Author: TJ Streett

Blocks and Boards For The Last Two Weeks

There are only two weeks left in the NBA regular season and it’s time to pick up the hot hands in the fantasy basketball world. Enter Golden State big man, Ekpe Udoh.

Analysis: Ekpe Udoh has at least two blocks a game in his last eight contests. Yes, the guy is just plain nasty on the defensive end right now. Add in a steal per game over his last five games and you’re going to get some attention. Udoh has also amassed at least five rebounds in six of his last seven games. He also isn’t that bad from the stripe for a big man, about 70% on the year. Udoh’s field goal percentage isn’t quite at fifty percent which is what you want from your bigs, but he’s not going to hurt you in that department either. There are very few players in the fantasy realm putting up his kind of numbers and are owned in less than ten percent of leagues nationwide. Throw in center and power forward eligibility and you have a winner for the final two weeks of the season.

Projection: Ekpe Udoh along with Serge Ibaka are quickly becoming premier NBA shot blockers. Andris Biedrins will return in a few games for the Warriors but don’t expect Udoh to slow down. Expect two blocks, six boards and just under a steal per game from Udoh the rest of the season.

Three Ball And Assist Help

With only a little over two weeks in the regular season it’s time to make that final push. If you are in need of three ball and assists down the stretch, Lou Williams just may be your man.

Analysis: Despite getting his average number of minutes recently, Lou Williams is playing some sneaky good ball. His points and steals are up over his season averages over the last few weeks but that’s not what your looking for, you need some assists to go along with those threes. Well, Williams has hit at least two threes a game in four of his last six games with a free throw percentage around eighty percent in that stretch. Williams has also reached four assists in four of his last six games and dropping 24 points twice in that span. Granted, he isn’t setting the league on fire but this deep into the season you don’t have many options to improve your squad, every little bit helps. Williams’ point guard and shooting guard eligibility only add to his value at this point.

Projection: Expect more of the same as Williams will help the Sixers secure the sixth seed in the eastern conference. He’ll give you 14 points and a steal pretty much every night but it’s the threes, assists and free throw percentage that make him so valuable in deep leagues right now.

Carl Landry In, David West Out

David West will be gone for the duration of the season with a torn left ACL suffered Thursday in Utah.

Analysis: Losing David West is huge. 19 points, 7 boards, a block, a steal and great percentages from the power forward position is just great but now it’s gone. Enter Carl Landry, owned in just under 50% of fantasy leagues nationwide and a beast of a fantasy player last year with the Rockets and Kings. He’ll step in for the injured West and he should do just fine. Last year he averaged 17 PPG, 6 RPG while shooting over 80% from the stripe and over 50% from the floor. Yes, there will be a drop off in performance but inserting Landry into your lineup make the most sense. You’ll lose just a little in every category as opposed to a lot in two or three. Landry is quite an efficient player with a career free throw percentage of 77%, absolutely great from a power forward. As long as his minutes are there and they should be, the steals and blocks should be just enough of a contribution to keep him around.

Projection: If he can get 28 minutes or more a night as the starter, he’s money. Expect 14 PPG, 5 RPG with some great field goal and free throw percentages the rest of the season. Be patient the first few games, he hasn’t been the great fit with the Hornets he was expected to be. Let the chemistry develop.

College Football: Three More Unanswered Questions

Will Georgia turn their program around? This will be UGA’s second year in the 3-4 defense and while losing AJ Green and Justin Houston to the NFL hurts, a top five recruiting class will ease the pain. After much speculation on whether star running back Washaun Ealey would transfer, head coach Mark Richt has lifted his suspension and he is practicing with the team again. This gives Georgia a great 1-2-3 punch at tail back with Ealey, Caleb King and incoming freshman stud Isaiah Crowell(get to know Isaiah). Sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray looked stellar as a freshman throwing 24 touchdowns to just 8 interceptions. He is poised to become the best quarterback in the SEC in the not too distant future. The biggest matchups on the Bulldog’s schedule are Boise State at the Georgia Dome to open up the season followed by a week two contest at home with reigning SEC East champs South Carolina. Georgia as always plays Florida in Jacksonville in late October. The Dawgs do not have to play national title contenders Alabama or LSU this year unless it is in the SEC Championship so a 6-2 showing in the SEC is very realistic. Be on the lookout for Alec Ogletree who is moving to inside linebacker after playing safety in high school and keep an eye on strong safety Bacarri Rambo who will lead the defense this year.

Can Nebraska win the Big 10 in its first year in the conference? At this point all signs point to yes. The Cornhuskers get Ohio State at home in Terrelle Pryor, Boom Herron and DeVier Posey’s first game back from suspensions. After some transfer rumors quarterback Taylor Martinez is still the man and he can only improve after a superb freshman year. Although he was banged up the majority of 2010 he still passed for over 1,600 yards and ran for 965 more. Nebraska immediately sports the best defense in the Big 10 with NFL prospects like cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, linebacker Lavonte David, cornerback Ciante Evans and defensive tackle Jared Crick. They have the deepest and most talented secondary in the country(sorry Bama). The Huskers do not have to play Wisconsin but they do have to pay visits to Penn State who don’t know who their quarterback is yet and Michigan who just don’t have the athletes on the defensive side of the ball to make a run. Expect to see a Nebraska-Ohio State rematch in the Big 10 championship this year unless Wisconsin can defeat the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe in late October.

Can Oklahoma reach the BCS title game? If I had to rank the top three teams right now it would be 1- Alabama, 2- Oregon/LSU winner September 3rd, and 3- Stanford. Oklahoma would be a close fourth with Heisman candidate quarterback Landry Jones and wide out Ryan Broyles. Remember, this year the Big 12 loses its championship game and goes to a round robin nine game conference schedule. The key games for OU are an early season matchup at Florida State, an early October matchup with Texas and at Oklahoma State to end the regular season. Texas A&M is a program on the rise and the Sooners cannot overlook the Aggies. The Sooners would have to run the table because there is no chance a one loss Oklahoma gets a BCS title nod over a one loss SEC team, a one loss PAC 12 team or an undefeated TCU or Boise State who play each other November 12th. There are some questions on the defensive side of the ball but Travis Lewis, Jamell Fleming and Frank Alexander return for their senior seasons to lead what should be one of the best defenses in a very weak Big 12 this year. They can run the table but they are far from a national juggernaut.

Is Drafting Gio Gonzalez Safe?

After bouncing around from a couple of organizations, Gio Gonzalez has finally found his home with Oakland but can he continue his success from the 2010 season?

Analysis: Gio Gonzalez is definitely a mixed bag, especially in roto leagues. His bread and butter is of course his strikeouts. Gonzalez struck out 171 batters in 200 innings last year and if his minor league numbers are any indicator he should be right around 9K/9 this year. You also have to love his durability. He started 33 games last year with Oakland and started a combined 29 games between the bigs and Triple A in 2009. He does walk batters entirely too much and that does kill his WHIP. He sports a career 4.67BB/9 and his 4.13BB/9 last year was second in MLB among qualified pitchers. Gio’s ERA minues FIP was -.55 which was good for 18th among luckiest pitchers in baseball last year. His ERA was well below what it should have been and it should stay around four for the 2011 season.

Projection: Although Gonzalez pitches in a friendly park his ratios this year are due to bump up. Expect 13 wins, 190 strikeouts, 3.95 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP. If you are drafting Gonzalez as a top 45-50 pitcher and expect him to repeat his win total and ERA from last year you are mistaken. His walk rate is very concerning and his tenth best LOB rate of 78.1% last year will surely take a hit and directly affect his ERA.