We’ve reached the midway point of the 2011-12 NBA season, providing a great opportunity to review where our fantasy teams are (not) headed.
Who has Brandon Roy on their team? show of hands please…. I thought I was in decent shape heading into the auction. We utilize a 15 man roster, 12 players active witth a salary cap of $150. We are allowed to keep four players from the previous season:
–Blake Griffin $8- I bid on him after he was injured last season, hence the cheap price. I thought he was going to be good, but he has far exceeded anyone’s expectations, even Mamma Griffin.
–Brandon Roy $21- My fall guy. I blame all my problems on him, all of them, even those not fantasy related. I should have listened when I heard he had basically no ligaments in either knee.
–Devin Harris $20- Another member of the All-Injury team. VERY inconsistent and, like Roy, misses games randomly.
–Josh Smith $21- No complaints here. Josh does it all.
OK, not a bad group to start with, lets review auction night. Entering the auction, my plans were to spend my money wisely, try and get some good bargains to carry over to next season, and pickup new hometown superstar John Wall. My plan didn’t last long….
–Kobe Bryant $33- Now, by no stretch is this a bad pickup. Kobe does it all and plays for the best team in the NBA. Why is that important? In our league, a portion of the units (nobody plans for money-right?) are applied to our NBA playoff teams. The top four finishers in the regular season also compete in the post season. We (as if I will be one of them) get to retain two players from our regular season roster and then draft to fill the rest of the spots. That’s my justification for blowing such a large portion of my remaining budget, and I’m sticking with it!
Al Horford $21- I really thought this was a steal, especially since he qualifies at both forward and center at our site (CBS Sportsline). His scoring is down a bit and has been called out by Amare Stoudamire.
At this point, my money was pretty much gone. I had added my token superstar and a much needed center, but for the most part, guys like Wall and other sexy stars were now too rich for my budget.
Hedo Turkoglu $4- I was very fortunate that Hedo found his way back to the Magic Kingdom. Horrible for a season in Toronto, he had been just as useless in Phoenix. Has struggled of late, but seems a perfect fit in the Orlando offense.
Tyson Chandler $3- I am quite proud of this selection. Chandler has long been a favorite of mine. There was concern about having to compete with Brendan Haywood, but two magic words……. Contract year!
Ben Gordon $2- Took a chance that he could rekindle his game. Guess the price tag was about right.
Andrei Kirilenko $1- Has been on a long slide since the days when he was one of THE most valuable fantasy players in the land. Has exceeded expecations and cannot be to blame for my incompetence.
Robin Lopez $1- His brother is so good and Brook was on my roster the two previous seasons. With the “good” Lopez far too rich for my budget, I took a chance that he might improve. Somebody had to take up the slack on the Nash pick and roll,right? wrong
Four players I picked up at the auction have been unceremoniously cut by me during the season.
Tracy McGrady– what was I thinking? seriously….
Jason Thompson– like Horford, had dual position eligibility, I should have saved money for DeMarcus Cousins.
TJ Ford– had neglected to note that Darren Collison had migrated north from the Big Easy.
Greg Monroe– I fell victim to the home town DC media hype.
Many others, not worthy of mention, have passed through our roster, the waiver wire fodder now gracing my roster follows:
Mike Bibby– I needed assists and three pointers- seemed like a perfect fit. Key word-seemed.
Kirk Hinrich– My favorite player in the NBA, along with Chandler. Has exceeded expectations, Gilbert’s trade helped immensely!
Glen Davis– Big baby was a nice waiver pickup. Dual position eligibily. Kendrick Perkins return hasn’t helped.
Shawn Marion– Has helped me across most categories. Not the fantasy stud he once was, but neither am I.
OJ Mayo– My latest pickup. Was pondering for awhile as he served 10 game suspension. Rudy Gay’s injury sealed the deal!
How is your team doing? Let us know, and for fantasy help, check out FantasySP forums.
