Playing for 2nd?

What a difference 10 days make. After Juan and Brussels made their deal...the Yo Mamas have sky rocketed into 1st place and have almost a 100 point lead. And they still have room to move in steals and blocks. With the way Juan is stealing they could actually even catch the French Lick squad in steals. With 11 weeks to go I honestly don't feel like anyone can catch them. Now, that being said, there are still plenty of moves potentially out there...so someone has to be able to make a run...don't they???

Have I made a worse deal than Frye for Aldridge??? Frye obviously hates Golden and has since been benched in Phoenix. The numbers are frikkin' unreal. Check it out his numbers...

In Golden - 4ppg, 4reb, 20 FG%, 23% from downtown
In Belgrade - 12ppg, 6reb, 45 FG%, 40% 3PT%, 1 blk per game

I was thinking I had a potential keeper in Frye for $1 buck. But clearly he is crapola now and has lost his job to Robin Lopez - who, by the way - must be signed for big bucks tonight. He posted 20 and 7 against his brother tonight. Robin can also block some shots. I expect him to go for BIG dollars in tonight's waiver wire frenzy.

I have had some offers for Jennings this past week...some damn good ones too. And surprisingly they were from Idaho. In most cases too, I would have made the deal as his 2 offers were both quite good. In fact, I will say that he offered Amare Stoudamire for Jennings straight up. So why didn't I do it??? Numerous reasons...

1. My weakest cats are 3PT%, ATO, and steals. Amare does not help me in any of those. If I made the deal I would be worse off in ATO and lose on steals as well. But Johnny - he scores so much more! Um, no, he doesn't. Amare is 20ppg and Jennings is 18ppg. That's 2 points per game over the next 40 games. That's 80 points only. Not enough.
2. What categories does Amare significantly help me in then? Rebounds? Yes, but there is no guarantee I would catch Seoul or Bangkok in rebounds. FG% - would I really be able to move up here? Unknown.
3. Why am I trading a great keeper if I honestly don't think I can catch Juan de Fuca? I'm not loaded with cheap talent as it is so why would I move one of the top keepers? My current keeper crop is thin with Jennings, maybe Deng, maybe Casspi, unlikely Frye now, and who else??? There isn't much there for next season at all.

So, unless someone really wows me with a great offer I may just hold on to Jennings. He's been a bit better since Redd's been out with injury anyways (other than FG% - note his 5/21 tonight). So, we'll see.

My center situation in Golden is desperate. Basically they all suck at the moment. The most serviceable guy is Shaq. Gulp. How hard was that to say?

Can Boston actually catch Brussels?? They were only separated by 2 points for a minute there the other night. I believe Tim's plan is to protect Durant (no brainer). Can he move up in the standings? I think he still could if his guys get hot and stay HEALTHY.

So what other top 7 team has a chance of making a run???
Can Bangkok pull the trigger on a major move??
Can Chilliwack pull off a big deal - maybe involving Lebron for Marc Gasol??? (Rumors)
Can French Lick get healthy?
Can Arctic get some steals and blocks?

So Juan de Fuca has made their big move...who will be next?
I think the teams with the most potential to make that move are Bangkok and Chilliwack. Why? Because they have the best cheap talent. Bangkok is loaded with youngsters that could be protected...he has to make a move to sacrifice some of it to make a run. He needs 3PT% and steals!!! And Chilliwack has Marc Gasol. Could Gasol and pieces be enough to get Lebron if Woo throws in the towel? Will Woo throw in the towel? Is it in his fibre to do that?

Here's a question for you...is Lebron worth keeping for $83 bucks or whatever it is? I honestly think he is. We used to have 5-6 guys every year go for $100+ bucks. And he is clearly the #1 Fantasy player in any format. Seriously, look at his numbers...

30ppg, 8AST, 7REB, 67 STL, 42 BLK, 2.168 ATO, 51% FG, 36% 3PT

There is no one better. Last year you could argue Wade, Paul, or Howard were maybe close...this year, no one is better. Absolutely no one. Think about this...Lebron has scored more points than Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined!!!!

There is just over 4 weeks until the keeper deadline...something has to happen. Who will make the next big move? Can Juan be caught? Seriously, can he? Who are the best keepers??? Remember a couple weeks ago when I had Channing Frye in my top 10??? Well, that certainly wouldn't be the case anymore now would it?? So, if you can't win and you can't get into the money - shouldn't you be doing everything you can do to prepare for the 20th season of JBL Fantasy basketball? Now, that being said, what if you sell the farm and slip into the nether regions of the standings and you can't protect anyone at all? For example, is Boston really in a position to sell off Dirk or Wade? If he gets worse in the trade and he can't get out of 12th then he won't be able to keep anyone anyways....soooooo, what does he do?

Oh the questions...
Oh the fun ahead...
The JBL is in a bit of a lull right now because of what Juan de Fuca has done over the last week. I know he's taken the wind out of my sails with his strong performance. But, that being said, injuries can happen...NBA trades can happen....and the JBL keeper deadline can happen. There hasn't been much in terms of trade action over the past week or so...but that should change. Stay tuned boys, things will heat up again very soon...