Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 13

The Director
Chauncey Billups (DEN) - 0.909 FT%, 4.3 3FGM, 25.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 7.7 APG [1]

Finally, Mr. Big Shot arrives. Seems to have perfect timing too as the wind-up to the all-star game is right upon the world. Last year, he got the snub even after turning Denver around. This year though, Tony Parker isn't playing as well, so this would seem to be a lock unless Deron Williams creeps into the picture.


The Skywalker
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 1.3 3FGM, 31.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.8 SPG, 1.5 BPG [5]

He's back. He's been here less than just 1 person. Like almost everybody has said, the Thunder were not supposed to be this good this early. Durant is leading the precocious team with his own advanced-for-his-age numbers, and they're in the playoffs. Who knows, they might even leapfrog Portland as the "Young team the NBA is afraid of." He's gonna be an all-star for sure.


The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 2.3 3FGM, 34.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 10.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.7 SPG [7]



As if last week wasn't good enough, he upped himself and beat Kobe and his Lakers too. Mo Williams is down for the next month or so, thus we can expect more of this from LeBron. The best players in fantasy basketball (and real basketball) is on a different plane these last 2 weeks.


Captain Lionheart
Corey Maggette (GSW) - 0.929 FT%, 30.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.0 APG [1]

The conflict of the week! Andrei Kirilenko was another candidate for this slot, with better percetages and defense. But he only played 2 weeks. So, I went with Maggette since he played more games and his FT% was way up there considering the volume of FT he takes.


Tower of Power
Andrew Bogut (MIL) - 20.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 4.0 BPG [1]

He was the number 1 pick, folks, not CP3 or D-Will. Yes, it might have taken him a couple of years longer, but the Australian is here to stay. Tag teaming with a young spitfire in Brandon Jennings, they seem to make each other better. Let's see if this combo heats up the Milwaukee cold.

All-Star Starters Revealed: We Did Not Do Our Jobs!

You see that picture everybody? Yes, folks. We did not do our job voting for somebody else and this is what we got. Allen Iverson being the first person to be ever seen in the new (and sweet-looking) all-star threads.

It honestly seems similar to the Philippine elections. We have to vote for somebody but there's no one person that stands out, so all the bad people in the world get to elect their bid into power. Aside from Wade, there isn't any real stand-out all-star guard in the East anymore. Alas, we all couldn't unite to find that guard that could oust Iverson. Now, our crime will stare us in the face on Feb. 14 (Feb. 15 Manila time) when the all-star starters get introduced in Dallas. Thankfully, the game is in the West and Iverson will be part of the "visiting" team.

So, for those who haven't read the internet, the following people will be the starters:

East: Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard
West: Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudamire

We can't do anything about the stars joining the teams now. It's all in the experts hands, but I have my opinions as to who should be there in Cowboys stadium in front of 80,000 people. Unfortunately, we must follow the traditional 1 center, 2 forwards, 2 guards and 2 utility slots. So here goes!

East:
Joe Johnson (ATL) - Joe is the #1 guy on the East's #3 team. That should speak for itself.
Mo Williams (CLE) - It's sad he's injured, but he should get redemption from the almost-snub last year.
Chris Bosh (TOR) - He's the top 20-10 guy in the NBA right now, enough said.
Paul Pierce (BOS) - Pierce has been the East's best closer this year. Truth be told.
David Lee (NYK) - He's taken the ball D'Antoni gave him and double-doubled with it.
Rajon Rondo (BOS) - Pierce has closed games, but Rondo's been keeping them in games all season.
Gerald Wallace (CHA) - Crash has been with the 'Cats since Day One and should be the first one in an all-star game.

West:
Chris Paul (NOH) - CP3 is the top PG in the NBA in spite of the in juries this season.
Brandon Roy (POR) - Probably the unluckiest star here as his bigs are all down with something.
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) - Best Non-American player ever? Top 3 at the very least.
Kevin Durant (OKC) - We all knew it was coming. But he has finally arrived.
Pau Gasol (LAC) - The big man getting close to 20-10 on the best team deserves a slot.
Zach Randolph (MEM) - Personally, I hate him. But the Griz are winning because of him.
Chauncey Billups (DEN) - The Nuggets, especially Melo wouldn't be West Elite without him.

I agree with people that say that winning is a major part of being an all-star. True enough, most playoff teams (as of the moment) have at least one all-star. Only Chicago and Utah being missed out on. Some teams with good records do have a shortage of all-stars such as Dallas, but that's just because more members of the team are producing while lower teams such as Phoenix were lucky to have 2 all-stars. Luckily for Stoudamire, David Spade helped and he was voted in.

Snubs:
Chris Kaman (LAC) - You're a Clipper. That should be reason enough already. Being the #1 team in LA matters because of the record. That's why Pau gets the nod over him.
Deron Williams (UTA) - As much as I love D-Will, he's been hurt a lot this year, and Denver's better record pushes Billups ahead of him.
Josh Smith (ATL) - blame Allen Iverson
Jamal Crawford (ATL) - blame Allen Iverson
Derrick Rose (CHI) - blame Allen Iverson
Stephen Jackson (CHA) - blame Allen Iverson

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 12

The Director
Chris Paul (NOH) - 1.3 3FGM, 18.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 13.5 APG, 3.0 SPG [4]

CP3 is back in the Mythical 5 with his usual numbers. Looks like he, David West and Emeka Okafor are finally getting their acts together, and less scoring is needed from him. Us fantasy people hate that... unless we own Okafor.


The Skywalker
Dwyane Wade (MIA) - 27.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.3 APG, 2.5 SPG, 1.8 BPG [3]

D-Wade was a defensive beast last week. Sure he gambles and puts his team at risk in the real world, but that doesn't mean jack in fantasy basketball. 4.3 Steals/Blocks per game is just way, way up there for any guard.


The Triggerman
Lebron James (CLE) - 35.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 7.0 APG, 3.0 SPG, 1.7 BPG [6]


LeBron was once again the best player in fantasy basketball. He's been here for the 6th week and he even produced higher offense and defensive numbers than Wade. It seems that Cleveland is finally taking some of the load of LeBron, keeping defenders honest and letting LeBron go nuts. If only he'd dunk in the Dunk Contest...


Captain Lionheart
Stephen Jackson (CHA) - 3.0 3FGM, 29.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, 3.0 SPG [1]

Here's another one of those "multiple positions saves my ass" types of listings again. I really never knew until recently that S-Jax had PF eligibility. Being in Golden State indeed paid off for some fantasy owners who lucked out on this one.


Tower of Power
Brook Lopez (NJN) - 22.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.5 BPG [2]

He's been the only consistent thing in New Jersey aside from the losses. How those two correlate, I dunno. But, Brook is recently getting outshone by Robin out in Phoenix. Maybe we'll see these 2 get some time to go head-to-head.

Battle at the Bottom - The PBA Wild Card

The PBA regular season for the All-Filipino Conference is winding down with all teams basically having just one or two games left on their schedules. The race up top between San Miguel, Alaska and Ginebra is exciting but rather immaterial at this point as we are sure to see more of them already. Same thing with Talk n Text and Sta. Lucia, they might not be in contention for the outright semifinal slots, but being safe in the quarterfinals is much, much better than the plight which I am about to discuss.

The Battle at the Bottom of the PBA standings has four teams, all struggling to survive, knowing that even if they were to get through this ordeal, the next one will be much tougher to get through. Let's go through each team's chances, and maybe we can find a way to sort this out.

Burger King Whopper (5-11) - Ginebra, Alaska

Burger King is probably in the best spot among the four teams as they have 5 wins already, 2 games left and they beat the current bottom team, Barako Bull in both their meetings this season. Now, with their wild card bid already set, it's best to look at their possible competition. They're 1-1 against Coke, 2-0 against RoS in close games and 2-0 against Barako Bull in blow outs. It's not hard to guess who they'd like to face in the wild card round.

Of course, with the recent trade of Alax Cabagnot and Wesley Gonzales into their roster, they don't have the same team that won all those games. So, chemistry might be an issue and nothing is really safe even if they seem to been the best among the worst.


Coca-Cola Tigers (5-12) - Barako Bull

Coke is in a rather interesting bind. They have 5 wins, but they have one more game against bottom-placer Barako Bull. Worse, Barako Bull can tie their record and in their first round meeting, they lost to the Energy Boosters. Based on just the math, they too are almost sure-in for the wild card phase, but they can ensure their fate by winning their remaining game and putting Barako Bull away. As for their record against RoS, they're 1-1, so that should be an interesting battle.

Similar to Burger King, Coke too has to figure out how to deal with the trade. Why they did it this late in the season, I honestly do not understand. Chemistry and knowing your teammates is a very big thing during pressure-packed situations. Luckily for them, the trade came with a pressure player in Gary David, so they might be the winners of the trade.


Rain or Shine Elastopainters (4-13) - Alaska

Honestly, the faces of these two guys say everything about the Elastopainters' season. They don't know what is going on and how to deal with it. Early in the season, they are the first ones to defeat then undefeated Alaska, but they never get anything going. One win and done. The team's starters are loaded with talent in Norwood, Mercado, Reyes and Telan, but they can't seem to gel.

Unfortunately for them, they have to go against Alaska, a team with something to lose, on their last game. Alaska will be looking for a semifinal slot and revenge on Rain or Shine, and that doesn't help their cause. Good thing for them is that they blew out Barako Bull in their win against them, which might help if quotients are factored in.


Barako Bull Energy Boosters (3-13) - Sta. Lucia, Coca-Cola

Barako Bull was almost dead and gone last week, but they surprised Talk n Text. So, now, everything is still up in the air even though the numbers are against them. What's fortunate for Barako is that they still have 2 games to hike up their wins. If they can get to 5, they're in as they beat Coke twice. If they only win once, they leave everything in the hands of Rain or Shine.

Regardless, Barako is still the most likely team to be eliminated early. They have no clear leader and no clear star. They win when two or three players have almost perfect games - take note 2 or 3. They have to be that lucky against teams to win. Fortunately for them, Sta. Lucia is already in the quarters with no chance of the semis, so they might get to see a lot of the Realtors second unit.

There we go... A lot of interesting games left in the regular season before the hectic playoffs begin... Let's hope the teams deliver interesting basketball so that fans will come in during the playoffs.

NBA Fantasy Players of the Week 11

Just when last week I said that everything was getting back to normal in the fantasy world, it gets screwed up again. LeBron wasn't close to 30-8-8, Kobe was shooting left-handed, Nash and Paul were scoring. You could go on and on.

So this is why we have a pretty weird Mythical 5 this week... Prepare to be surprised.

The Director
Monta Ellis (GSW) - 30.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, 2.3 SPG [1]

For some strange reason, the monicker "The Director" doesn't fit when Ellis is your PG. But then again, he's eligible, so ehhh.. But he had good scoring and somewhat good percentages, so we have to give him the spot.


The Skywalker
Kevin Durant (OKC) - 1.7 3FGM, 30.7 PPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG [4]

Kevin Durant installs some normalcy in this week's mythical five being on the list 3 times prior to this. The points are there, but everything else is down. Must be a really slow fantasy week for all the top players...


The Triggerman
Andre Iguodala (PHI) - 1.0 3FGM, 17.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 7.3 APG, 2.7 SPG [1]

Iguodala did his LeBron impersonation this week with an 18-7-7 type of deal. Lebron Lite, as I will now call him, gave us good numbers but nothing that will pop out at you. But his efforts will not be unnoticed as he is not the only Sixer on the list.


Captain Lionheart
Channing Frye (PHX) - 3.7 3FGM, 18.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG [2]

Here's where it begins to get fishy. Frye was previously on this list at center but I had to bump him down in favor of another big guy. Frye was draining 3s as is his role with the Suns and at a high percentage compared to the blips he's been having the weeks prior.


Tower of Power


Samuel Dalembert (PHI) - 1.000 FT%, 15.3 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 2.7 BPG [1]
This week's Best Player in Fantasy Basketball is Samuel Dalembert. Nope, I am not drunk not high. Dalembert got this week's nod because of his double-doubles and his high-high percantage. Normally, I'm not a percentage guy, but he had a signifcant number of shots per game and he made all of his free throws. Tough to admit but I can't deny Sammy D this week.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 10

Just because I wasn't able to fix my line-up and put David Lee in, I lost a week 2-7. Makes me wonder if I should keep him for the keeper league. But since he's an unrestricted free agent, I have to wait and see...

Now, the fantasy world seems to be normalizing based on pre-season predictions... This week's mythical 5!


The Director
Chris Paul (NOH) - 20.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 9.3 APG, 2.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG [3]
CP3 is back in his place as the NBA's best PG. But, his assists are down compared to when he came back from injury. This is probably because West and Okafor are contributing more to the Hornets cause. The block is a bonus and the steals are where you want them to be.


The Skywalker
Kobe Bryant (LAL) - 2.3 3FGM, 33.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 6.5 APG [4]

The Black Mamba just killed the Kings for the second game in a row. He's been playing at an MVP pace this year and with Gasol going down to the hamstring, we can expect Kobe to be looking to shoot again.


The Triggerman

LeBron James (CLE) - 29.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 7.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 1.5 BPG [5]

The King was the best player in fantasy basketball this week with monster 5-cat averages over 4 games. The statement being made in the 48-point explosion in Atlanta. We know he can do this every night if he wanted to, but he's saving energy for the chase for the homecourt advantage and playoffs this early. Yes, this early, especially since Boston and Orlando are right up there in the East.


Captain Lionheart
Chris Bosh (TOR) - 26.7 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.3 BPG [3]

CB4 has finally restored his 20-10 averages after a funk he went through last week. With Hedo going down to injury and Calderon still not back, Bosh will be forced to have these numbers for at least this week.


Tower of Power
Nene (DEN) - 23.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 3.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG [1]

Nene is clearly benefiting from Melo and Ms. Big Shot going down to injury. He has to establish himself as Denver's 3rd option, and seems to be doing so very well. When those 2 come back, we'll see if Nene can keep this pace up.