Archive November 2009
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The Killer ABs
I had intended to just blog about Andrew Bogut today, but the news that he is injured and out for a few weeks was a bit of a buzz kill. So instead, I decided to expand this to shed some light on all three of the young big men in the league sharing the 'AB' initials: Andrew Bynum, Andrea Bargnani, and Andrew Bogut.
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Case Study: Elton Brand
Coming into the year with a preseason ADP of 39.2 (Y! Sports), Elton Brand has been one of this season's biggest disappointments thus far with a per-game rank of 111 through 11 games. His market value is especially relevant at the moment as he is coming off his best performance of the season. Brand owners now find themselves in an interesting quandary, unsure of where to go from here.
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Hitting the NBA Reset Button - Eastern Conference
A little over three weeks into the season and things we knew when the season started are no longer true. Injuries, trades, coaching changes and personnel changes have altered rotations, changed starting lineups and increased some players' value. Who are the players benefitting from early season lineup tweaks in the Eastern Conference?
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The Rest of the Hardware
Who gets your NL Cy Young and AL/NL MVP votes?
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NFL Notes
A look around the league regarding Week 10:
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What's Next for Iverson?
It seems clear Iverson won't pull a Latrell Sprewell and fade away while he still has some productive basketball left in his body. But where will he land? And should fantasy owners have any interest when he does?
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Moving on Up
With their overtime win Monday night, the Hawks are making the jump from the middle class to the NBA's upper crust. Entering the season, all the talk was the improvments made by Boston, Cleveland and Orlando, but little was mentioned of the Hawks, who unglamorously returned the same core for a third straight season. Well, they wake up Tuesday morning leading the conference with a 9-2 record, which includes road victories over Boston and Portland and impressive home wins against the Trail Blazers and the Nuggets. Atlanta now has won five in a row after a bewildering end-of-a-roadtrip loss to Charlotte.
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Week 10 Observations
We've beaten to death Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 in Sunday night's game (the best take on it I've seen is here), but the real takeaway is how much Cris Collinsworth, Al Michaels, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison felt it was their duty to spout the conventional wisdom without even attempting to analyze Belichick's basis for the decision. Throw in Bob Costas, and it's appalling that five guys collectively making more than $10 million a year to interpret the sport for us didn't even consider the issue from a probability standpoint. Sadly, the NBC crew is probably the best one on TV. (Update: Jon Gruden just defended Belichick's call on MNF - good for him).
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Week 10 Live Blog
Posting a little early today - there's a few huge games on the docket. I like how the big games are all spread out.
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Dominant Offense but Shaky Defense...Barkley and Dirk
This topic is a spin-off from the
Michael Jordan thread of last week. In the excellent discussion on that thread a mini-debate broke out as to how Charles Barkley compares to Kevin Garnett. The gist of the brief debate was to question whether Barkley was enough better than Garnett offensively to make them comparable in value as overall players despite Garnett’s huge defensive advantages. The thing is, though, to me there is a much better comp for Barkley in this generation than Garnett: Dirk Nowitzki.
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What is Iverson's Legacy?
What are we talking 'bout? We're talking 'bout *IVERSON*.
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Jennings vs Rose
Last year Derrick Rose was the NBA Rookie of the Year. One year later, would you take him over current rookie point guard phenom Brandon Jennings?
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Well, the Big East Sure Turned Thing Around Quickly...
Last season, the Big East was roundly considered the worst of the "AQ Conferences" in college football. Why, some even posited that they were worse than the Mountain West, and considering the MWC contained Utah and TCU, that wasn't an unreasonable argument. However, a mere season later, I personally find it safe to say that the Big East isn't the worst conference of the AQs. In fact, I think they are a pretty good conference... and maybe the third best conference in college football.
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Trend Spotting
An early look at some of the more significant statistical trends that are having major negative effects on players' values.
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Many Happy Returns?
Once upon a time, Tracy McGrady was getting mentions in those "the next Jordan" conversations, and Eddy Curry was being touted as a building block for one of the league's highest-profile franchises.
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NFL Notes
A look around the league regarding Week 9:
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Week 9 Observations
These will be brief since I just got off a plane to NY and have to catch up on some other stuff.
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Sunday Live Blog
Sorry this is a tad late today.
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NBA: Was Jordan "The Greatest" Because Injuries/Tragedy Removed His Foils?
What if there were no Larry Bird...would Magic Johnson be universally considered the greatest?
What if Shaq had to suddenly retire in 1999...would Tim Duncan be the GOAT?
I was watching the Len Bias 30 for 30 special the other day, and I was struck by how many people of that day thought that Bias was the natural competitor to Michael Jordan. It made me think about a thread I saw on a message board one time, where someone brought up Bias' death and Ralph Sampson's injuries as a reason why Jordan was considered by so many to be the greatest. When you add Magic, Bird, and even Sam Bowie into the equation...perhaps there is some merit to the argument that Jordan wasn't necessarily the greatest, he just lacked his natural competitors.
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The Intelligence of Randy Moss and Tom Brady
Insightful
commentary by Bill Belichick about why Moss and Brady are all-time greats. Also, my favorite player, Lawrence Taylor, and Emmitt Smith. (h/t Scott Pianowski).
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Amateur Scout -- AFL Notes
Currently in Arizona for the Fall League, which will feature a Rising Stars Game on Saturday -- Stephen Strasburg has reportedly been scratched with a neck injury. Here are some quick thoughts from players in the Scottsdale-Phoenix game on Thursday afternoon.
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What is Gilbert Arenas' trade value?
It is always difficult to value a superstar player who has been hit by injuries, and Gilbert Arenas is no exception. In 2006 Arenas was a potential top-5 pick in fantasy drafts, but after missing 147 games to injury over the last two seasons he slid in most drafts this season. Now, five games in, how do you value him?
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Quick Starters: Buy or Sell?
The first few weeks of the fantasy hoops season are a real mixed bag. It counts, but at the same time it really doesn't. As us fantasy hoops enthusiasts scour box scores trying to pick games apart and get an early read on players, we must also keep in mind that we are dealing with sample sizes of five games or less here. While early signs of life from players like Marc Gasol and Danilo Gallinari are certainly encouraging, their current averages and ranks will almost surely be significantly off from what they will be at the end of the season. The real question is how far off will they be?
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NFL Notes
A look around the league regarding Week 8:
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Knick Rotation Taking Shape?
Mike D'Antoni's system is so fantasy-friendly, any changes in the Knicks' rotation are worth watching. Based on last night's game against the Hornets, it seems New York may be settling on a rotation.
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Bad Start
The Hornets are 1-3 out of the gate after losing to the Knicks Monday night, their lone win a fourth-quarter come-from-behind affair at home over Sacramento. The Pistons are 1-2 after falling to the Bucks on Saturday. Two playoff teams from 2009 threatening the lottery in 2010. We've seen Detroit's decline coming for a few years now, but the Hornets are a stealth job.
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Week 8 Observations
The Giants are broken right now, and it's unclear how long they will take to fix. Eli Manning insists his foot isn't bothering him, but the entire team on both sides of the ball is out of sync. The home game against the Chargers next week might be just what the doctor ordered for the offense, but unless the Giants generate a bigger pass rush, find a solution at free safety and get linebacker Michael Boley back to help out in coverage, Philip Rivers will light them up. No one on the team except Corey Webster (and occasionally Terrell Thomas) can cover anyone right now. Read all of Week 8 Observations
World Series Game 4 Live Blog
Interesting that the Yankees are going with their stud on three days rest, the Phillies are not. What do you think of the respective decisions on CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee?
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Week 8 Live Blog
It's the Bengals' bye week, so I think I'll try out the NFL Network for a while to check out their red zone feature. At some point, though, I'm going to want to follow a specific game.
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