Man-u Down!
We've officially hit the dead zone, as news has slowed to a trickle, only about 10 percent of fantasy hoops teams are still alive, and the evidence has climbed to an all-time high that (at least) the final week and a half of the season should be chopped by the Fantasy Hoops Commissioners' Association. Of course, no such thing exists, but this year, just like every other that I can recall, is a perfect example of why fantasy leagues should not count weeks 24 and 25. I'm guessing the best fantasy teams throughout the course of the season aren't winning their playoff leagues
at least half the time, and it's probably closer to 75%. And I'm not carrying a personal vendetta here. Yeah, I got fundamentally destroyed in the UBC Expert League by Dave Gawron (congrats, buddy), but he had the No. 1 seed, while I was at No. 2. But my team looked like the Heat over the last two weeks, instead of a solid fantasy squad.
Anyway, I am going to make a push in any playoff league I'm in to eliminate weeks 24 and 25, and you should too. In fact, playoff leagues are probably not the way to go at all. The format I have come to like best is a H2H league that keeps cumulative wins and losses in categories throughout the season, with no playoffs. If you have eight cats, you win or lose a week by a score of 8-0, 5-3, 2-5-1, etc. Then you just keep running totals of those cats throughout the year until your season ends. This usually ensures the best team wins and there are no flukes at the end based on injuries or guys who stop caring and don't bother to set a lineup. Rod's Playground is Open team won my main league with a record of 131-50-3, I finished second at 117-65-2 and Todd's Tebow Time finished third at 106-72-6. And that's exactly the way it should have finished up based on how the season went.
Manu Out Friday – Injury Report Manu Ginobili – Out Friday with groin, regular season in doubt. Hello Finley.
Shane Battier – Questionable with foot. Start at own risk. Head could replace.
Rajon Rondo – Iffy with flu and due for a rest. Start at own risk.
Glen Davis – Iffy with hamstring, no value anyway. More minutes for Powe.
Richard Hamilton – Still hurting w/ hip injury. Keep him benched.
Andrew Bynum – Not cleared w/ knee. Regular season likely over.
Jerry Stackhouse – Targeting Sunday return from hamstring.
Tracy McGrady – Will play through shoulder tonight. Start him.
T.J. Ford – Iffy with flu, start him at your own risk.
Corey Maggette – Missed Thursday, I think he's done.
LeBron James – Probable for Friday, but what happens when Cavs lock No. 4?
Ron Artest – Doubtful w/ thumb, but practiced Thurs. Watch for news today.
Mo Williams – Rest of regular season in doubt with groin/ab problem.
Yi Jianlian – Done with knee injury. Hello, Charlie V.
Drew Gooden – Not official, but possibly done with abdominal strain.
Sam Cassell – Likely done with sore back.
Quinton Ross – Hurt leg last night, no value anyway.
Brad Miller – Surgery on elbow today, hello Hawes, Salmons, Garcia.
Josh Boone – Questionable with knee, Diop could be decent.
Nene – Groin rendering him useless.
Josh Howard – Left with knee last night, iffy now that Mavs clinched.
Dirk Nowitzki – Playing with air cast, iffy now that Mavs clinched.
Shawne Williams – Ankle injury making him iffy for Pacers.
Sebastian Telfair – Hoping to play through ankle injury tonight. Risky.
Brandan Wright – Iffy with groin the rest of the way.
Thursday's Game News Allen Iverson had 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting, while
Carmelo Anthony stayed hot with 25 points, nine boards and five steals on 12-of-20 shooting as the Nuggets deflated the Warriors hopes in Thursday's win.
J.R. Smith was nice, hitting four treys and scoring 24 points.
Linas Kleiza hurt owners last night, going 0-of-2 in 14 minutes. For the Warriors,
Stephen Jackson struggled with his shot again, hitting just 5-of-17 shots, but did score 18. Keep playing him, as the Warriors need a big line from him more than ever.
Baron Davis triple-doubled and looks great again, while
Andris Biedrins stayed ridiculously hot with 11 points, 19 boards and a couple blocks.
Al Harrington is playing well again, going for 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and
Monta Ellis remains a must-start despite six turnovers last night.
The Lakers trounced the Clippers, led by
Luke Walton's return from injury. Walton had 18 points, four threes, five boards, four assists, a steal and a block. That's the type of line I was expecting to see much more often than we did this year. He hurt
Vladimir Radmanovic (11 points) in his return, as the two split minutes. The Clips got solid lines from
Al Thornton and
Elton Brand, but that's about it. The lowlight was
Tim Thomas in the starting lineup and hitting just 1-of-11 shots, while
Cuttino Mobley cooled off to the tune of 2-of-9 shooting for four points.
Mike Dunleavy decided to throw
Josh Powell out of the rotation just as he was getting hot, and he's currently not producing much at all for his owners. I was on board with Powell, and the logic was solid, but he's been a complete bust this week.
dallasmavericks.com
The Mavericks won a dramatic game against the Jazz behind
Dirk Nowitzki's game-winning three near the buzzer. Dirk finished with 32 points, but had just two boards and one assist. But his clutch shot put the Mavs into the playoffs. Dirk was sporting an air cast on his ankle, and will surely get some rest before the playoffs.
Josh Howard left with a knee injury and only scored three points. Several fantasy championships were probably lost due to that one.
Jason Terry is back to form,
Brandon Bass continues to be effective and
Jason Kidd continues to let his owners down. If Dirk and/or Howard rest, Bass will be a solid play. For the Jazz,
Deron Williams had 18 & 12 in the loss, while
Mehmet Okur stayed hot with 19 points, 14 boards and three more 3-pointers. When Okur is on, as he has been for some time now,
Carlos Boozer doesn't put up huge lines. That was the case again last night, when he finished with just 10 points, five boards and five fouls.
utahjazz.com
That's all I've got for today. Start making plans on ending your season in Week 23 next year, and best of luck to those of you still trying to win a championship, likely with a team of waiver-wire wonders.