More Change in Golden

Another week down in the 20th season of the JBL and Golden is still mired in the basement. But hey, I'm just barely over 400 pts now. That's encouraging. And there were some positive signs as the week winds down. The Golden squad is right up there in scoring this week and has closed the gap between themselves and the top scoring teams in the league. The bad news is that the ATO, STL, and 3PT% is still atrocious.

So, with that news, week 5 will see Golden drastically change their 12 man starting lineup for the upcoming week. 5 new starters will come in. Guys who are out?? Thornton (trade), Warrick (trade), Nazr (bench), Sessions (released), and Batum (only 2 man games).

One of those new starters will be Cleveland's doghouse man - JJ Hickson. I acquired him from Seoul today for Al Thornton and Hakim Warrick. Why did I make this trade? Well, for starters, Thornton and Warrick are frustrating fantasy players. One night they're great, the next night they suck. And believe me, I've seen Hickson's numbers lately, it's not that he's much more consistent at all. I made this trade because Hickson, I think, still has the greatest upside. With that comes the unknown of course, but I thought I should chance it. Mo Williams is coming back from injury and maybe that will help JJ's numbers. At some point, you know Cleveland will have to clear the way for JJ and move Jamison to a contender. So, I'm hoping JJ can find his form again in the coming weeks.

Speaking of Mo - he will get back into the starting lineup. Hopefully he can stay healthy and have a few more games like he did Saturday night (21pts, 6ast, 3stl). He will hopefully improve the dreaded ATO of this squad.

Also expected to return next week is Darren Collison. He missed the entire week with an ankle injury and it appears he's good to go for Monday against the Heat. I need his ATO and some steals. I really need him to start showing the game he had last season when he took over for the injured Chris Paul. He hasn't been bad this season, but I was hoping for more.

Another newcomer to the starting lineup will be Golden favorite Luke Ridnour. I brought him in with the hope that he can get some ATO, steals, and 3PT% this week. I released Sessions as it didn't make sense to have Mo and his backup. Plus, Sessions hasn't shot the ball well and doesn't get any steals. Why not shake it up?? Ridnour will likely be in town until Jonny Flynn returns and I hope Luke remembers those great years he had in Golden when he was still a Sonic.

And the 5th new starter this week has already done some time in Golden this season - Austin Daye. I've brought him back based on his upside. Again, hopefully Detroit realizes they need to play their young guys and Daye can get some minutes. His numbers are similar to Warrick and Thornton's but again I'm hoping he has more upside down the road. He plays 4 games this week so I'm hoping for something from the kid.

Guys, I know you probably aren't all that jacked to read about Golden's roster shuffle - but it's all I've got. I'm not blessed with a star studded team that requires little maintenance from week to week. I've never been this low in the JBL standings ever - except for years when there were only 6 teams (pretty sure I could have been 6th) - so I am working at improving my squad and thought I would at least document my thought process through it all.

I don't think I need to blow Bangkok's praises on here - he does that himself on the live scoreboard every night. So, if you have a topic for me - let me know and I'll do my best to chat about it.

Today I also posted a poll to see what the JBL thinks about the Draft location for 2011. Whistler is getting some votes. We discussed this in Vegas while we were there. Timbo has a place up there so accommodation would be cheap for sure. We would need some sort of Internet hub connection that we could all connect too but I'm sure we have some computer wizards to figure all that out. Whistler would be great for the locals. Drive up Saturday morning, get ready for the draft, do the draft, head out for a meal in the Village, crash, and head home Sunday. Nice little adventure for sure.

Did anyone see the Clippers vs. Knicks game tonight. I watched part of the 2nd half. Blake Griffin was amazing. Granted, Amare has never been known for his defense, but Blake was awesome. How much longer before they sack Del Negro?? He never should have got the job. Horrible.

Seeing the last couple of Suns games made me realize they will never trade Steve Nash. They simply aren't very good when he isn't playing.

Raptors and Hornets made a 5 player deal today. Jack/Andersen/Banks to NO for Bayless/Peja. I guess Jarrett Jack is the "best" player in the deal. However, his Fantasy value likely drops now being the 1st guard off the bench in NO as opposed to being the starter in TO. Jose Calderon's value goes through the roof! It sounds like TO will play Peja so his arrival cuts into Weems, Kleiza, and DeRozan's minutes. Kind of a nothing deal in terms of fantasy in my opinion.

Nice to see the Canucks showed up for the big Saturday night showdown with the Blackhawks. Ugly.

Well, that's it for me tonight. Tomorrow Jayne and Ryan are heading to Seattle to see the Harry Potter exhibit, stay overnight, and watch the Harry Potter movie on Monday. I'm hanging out all day Sunday hopefully watching football and not shoveling the driveway!