other

End of Season Alert: Yahoo’s Max Games Played

ff2715 http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, other

At the end of December, I did a comprehensive analysis of Yahoo’s Max Games Played rule. Well we’re at that time of year where if you are in a Rotisserie league, you should definitely be aware of your total games played to this point and whether you are projected to overshoot the alloted number of games in your league.

So consider this a reminder from someone who is currently tied for 1st place in a Standard Yahoo Rotisserie league, but is projected to far exceed the alloted number of games–check your max games played!

What to do if you’re reaching your max games played:

  1. Only insert a player into a roster slot if he is worthy of eating up an entire game
    This means, if you are running out of games in the Forward position, don’t start picking up sleepers in that same position from the Waiver Wires. If you have superstar Forwards already on your team, play them. The good thing about Yahoo is that if you have a player inserted into your lineup one day, but that player does not play a minute in his game, his mere presence on your roster will not count against your max games played. Unfortunately though, if a player plays even 1 min and doesn’t perform well, not only do you not accumulate fantasy stats, but a game is docked from your max games played.
  2. Be very strategic.
    So lets imagine a scenario where your quickly running out of games in the Guard position. Lets also imagine you have a team STACKED with 5 great guards. The logical response of a manager might be to keep all 5 guards on the team (because they are so good) and exceed the max games played rather early. This is terrible strategy. In this instance I would suggest DROPPING good guards for strong waiver candidates in other positions. A manager needs to keep his emotions and personal player preferences as far away from his team as he can so as to avoid making irrational decisions. So be strategic, if a player isn’t going to help you down the stretch, drop him for a player of another position and accumulate stats there.

That’s all I got for now, let me know what advice you might have for managers with max games played problems in the comments above.

And as always, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.

To hoops,
Farid

NBA Roto Interview

ff2715 other

NBA Roto Guest Video Post
Yesterday I did a guest interview with Jimmy from NBARoto.com and decided whether I wanted to buy or sell 5 fringe players on the waiver wires: Jameer Nelson, Jamario Moon, Dikembe Mutombo, Mikki Moore and JR Smith. I also gave Jimmy a couple sleepers that I thought would be strong pickups for the duration of the season. The video can be found here on the NBA Roto site. It was fun and I hope you’ll check it out.

NBARoto.com
Just in general, NBARoto.com has become one of the young leaders in fantasy basketball analysis. Not only does it offer great written content, but its video content it superb as well. I definitely have its RSS feed coming into my feed reader and if you are a competitive fantasy basketball manager, I recommend you do so as well.

Give Me The Rock Names 3 Excellent Rookie Blogs
A big shout out to Nels over at Give Me The Rock for linking FantasyBasketballPros.com as an excellent rookie blog yesterday. On the day that Fantasy Basketblog called it quits, Nels also recommended NBARoto.com, and HoopsFantasy.com as two other rookie blogs with excellent, dedicated bloggers. Thanks Nels, we hope to keep producing quality fantasy basketball analysis for our readers.

As always, before you leave be sure to add Fantasy Basketball Pros to your feed reader.

To hoops,
Farid

Winners and Losers: 2008 NBA Trades and Signings

ff2715 other, trade analysis

So with the trade deadline passing at 3PM yesterday and a flurry of blockbuster trades and signings in 2008, it is time to look at the winners and the losers. First, here are the major moves made by the contenders in 2008:

February 21: In a 3-team deal, the Cavs get Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Joe Smith, and a future 2nd round pick, the Bulls get Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown, and Cedric Simmons, and the Sonics get Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall, and Adrian Griffin

February 21: In a 3-team deal, the Hornets acquire Bonzi Wells, the rights to Sergei Lishouk, a 2nd round pick, and Mike James, the Rockets acquire Adam Haluska, Bobby Jackson, and the Grizzlies acquire Marcus Vinicius and the rights to Malick Badiane

February 20: The Spurs receive Kurt Thomas from the Sonics for Brent Barry (who may be waived), Francisco Elson, and a future 1st round draft pick

February 19: The Mavs acquire Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright, and Malik Allen from the Nets for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, the rights to Keith Van Horn, Maurice Ager, 2 first round draft picks, and cash

February 16: The Hawks get Mike Bibby from the Kings for Shelden Williams, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, and Lorenzen Wright

February 6: The Suns receive Shaquille O’Neal from the Heat for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks
February 4: The Nets get Stromile Swift from the Grizzlies for Jason Collins and cash

Februrary 3: The Spurs sign Damon Stoudamire for the rest of the season

February 1: The Lakers acquire Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol, and 2 first round picks

January 29: The Warriors signed Chris Webber for the rest of the season

December 29: The Utah Jazz receive Kyle Korver and a first round pick for Gordon Giricek and a first round pick

WINNERS:

Shaq: Now playing with a chip on his shoulder, not to mention moving from the worst team in the league to one of the best, Shaq is revitalized and should be a solid 2nd center in most leagues.

Wally’ World: Szczerbiak now becomes the premier 3-point shooter in Cleveland, at least until Daniel Gibson returns from injury in a little over a month. Anyone’s fantasy stats would increase with Lebron James

Big Ben: Hopefully a change in scenery will allow the big man to regain the passion he had in Detroit, not to mention the possibility of meeting his former teammates in the later rounds of the playoffs

Utah Jazz: With the addition of Kyle Korver, the Jazz have been unstoppable, and everyone’s fantasy stats have seen a rise due to the extra room Korver creates from being one of the most dangerous long-distance threats in the league

Los Angeles Lakers: The Pau Gasol deal was the biggest steal in recent memory, and Kobe doesn’t seem to mind having a new running mate in the big Spaniard. When Andrew Bynum returns from injury, watch out for the new Twin Towers

Mike Bibby: He was the last remnant of those great Kings (or as Shaq called them, the Queens) teams earlier in the decade, but it was definitely time to move on. He can hopefully bring the playoffs to a struggling franchise who needs the ball-handling and shooting ability Bibby provides

LOSERS:

Memphis Grizzlies: This team packed it in early and has decided to rebuild around Rudy Gay and Mike Conley, but can you really tell me that is the best package Pau Gasol could have brought back?

Shawn Marion: I personally think his stats will take a bit of a tumble in Miami without Steve Nash and that system. Not a good move, especially since he is looking for that big contract. Fantasy-owners who took him in the top 3 are now regretting their decision.

Dallas Mavericks: I just do not see the Jason Kidd deal working. I think that Devin Harris is on the verge of being just as good, and Kidd is 35 years old. It is true that playing with a true point guard will help Dirk and Josh Howard, but I think this is the FOURTH best team in the West

Western Conference Fringe Teams: If you are the Rockets, Warriors, Blazers, or Nuggets, you cannot like the fact that you essentially could not improve your teams while the top of the West got stronger.

Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons: Sure they can battle it out for the East, but Cleveland may be a bit stronger to contend and how can they expect to win a championship now?

Don’t forget to sign up for Fantasy Basketball Pros’ RSS feed!

Mike
Senior Writer

Want The Pros to Evaluate Your Roster?

ff2715 other, tools

Today marks the launch of Fantasy Basketball Pros free fantasy basketball roster evaluation service. Just send your fantasy basketball roster to farid@fantasybasketballpros.com and either Mike or I will respond (typically) within 72 hours with our thoughts and analysis of your team. As of right now The Pros can only accept one roster per person, but we may expand this in the future.

Have a Pro Analyze Your Roster by submitting the following:

  • Complete team roster
  • League type (H2H or Roto)
  • League specifics (how many players in each position, etc.), not standard Yahoo league
  • Your team’s current standing in the league
  • Any special information about the league

To hoops,
Farid

You’re Addicted to Fantasy Basketball If…

ff2715 other
  1. You root against your favorite team to cheer for your fantasy players
  2. You know all of the positions David Lee is eligible for (SF, PF, C)
  3. When someone goes down with an injury you don’t pray for their speedy recovery, you thank god it wasn’t someone on your fantasy team
  4. The number of moves you’ve made in a H2H league is greater than your team’s total number of wins
  5. You call anything worse than a top 3 finish in a league a “rebuilding year“
  6. You start a blog about fantasy basketball (oh wait, that’s me)
  7. You don’t need a free Yahoo Stat Tracker, you manually log the performance of your players each night
  8. You have Google Calendar events remind you when certain players should be returning from injury
  9. You watch the Celtics/Spurs game only to see if you should pick up Fabricio Oberto
  10. You scout the college basketball scene for next year’s possible sleepers
  11. Give Me The Rock is your home page
  12. Your spouse complains you don’t get enough exercise
  13. You check your team at work, at school, at the library, on your iPhone, in the shower, or wherever there is an internet connection
  14. When Phil Jackson benches Kobe early because it’s a blowout, you scream at the television because of the fantasy impact
  15. Last year as commissioner of your league you did more than David Stern has done for the NBA in the last 5 years
  16. You have 5 Yahoo accounts and only use them to play fantasy basketball
  17. You know the number of 3PT’s separating you and the 1st place team in your roto league

Hope you enjoyed. Have any of your own? Add them to the comments below!

Also, keep up with FBP by subscribing to our free RSS feed!

To hoops,
Farid

Top Three Fantasy All-Star Teams

ff2715 other

With teams having well exceeded the midway point of the season and the NBA All-Star game in New Orleans this weekend, we thought we’d take a stab at the All-Fantasy First, Second and Third teams. Who do you think comprises the best fantasy basketball team? Let FBP know in the comments below.

First Team

  • Chris Paul (NO, PG) – The number one Yahoo Fantasy Player overall, Paul wows us with 20 points and 10 assists each night and doesn’t have a weakness in his game outside of blocks.
  • Shawn Marion (Mia, SF/PF) – Will his numbers drop in Miami? If one game is any indication, they might. Without a playmaker like Steve Nash, Marion will be hard-pressed to find the open looks he found in Phoenix.
  • Amare Stoudemire (Pho, C) – The more conventional 20 and 10, Stoudemire does everything for a fantasy manager, including shooting at nearly 60% from the field.
  • Kobe Bryant (LAL, SG) – He’s playing less than 40 minutes a game for the first time since 2003. His stats haven’t floundered though. Expect them to rise in the presence of Pau.
  • Dirk Nowitzki (Dal, PF) – The best true PF in the NBA right now fantasy-wise and he’s having an off-year.

Second Team

  • Baron Davis (GS, PG) – why isn’t this guy on the All-Star team? conspiracy anyone?
  • Caron Bulter (Was, SF)
  • Marcus Camby (Den, C) – should be NBA defensive player of the year
  • Allen Iverson (Den, SG)
  • Kevin Garnett (Bos, SF/PF)

Third Team

  • Lebron James (Cle, SF) – first team fantasy potential if he was on a better team
  • Yao Ming (Hou, C) – single handily carrying the Rockets on their current streak
  • Chauncey Billups (Det, PG) – only gets better with age
  • Carlos Boozer (Uta, PF/C)
  • Josh Smith (Atl, SG/SF/PF)

Snubbed?
Steve Nash, Chris Bosh, Danny Granger, Deron Williams, Rashard Lewis

Subscribe to the Fantasy Basketball Pros RSS Feed.

To hoops,
Farid