Latest Gear Live Videos
The Psuedo Studs of Fantasy Basketball
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, H2H, Injuries, Northwest Division, Utah Jazz, Pacific Division, Sacramento Kings, Props, Roto, Southeast Division, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Southwest Division, Memphis Grizzlies, Talent,
Okay, so we all pretty much know which NBA ballers will be going in the first two rounds of our fantasy basketball drafts – the Marions, the Jameses, the Garnetts, and Nashes. The first two rounds should pretty much be a walk in the park, other than wondering about a few players coming off of injuries – Tracy McGrady, Andrei Kirilenko, and Yao Ming. But, these players have so much upside and are so established as difference makers, there’s no question they’ll go in the first two rounds in most leagues, except in our DD Draft Blog: Round One – Round Two. Sorry, Tracy. But, you know what? We were probably thinking too much.
In any case, what about those unheralded players that are on the cusp of studhood? Players that will come off the draft board starting in the third round and probably no later than the fourth and maybe fifth round? Who are those players going to be?
Don’t worry, I got you with this. I can’t give away all of my secrets, but check out the following seven players. All things considered, such as position eligibility and upside I think these players could potentially put up first and second round value, or at the very least a round ahead of where they’d probably be drafted.
NOTE: Since we’re still in the middle of our DD draft, I won’t be going into great detail here since I don’t know how the draft will unfold and I may end up getting one of these guys, in which case I’d just copy and paste what I wrote and that would be just plain lazy on my part. Worse yet, I may plant a seed in my DD brothers-in-blogging to draft one of the following players because I made a compelling argument.
Click to continue reading The Psuedo Studs of Fantasy Basketball
Advertisement
American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. Central
Posted by Tom Massimo Categories: Editorial, Fantasy, MLB,
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Following a disaster start at home against Minnesota on August 26th, Jose Contreras has put together 3 consecutive quality starts. In his last 21 innings, he has allowed 4 ER and just 4 BB’s, while striking out 23. A decline in his K/9 plagued him as he struggled in July and August. A sore back has bothered him for most of the year and perhaps this is a sign that he is feeling better.
Bobby Jenks is pitching with a sore hip and it really seems to be affecting his performance. In his last 4 appearances he has blown two saves, lost a game in extra innings, and allowed 6 ER. Fantasy owners of Jenks need to monitor this situation closely. With the team in a battle for the wildcard, they cannot afford to be using an injured and ineffective closer. If manager Ozzie Guillen decides to make a change, Mike MacDougal should be the one to takeover. After missing the entire first-half of the season with a shoulder injury, MacDougal has been fantastic since returning. Pitching in the set-up role for the Sox, he has a microscopic 1.01 ERA in 26.2 innings. Throughout his career, he has been a high strikeout, high groundball pitcher with control problems. This year he is maintaining the high G/F ratio and striking out less hitters, but he has really reined in the control with a very low 1.0 BB/9. The new approach seems to agree with him.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. Central
Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 3, Pick 2
Posted by Ron Chow Categories: H2H, Props, Roto, Site Features, Southwest Division, Houston Rockets,
Round 3, Pick 2: Tracy McGrady, SG/SF, Houston Rockets
What image do you remember the most of Tracy McGrady? Do you have the image of T-Mac as the slasher and ferocious dunker like the picture of him dunking on Shawn Bradley or do you remember the image of him being wheeled out on a stretcher? Fantasy owners of T-Mac last year were crippled by the 35 games missed due to back spasms.
How can you replace 24.4 points, 6.5 boards and 4.8 assists per game?
It should not be a surprise this year to see T-Mac drop into the 2nd round or, in the Dropping Dimes Draft Blog, the 3rd round because of the injury risk factor. Is drafting T-Mac a smart gamble or is it going to hurt like a Jackass prank? Should you take a safer player available like Mike Bibby? Let’s take out the calculators and do some risk analysis!
Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 3, Pick 2
Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 3, Pick 1
Posted by Scott Sargent Categories: Atlantic Division, New Jersey Nets, Editorial, H2H, Props, Roto, Talent,
While some of the first 24 picks have focused on some players that can be considered statistical specialists (Andrei Kirilenko or Ben Wallace with blocks and steals, Steve Nash with assists and free throw percentage), this team that is already comprised of LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire appears to have a firm foundation of well-rounded contributions. James is a triple-double threat every night, while Stoudemire can put up 20 and 10 with a couple blocks thrown in for good measure at the drop of a…dime. Thus, drafting for value, and attempting to not group this tandem with any one that could kill any certain category, I see no better option at this stage than to go with the off-guard from the New Jersey Nets.
Round 3, Pick 1: Vince Carter, SG, New Jersey Nets
Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 3, Pick 1
Draft Blog Player Combinations
Posted by Alvin Lai Categories: H2H, Roto, Site Features, Talent,
Teaming Jason Kidd up with Kobe Bryant makes this, arguably (and I appreciate all comments), the best 1-2 guard combo thus far. - Dennis Velasco (see Jason Kidd post)
Kobe and Jason Kidd make a sweet guard combo for one of Dennis’ teams, provided Kobe recovers from knee surgery (and he will) and Kidd continues to produce during the downslope of his career (more iffy, but should be good for this year). Is Kobe/Kidd the best guard combo thus far? Is Kobe/Kidd the best combo
periodthus far? Here on Dropping Dimes, we aim to spit it only when we hit it. So let us take a look at whether Dennis walks the walk.
Click to continue reading Draft Blog Player Combinations
Another round done in DroppingDimes.com’s inaugural draft blog. The round saw a couple of borderline first rounders get swiped up in Andrei Kirilenko and Amare Stoudemire, but why the fall? Simply, injuries. If both turn out to be healthy this upcoming season, both will make the owners that passed up on them in the first round pretty unhappy.
Speaking of injuries, Pau Gasol will be on the shelf anywhere from three to four months, which is unfortunate. Coming off the World Championships, Gasol took the MVP award and it looked like he was going to come back to the States in a big way and do some major damage. Since the pick was made before the injury, be sure to check out Alvin’s comment on the injury.
Also both Wallaces from last year’s Detroit Pistons team were taken back-to-back. Rasheed has the versatility and was taken before Ben. How will Big Ben do in Chi-town? Will he make the Bulls a contender as he said he would? Will he make your fantasy team a contender?
To find out, check the profile for Big Ben, as well as all of the other players taken in the second round.
2.1. Allen Iverson, PG/SG, Philadelphia 76ers
2.2. Andrei Kirilenko, SF/PF, Utah Jazz
2.3. Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns
2.4. Paul Pierce, SG/SF, Boston Celtics
2.5. Paul Gasol, PF/C, Memphis Grizzlies
2.6. Tim Duncan, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs
Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2 Recap
Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 12
Posted by Scott Sargent Categories: Editorial, H2H, High School, Pacific Division, Phoenix Suns, Props, Roto, Sleepers, Talent,
I’ve never seen it happen, but trust me folks when I say that you can even get snaked in mock drafts! With Chauncey Billups in mind to pair with LeBron James, I had a perfect one-two punch from my first two selections. But, such is life. Regroup yourself, and keep on picking! Instead of going the point-guard way and settling for a lesser player, I decided to take this thing a different route. As I see the drop-off in big men taking a steep turn by the time I would get to pick again, I had no choice but to take at least one center-eligible player at the turn. And who better to pair up with King James than one of the most exciting and explosive players in the game?
Round 2, Pick 12: Amare Stoudemire, PF/C, Phoenix Suns
Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 12
American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. East
Posted by Tom Massimo Categories: Editorial, Fantasy, MLB,
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Rodrigo Lopez has been moved to the bullpen for the rest of the season. After a brutal first-half of the season, he has actually pitched rather well since the All-Star break, with a 4.52 ERA, 7.51 K/9 and a 2.2 BB/9. Lopez is a free agent at the conclusion of this season and almost certainly will not be back with the Orioles in 2007. If he moves to the National League, he could be a sleeper for next year.
The second-half of the season is a better read on a rookie’s skills. After hitting .285 in the first-half of the season, pitchers have caught up with Brandon Fahey, as evidenced by his post-All-Star break batting average of .175. His future is as a utility infielder.
You know things are bad when you allow 7 ER in 3 innings and actually lower your ERA from 108.00 to 36.82. Avoid Hayden Penn in all formats for the rest of this season.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. East
Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 11
Posted by Ron Chow Categories: Central Division, Detroit Pistons, H2H, Props, Roto, Site Features,
Round 2, Pick 11 Chauncey Billups PG, Detroit Pistons
Mark my words, Chaucey Billups will have a MONSTER SEASON this year. That is right faithful Dropping Dimes readers - you’re getting the scoop right here! How do I know this? Well, Billups has a player’s option after this season, which means he can opt out of his contract at the end of this upcoming season and you know Billups is working for a raise! When you get your annual review at your job, do you slack off in hopes to get a raise? No, you work your arse off in hopes that the evil empire throws you a carrot for all your hard work. Billups will work his tail off and earn that big pay raise. Billups must be licking his lips after seeing former teammate Ben Wallace getting $60 million for the next four seasons thrown his way during this past offseason. Billups is making $6 million this season and after an excellent ’06-’07 season, Billups will be shouting “SHOW ME THE MONEY!”
Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 11
Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 10
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Central Division, Chicago Bulls, Editorial, Free Agency, H2H, Pacific Division, Phoenix Suns, Props, Roto, Site Features, Waiver Pick Ups,
Round 2, Pick 10: Ben Wallace, PF/C, Chicago Bulls
After signing a four year, $60 million dollar deal during the offseason to join the Chicago Bulls, there are big expectations for the team this upcoming season. Can one man really make that much of a difference? Well, when you have personnel in place and have the foresight and vision on how you want to build a team, the answer is YES. Big Ben Wallace will make a difference on the Bulls and guess what.
He can make a difference for your fantasy basketball team as well.
Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 10
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.