakers [94]: Bryant (3), Bynum (28), Fisher (63)
   
9. Memphis [105]: Gay (25), Miller (35), Gasol (45)
   
10. New Orleans [107]: Paul (1), West (39), Chandler (67)
    

Boston actually comes in at #6, with Ray Allen’s ranking bringing down that threesome. The veteran tandem in Detroit (Billups, Wallace and Hamilton) is the 7th best “Big Three” in the NBA, followed by the Lakers (who will drop with the loss of Bynum for 8 weeks), Memphis (balanced star numbers) and New Orleans (anchored by Chris Paul).

DISCLAIMER

1. I understand that fantasy statistics alone are not a complete indicator of a player’s value. A true “Big Three” doesn’t just consist of fantasy point accumulators, but should be able to coexist reasonably, work together and, most importantly, win basketball games, none of which is captured by fantasy rankings.
2. I also understand that a player’s “rank” may be affected by injuries, suspensions, etc. Nonetheless, an analysis such as this is interesting to perform for its novelty, and should not be taken as a 100% indicator of the best “Big Three” in the NBA. I encourage others in the fantasy basketball blogging world to tackle this from different perspectives.
   

METHODOLOGY
To conduct such an analysis, I:

1. Collected the top 100 Yahoo Fantasy Basketball players by “rank” (explanation on the difference between rank and o-rank can be found here)
2. Sorted this list of players by team
3. Summed up the total rank’s for each team’s top three fantasy players
4. Sorted these summations from least to greatest, giving the best ‘big three’ fantasy combinations first

What are some of the other drawbacks in performing an analysis such as this? Let me know in the comments below.

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To hoops,
Farid

There was a lot of crazy NBA news on Sunday.

1. Tayshaun Prince scored 0 points on 0-10 shooting.
   Richard Hamilton scored 3 points on 1-7 shooting.
   The second-best team in the league, the Detroit Pistons, was manhandled by the third-worst team in the NBA, the New York Knicks, 89-65.
2. Andrew Bynum injured his left knee in the 3rd quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies. He couldn’t make it to the locker room on his own, but a Lakers spokesman later stated that Bynum’s X-rays were negative. They will perform an MRI on Bynum tomorrow. A Bynum injury would definitely help Kwame Brown’s numbers.
3. Lebron James filed a not guilty plea after receiving a ticket for driving 101 mph on December 30th, the day of his 23rd birthday.

What does this mean for fantasy?
Not much. Prince and Hamilton will definitely rebound, as will the Pistons. Billups told reporters after the game that he “washed off” the loss in the shower and there was no particular reason that they played so poorly. Bynum’s injury could pose huge problems for managers that possess him, but wait until tomorrow before panicking. Lebron getting ticketed isn’t a big deal unless the media begins hassling him about it and it begins to affect him on the court. My guess is this will not happen.

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To hoops,
Farid

The Story
In December of ’07, Damon Stoudamire was still the starting PG for the Memphis Grizzlies. He still ran the team and even embraced his new role as mentor of 20 year-old rookie PG Michael Conley, who was out with an injured right shoulder.

But the time came when Conley’s rehab was complete and he was due back in action. When Conley finally returned on December 30, the Grizzlies promptly inactivated the struggling Stoudamire and inserted Conley into the starting lineup. As one might expect, Stoudamire (a 12-year NBA vet) didn’t take this well and has since repeatedly asked to be traded.

What does this mean for Mike Conley Jr?
A solidified role in the starting lineup, ample playing time and an opportunity to run a high-powered Memphis offense. In his last 5 games, Conley has shown his versatility as a fantasy player–able to not only pass and shoot, but rebound and steal at an above-average rate.

Mike Conley (last 5 games): 10.8 ppg, 5.6 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 spg

These numbers are not spectacular, but anyone with some foresight can see the potential in Conley and his fantasy stats. Here are the main reason’s why Conley will have success the rest of the season.

1. The Memphis Grizzlies may not be the best team in the league (in fact they are one of the worst), but they can certainly push the ball up and down the court and score–something fantasy managers love. They aspire to be like the Golden State Warriors or the Phoenix Suns in how they play.
2. Conley has only played eleven games thus far. With some time to adjust to the pace of the NBA, Conley will mature and his numbers will increase.
3. He’s in the starting lineup and knows that this is his team to run. If it were appropriate, I’d almost start calling him Conney-Franchise, after Stevie-Franchise of the Houston Rockets. Being endowed with the opportunity to run a basketball team is a blessing, and Conley will most likely take advantage of it.

Final Word
If Mike Conley Jr is still available in one of your leagues, I would seriously consider picking him up. He will be a legitimate point guard option the rest of the season. I, myself, was able to find him in 1 out of my 3 leagues.

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To hoops,
Farid

If your fantasy team is lacking depth at the Center or PF position, or in categories such as rebounds, blocks or percentages, consider picking up one of the two centers that I’ve seen available in some leagues: Kurt Thomas (Sea- PF, C) or Sean Williams (NJ – PF, C).

Kurt Thomas is an experienced player that will get you a lot of boards, a pretty good number of blocks, a good FG% and a decent A/TO ratio
Thomas is currently in the starting lineup for the SuperSonics and is coming off a pretty good month of December. He’s definitely a guy you should consider picking up if you’re in need of rebounds as he’s averaged around 11 of those in his last eight games. His blocks per game have steadily increased as of late and he’s even picked up a few more steals, too. Kurt has had on-and-off problems with his hamstring and ankle this year, but if he can stay healthy, he is a good backup center/power forward option. Thomas ranked 61st last month in the Yahoo Fantasy game.

Sean Williams is a 21-year old rookie with a wealth of potential that will get you a lot of blocks, a pretty good number of points and boards and above-average percentages
Williams is a tough young player that can just about do it all. At 6-10, 235, Sean is one of the lesser-known talents of the 2007 Draft class. Currently in the starting lineup for the Nets, he has shown incredible athleticism and the ability to overcome minor injuries. Between Thomas and Williams, Thomas has definitely been performing better recently, but Williams certainly has the edge in potential and intangibles. If Coach Frank can find even more minutes for him, I would expect Williams to improve on his already stellar first-half of the season. Williams ranked 78 last month in the Yahoo Fantasy Game.

If neither of these guys are available in your league, and you truly need help in middle, consider picking up either of these options (in order): Erick Dampier (if healthy), Jason Maxiell or Andray Blatche.

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To hoops,
Farid

Eight days into the new year and it is already becoming clear which players will shine above the rest in the year two thousand and eight. These are the top 5 players in 2008 so far–through January 8.

(5) Brad Miller
2008: 21.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1 bpg and a 91.7% FT%
Team’s record: 2-2

Miller helped lead a depleted 13-20 Sac-town to a close home victory over the Orlando Magic (22-14) last night. Has performed at this high level without Artest, Martin or Bibby in the lineup. Expect his stats to remain inflated until Martin and Bibby return next week, at which point they should begin to steadily decline.

(4) Mo Williams
2008: 19.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.3 spg, 51.9% FG%, 90.5% FT%
Team’s record: 3-1

On New Year’s eve, he missed a game against the Detroit Pistons because of tendinitis in his left Achilles’ tendon. Since then, he has dropped the ridiculous numbers you see above. Williams has been a versatile and consistent fantasy scorer all season long. Additionally, with Michael Redd out the past three games with a thigh bruise and his timetable for the return uncertain, Williams has been able to get more touches and be more involved in the offense.

(3) Dirk Nowitzki
2008: 27.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.7 bpg, 51.8% FG%, 95% FT%
Team’s record: 3-0

Only shot 36% from the field in the three games leading up to 2008, but many have noted that he seems to have found his groove. The 7-footer may be expected to log more minutes in the absence of Erick Dampier. His first real test in a while will come against Rasheed Wallace and the Detroit Pistons tonight on ESPN.

(2) Allen Iverson
2008: 33.0 ppg, 4.5 apg, 52.4% FG%, 87.2% FT%, 47.6% 3PT%, 3.6 A/T ratio
Team’s record: 3-1

If there were any doubts after he left Philadelphia as to whether he would be able lead a Denver Nugget team laden with existing fantasy super-stars (Camby and ‘Melo), he has certainly quieted them. Fantasy-wise, at #8 overall on the season, he is far superior to his counterpart Carmelo Anthony (#44 overall), and has finally edged in front of his multi-dimensional teammate Marcus Camby (#9 overall). A.I. is as explosive as he has ever been in the lane, has been absolutely on-fire from downtown, and refuses to let the struggles of an 82 game season wear on him. He’s only getting better.

(1) Lebron James
2008: 30.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 6.8 apg, 2.3 spg, 48.3% FG%
Team’s record: 4-0

“The Chosen One” has been on a magnificent run as of late. From being heckled by Chris Bosh’s girlfriend and cousin and dropping 24 in one quarter to receiving #2 Facial Dunk of the Year honors, King James has been spectacular this season. Having fallen behind to #12 in the season rankings, Lebron is off to a tremendous start in 2008. He has single handily–as always–brought the Cavs back over .500 and looks to be becoming the clutch shooter they’ve always needed him to be. He’s one of the only players in fantasy basketball that can get you production in nearly every category on any given night. With 7 of the Cav’s next 10 games being on the road, Lebron will need to be as dangerous as ever. We predict he will be.

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To hoops,
Farid

Andrew Bynum is going to be something special.

Only 20 years old, the 7-foot center is already making big noise for the Los Angeles Lakers. I think it’s clear to anyone that watches him that he is the future of the NBA. From dunking on Shaq at age 17, to cursing at his teammate in the preseason, Bynum has shown us unparalleled aggressiveness and indescribable athleticism. Mark my word, Andrew Bynum will be an all-star for years to come.

With that, here is The Trading Block’s first video post of the new year. The rundown:

1. Bynum’s recent fantasy development–from undrafted to top-40 player
2. The Trading Block’s predictions for Bynum the rest of the year
3. What might impact these predictions
4. What a fantasy manager can do with this information

Highlights of this post: Martell Webster goes for 24 points in one quarter. Brandon Roy only plays nine minutes after injuring his tailbone. Blazers beat Utah again. Here we go.

(1) Martell Webster = “baby Kobe” ?!?
Martell Webster–a player that I acquired as a free agent in one of my leagues at the end of ’07 (pats self on back)–torched the Utah Jazz on Saturday night for 24 points in the third quarter alone in route to a career-high 26 point evening. This prompted LaMarcus Aldridge to say this about Webster:

“We were calling him Baby Kobe because he couldn’t miss.”

During his near record-setting third quarter (one shy of Terry Porter’s team record 25 points in a quarter), Webster hit ten straight shots (including three 3 pointers). With Roy out, the Blazers began calling plays for Webster. When Webster wouldn’t miss, Portland continued giving him the ball, further increasing his confidence. Jarret Jack was surprised that the Jazz continued to leave Webster so open, saying: “That surprised me. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life… they kept leaving him open, I couldn’t understand it.”

What does this mean for Webster’s fantasy status? Well I think he’s a definite pick up at this point if he’s still a free agent in your league. If Roy isn’t 100% in the short run, a confident Webster will probably benefit with more minutes and more set plays. As of right now Webster’s averaging 11 points, 4 boards and a couple assists a game and I look for this to improve.

(2) Roy out after nine minutes
Brandon Roy left Saturday night’s game against Utah after only 9 minutes with a sore tailbone (also known as the coccyx).

Roy did stay on the bench to witness Webster’s performance, however, saying afterwards that he might have been Webster’s “biggest fan in the gym.”

(3) Portland will not lose
Could this year be Basketball’s equivalent of the MLB’s ’98 Season when everybody and their mom had something to say about the McGwire/Sosa home-run chase? When Football’s done and over, it sure looks as if the NBA will have a lot going for them. As of right now:

1. The Blazers are on an incredible streak and if they keep playing Utah every week (they’ve played Utah now 4 times since December 11), it looks like they might never lose again
   
2. The Pistons and Celtics have brought back not only one of the best rivalries in the league, but an actual Eastern Conference threat to dethrone San Antonio
3. Kobe is actually happy he wasn’t traded now that Bynum is playing amazingly
   
4. Isiah Thomas’ poor performance is getting college students arrested

But seriously, the Blazers are showing great team chemistry and resiliency. First Oden went down at the beginning of the season and they still found ways to win. Now today, Roy can’t play past the first quarter, and they still pull off the victory–in decisive form! This team should be very good when Oden returns.

Full disclosure
These days my alliances are a little foggy. I used to be a huge Rockets fan because of The Dream, but because I’m from Southern California and only see them on TV, I’m starting to become an LA Lakers fan.

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To hoops,
Farid

Two young players are scheduled to return to their teams sometime this month after early-season injuries.

The good thing about each of these players is that their team’s have vastly underperformed this season, so they will most likely be quickly reintegrated back into the fold.

(1) Nenad Krstic (NJ)
Injury: Left knee rehab
Out Since: Nov 21, 2007
06-07: 16 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 53% FG%
When to expect him back: mid-to-late January

This 24 year-old, 7 footer is a really talented offensive player. He told the NY Post on December 31st that he “feel(s) really good” and hasn’t seen any swelling in his knee. Although his timetable for return is still up in the air–the team is extra cautious since he has already hurt himself by trying to come back from the same injury too fast before–he’s been doing a lot of conditioning, including full-court drills and “basketball” stuff. Definitely an all-star caliber player when he’s at his best, Krstic’s large reach could really help the Nets’ weak interior.

Nenad should be a great NBA player for a long time if he can sufficiently recover from this injury. The Serbian has good range, good instincts around the rim and has improved in points, boards, assists, blocks, FG% and minutes in each of his first 3 years in the league. Look for him to give the Nets a much needed boost in the second-half of the season.

---

(2) Randy Foye (Minn)
Injury: Stress Fracture in left kneecap
Out Since: Oct 31, 2007 (all season)
06-07: 10 points, 3 assists, 3 boards, about 1 steal and 1 three, 85% FT% in only 23 minutes
When to expect him back: mid January or sooner

Foye became the go-to guy for the Wolves late last season and hasn’t played a lick all season because of a stress fracture. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports the point guard is going to have his injured left knee re-examined on January 7th. During his last examination the doctor’s pushed his timetable for return back a bit, but Wolves Head Coach Randy Wittman says this time he should be “cleared to go (because) he has no pain or anything.”

I’m particularly optimistic about Foye because the Wolves are lacking depth at the point guard position. In his rookie campaign last year, Foye was very effective in limited action, so if he’s anywhere near full recovery from his injury, expect him to get a lot of minutes and a pretty good statline for a depleted Minnesota team.

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To hoops,
Farid

It has finally arrived, the final of five articles that discusses what any fantasy basketball manager should do before picking up a free agent!

Here are the previous 4 tips: one | two | three | four

(5) Avoid picking up a player that is strong in categories you absolutely cannot win (a tip for H2H leagues)

In a standard Yahoo Fantasy Basketball H2H league, there are 9 categories: FG%, FT%, 3PTM, Points, Assists, Rebounds, Steals, Blocks and Turnovers. There are also 20+ weeks of play if the league starts with the beginning of the NBA. What this means is that there are plenty of opportunities to accumulate “wins” throughout the season. In other words, a manager need not be concerned with winning every category each week to do well. In fact, the most efficient managers will only be concerned with improving categories that they have a chance in (and might actually win on a week-to-week basis) and forget about those in which they are obviously weak. This is something I would recommend every H2H manager do.

Let me illustrate the dilemma with an example:
(1) If a team finishes 6-3 every week for 20 weeks…
it will achieve a final record of 120-60.
(2) If a team finishes 10 weeks 8-1 and 10 weeks 3-6…
it will achieve a final record of 110-70.

What I’m trying to get at is this–if you can consistently win SIX categories across an entire H2H season, this is better than being able to dominate half of your opponents (most likely the weaker teams in your league), but be too-thinly spread out against 9 categories and lose to the other half (most likely the stronger managed teams in your league).

Therefore, when picking up a free agent, a manager should always be cognizant of his or her strengthens and improve on those, rather than fruitlessly attempt to improve in categories he or she will rarely win.

For example, if I am great in Points, Rebounds and Blocks; average in FG%, FT% and Steals; and poor in 3PTM, Assists and Turnovers, I would only want to add players that could improve my standing in those categories (P, Rb, Bl, FG, FT, Stl) and avoid adding players that would help me in 3s, Assists, and TO’s. Why?

1. Ensures a team will be particularly strong and difficult to beat in certain categories
   See example above, if your team is unstoppable each week in 5-6 categories, you’re probably better off than a more well-rounded team that is spread too thin against tougher opponents.
2. Lowers the amount of information a manager has to process before adding a player
   When a manager concedes a couple of categories each week in favor of dominating across many others, he reduces the amount of research and/or homework he needs to do before picking up a player. This almost certainly will improve a manger’s decision-making ability as he or she will only have to process so much information about a player before making a decision. For example: how does this addition affect these 6 categories? vs. how does this addition affect all 9 categories?
3. A strong game by a player on your team will always have an impact on the head-to-head matchup that week
   Don’t you hate it when its Saturday night and your team is down by 25 steals–and will obviously lose the Steals category–and a player on your team goes for 7 steals in a game? Sure the 7 steals represents an amazing performance, but does it actually affect the results at the end of the week? Not at all. By focusing only on players that will improve your performance in categories that you at least have a chance at winning, a manager ensures that he is not under-utilizing his roster space. Each roster position is valuable and part of the difficultly of being a manager is knowing who to place where and who to pick up as a free agent.

In conclusion, I just want to reiterate that strong fantasy managers are smart enough to realize that they will not win each head-to-head matchup 9-0. Instead, they look for competitive advantages across six-or-so categories and concede losses in others. This way they can focus on specific categories, become expert’s in those categories and win those categories. In my mind, this is the soundest H2H strategy around.

I hope you enjoyed the How to Pickup a Free Agent series. Let me know what you liked/disliked in the comments below!

To hoops,
Farid