Fantasy Report - 11/11/08 Waiver Wire Pickups

Brandan Wright - Wright is getting some minutes and might even luck into a starting job if Al Harrington gets his wish for a trade.  Harrington is out for at least two weaks, so if you need an emergency PF, give Wright a look.

Nene - He probably isn’t out there, but he might be a player you want to work a trade offer for before people figure out how well he is playing.  He looks healthy and is a surprise so far this season.

Sebastian Telfair - Looks like Randy Foye blew his chance at the starting spot and now Wittman is giving Telfair his shot.  Low end PG.

Kevin Love - Along with Telfair, Wittman has decided to give Love a starting job.  He will have tough games, but can produce.

Russell Westbrook - Some talk of Earl Watson being unhappy and wanting a trade.  OKC will probably grant his wish and get the young Westbrook as much playing time as he can in his rookie season.

Paul Millsap - Okur is dealing with some family issues and will be out for some time.  Millsap will get extra minutes and should have a big role all season.

Aaron Brooks -  I think it is only a matter of time before Brooks takes the job from Alston.

Kyle Lowery - He is getting some minutes, but isn’t much offensive fantasy help.  Only if you are desperate for a warm body at PG.

Roger Mason - Has a starting job while Parker is out and can put up points.

Larry Hughes - He started the season injured but will walk into the starting SG job when he returns later this week.

Anderson Varejao - Looking much improved and spells the Cavs big men.

Marquis Daniels - Has a starting job with Dunleavy out and is producing.

Maurice Evans/Zaza Pachulia - Watch how Atlanta uses these two while Josh Smith is out.

D.J Augustin - Is starting to get some minutes, but Felton could turn it around any time.

Nick Young - Brings instant offense and DeShawn Stevenson isn’t looking very good.

Wilson Chandler - Has a starting job and could hold it for awhile as David Lee deals with bone spurs.

Josh Boone - Frank trusts him and he has the starting C spot.

Yi Jianlian - I’ve seen him dropped in some leagues, but he can have some good nights.  New Jersey will give him more time as they fall out of the playoff race.

Iverson-Billups trade analysis

If J.R. Smith is on your fantasy waive wire for some reason, RUN to pick him up.  Detroit and Denver are trying to execute a trade exhanging Iverson for Billups, McDyess and Samb.   Billups is a true point guard and would take over the position leaving J.R. Smith as Denver’s starting shooting guard. 

Carmelo Anthony should also get a boost in value as Iverson takes his 19 shots a game to Detroit in exchange for Billups, who only takes about 11 a game.  More shots for Melo.

Denver’s fast paced offense may be a boost to Billups numbers, however he may lose a little efficiency.  Billups knows every Piston and their skills and preferences.  It will take some time to develop that same feel in Denver.  Iverson on the other hand will move to a slower paced offense, but with Iverson I’m sure he will find some way to put up good numbers now that he has a shot at winning a ring.  This is strictly a rent-a-player deal for Detroit since Iverson’s contract expires after the season.  Detroit will likely hand the team to Rodney Stuckey next season.

McDyess probably won’t play for Denver and has demanded a buyout.  Cheikh Samb is an interesting player that you should probably keep an eye on.  He is a decent big man and looked good in Summer League play.

Early Fantasy Waiver Wire Pickups

It is only the third day of the season, but I have already begun to make a few moves on some of my fantasy teams.  Some waiver wire pickups to consider:

Tyrus Thomas - Thomas got 41 minutes in the opener and looked great.  Drew Gooden and J. Noah were both splitting time at Center, leaving all the PF minutes to Thomas.

Quentin Richardson - D’Antoni coached Richardson a couple of seasons ago when Q had a career year.  Richardson had a great game last night scoring 16, 4 assists and 4 boards.

Etan Thomas - Thomas got the start at Center and with Haywood likely done for the season Thomas should get a majority of the Center minutes.  He went 10 pts/8 rebs last night.

Udonis Haslem - Haslem should pick up center eligibility early in the season and looks to have the starting job over Mark Blount.  Haslem put up a 23pt/10reb game last night.  Don’t expect it every night, but he is solid.

Luke Ridnour - He has won the starting PG job and puts up solid numbers for a #3 PG or a fill in.

Marc Gasol -  Looks like he is going to get good minutes in Memphis’ youth movement.  Put up a nice line of 12 pts/ 12 rebs last night.

Darrell Arthur - Wow, 11 points and 15 rebounds.  Didn’t see that one coming.  Keep an eye on him.

Antoine Wright - Has a starting job in Dallas.

JR Smith - Looks to get big minutes and can give you 3’s.

Jordan Farmar - Fisher is solid but old and it looks like LA’s bench is going to get alot of minutes this year.

Matt Barnes - Has a starting job in Phoenix.

Spencer Hawes - Has a starting job for at least the first 5 games of the season.

Another Oden Injury

Greg Oden is beginning to look more and more like an extremely injury prone player and possible overhyped draft bust.  Oden suffered a mid lateral foot strain in the first half of Tuesday’s opener and will miss 4-6 weeks.  Just looking at Oden’s face you get the feeling that his body is somehow alot older than his actual age.  He just looks like a slow and brittle old man.  Maybe he has just had some bad luck with injuries, but I guess only time will tell…

Opening Day NBA Games on TV

TNT has an opening day doubleheader with Cleveland at Boston tipping off at 8:00 pm and Portland at LA Lakers at 10:30.  If you want to check out the Milwaukee at Chicago game, you can find it on WGN-TV Chicago.

Opening Day Schedule - 10/28/08

Tuesday, October 28

Cleveland at Boston, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Portland at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Change of Pace - Totals Opportunity

A quick look at last night’s Phoenix and New York boxscores illustrates adjustments that will have to be made when betting on these two teams this season.  While just a preseason game, some trends are emerging that you may want to jump on early this season.

Last season Phoenix ran at the 4th fastest pace while New York ran at a pace of 91.6, good for 15th in the league.  The NBA average pace last season was 92.4.   Last nights Knicks-Raptors game was played at a 109 pace for a final score of 111-113.   The score should have been higher, however the Knicks only managed a 101.6 offensive efficiency and the Raptors didn’t do much better at 103.3, both worse than last years NBA average of 107.5.

Phoenix on the other hand played Atlanta in a game with a pace of 93, just above last year’s NBA average of 92.4.  The Phoenix-Atlanta final was 100-96 Hawks.

Keep an eye on these trends for some early season totals opportunities.  While the linesmakers may adjust quickly, the public may not, which may leave smart bettors with a few points edge.  Every little bit helps.

Jamal Crawford’s New Blog

Jamal Crawford has decided to start writing his own blog for newsday.com.  I like Crawford and after reading his blog it is hard not to cheer for the guy.  One thing I never realized about him is that while being in the league for 9 seasons, he has endured 9 different head coaches. I’m sure that I’ll have him again this year on more than one fantasy team and I look forward to reading his thoughts on the Knicks this season.  Hopefully more players will follow his example and communicate with the fans through easily accessible blogs.  Good luck this season Jamal.

Fantasy Basketball Reports

Looks like the fantasy basketball reports are starting to roll out for the upcoming season and everyone has their favorites.  One you may not be familiar with comes from www.GiveMetheRock.com.  Take a second and go check them out and hit them up for a copy of their new draft guide.   You can get a free copy if you have a website and give them a shout out link.  Give them a look.

Mike D’Antoni and the NY Knicks

If you are one of the mass of bettors who love to play on the Knicks then you know there have been some changes in the offseason, the biggest of which was the hiring of Mike D’Antoni.  There was a great article today describing how D’Antoni will reform the Knicks and what we can expect handicapping wise.  Anyone who watched him in Phoenix knows that his system runs at a much higher pace than the league average which should provide some profitable totals plays.  It should also provide some nice underdog plays since the public has such a low opinion of the Knicks due to the horrible managment and coaching of Isiah Thomas.  Keep an eye on the early Knicks lines for some great possibilities.

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