Week 14 Ongoing...

Random thoughts from the midpoint of week 14...

• trade deadline this Sunday. Will anyone make any moves?
• It's definitely a 5 team race. Despite Bangkok's earlier claims he would finish in the top 5 - he posted on the Scoreboard this week that his remaining goal is to finish higher than Yuma. That looks like an interesting race for 6th.
• Juan has pulled away. His teams' ability to move up 3-4 spots in FG% was huge as that's 52 points I didn't initially see him gaining. Adding Boozer and not having Rubio in his lineup has really improved his team in this area.
• I think Juan will be very tough to beat. He's very secure in a few categories and isn't at risk of losing any points. Rebounds. He's got 2nd locked up. Scoring. He's looking good in 1st. Golden will need to catch Juan in scoring and steals to have any chance at all to win this thing.
• I actually think the team with the best shot of catching Juan is French Lick. He has room to move in scoring. He's 5th in scoring but should get up to at least 2nd at his current pace. Another big battle for French is rebounding vs. Arctic. That's a big 15 points for French.
• This JBL title will be decided in the final week. It's great suspense every night for the top 5 teams as the categories are soooo tight right now.
• Other interesting battles for positions still remain. Bangkok vs Yuma for the coveted 6th/7th spots. Can Idaho hold onto 8th and that final 3-man keeper position? And will Brussels go down in history as the worst JBL team ever? He's down to 236 points. We'll see.
• How about the awards for each team's 'Unsung Hero'? You know these guys. The fantasy guys who don't get a lot of hype but play a lot of man games on your fantasy team and kinda fly under the radar. Let's have a quick look at some of the guys who have quietly played key roles for their JBL teams
• Arctic - Ramon Sessions - solid production from the PG that the Lakers really wanted

  Sessions, Ramon PG LAL

  29

  26.9

  120

  46.7

  79

  82.3

  0.93

  27

  50.9

  3.14

  5.62

  0.66

  2.17

  0.07

  11.93

  121

  
  
• Bangkok - Thaddeus Young - Rick's new favorite player?

  Young, Thaddeus SF PHI

  49

  28.3

  273

  49.9

  81

  75.7

  0.00

  0

  0.0

  5.24

  1.27

  1.14

  0.82

  0.71

  12.80

  92

• Golden - Jarrett Jack - not bad for a dude that no NBA team really wanted

• Jack, Jarrett PG NO

  37

  34.6

  226

  47.8

  116

  86.6

  0.92

  34

  36.2

  4.08

  6.35

  0.70

  2.32

  0.16

  16.27

  96

• Juan de Fuca - there are a few options on this squad. I think Stuckey is having a way better year than I expected. I also think Dunleavy, Pachulia and Afflalo have played key roles for the Yo Mamas this season.

  Stuckey, Rodney PG DET

  37

  32.6

  196

  45.5

  203

  83.9

  0.68

  25

  37.9

  2.95

  4.22

  0.92

  2.08

  0.16

  16.76

  
  
• Well, that`s all for tonight. I`m exhausted. I`ve spent the last week watching the entire HBO series `The Wire`. What a great show!!

Week 13 Battle...

Wow, what a week so far and it's only Wednesday morning. We've seen Juan de Fuca take over the lead and is now pressing to go over 1000 points tonight based on the number of man games they have in store. This has been a resurgent year for the team once known as 'Tokyo to School'. It's nice to see a past champion regain the JBL mojo!

Bangkok keeps hanging around. Rick still has hopes for a top 5 finish. Looking at some of the categories, yes, Rick could still get over 900 points. And yes, that could be good enough for a top 5 finish. But we'll have to wait and see. The Kok's real role in the JBL standings will be that of 'spoiler'. He played a big part last night in Seoul and Chilliwack dropping in the standings. Check out the 3PT% category where the Kok passed Seoul by % points. Also, check out ATO where again the Kok has jumped on top of Phil (not in an Asian Porn sort of way). And finally, check out FG% where Bangkok now reigns supreme. The Kok still has hopes of moving up in steals and in the long run that seems possible. So with the Kok 1st in FG% and 1st in 3PT% why isn't he mentioned as a title contender? Simple. His scoring and rebounds let him down. His combined point total in these 2 cats is 155 points. The Wack's combined total is 415; Juan's is 420; and Golden's is 425. Yes, this is the traditional model of success in the JBL - be excellent in scoring and rebounding - the 2 heaviest weighted categories. Of course, that Seoul squad is still a title contender with his PTS/REB combo total of 190. So, there's lots of ways to win the prize.

French and Juan's team continue to impress me night in and night out. Right now they just don't have anyone in the their starting lineup who is letting them down. The Wack is being killed by injury and is now without Rose, Lowry, Marion and now Josh Howard is lost for the season. Sure, Howard isn't a 'key' contributor - but he is active and Benny loses all those man games. Also, JaVale McGee still hasn't washed the windows at George Karl's mansion so he hasn't seen the floor yet in Denver either. These man games lost all add up. Seoul has been missing the services of Nene (hasn't played since March 13th) and still has some guys who disappear at times (Brand, Johnson, Collison). And Golden lost Pekovic to double ankle sprains the other night. His status is questionable for the remaining games this week. This is clearly an act of JBL Gods. French and Juan are firing on all cylinders while the other 3 teams in the top 5 are struggling to find the right combo of 12 starters.

I do have to say that I'm falling head over heels for Mr. Irrelevant. You know, the 60th player taken in last years NBA draft. Mr. Isaiah Thomas. From nearby U of W. Sure, Thomas and Gay went a combined 0/9 from downtown last night but I am starting to like what I'm seeing in the box score and on the highlights. The kid is lightning quick. Isn't the NBA awesome when this kid can outperform the likes of a Tyreke Evans. Isn't Isaiah the kid we should be rooting for? He's too small to play in the NBA. Tyreke is a physical specimen. Yet, the results on the floor don't lie. Isaiah is better for the Sacramento team. In his last 10 games, Isaiah is averaging 13ppg, shooting 48% and 43%, has 15 steals, and has a 1.772 ATO. And check out how he's done for Golden in my lineup.

Thomas, Isaiah PG SAC

15

29.8

74

48.7

44

89.8

1.73

26

41.9

2.73

4.53

1.20

2.53

0.20

14.53

111

Go on kid. Keep it up. And hey - you never know, he could be back in Golden next season when it's all said and done.

Another player who continues to amaze me is Drew Gooden. I would like to say I knew this was coming because I actually drafted him at Auction this year. However, when Bogut was around Mr. Gooden didn't do much. Then Bogut went down and Gooden became a monster. French has now had Gooden in his lineup for 22 games. His numbers?

Gooden, Drew PF MIL

22

31.6

146

46.6

96

86.5

0.45

10

30.3

7.41

3.23

1.00

2.36

0.77

18.09

125

18ppg, 7reb, a steal per game, 1.368 ATO, 47% and almost a block per game. Not bad for a $1 dollar FA pickup.

And finally this morning I wanted to touch on a couple of players who I just don't understand why there are active in teams' lineups. Check these 3 guys out...

Williams, Derrick PF MIN		47	20.7	148	45.3	84	66.7	0.60	28	31.8	5.00	0.64	0.51	1.06	0.45	8.68	157
Johnson, Wesley SF MIN		43	22.7	108	39.4	17	63.0	0.74	32	28.8	2.67	0.81	0.63	1.09	0.70	6.16	166
Cole, Norris PG MIA		29	19.9	77	40.7	31	88.6	0.38	11	30.6	1.45	2.07	0.59	1.41	0.03	6.76	232

As you can see from the left hand column - these three players have played 47, 43, and 29 games respectively for the Manhattan Beach Ballers. Williams is the best of the 3 and he is averaging 8.6 points per page. 8! Really Bobby? Those are the best guys for your lineup? Here is the last time you signed a Free Agent. Check out the date. December 29th. You spent $40 on Biedrins and $40 on Cole. And you haven't made any other FA signings since. Oh Bobby.

Date	Team	Players	Effective
12/29/11 01:10 am ET	Manhattan Beach Ballers	Biedrins, Andris C GS - Won at $40 Anthony, Joel PF MIA - Dropped	1/2/12
12/29/11 01:10 am ET	Manhattan Beach Ballers	Cole, Norris PG MIA - Won at $40 Villanueva, Charlie PF DET - Dropped	1/2/12

So, that does it for me this fine morning. Tonight will be another heart pounding adventure on the scoreboard ticker. I expect Juan to approach 1000 points tonight as he will pass Golden in points (+20) and could pass Seoul in steals.

Potential man games tonight:

Juan - 8

Wack - 9

Golden - 6

French - 7

Seoul - 8

Bangkok - 8

Good luck Gents...see in the chat room.