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Dropping Dimes is trying out a new feature. Fantasy 30 intends to rank all of the NBA teams in terms of fantasy power. A list like this tends to lead to a lot of disagreement and discussion, but the hope is that these rankings will be fluid and updated as the year goes on. Thanks to Ron Chow for the assist. In addition to publishing updates on the Fantasy 30, once in a while we hope to produce sister articles that focus on a specific team and its roster.

#1: Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant ranks as a top four fantasy player this year. The Lakers employ two fantasy-worthy starters for center in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Lamar Odom has played well coming off the bench. Jordan Farmar has sleeper point guard potential, and the team also employs three-point threats like Derek Fisher and Vlad Radmanovic. All of this adds up to the Lakers being top dog early in the year.

Click to continue reading Fantasy 30, Version 1


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Deron Williams

The Fig Cap: “Yeah… Chris Paul, who?”

Okay, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz isn’t exactly to the point of mocking Chris Paul, arguably the first overall fantasy basketball pick, of the New Orleans Hornets, but he is more than holding his own.  Unfortunately, for Raymond Felton, the same cannot be said of him.  For those of you that don’t remember the 2005 NBA Draft, Williams was drafted third overall, Paul fourth overall, and Felton fifth overall.  While Felton is still trying to relatively find his way in the NBA, Paul and Williams are perennial All-Star caliber players and the latter should be climbing up fantasy basketball drafts as the season gets closer.  How many potential 20-10 players are there in the NBA?  Only several, and Williams is one.

Round 3, Pick 3 - Deron Williams, PG, Utah Jazz

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Mock Draft: Round 3, Pick 3 - Deron Williams


Carlos Boozer

There comes a point in every fantasy draft where one must come to terms with the fact that he or she just may have to select a player that is despised for one reason or another.  Perhaps the player was on a former team and he failed to live up to expectations (cough, Larry Hughes).  Perhaps he plays for a team that has been the reason for personal disappointments, like say Boston topping Cleveland in nearly every sport for the past three years.  Or perhaps a player used to be on a team that you root for, but he no longer is after things did not end well.  Compounding this, consider the fact that the player may have conned his team in to allowing him to opt out of his contract early, only to bolt for a different team shortly thereafter.  And for the example, pretend that the then owner of the team was an elderly blind man. 

Oh, how I love fantasy sports….

Round 2, Pick 3 - Carlos Boozer, PF/C, Utah Jazz

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Mock Draft: Round 2, Pick 3 - Carlos Boozer


AI vs. DeronTo the three voters for the All-NBA team that did not name Chris Paul to the first team; you need to seriously have your head examined. Two voters picked Steve Nash instead and one vote went to Tracy McGrady. Come on, people! To pick Nash ahead of Paul means you have not watched ball since last season. The Hornets had a better record, Paul did more with less established talent around him, not to mention he had superior overall stats. As for McGrady, I guess it was a nod to the Rockets’ winning streak.

Nash was in action last week. Does he get to move on? Paul suits up this week, so check out who we have him partnered with? And the picture gives you a preview of who else is part of our hype match-ups this week!

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Two-on-Two Tourney: Round 1, Games 9 and 10


Kobe Bryant damn I'm good
The shoot-out in the wild Western Conference has been great to follow, has it not? The top nine teams are separated by only 6.5 games. Every day the standings shift. Right now Phoenix sits in sixth while Dallas ranks seventh! This bodes well for fantasy owners as the best teams in the West should all be playing meaningful games down the stretch. Here’s a rundown of each team’s fantasy playoff schedule.

Click to continue reading Playoff Primer 2008: Western Conference


Mehmet OkurThanksgiving is a special night
Jimmy Walker used to say Dynomite
That’s right
Turkey with gravy and cranberry
Can’t believe the Mets traded Darryl Strawberry
Turkey for you and
Turkey for me
Can’t believe Tyson
Gave that girl V.D.

White meat, dark meat
You just can’t lose
I fell off my moped
And I got a bruise
Turkey in the oven
And the buns in the toaster
I’ll never take down
My Cheryl Tiegs poster
Wrap the turkey up
In aluminum foil
My brother likes to…draft the Turkish Terror.

Round 4, Pick 12: Mehmet Okur, PF/C, Utah Jazz

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Mock Draft Blog 2007: Round 4, Pick 12 - Mehmet Okur


Deron WilliamsWith Kevin Garnett’s big stats and Allen Iverson’s small stats already on board, I have the option of taking whom I feel is the best player available instead of reaching for a certain position.  As Alvin touched on health issues with several players, he didn’t mention this guy as he pounded out 80 games in each of the last two seasons.  Oh, and he’s pretty good too.

Round 3, Pick 4 – Deron Williams, PG, Utah Jazz

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Mock Draft 2007 Round 3, Pick 4 - Deron Williams


Description

I figured that I would let Ray Allen and the ever-disturbing ankle picture marinate a bit before making the final pick of the second round.  After LeBron James went first overall, we’ve seen a bunch of top-notch point guards a big men fly off of the board. 

Ideally, I would like to pair James with a stellar free throw shooter to help my glaring weakness that’s inherent from the sole selection of the King.  However, unless you reach for someone like Chauncey Billups or Vince Carter at this slot, you’re pretty much going to have to wait on a shooter.  Plus, if you go small, you’re stuck waiting another 22 picks before adding a big man…which could then turn ugly.

But not as ugly as the man I’m drafting with the 12th pick of the second round:

Carlos Boozer, PF/C, Utah Jazz

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Mock Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 12 - Carlos Boozer


Yao Ming can't play, but he can modelI am back like Jack Bauer! Unlike Jack’s dramatic return from a Chinese prison, I was freed (booted?) from my parent’s basement. Now semi-acclimated to life on my own (thank god for the microwave!), I am ready to make a contribution to Dropping Dimes. Thanks to Dennis, Sarge, and Alvin for holding down the DD fort.

What the heck did I miss? What is up with all the injuries to key fantasy players?! In all my years in fantasy basketball, I don’t remember a season where so many players have been knocked out with injuries like a Mirko Cro Cop high kick (He is going to wreck havoc in the UFC!). In one of my leagues, a GM lost his top four picks to injuries (Chris Paul, Yao Ming, Josh Smith and Rashard Lewis). The poor GM had his playoff hopes dashed in the month of December. Them’s the breaks. In this edition of the Injury Lowdown I will give a quick rundown of key injuries and some players to keep an eye on.

Click to continue reading Injury Lowdown - What the Heck Did I Miss?!?!


Who, you?  Yes, you, Yao!Stat’s All Folks will be a week-to-week stock market look at the standard cumulative categories – points, assists, rebounds, three-pointers made, steals, and blocks.  I’ll be calling out the “bulls” and “bears” in each category, in order to help you assess your portfolio of players on your fantasy basketball team(s) and whether you should sell, hold, and/or diversify your assets. 

Note that you won’t always see the superstar player written about in this column, otherwise it would be LeBron James or Steve Nash every week.  So, check out who’s bullish and who’s bearish coming into the week.

Statistics are through December 14th – December 20th.

POINTS

BULLISH

Yao Ming, C, Houston Rockets
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 4 G; 34.8 PPG; 50.9 FG%; 91.2 FT%

Usually, the top scorers are coming from everywhere BUT the center position.  Indeed, the dominating scoring big man in the middle is a dying breed, but Yao Ming refuses to lay down softly and go the way of the Thighmaster.  Face it people, Yao is here to stay unlike the Suzanne Somers product and he is undeniably the best center in the NBA.  In his four games last week, Yao scored no less than 32 points in each contest and was feeling it so much he even attempted a trey from downtown!  He miseed, but that’s about the only shot he’ll ever clang off the rim.  And unlike other players that make a living down in the post, Yao hits his free throws allowing him to accumulate points from the charity stripe.  Obviously, hold on to Yao like your league championship depended on it because it just might.

Click to continue reading Stat’s All Folks: Yao = Best Center


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