Month: March 2008

Pickup of the Night: March 30

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I’m sad to see Davidson out. How the hell did Stephen Curry decide to give the ball up at the end? Some news, though, is that cbs.sportsline.com is reporting that Curry will not go pro after this year, so it’s still at least another year before we will see him making threes for your fantasy team. Here is tonight’s Pickup of the Night:

BRANDON BASS

This is a guy who had me on his bandwagon when Dirk went down. He has some ability and the Mavs just are not that deep. 21 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 6-12 from the field and 9-12 from the line is respectable. He is the first guy off the bench for this team, at least until Dirk gets back, so look for him early and look for him often.


Second Best: LUIS SCOLA

I loved this guy when Yao first got hurt. Then I hated him. Now I like him again, as he is becoming more involved in the offense. Not too much of a line, just 24 points and 7 rebounds (nothing else, literally). He shot a respectable 7-12 from the floor (I only say respectable since he is a big man) and 10-12 from the line. T-Mac has been giving signs he’ll probably choke again in the playoffs, so we should see Scola’s role increasing in the final few weeks of the season.


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Mike
Senior Writer

Pickup of the Night: March 29

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YI JIANLIAN

He is back from injury and has begun to string together some pretty good games. Look for him to get 25+ min/game for the rest of the year. Last night he scored 14 points, grabbed 8 boards and blocked two shots. Based on his FG%, it’s safe to say he’s been rusty the last few games, but expect him to improve with more action. And if you’re in a head-to-head league, Yi is for you because Week 23 (next week) the Bucks have a pretty easy schedule, playing: NY, Was, Ind and Ind. I predict a strong Week 23 for Jianlian.


BORIS DIAW

Diaw has been on a pretty good stretch the last 5 games. He’s been averaging 12 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and great percentages. Now add to that back-to-back games against Denver Monday and Tuesday, plus games against Minnesota and Dallas next week and Diaw looks like a great pickup for Week 23 fantasy owners. He won’t be available in all leagues, but I’d definitely check.

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To hoops,
Farid

Pickup of the Night: March 28

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Not very exciting NCAA tourney games tonight. That Curry kid is amazing. Maybe one day he’ll win pickup of the night, but not tonight. That honor goes to:

JOSH BOONE

That’s twice this week, but he has earned it. In 35 minutes, he recorded 15 points and 16 boards. But the amazing thing is the 6-8 from the field and equally good 3-4 from the line. Not too bad for a guy that usually kills you from the free throw stripe. Oh, and by the way, my mancrush Devin Harris had a huge night: 27 points, 4 threes, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists. He looks much better in a Nets uniform than he ever did in Big D.


Second Best: PAUL MILSAP

I gotta love this guy’s line last night. Only 13 points on 4-7 from the field and 5-7 from the line. Only 5 rebounds and 3 assists. But the 3 steals and 2 blocks really help, especially in H-2-H leagues. Utah is basically a team that is two-deep in fantasy talent right now, as AK47 has sucked recently. Milsap might be a guy that comes in with a lot of minutes, provides good shooting, rebounds, and plays defense. It’s worth a look if he’s available.


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Mike
Senior Writer

Pickup of the Night: March 27

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Only three NBA games tonight (2 if you don’t count that fact that the Heat played in one of them), so not much to choose from. My Bruins upended Western Kentucky so I’m pretty happy about that right now. But the Lakers suck (having lost to Charlotte), so I’m pretty bummed about them. But enough about me and my West Coast bias and on to the player of the night.

ARRON AFFLALO

This guy was a stud at UCLA but hasn’t really got any minutes in this his rookie season with the Central Champion Pistons. Fortunately for him, Richard Hamilton has been banged up recently and the Pistons are in need of a substitute. And that’s exactly what Afflalo has been. He has started the last three games and last night against the Heat (I know it’s the Heat), he went for 15 and 7 with 2 steals and a block–not bad for the former Bruin. Pick this guy up if nobody is left in your league. But generally, keep an eye on him for the future. He may be a legitimate pickup in future seasons.


Second Best: CHRIS QUINN

It’s hard to recommend this guy because he is playing on the worst NBA team on this Earth, but the guy has been putting up above-average numbers. In his last five games he is averaging 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and THREE steals a game. In ESPN leagues he is being snatched up like crazy, so don’t be the only guy on the block without him. The Heat may be in the shitters, but this guy can straight ball. Pick him up if you need some point guard help.


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To hoops,
Farid

Fantasy Basketball Podcast #3: Dirk, Paul and Webber

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Check out Fantasy Basketball Pros’ third audio podcast here. We play “Fact or Fiction”, where I ask Senior Writer Michael Yu three things:

  1. Fact or fiction? Fantasy owners should drop Dirk.
  2. Fact or fiction? Chris Paul is next years first overall fantasy draft pick.
  3. Fact or fiction? Chris Webber is a hall of famer.


See how Mike answers these questions in the podcast. Him and I differ on question #2–listen to find out why.

For other fantasy basketball video posts and audio podcasts, check out our new media page, here. And for daily fantasy pickups, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.

To hoops,
Farid

Pickup of the Night: March 26

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This one was tough. There were three guys vying for the two spots on this post. But I excluded Ricky Davis even after a 28 point, 7 three, 9 rebound, and 6 assist game for two reasons. Davis is a turnover machine (kinda like Al Thornton) and the Miami Heat are the worst team in my recent memory. So the pickup of the night is:

JOSH BOONE

26 points on 9-12 from the field. 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. I only wish he didn’t shoot 50% from the line in 16 shots. 16 SHOTS!!! I’m glad I picked him up recently since he has been playing a lot more in the power forward role. He definitely validated the 32 minutes he got tonight. I’m just hoping he does not cost me free throws at the end of the week.


Second Best: THABO SEFOLOSHA

It’s true I’m a Bulls guy and so I favor them a bit, but I’ve touted this guy before and I think he’s for real. The Bulls got destroyed as always, and I’ve given up on the season. But I want to see the young guys, especially Thabo, play. He got 28 minutes and shot 8-11 from the field and 4-5 from three point range. Now remember, this is a guy who is supposed to be unable to shoot and should make a living on slashing and defense. Well, his shot looks alright to me. Add 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and only 1 turnover, and you’ve got a great fantasy option.


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Mike
Senior Writer

Pickup of the Night: March 25

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For tonight’s pickup of the night, I put together a quick podcast with 5 potential pickups and 2 suggested drops for your fantasy team as we reach the midway point of Week 22.

Some of the players that I discuss in the podcast are:

  • Jerry Stackhouse
  • Erick Dampier
  • Cuttino Mobley
  • Joakim Noah
  • Kirk Hinrich
  • Jared Dudley
  • Matt Caroll

It’s playoff time in Yahoo H2H leagues so let’s help each other out, if you have a good pickup, let us know in the comments above. Also, I’d be interested to know what you think of the podcasts.

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To hoops,
Farid

Pickup of the Night: March 24

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It’s funny that the Heat won a game starting Ricky Davis, Chris Quinn, Daequan Cook, Earl Barron, and Mark Blount. Looks like they, along with the Knicks, are really trying to win the draft lottery.

So tonight, the pickup of the night is:

HAKIM WARRICK

10-13 from the field. 7-8 from the line. 2 threes. 29 points. 7 rebounds. 3 steals. Wow. With lines that like from players every night, you could easily win 6 categories in a H2H league. The Grizzlies have given up on this year but are still playing hard (because they’re young and don’t know any better). Warrick is a prime example of this. Gobble him up if you get the chance.


Second Best: NENAD KRSTIC

Finally, he has a solid performance. It’s about 3 months too late for me. I dropped him a long time ago. But he does not look bad to pick up for your stretch run right now. 22 points on 9-15 from the field and 4-5 from the line ain’t too shabby, especially when you pair them with 6 rebounds. If he can take centers outside and make that shot, then he is dangerous.

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Mike
Senior Writer

Pickup of the Night: March 23

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It’s Week 22 and you know what that means, let the Yahoo H2H playoffs begin! To get you started during this tough stretch, consider some of these lesser known fantasy players that–for the most part–should be available in your league. These guys certainly aren’t the best of the best, but they’ve been on hot streaks lately.

Good luck and be sure to share your Week 22 fantasy sleepers with us as well. The stats listed below are the player’s averages for the previous week:

  1. Kirk Snyder (Min, G) – 13 pts, 6 reb
  2. Wilson Chandler (NYK, F) – 15 pts, 6 reb, 1 stl
  3. Smush Parker (LAC, G) – 6 pts, 5 asst, 1 stl
  4. Mardy Collins (NYK, G) – 11 pts, 4 reb, 6 asst
  5. Donyell Marshall (Sea, F) – 8 pts, 3 reb

I recently came across a great fantasy basketball article over at Fantasy Sports Experience. Check it out, it’s called: Fantasy Basketball Playoffs Cram Session. Great injury updates for Pau Gasol, Daniel Gibson, Jermaine O’Neal (screw you Jermaine, you cost me a top 2 finish), Chris Kaman, Gilbert Arenas, Andrew Bynum and more.

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To hoops,
Farid

Pickup of the Night: March 22

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Wow the NCAA Tourney games were amazing today. Two great endings with Stanford and UCLA winning. Looks like there’s something special going on with the Pac-10. Here is our man for the night:

JEFF GREEN

I’ve actually been waiting for this rookie to get some more minutes and onto this list. Well, tonight is the night. Green had 23 points on 7-13 from the field and 7-8 from the line with 2 threes, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and even chipped in a block. Best part of all, he had only 1 turnover. With Chris Wilcox injured, he will get some starts and so look for the rookie tandem of Durant and Green to take over.


Second Best: Nazr Mohammed and Darko Milicic (tie)

I could not decide which guy to put on this list, so I put them both on. Mohammed shot an amazing 8-9 from the field and claimed 14 rebounds and 2 blocks to go along with his 16 points. Not to be outdone, Milicic had 19 and 10 with a steal and 3 blocks to go with 6-11 from the field and an uncharacteristically good 7-8 from the line. Most importantly to them (and not at all important to us since both teams suck), the Bobcats and Grizzlies both won.

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Mike
Senior Writer