Brook Lopez’s Return Is Near

Brook Lopez participated in a practice with contact with the New Jersey Nets today for the first time since breaking his foot in the preseason.

Analysis: With Brook Lopez being available in thirty to forty percent of fantasy leagues, his return is a big deal to all fantasy owners. Lopez averaged over twenty points per game last year, that’s impressive from a fantasy center. His career averages of 7.6 RPG and 1.7 BPG will be a welcome addition to any and all fantasy squads.

Brook Lopez finished eighth among fantasy centers last year and with his return in sight, it’s time to pick him up before it’s too late. There really isn’t much he can’t do as a fantasy center…he’s a career 80% free throw shooter. He may not be an elite rebounder, but he’ll get his share of double-doubles. It isn’t often that a top ten center is available at any point in a fantasy season but his preseason injury has made all of this possible. There is a mad scramble going on in nearly all leagues for Lopez and it doesn’t make any sense to wait.

February 13th Weekly Release Notes

Sorry for being late.  This past weeks updates addressed a lot of small issues that need to be handled.  I’ve also added about 6 new sources for news that you may have noticed by now.  From this point on, my time will be dedicated to the yet-to-be-released new feature that I’ve been talking about.  I’d love to show you guys screenshots, but it’s not quite there yet.

Now, the full list of changes:

  • Mobile FantasySP now uses new caching technique (the entire site is finally finished! wahoooo)
  • Various fixes for NBA player stats table
  • Time on Ice for NHL players is now averaged to fix longstanding bug.
  • Daily and Weekly emails have been updated to our new sexy layout.
  • Implemented automatic downgrade when user cancels membership
  • Added support for Yahoo 2012 baseball leagues, and enabled daily updates (yes, its that time again!)
  • New background image on the site has a bit of texture in it, instead of plain gray.
  • Disabled cloudflare to address lag concerns. This will be enabled again at a later date when they fix their issues.
  • Fixed bug on mobile site where story time posted was in the negative.

Three Ball Help- Michael Redd

Michael Redd’s minutes have been on the rise recently and so has his three ball production.

Analysis: Michael Redd has averaged twenty minutes per game over his last five contests. In those five games, Redd has hit eight three pointers or 1.6 3PM per game. Redd has been taking over five three point shots in that stretch which is great news for deep league fantasy owners looking for some three ball help.

Michael Redd isn’t going to do much in the steal or assist department as an aging shooting guard but he has some value. Redd is a career 84% free throw shooter and he has averaged over twelve points per game over the last week. If his minutes continue to stay in the twenty minute range he will be a fantasy asset in the three ball category. Redd is only owned in two percent of fantasy leagues so there is plenty of time to monitor his minutes and production. The Bucks’ Carlos Delfino is another shooter to keep an eye on. Delfino has hit eleven threes in his last three games. Delfino’s minutes in those three games have been north of thirty per.

Last Call On Chris Kaman

Chris Kaman is two games back into action for the New Orleans Hornets after trade talk speculation shelved the big man for nearly two weeks.

Analysis: Whether Chris Kaman is traded sooner or later makes little difference in his fantasy value. Kaman is a must own yet he is available in over forty percent of fantasy leagues. The power forward/center really does offer the rebounding and shot blocking you need from a fantasy big man. Kaman is averaging a solid  7.1 rebounds per game to go along with 1.4  blocks per game in just twenty-three minutes of floor time per night.

What makes Chris Kaman an unusual fantasy big man is the free throw shooting. Kaman is shooting 82% from the stripe this year and 74% for his career. He may not be a lock for fifteen points every night but the increase in minutes will help his value out a ton but it all really depends on what team he lands on. In Kaman’s two games back he’s put up 13.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 2.5 BPG. It really is the last call on Kaman as I do not see him being available in any leagues this time next week.

February 6th Weekly Release Notes

Revamped backend with better caching to make sure FantasySP stays fast and will continue to be fast for many months to come.  It has been about two weeks in the making and lots of late nights.  I managed to do this without any downtime whatsoever, which is pretty remarkable considering how many changes had to take place under the hood.  I will continue to monitor the speed of the site in-case any further tweaks are necessary.

But that’s not it.  There is more good news.

Team / Trade Analyzer Updates

The Trade/Team Analyzer for all 4 major sports have undergone a face-lift and major speed enhancements.  The analyzers interface has undergone improvements in the past, but this is the biggest overhaul it has had in many months.  Previously, graphs and player breakdown information would appear when mousing over particular icons or text.  A window would appear that sometimes would jump off-screen where it was unreadable.

The new trade analyzers have tooltips when mousing over particular icons, and when clicked, opens up a dialog box that encompasses everything you need to know about the player.  You can see it live with this nba trade.  It’s easier to read and easier to navigate.

Unlike before, the player graphs are now interactive.  When you mouseover the data in the graph you’ll see totals pop up making it easy to follow and understand.  These new player graphs are also found on their player pages, such as Kobe Bryant’s.

Team Ratings

Fantasy team graphs have also been updated to showcase our new charts.  Have a look at my fantasy basketball team’s chart, which showcases how my team has performed across the season.  You can historical scoring charts for starters or the full roster.  Team FantasySP.com is currently sporting a less than spectacular 0-6 record thanks to some key injuries. 🙁

Enjoy all these changes as these are just a glimpse on what is about to come.  Stay tuned.