Week 3 in Fantasy Basketball came and passed, and I must say, I’m starting to get the hang of this whole thing. My teams didn’t necessarily reflect it, but I’m getting a better feel for it all and I’m learning the players and the game so much more. Prior to this season, I couldn’t name 90 percent of the players in the leagues, let alone what team they played for. Now, I’m not only absorbing the guys on my team, but those on my opposition’s teams, trying to ascertain which guys will be tough matchup issues. Again, it didn’t pay off this week, but it should prove to be some help in the future.
Lessons Learned
I toyed with a pretty valuable idea this week—the waiver wire. Prior to Week 3, I had just gone about my team as is, not really caring to bother who is out there on the waiver wire. Partially because even if I did see a name, I had no idea how good they were, all I had to go on was numbers. And numbers don’t always tell the whole story, just what has happened in the past. Says nothing about what will happen in the future, which is all that matters if I were to pick them up.
But, the waiver wire is a tool at my disposal, something that should be cherished. I know several fantasy basketball owners (my colleague Brian Neese included) use their final spot as a rotating one, picking up a player each day to help out with their weekly matchup. As the week wore down, I picked up a player on both teams to try to help out in categories I was barely trailing in (happened to be 3-pointers for both teams). It didn’t work, but it’s something I am definitely going to explore further in the coming weeks.
Transactions
For my first team, Toneston Checks In, I dropped Carlos Delfino late in the week (who missed a couple of games) for Mike Dunleavy of the Indiana Pacin rap crew. I tied in 3-pointers, but I could have lost if not for that move.
My second team, Jesus Shuttlesworths, I was also itching for 3-pointers, so I dropped Richard Hamilton and picked up James Jones for a game. Too bad Jones missed all 6 3-pointers he attempted that night. Should have picked up Eddie House, who drained 6 treys that night. Oh well. I wound up losing the category by 13 anyways, so it didn’t matter. I picked up Hamilton for Sunday, just to get an extra game in, and also because he’s a pretty good player and one I want to keep on my team.
Team Recaps
Team: Toneston Checks In
Record: 6-3-3
Categories won: FT%, OREB, DREB, AST, STL, PTS
Categories lost: FG%, BLK, Turnovers
Categories Tied: Ejections, Triple Doubles, 3PM
Stars:
Reggie Evans PF—Toronto Raptors
He tied for the team-lead with 4 games played, but still only had 102 minutes. However, he made great use of his time on the court, pulling down 18 ORebs and 30 DRebs, both team highs. He also shot 50 percent from the floor. However, he only added 21 points, by far the lowest on my team.
Russell Westbrook PG—Oklahoma City Thunder
Once again. He’s fast becoming a superstar in this league and on my team, carrying me in a lot of categories. This week, he led my team with 31 assists and four games and was second in minutes played, points and steals. He did have 18 turnovers, a little high, but that’s over four games and I’ll take it with everything else he has to offer.
Danilo Gallinari SF—New York Knicks
Man, he was hot this week huh? In the four games, he scored at least 21 points in every one for a combined total of 102 points. He also had 12 threes and made 42 of his 44 free throw attempts (95.5 percent).
Dwight Howard C—Orlando Magic
Just as consistent as they come. He was the only person on my team to record more than 2 blocks (which could be why I lost that category) and again contributed with at least 12 rebounds and 19 points in every game. Too bad he only played 3 this week.
Joakim Noah C—Chicago Bulls
15 offensive boards, a third of what my opponent had from his entire team. Enough said.
Disappointments:
John Salmons SG/SF—Milwaukee Bucks
He shot 32.3 percent from the floor. Second straight time he fell under the disappointments category. Had just 30 points in three games.
Analysis:
I accidentally sat Carmelo Anthony for his big 20-point, 22-rebound night, but luckily I won both of those categories anyways. My opponent didn’t set change is lineup all week, so only had 31 games and 1088 minutes. As a point of comparison, my guys played 40 games and 1373 minutes. So, I should have won categories like points and rebounds, just by pure chance. And he should have won turnovers just by pure lack of chances.
Gilbert Arenas’ 16-assist game helped him, but I still won in 37 in that category. Dirk Nowitzki (51.9 percent on 79 shots) and David West (50.7 percent on 69 shots) helped him garner FG percentage, a category I have yet to win in this league (or either league for that matter) this season. He also won the blocks category, thanks to 11 from Andrew Bogut and 6 from West. I had just 15 blocks from my entire team, so those two guys were enough to beat me.
Team: Jesus Shuttlesworths
Record: 2-7-1
Categories won: FT%, REB
Categories lost: FG%, 3PM, AST, STL, BLK, Double Doubles, PTS
Categories Tied: Triple Doubles
Stars:
Kobe Bryant SG—Los Angeles Lakers
He was the only one of my guys who played 4 games, totaling 107 points, 30 rebounds and 14 assists. Too bad he was the only one worthwhile on my team.
Disappointments:
Steve Nash PG—Phoenix Suns
He was hurt and missed two games, but in the two games he did appear in, was very, very average. He only played 63 minutes and had just 32 points and 9 assists. Killed me.
Taj Gibson PF—Chicago Bulls
He had that great 18 point, 17 rebound game where he even nailed a 3. But in the two games before that, he had just 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 points. Two measly points. As a result, he carried just a 28.6 FG percentage.
Joe Johnson SF—Atlanta Hawks
Two games, 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) shooting, 6 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals and just 22 points. From my third round pick. No wonder why I lost.
Analysis:
It was just one of those weeks. I didn’t necessarily get beat by my opponent so much as I beat myself. I did everything I could as an owner, but my guys just didn’t perform on the hardwood and my record shows it.
Kobe was the only guy worth his weight in anything. His 107 points was a big boost, but I didn’t have anybody else even over 50, thus losing that category by 180. Andre Miller had 24 assists, but nobody else even had 15 on my team. I lost that category by just 6. Miller also had 11 steals, the only person over 5 on my team. I lost that category by 5. Andrew Bogut had 11 blocks and Marcus Camby had 6. The rest of my team, all 11 guys that played, had just 7 blocks total. I lost that category by 8. I had six players who recorded a FG percentage lower than 40 percent. Lost that category by a wide margin. It just was not my week. And that happens sometimes. It sucks it happened so early in the year, but my team is solid. It’ll bounce back.
