Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last December 8, 2007.
Appetizer
It’s December and soon it would be Christmas. I am starting to feel the Christmas spirit again – the cold winds, Christmas lights, gift-giving, and the laid-back attitude.
If it is getting breezy in Manila, just imagine how cold it is up here in Antipolo. I had a two-week cold because of the weather. It’s just terrible, I tell you. I had to wear two shirts and sleep with socks on. I have been drinking only warm drinks (except for yesterday and today). I never liked Salabat (ginger tea) but I forced myself to drink it constantly because it was the only effective thing that could make me doze off. I could hardly breathe due to the phlegm in my lungs. It was just frustrating as I got the illness when I had my week off work last week. Somehow, I have regained my strength when I started coming to office this week. Ironic as it seems, but I think my body needs more work than rest. It is quite reminiscent of my elementary and high school days where I always have a perfect attendance in school. I was a bit of a sickly child then as I always get colds (at a rate of two weeks in a month) but I would always force myself to endure the school work. I never got a perfect attendance award (there was no such thing in my schools then) or an Ironman award (what the heck? This ain’t sports!) but I am proud of such thing. College was a different story though. It was the time when I got so lazy to attend classes that you could multiply my elementary and high school absences to twenty and these would still be less than the total cuts that I had in college. It all started in the second semester of sophomore year. Our history class was just all stories and I did not find attending classes helpful in making my grades get better (what an attitude!). Here are the subjects that I overcut in college (Note: I never got an F in college so that means my teachers did not care if I overcut)
2nd Year, 2nd semester:
Hi16 ~ 10-13 cuts (T-Th class)
Grade: B+
3rd Year, 1st semester:
Stat109 ~ 10-15 cuts (M-W-F class)*
Grade: C (but I stopped cutting after I failed my 1st two long tests… this course has got to be the worse of them all)
3rd Year, 2nd semester:
QMT128 ~ 6-8 cuts (T-Th class)*
Reason: As much as I love OR, there were numerous times were I couldn’t wake up early even if it’s a 9:00 class!
Grade: C+
Reason: I felt there were so many useless classes when the groups started to teach the class and the teacher was just listening
Almost overcut: LS100 ~ 5-6 cuts (T-Th class)*
Grade: B
4th year, 1st semester:
POM105 ~ 6-10 cuts (T-Th class)*
Grade: C (ayan! Cut kasi ng cut!)
Almost overcut: Th151 ~ 7-9 cuts (M-W-F class)
Reason: Same as LS100
Grade: B+
4th year, 2nd semester:
Ec121 ~ 6-9 cuts (T-Th class)*
Grade: C+
* - major subject
Note: maximum cuts are 6 for T-Th classes, 9 for M-W-F classes
Bad attitude! At least, it started and ended in College. I was so practical then that if I find the class boring enough for me to learn more on the books than on the teacher, I would skip it and prepare for the tests instead. I used my energy more on school orgs and on interesting subjects. Bad attitude but it’s already the past.
I can’t do this in work though. I barely have time for myself nowadays.
But then, I am starting to feel the laid-back attitude this December again. Blame it on the upcoming holiday season. I feel recharged and good-to-go after my recent vacation week but I am not relatively overly spending my time on work. I worked up to midnight last Monday, Wednesday and Thursday but those were not intended – the problem that I should resolve was just critical that’s why I had to stay up that late. I just don’t aim to work for more than 8 hours a day in the next two weeks.
Main Course
Last Tuesday (December 4) was my mother’s birthday. I thought of a way to have a good family event by telling my Dad that we treat the family to America’s concert in Araneta. I know that it was one of my Dad’s favorite bands because he had their newest CD and my Mom would appreciate it especially that it is a family event (the last time that we had was when we watched the last Ateneo-La Salle game). I did not know any of America’s songs except for All My Life and You Can Do Magic but I was willing to try to listen to the band because there were lots of instances during the year when I could not spend time with my family because of work. This time, work will take a backseat. Family first, dude. Blood is thicker than water.
The show started with a local front act done by RJ, Noel Cabangon and Nyoy Bolante. These are great acoustic guitarists of their time but I could not help but get sleepy when they performed their songs. Maybe I was fatigued after working (and still having my sickness) and standing in a jampacked MRT. But I believe that I did not appreciate their combo because they were not blending well. I respect their talent but if you are going to perform in a band, you should know the art of ‘giving way to others’. They were probably used to be the main men of their bands but I don’t think that doing exactly what they were doing on their front acts won’t work well if they perform with each other. There were times when I couldn’t feel the harmony when RJ was performing his masterpiece solo lead because the other two were strumming their guitars hardly. I also did not find the chorus of their voices good enough. It really makes me remember the time when a famous local band musician told the NU 107 DJ when asked on his comments on the recent Soundskool lessons in Boracay, “the participants showed a lot of promise and talent but one thing that I realized in some of them is that they don’t know how to give way to their peers. No matter how good a performer you are, if you are going to outplay the performance of your bandmate when he is performing his solo, you will end up ruining the song.”
Then America began to play. As mentioned before, I only knew two songs from them so I had to spend most of the night appreciating the unknowns. I guess the good thing when listening to songs that I have no prior knowledge is that I have no expectations and every good thing out of it is a plus. It turns out that there were very many of these pluses that I experienced. The band was playing in good rhythm and the blending was near perfect. There were notable times when the vocals, lead guitars, piano, or even the rhythm guitars were outstanding as the other instruments were ‘making way’. They have lots of great lead solos that I felt my so-called musical orgasm a lot of times. They played for around 1 ½ hours and I felt that the P1700 that I spent was worth it. There were lots of instrument changes done… piano, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, another lead guitar, harmonica but everything seemed to fit in their songs. They really know how to use their instruments in the right way. There were times when two musicians were ‘dominating’ but it seemed fine because I can hear clearly the difference between the two.
I have to appreciate the fact that they were able to come back to the stage after the fans chanted “More!” They know how to work the crowd well. Now, that is entertainment. Note that the crowd is composed of oldies.
My song of the night would have to be Inspector Mills. I think I have already heard of it before but if I did not, I was absolutely pleased by how they performed the song. Great lead solo and nice tune to its chorus:
I can’t attempt to point you in her direction
I didn’t see her walking out of the door
If I had taken my time shed be lying here still
Inspector mills, inspector
I can’t attempt to point you in her direction
I was blinded by the look in her eyes
If I had just followed through then I wouldn’t be calling you
What makes music interesting to me is that bands play harmoniously with their various instruments. They may be playing different notes but the whole song fits well. When one is about to get the spot light, give him the freaking spotlight! Wag mong sapawan. In order for one to get the share of limelight, one should make way. That’s the way a team works. Perhaps, the main reason I love teams that start from scratch more than those that are already filled with superstars is the fact that the former would end up more successful because they would know their roles and they would work as a team, not as an individual.
Just imagine a basketball team filled with great centers. They may have the height and power but they will get beaten by a good team. Those centers won’t even get past their opponent’s halfcourt as they can’t dribble that well. In a team, everyone should have a purpose in their own ways. You don’t have to be Mr. Spotlight to be the most valuable person in the team.
Therefore, kudos to those who can perform the art of giving way to their teammates.
Dessert
Fantasy NBA time!
Speaking of players who recently gave way for his teammate, I have to give kudos to Kevin Martin. Just kidding. He got his groin injured and now John Salmons is going to take the spot light in Sacramento. I was able to swipe Salmons in two of my leagues and I am prepared to get a good share of points, rebounds and some assists from that guy
I would like to share would be Gilbert Arenas’ recent blog entry on Fantasy Basketball:
I really do understand about all the commentors telling me that I ruined their fantasy basketball team. I’m very sorry, but that’s what fantasy basketball is all about. It happens. When I’m healthy, pick me back up, please. Don’t trade me for somebody like Jamario Moon or somebody else who’s on the rise. You can borrow Jamario for now, but don’t trade me for him.
Don’t worry Gilbert. I won’t be dropping you even if you almost buzzkilled my P500. As long as I reach the playoffs and you play for me like a 1st round fantasy player, it is fine and we can forget your stubbornness to play through injury. Thanks for teaching me a lesson on resting. Sometimes, we do need to rest for the future or else we make things worse. As for now, get some rest and good luck. May you play again this season.
A month of the NBA season has already ended and I would now be discussing the players who I thought would make it big or be a flop during pre-season and how they have performed now.
Players that I Avoided:
These are actually players that I initially avoided to get unless they are considered as a steal in Draft day.
6. Shaquille O’Neal – He is already old and I don’t like the idea of having my freethrows getting buzzkilled. I targeted freethrows along with threes, points, steals and assists as my strong categories.
Evaluation: Shaq is like the same old Shaq last year with less points. Good job of avoiding him for me.
5. Eddy Curry - I never liked Eddy Curry as a fantasy player. He kills your freethrows, turnovers and he does not rebound a lot. All he does is score a lot.
Evaluation: Right choice Jeff. Add the fact that Zach Randolph is on New York. Things are not getting better for Eddy Curry on the fantasy side of things. He is not for real.
4. Jamal Crawford – He is a scoring machine (at times…) but other than that, what does he put in the table? He kills you in fieldgoal percentage and he has mediocre stats across other categories.
Evaluation: I just don’t see myself getting Jamal Crawford. He had his share of strong nights this year but that was expected. He is just plain inconsistent.
3. Ray Allen – When Kevin Garnett moved to Boston, my instant reactions were: Kevin Garnett is going to be a fantasy monster while Ray Allen will be the bust. Normally, what gets affected when a player moves to a new team is their scoring. Ray Allen would surely be the last option of the Big Three and since he is mostly good in scoring, he will surely decrease in fantasy value. For me, he was third to fourth round value.
Evaluation: I hit it on the target. Ray Allen’s averages were definitely down this year. He does not even average in the 20’s. He has no more Rashard with him so his FG% went down too. His FT% is still the same but there are fewer attempts so it is not good too. The only good thing for him would be his turnovers.
2. Dwight Howard – I was laughing at the host of Fantasy NBA (not Rick Kamla or Mike Yam) when he said that Dwight is good for 1st round. Are you pulling my leg??? I won’t even take Dwight Howard at late 2nd round because he will kill me in freethrows and turnovers. His rebounds and blocks are surely amazing but I don’t like the idea of having my best guy kill me in a consistent category which is freethrow percentage. If Dwight just takes few freethrows, it would just be fine but he was taking 8.1 freethrow attempts on 2006-7 season. I know that he will get more this year and if he is not going to improve his freethrow shooting, he will be a pain in the ass.
Evaluation: True, Dwight Howard continues to kill in freethrows – he is currently shooting 60.8% from the freethrow line and he is now taking 11.4 attempts a game. However, I think Dwight would now pass to be an early 2nd round pick because his points, fg%, rebounds and blocks are simply immense. He will carry your team’s rebounds and blocks singlehandedly and I really mean that.
1. LeBron James – What the hell is LeBron James doing in my #1 Player to Avoid??? He is my favorite NBA player. He was my 1st pick last year and he will still be my 1st pick if it were a keeper league. But then, I was so frustrated in King James’ freethrow shooting. I did not envision him to be #1 this year in fantasy rankings because I felt that he already had his taste of what it feels to be on the championship and he might take the back seat for a while. I would still pick LeBron in the 1st round but he was the last in my Magic Five (Garnett, Marion, Arenas, Bryant, James)
Evaluation: Jeff, you are wrong!!! LeBron is the next Michael Jordan. The main reason he is your favorite basketball player is because he is destined for greatness. Have you forgotten all about upside? Forget about the freethrows. LeBron is such a monster now. In 16 games, he averaged 30.7 PPG, 48.6 FG%, 70.6 FT%, 7.6 RPG, 8.1 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 3.19 TO. You got to love that statline. He is a small forward and he gives you 8.1 assists per game. Wow! Anyway, I never had the chance to take LeBron anyway.
Players that I Loved to Get on Draft Day:
6. Mike Dunleavy – Most people wrote him off at the start of the year. I thought otherwise. I owned him after the trade last year and I know that he has the potential to make it big in Indiana. The problem is, I slept too much that I was not able to own him in any league.
Evaluation: Behold and this was very true! I did not know that Indiana’s coach would focus more on three point shooting this year but it certainly helped Mike Dunleavy a lot. He is currently ranked #42 in FSPI. I did not see it coming but too bad I was not able to get him in any of my leagues.
5. Raymond Felton – When Brevin Knight went to the L.A. Clippers this year, it became my go signal to go nuts on reaching Felton on Draft Day. I drafted him at the 5th round in the HP league because I know how he could dish a lot of dimes whenever he is the top option in PG.
Evaluation: Felton this year is like Felton last year. He exploded in his first few games then came down to earth soon. Too much for reaching on him.
4. Rudy Gay – Like Felton, Rudy Gay was part of my squad last year. I knew of his potential as early as January this year. And when the Grizzlies’ coach told reporters that he will utilize Gay as much as possible, I went high on him. Rudy Gay has got much upside that you wouldn’t care if his name is Gay. I did not get him in my HP league because I had the dilemma of choosing between him and Granger. The latter was more of a sureshot for a breakout year despite of his disappointing season last year but I went with the popular choice instead of my guts. Gay was taken two rounds later (that is an absolute steal, baby). I was able to get Rudy Gay in one of my Head-to-Head leagues.
Evaluation: Rudy is making me pay for choosing Granger over him. He now seems to be Memphis’ main offensive weapon. Danny Granger exploded this year but Rudy Gay is head on with him. Danny’s got the better steals/blocks/threes total per game than Rudy but it is negligible. They seemed the same in value.
3. Pau Gasol – Pau was my top choice for center this year. I like his assists per game. Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudamire and Pau Gasol all have respectable freethrow shooting percentages but Gasol stands out with his assists and blocks. I was able to get him in one of my Head-to-Head leagues.
Evaluation: No matter how good his preseason value was, Pau Gasol was a fantasy bust this year. He is not anymore rebounding and blocking a lot with Darko Milicic taking those stats away from him.
2. Caron Butler – “The butler did it! The Butler did it!” Yeah, he was too undervalued during the preseason because he got badly injured last year. Everyone forgot his upside as he slid to third to fourth rounds this year. Guys, hello?! This guy was at the top 15 before going down last year. I don’t think he is an injury risk as well. He is for real.
Evaluation: Butler haters, take that! Give some love to the guy. He is shooting the lights out with Gilbert Arenas out. He is the third ranked player in FSPI now. And he’s got a three a game. Didn’t see that coming though.
1. Kevin Garnett – As soon as he went to Boston, I was high on him. I said to myself, “if I were the 1st pick this year, I’ll take him”. And behold, the same sentiment was shared across Fantasy Land.
Evaluation: KG showed that he was simply spectacular in the first few weeks as he added assists to his arsenal. The problem is, he is back to where he was last year. Nevertheless, he is still a fantasy beast. I am sure that Kevin Garnett will be the MVP or at least 2nd best in Fantasy at the end of the year.
Didn’t See That Coming!
Here are the top six players that I was neutral on Draft Day but have been above expectations so far.
6. Daniel Gibson – I was praising his performance last year in the Eastern Conference Finals but I just did not see him getting big in Fantasy as he does not dish a lot and all he does is score by shooting threes.
5. Richard Jefferson – I just don’t appreciate his value that much. He does not give you a lot in the rare categories and all he does is score. But look what he has done now. He attempts a lot in the free throw line and he is accurate enough. If you missed on Kevin Martin, Richard Jefferson is a good choice.
4. Chris Kaman – Now, this is the thing that I did not see coming! He was such a bust last season that I did not see him getting better this season. The Clippers’ depleted lineup just puts more concentration on Kaman. But hey, he has been rebounding and blocking a lot of shots. He is a sell-high candidate right now but hey, he is still for real.
3. Andrei Kirilenko – AK47 buzzkilled my team last season. I took him at the third round and he played like a seventh or eighth round value player all year long. I did not see him getting better because Deron Williams will surely dish more dimes this year and Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer are going to get the boards. But then, I did not avoid him as well because he is on a contract year. Look, he is back to his old form. Congratulations to the ones who picked him.
2. Marcus Camby – because he is still not injured. I hope he continues to be like this the whole year. If he does, he wins my ‘Didn’t see that coming’ top award.
1. Manu Ginobili – GINOBILI!!! Man! I really didn’t see this one coming. I even took Granger over him. He is coming off the bench so I never envisioned him to get better. He is already matured enough to not have a lot of upsides. Look who’s laughing now… Manu is a top ten fantasy player this year.
Appetizer
It’s December and soon it would be Christmas. I am starting to feel the Christmas spirit again – the cold winds, Christmas lights, gift-giving, and the laid-back attitude.
If it is getting breezy in Manila, just imagine how cold it is up here in Antipolo. I had a two-week cold because of the weather. It’s just terrible, I tell you. I had to wear two shirts and sleep with socks on. I have been drinking only warm drinks (except for yesterday and today). I never liked Salabat (ginger tea) but I forced myself to drink it constantly because it was the only effective thing that could make me doze off. I could hardly breathe due to the phlegm in my lungs. It was just frustrating as I got the illness when I had my week off work last week. Somehow, I have regained my strength when I started coming to office this week. Ironic as it seems, but I think my body needs more work than rest. It is quite reminiscent of my elementary and high school days where I always have a perfect attendance in school. I was a bit of a sickly child then as I always get colds (at a rate of two weeks in a month) but I would always force myself to endure the school work. I never got a perfect attendance award (there was no such thing in my schools then) or an Ironman award (what the heck? This ain’t sports!) but I am proud of such thing. College was a different story though. It was the time when I got so lazy to attend classes that you could multiply my elementary and high school absences to twenty and these would still be less than the total cuts that I had in college. It all started in the second semester of sophomore year. Our history class was just all stories and I did not find attending classes helpful in making my grades get better (what an attitude!). Here are the subjects that I overcut in college (Note: I never got an F in college so that means my teachers did not care if I overcut)
2nd Year, 2nd semester:
Hi16 ~ 10-13 cuts (T-Th class)
Grade: B+
3rd Year, 1st semester:
Stat109 ~ 10-15 cuts (M-W-F class)*
Grade: C (but I stopped cutting after I failed my 1st two long tests… this course has got to be the worse of them all)
3rd Year, 2nd semester:
QMT128 ~ 6-8 cuts (T-Th class)*
Reason: As much as I love OR, there were numerous times were I couldn’t wake up early even if it’s a 9:00 class!
Grade: C+
Reason: I felt there were so many useless classes when the groups started to teach the class and the teacher was just listening
Almost overcut: LS100 ~ 5-6 cuts (T-Th class)*
Grade: B
4th year, 1st semester:
POM105 ~ 6-10 cuts (T-Th class)*
Grade: C (ayan! Cut kasi ng cut!)
Almost overcut: Th151 ~ 7-9 cuts (M-W-F class)
Reason: Same as LS100
Grade: B+
4th year, 2nd semester:
Ec121 ~ 6-9 cuts (T-Th class)*
Grade: C+
* - major subject
Note: maximum cuts are 6 for T-Th classes, 9 for M-W-F classes
Bad attitude! At least, it started and ended in College. I was so practical then that if I find the class boring enough for me to learn more on the books than on the teacher, I would skip it and prepare for the tests instead. I used my energy more on school orgs and on interesting subjects. Bad attitude but it’s already the past.
I can’t do this in work though. I barely have time for myself nowadays.
But then, I am starting to feel the laid-back attitude this December again. Blame it on the upcoming holiday season. I feel recharged and good-to-go after my recent vacation week but I am not relatively overly spending my time on work. I worked up to midnight last Monday, Wednesday and Thursday but those were not intended – the problem that I should resolve was just critical that’s why I had to stay up that late. I just don’t aim to work for more than 8 hours a day in the next two weeks.
Main Course
Last Tuesday (December 4) was my mother’s birthday. I thought of a way to have a good family event by telling my Dad that we treat the family to America’s concert in Araneta. I know that it was one of my Dad’s favorite bands because he had their newest CD and my Mom would appreciate it especially that it is a family event (the last time that we had was when we watched the last Ateneo-La Salle game). I did not know any of America’s songs except for All My Life and You Can Do Magic but I was willing to try to listen to the band because there were lots of instances during the year when I could not spend time with my family because of work. This time, work will take a backseat. Family first, dude. Blood is thicker than water.
The show started with a local front act done by RJ, Noel Cabangon and Nyoy Bolante. These are great acoustic guitarists of their time but I could not help but get sleepy when they performed their songs. Maybe I was fatigued after working (and still having my sickness) and standing in a jampacked MRT. But I believe that I did not appreciate their combo because they were not blending well. I respect their talent but if you are going to perform in a band, you should know the art of ‘giving way to others’. They were probably used to be the main men of their bands but I don’t think that doing exactly what they were doing on their front acts won’t work well if they perform with each other. There were times when I couldn’t feel the harmony when RJ was performing his masterpiece solo lead because the other two were strumming their guitars hardly. I also did not find the chorus of their voices good enough. It really makes me remember the time when a famous local band musician told the NU 107 DJ when asked on his comments on the recent Soundskool lessons in Boracay, “the participants showed a lot of promise and talent but one thing that I realized in some of them is that they don’t know how to give way to their peers. No matter how good a performer you are, if you are going to outplay the performance of your bandmate when he is performing his solo, you will end up ruining the song.”
Then America began to play. As mentioned before, I only knew two songs from them so I had to spend most of the night appreciating the unknowns. I guess the good thing when listening to songs that I have no prior knowledge is that I have no expectations and every good thing out of it is a plus. It turns out that there were very many of these pluses that I experienced. The band was playing in good rhythm and the blending was near perfect. There were notable times when the vocals, lead guitars, piano, or even the rhythm guitars were outstanding as the other instruments were ‘making way’. They have lots of great lead solos that I felt my so-called musical orgasm a lot of times. They played for around 1 ½ hours and I felt that the P1700 that I spent was worth it. There were lots of instrument changes done… piano, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, another lead guitar, harmonica but everything seemed to fit in their songs. They really know how to use their instruments in the right way. There were times when two musicians were ‘dominating’ but it seemed fine because I can hear clearly the difference between the two.
I have to appreciate the fact that they were able to come back to the stage after the fans chanted “More!” They know how to work the crowd well. Now, that is entertainment. Note that the crowd is composed of oldies.
My song of the night would have to be Inspector Mills. I think I have already heard of it before but if I did not, I was absolutely pleased by how they performed the song. Great lead solo and nice tune to its chorus:
I can’t attempt to point you in her direction
I didn’t see her walking out of the door
If I had taken my time shed be lying here still
Inspector mills, inspector
I can’t attempt to point you in her direction
I was blinded by the look in her eyes
If I had just followed through then I wouldn’t be calling you
What makes music interesting to me is that bands play harmoniously with their various instruments. They may be playing different notes but the whole song fits well. When one is about to get the spot light, give him the freaking spotlight! Wag mong sapawan. In order for one to get the share of limelight, one should make way. That’s the way a team works. Perhaps, the main reason I love teams that start from scratch more than those that are already filled with superstars is the fact that the former would end up more successful because they would know their roles and they would work as a team, not as an individual.
Just imagine a basketball team filled with great centers. They may have the height and power but they will get beaten by a good team. Those centers won’t even get past their opponent’s halfcourt as they can’t dribble that well. In a team, everyone should have a purpose in their own ways. You don’t have to be Mr. Spotlight to be the most valuable person in the team.
Therefore, kudos to those who can perform the art of giving way to their teammates.
Dessert
Fantasy NBA time!
Speaking of players who recently gave way for his teammate, I have to give kudos to Kevin Martin. Just kidding. He got his groin injured and now John Salmons is going to take the spot light in Sacramento. I was able to swipe Salmons in two of my leagues and I am prepared to get a good share of points, rebounds and some assists from that guy
I would like to share would be Gilbert Arenas’ recent blog entry on Fantasy Basketball:
I really do understand about all the commentors telling me that I ruined their fantasy basketball team. I’m very sorry, but that’s what fantasy basketball is all about. It happens. When I’m healthy, pick me back up, please. Don’t trade me for somebody like Jamario Moon or somebody else who’s on the rise. You can borrow Jamario for now, but don’t trade me for him.
Don’t worry Gilbert. I won’t be dropping you even if you almost buzzkilled my P500. As long as I reach the playoffs and you play for me like a 1st round fantasy player, it is fine and we can forget your stubbornness to play through injury. Thanks for teaching me a lesson on resting. Sometimes, we do need to rest for the future or else we make things worse. As for now, get some rest and good luck. May you play again this season.
A month of the NBA season has already ended and I would now be discussing the players who I thought would make it big or be a flop during pre-season and how they have performed now.
Players that I Avoided:
These are actually players that I initially avoided to get unless they are considered as a steal in Draft day.
6. Shaquille O’Neal – He is already old and I don’t like the idea of having my freethrows getting buzzkilled. I targeted freethrows along with threes, points, steals and assists as my strong categories.
Evaluation: Shaq is like the same old Shaq last year with less points. Good job of avoiding him for me.
5. Eddy Curry - I never liked Eddy Curry as a fantasy player. He kills your freethrows, turnovers and he does not rebound a lot. All he does is score a lot.
Evaluation: Right choice Jeff. Add the fact that Zach Randolph is on New York. Things are not getting better for Eddy Curry on the fantasy side of things. He is not for real.
4. Jamal Crawford – He is a scoring machine (at times…) but other than that, what does he put in the table? He kills you in fieldgoal percentage and he has mediocre stats across other categories.
Evaluation: I just don’t see myself getting Jamal Crawford. He had his share of strong nights this year but that was expected. He is just plain inconsistent.
3. Ray Allen – When Kevin Garnett moved to Boston, my instant reactions were: Kevin Garnett is going to be a fantasy monster while Ray Allen will be the bust. Normally, what gets affected when a player moves to a new team is their scoring. Ray Allen would surely be the last option of the Big Three and since he is mostly good in scoring, he will surely decrease in fantasy value. For me, he was third to fourth round value.
Evaluation: I hit it on the target. Ray Allen’s averages were definitely down this year. He does not even average in the 20’s. He has no more Rashard with him so his FG% went down too. His FT% is still the same but there are fewer attempts so it is not good too. The only good thing for him would be his turnovers.
2. Dwight Howard – I was laughing at the host of Fantasy NBA (not Rick Kamla or Mike Yam) when he said that Dwight is good for 1st round. Are you pulling my leg??? I won’t even take Dwight Howard at late 2nd round because he will kill me in freethrows and turnovers. His rebounds and blocks are surely amazing but I don’t like the idea of having my best guy kill me in a consistent category which is freethrow percentage. If Dwight just takes few freethrows, it would just be fine but he was taking 8.1 freethrow attempts on 2006-7 season. I know that he will get more this year and if he is not going to improve his freethrow shooting, he will be a pain in the ass.
Evaluation: True, Dwight Howard continues to kill in freethrows – he is currently shooting 60.8% from the freethrow line and he is now taking 11.4 attempts a game. However, I think Dwight would now pass to be an early 2nd round pick because his points, fg%, rebounds and blocks are simply immense. He will carry your team’s rebounds and blocks singlehandedly and I really mean that.
1. LeBron James – What the hell is LeBron James doing in my #1 Player to Avoid??? He is my favorite NBA player. He was my 1st pick last year and he will still be my 1st pick if it were a keeper league. But then, I was so frustrated in King James’ freethrow shooting. I did not envision him to be #1 this year in fantasy rankings because I felt that he already had his taste of what it feels to be on the championship and he might take the back seat for a while. I would still pick LeBron in the 1st round but he was the last in my Magic Five (Garnett, Marion, Arenas, Bryant, James)
Evaluation: Jeff, you are wrong!!! LeBron is the next Michael Jordan. The main reason he is your favorite basketball player is because he is destined for greatness. Have you forgotten all about upside? Forget about the freethrows. LeBron is such a monster now. In 16 games, he averaged 30.7 PPG, 48.6 FG%, 70.6 FT%, 7.6 RPG, 8.1 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 3.19 TO. You got to love that statline. He is a small forward and he gives you 8.1 assists per game. Wow! Anyway, I never had the chance to take LeBron anyway.
Players that I Loved to Get on Draft Day:
6. Mike Dunleavy – Most people wrote him off at the start of the year. I thought otherwise. I owned him after the trade last year and I know that he has the potential to make it big in Indiana. The problem is, I slept too much that I was not able to own him in any league.
Evaluation: Behold and this was very true! I did not know that Indiana’s coach would focus more on three point shooting this year but it certainly helped Mike Dunleavy a lot. He is currently ranked #42 in FSPI. I did not see it coming but too bad I was not able to get him in any of my leagues.
5. Raymond Felton – When Brevin Knight went to the L.A. Clippers this year, it became my go signal to go nuts on reaching Felton on Draft Day. I drafted him at the 5th round in the HP league because I know how he could dish a lot of dimes whenever he is the top option in PG.
Evaluation: Felton this year is like Felton last year. He exploded in his first few games then came down to earth soon. Too much for reaching on him.
4. Rudy Gay – Like Felton, Rudy Gay was part of my squad last year. I knew of his potential as early as January this year. And when the Grizzlies’ coach told reporters that he will utilize Gay as much as possible, I went high on him. Rudy Gay has got much upside that you wouldn’t care if his name is Gay. I did not get him in my HP league because I had the dilemma of choosing between him and Granger. The latter was more of a sureshot for a breakout year despite of his disappointing season last year but I went with the popular choice instead of my guts. Gay was taken two rounds later (that is an absolute steal, baby). I was able to get Rudy Gay in one of my Head-to-Head leagues.
Evaluation: Rudy is making me pay for choosing Granger over him. He now seems to be Memphis’ main offensive weapon. Danny Granger exploded this year but Rudy Gay is head on with him. Danny’s got the better steals/blocks/threes total per game than Rudy but it is negligible. They seemed the same in value.
3. Pau Gasol – Pau was my top choice for center this year. I like his assists per game. Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudamire and Pau Gasol all have respectable freethrow shooting percentages but Gasol stands out with his assists and blocks. I was able to get him in one of my Head-to-Head leagues.
Evaluation: No matter how good his preseason value was, Pau Gasol was a fantasy bust this year. He is not anymore rebounding and blocking a lot with Darko Milicic taking those stats away from him.
2. Caron Butler – “The butler did it! The Butler did it!” Yeah, he was too undervalued during the preseason because he got badly injured last year. Everyone forgot his upside as he slid to third to fourth rounds this year. Guys, hello?! This guy was at the top 15 before going down last year. I don’t think he is an injury risk as well. He is for real.
Evaluation: Butler haters, take that! Give some love to the guy. He is shooting the lights out with Gilbert Arenas out. He is the third ranked player in FSPI now. And he’s got a three a game. Didn’t see that coming though.
1. Kevin Garnett – As soon as he went to Boston, I was high on him. I said to myself, “if I were the 1st pick this year, I’ll take him”. And behold, the same sentiment was shared across Fantasy Land.
Evaluation: KG showed that he was simply spectacular in the first few weeks as he added assists to his arsenal. The problem is, he is back to where he was last year. Nevertheless, he is still a fantasy beast. I am sure that Kevin Garnett will be the MVP or at least 2nd best in Fantasy at the end of the year.
Didn’t See That Coming!
Here are the top six players that I was neutral on Draft Day but have been above expectations so far.
6. Daniel Gibson – I was praising his performance last year in the Eastern Conference Finals but I just did not see him getting big in Fantasy as he does not dish a lot and all he does is score by shooting threes.
5. Richard Jefferson – I just don’t appreciate his value that much. He does not give you a lot in the rare categories and all he does is score. But look what he has done now. He attempts a lot in the free throw line and he is accurate enough. If you missed on Kevin Martin, Richard Jefferson is a good choice.
4. Chris Kaman – Now, this is the thing that I did not see coming! He was such a bust last season that I did not see him getting better this season. The Clippers’ depleted lineup just puts more concentration on Kaman. But hey, he has been rebounding and blocking a lot of shots. He is a sell-high candidate right now but hey, he is still for real.
3. Andrei Kirilenko – AK47 buzzkilled my team last season. I took him at the third round and he played like a seventh or eighth round value player all year long. I did not see him getting better because Deron Williams will surely dish more dimes this year and Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer are going to get the boards. But then, I did not avoid him as well because he is on a contract year. Look, he is back to his old form. Congratulations to the ones who picked him.
2. Marcus Camby – because he is still not injured. I hope he continues to be like this the whole year. If he does, he wins my ‘Didn’t see that coming’ top award.
1. Manu Ginobili – GINOBILI!!! Man! I really didn’t see this one coming. I even took Granger over him. He is coming off the bench so I never envisioned him to get better. He is already matured enough to not have a lot of upsides. Look who’s laughing now… Manu is a top ten fantasy player this year.
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