Yup, Another One...

Look at me go! Another post. Holy cow.

Let's go around the JBL...

• Despite numerous attempts today, Golden did not make a deal that would have seen DeMarcus moved out of town without him even playing a game. I'm not sure how close it was to getting done in the end but certain things occurred in tonight's games that would have caused concern and elation for both owners involved.
• Cousins returned to the Kings lineup tonight. And although he was still in Idaho's lineup he showed flashes of that all around game that intrigued me so much. Of course, Ryan Anderson put up 17 and 12 and went 3/6 from downtown.
• Speaking of the Kings - they almost blew a 27 point lead against the Knicks. Another Chris Copeland sighting tonight but again, no one took the bait on the Free Agent wire. I also see Isaiah Thomas was back in the starting lineup for the Kings and that T-Rob didn't even get off the bench. Interesting things going on in Sactown
• 3 more Free Agents picked up tonight. I can't believe that Idaho used another $1 dollar on Nick Young. He's only got $7 bucks left now for the rest of the season. And Brussels shot his load on Will Bynum's back (that sounded bad) leaving Timmy just $6 bucks for the rest of the season. Timmy spent $16 on Bynum...I wonder if anyone else placed I bid?? And French picked up Lance Stephenson - who has quietly been starting in Indy for quite some time
• Washington won their 4th game of the year tonight behind Jordan Crawford`s 27-6-6 performance. I`m telling you guys -  Maui is going to be a factor in these Standings and he just might lead the entire JBL in scoring when it`s all said and done this year (providing he stays healthy and Dirk returns to form)
• Charlotte lost their 17th in a row and didn`t look good doing it. I`m not sure there was a single decent fantasy line on that team tonight. Oh wait, nope, there wasn`t. 
• MBB had a monster night tonight with 190 points, 13 steals and 55% shooting. The Ballers are now in 6th place and have to be considered a surprise team so far this season. MBB and Montreal have both done very well considering their recent form in previous years. And MBB is doing this with Love being average and Meyers Leonard still holding down a roster spot.
• Montreal is currently in 5th and got big nights from Irving, Gallinari and Howard. And think, Montreal still gets to plug in Amare and Rubio into this lineup in the coming weeks. 
• Seoul and Bangkok are now tied at 692 points in the standings. A dead heat for AP supremacy. As mentioned in the wall chat, Bangkok seems to have the edge because of the potential return of John Wall and Andrew Bynum. Both could be huge factors for the Kok in 2013. What does Seoul have up his sleeves? Other than short arms? And usually the Kok and Seoul hook up on a few trades each season. So what happens now that they are in this dog fight. Yes, they've already made a trade this season (Horford/Kobe) but will we see anymore. Will either of them try to convince Yuma to wake from his slumber? And Seoul had the quietest night of any JBL team. Sure, he only had 6 man games but he still only averaged 11ppg and 4reb with those 6 players. 
• Compared to the rest of the JBL teams tonight, Golden didn't have a big night either but still managed to average 15ppg and 8reb with 55% shooting from just 7 guys. Thad Young and Tim Duncan led the way again with big performances. I can't say enough about Thad. He's bonerific.
• The Wack has opened up a 44 point lead behind solid contributions from everyone on his roster. Give Benny credit here as he's drafted a very good team that he trots out the same guys week in and week out. He's done just fine with the center combo of Drummond and McGee all season. Neither are putting up earth shattering numbers but they both have been serviceable and fill a roll. Kevin Durant has been the cornerstone of the Offs this season and is having an MVP season (both in real life and fantasy). I've also been really impressed with the contributions from JR Smith, Matt Barnes, Dorell Wright, Kevin Seraphin, and Ed Davis over the last few weeks. And behind Durant, Benny has to be loving his George Griffin Mayo combination. All have been fantastic this season. The Offs are now 1st or 2nd in 5 categories, 4th in another, and 13th in ATO. Benny is proving that you can completely ignore a category and still put up a monster point total. 
• Jose Calderon is great when Lowry is out but he sucks when he's healthy. They can't co-exist apparently. I much prefer independent Jose. The Jose/Lowry relationship is not working and it is killing me. Here, George Costanza explains it better than I can...

That is all for tonight...go about your bizness...

Boxing Day Banter...

Merry Christmas JBL'ers!
I hope you had a great day with your families and that Santa brought everyone a little something something...
At my house, it was awesome, great times with family and friends. A great couple of days together.

So what's going on in the JBL?
Golden finally unloaded Ryan Anderson and picked up malcontent DeMarcus Cousins. For the record, Golden offered this deal and it was accepted about 15 minutes later. Anderson can score, rebound and knock down massive amounts of 3's. He doesn't provide much help in steals or blocks though. Cousins, when he's not in the doghouse, is actually pretty good in both categories. I'm willing to taking on the head case to get more steals and blocks as those 2 categories are really close.

I'm interested/worried/anxious to see what happens with his situation in Sacramento. Does he get traded? Does he get benched? Does he come back motivated to prove everyone wrong? I don't know. I do know that Sacramento is a shit-show these days and I wouldn't trust anyone on their roster in terms of fantasy. Actually, I take that back, I think their most trustworthy player is Jason Thompson.

I have to say I now have 2 guys on my team that I really don't like - Cousins and Westbrook. Not a fan of either but I'm somehow relying on them to be 'main' pieces of my squad along with Timmy D.

I'm not happy with how the Golden boys performed tonight. I had 11 man games and not a single player over 16 points scored. Not a good night.

Some other random thoughts from the past week or so...

• The love affair with Thad Young continues. He had 3 steals and 4 blocks tonight alone. His last 10 games - 16ppg, 7reb, 20stl, 10blk and shooting 54%. Nice.
• Josh Smith had a monster game tonight - 31-10-2-2. Juan de Fuca has solidified their hold on 3rd place in the JBL standings and are 100 points clear of 4th place Arctic. Over the last 4 weeks Juan has been putting up huge numbers led by Chandler, Josh, David West and Klay Thompson. But the player who deserves a lot of credit is Kemba Walker. I didn't think he could be as efficient as he is. Over his last 10 games Kemba's %'s are 46/38, he has 15 steals, and his ATO is 57/18. That's pretty darn good in my books. Juan de Fuca is a dangerous team. A very dangerous team. Based on their stats - they are right in this thing. Watch out for this team as the calendar rolls over to 2013. 
• One disappointing player continues to be Kevin Love. He had another stinker tonight. He shot 3/14 and 0/7 tonight and is now shooting 35/22 on the year. Add in the fact that he doesn't get a lot of steals or blocks and he's having a rough season. Not what MBB wanted I'm sure.
• The Clippers continue to impress me. They are now 22-6 and are getting a complete team effort every night. Griffin is improving as a fantasy stud (even though his scoring and rebounding are down) because he's added steals (43) and more blocks (19) to his game. Matt Barnes, Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe and Lamar Odom make up a wicked bench. And just think - they will still get Billups and Grant Hill back soon as well. This is a scary good team my friends.
• Steve Nash and Dirty Dirk both returned this week for Team Old (Maui). I still like this team and think they will climb in the standings. They are the best scoring team (by average) in the JBL and have room to move. 11 of the 16 players on this roster are over the age of 28. Nine of the guys are over 30 years old. This is awesome in my books. Well done Trev. World Peace and Parsons continue to impress me every week.
• Andre Drummond continues to emerge in Detroit. Pretty soon he's going to have to be turned loose full time. He had 16 and 12 tonight in 36 minutes off the bench. He shot 7/9 tonight and is now at 57% on the year from the floor. He's got 23 steals and 46 blocks as well. It looks like he's a future stud in the middle. Now, can/will CHWK leverage him into a big name? Or will Benny ride him out and wait for him to emerge? Will teams in 9th to 13th start to have eyes on Drummond as a possible keeper? Lots of time until our 'keeper trade deadline' but he's got to be turning some heads as maybe the top guy out there.
•  All is quiet in Wooville. I'm a bit surprised we haven't seen a bit of shake up. Kobe continues to carry this team in scoring (40 more tonight) and now leads the league in scoring at 30.2 PPG. It's rare to see  a Seoul team 11th in ATO and 11th in steals. These are usually solid categories for a Brothers team. Too many inconsistent guys right now in this lineup I guess.
• Yuma has slipped into the basement despite David Lee's best efforts. He is playing out of his mind right now and I would consider him a top 10 fantasy player based on his current numbers. He's averaging 24 and 12 over his last 10 games while shooting 61%. Yes, that's correct - sixty-one percent. Yuma is getting a few guys back from injuries this week (Gasol and Kawhi) so maybe that can give him some hope. Injuries to Gerald Henderson, Kyle Lowry, and now Kris Humphries have also taken their toll on this roster. He's going to need to stay healthy and get some production from 12 active guys each week to climb out of the basement.
• Somewhere, Tricky Rick is smiling because Jared Dudley dropped 36 points tonight. While he's a far cry from ever averaging 16-5-5, Dudley has been on fire of late and has really picked up his game. The Kok continues to hang around (currently 5th) with one of the youngest teams in the JBL. Did you know the Kok's oldest player is Chris Bosh at 28? 
• Brussels is another young team that is struggling to gain traction in the standings. I see his Portland boys (3 of them) all had big games tonight (28-18-17 points). And the surprising Nikola Vucevic continues to impress. He was drafted for $1 dollar and is now averaging 10 and 10 with 1 block per game while shooting 50%. Not bad for a buck! He would likely find himself in the 'best keeper' conversation at this point. 
• As I write this tonight it's about 15 minutes from the mid week free agent awards. I'm thinking Hakim Warrick just made a name for himself tonight with and 18/9 performance filling in for the injured Bryon Mullens. How high will someone go? Yuma, French, Bangkok and Golden have all the money. But will someone invest big bucks into Hakim Warrick? What about a Nate Robinson in Chicago? Or an E'Twaun Moore from Orlando? John Salmons in Sactown? We could see 3-4 names find new homes tonight I think. 

Well, that's it for tonight. The JBL Standings are compressing every night as the gap between 1st and 13th continues to shrink. It's an exciting race and teams continue to flip flop in the standings every night. Good times in the JBL ahead. Have a good week everyone.

Really?

He's such a big baby!! Get it?

Just hours after Crikker authors a tune called "Big 4 Must Fall' down goes one of my underrated forwards. Sure, Glen Davis isn't a superstar but he's 16 and 8 this season and was doing just fine in Golden thank you very much. When a man 6'5 and 290 pounds is lying on the ground clutching his shoulder - the injury isn't good. Golden is preparing to be without his services for quite some time.

And Ryan Anderson's performance tonight was a close 2nd in terms of disappointments. He was 0/8 from downtown. That sucks. I love that he scores 18 a game and grabs 7 rebounds and shoots over 40% from behind the arc but when he has nights like this it's really frustrating.

I'm not overly excited about my roster going forward for next week as I'm losing confidence in many of my starters. Danny Green, Biyombo, Ilyasova, Shved, and Mbah a Moute are all hit or miss these days. Luckily, some of the other JBL contenders are struggling and searching for consistency right now too. Long way to go my friends.

Monday Musings...

Holy cow! Another Chronicle post 48 hours after my last one?? Must be nothing on TV these days. Thought I would chime in on a few things going on around the Association and the JBL.

• First off, Brussels must be ecstatic that Beasley didn't go off for big numbers as soon as he was dropped. Safe to say, doesn't look like the Beez will be an 'add' anytime soon
• Speaking of the Suns, they beat the Kings tonight and for the first time that I can remember actually played a somewhat structured rotation (unlike the Kings). Gortat had his first big game in a long time (14-13 and 6 blocks) against a struggling DeMarcus Cousins (1/10FG). And to think I had offered Big Baby for him a week ago.
• Speaking of Glen Davis - he took a shot at Dwight Howard in his post-game interview tonight. He described their win over the T-Wolves as a 'team effort' and they are 'no longer about one guy'. It was pretty cool for him to say it and for tonight, he was right. And Golden appreciates his 28 and 5 tonight on 13/17 shooting.
• Arctic must be digging Ibaka's 25 and 17 tonight. As I mentioned in the latest poll, Ibaka is destined to go back to Auction next fall. I wonder what his price will be?? $50? $60? He's posting monstrous numbers this season and is only getting better.
• Arctic's still in 3rd place and has a pretty good battle going on with Montreal and others. I'm anxious to see what Utah does with all those big men soon. Will Favors finally be unleashed? Arctic is 10th in rebounds and could use some more PT from this kid. 
• Montreal continues to hang with the big boys behind the play of Kyrie, Dwight, and a solid cast of very good role players (AK47, JJ, Ridnour, etc). Now he's getting Rubio back into the mix and he'll also be adding Amare in the next week or so. The Poutang has a chance to gain some major points in the coming weeks. I also like this team because he has 3 T-Wolves. I find myself watching their games all the time (I have 2 T-Wolves). They are the whitest team in the NBA in a long time and they run and run and run. Fun team to watch. When are they coming to Portland? Roadtrip!
• Yuma has hit rock bottom. The Thurmans are now in 13th place after being hit pretty hard by injury. Kyle Lowry has been injured. Pau Gasol has been a HUGE disappointment so far. And even Kawhi Leonard missing time has impacted this roster. Throw in disappointing starts for Humphries and Gerald Henderson and I can see why this team has fallen so fast. The MVP of this team has to be David Lee as he is once again putting up monster numbers for the very surprising Golden State team. Lee will certainly be a likely target of many contending teams when it comes time to load up for the stretch drive.
• Idaho has been quiet lately. From his Facebook photos it appears he's in Mexico. Idaho's on a bit of a resurgence right now and he's almost back to 600 points in the standings. He's riding this monster team of rebounders back to mediocrity. 8 man games tonight and he hauled in 57 rebounds. Well done. This is a very typical Idaho squad built around scoring (3rd) and steals (1st) while pretty much ignoring other categories. He's 13th in FG% and 12th in 3PT%. Add in 13th in blocks and you can see where the struggles come from. 

Alright, switching gears now. I think I'll look at some of the guys I like for next year as potential keepers. I know, I know, it's not even Christmas but what the heck. I'll try to pick a couple of guys out of left field if I can...

• Arctic - how about Raymond Felton. He's only $14 bucks and is putting up very solid numbers in NY. Now is that because Amare has been out? I guess we'll find out. Check this comparison out...

Arctic Circle Jerks Players Year to Date NBA Standard Stats
Player	Action	G	MPG	FG	FGP	FT	FTP	3PG	3PT	3PTP	RPG	APG	SPG	TPG	BPG	PPG	Rank
Curry, Stephen PG GS		24	37.6	162	42.3	85	89.5	2.67	64	41.8	4.08	6.54	1.67	3.04	0.04	19.71	3
Felton, Raymond PG NY		23	33.7	150	40.3	34	75.6	1.78	41	40.6	2.78	6.83	1.22	2.39	0.13	16.30	27

Here's a look at the numbers between Curry ($44) and Felton ($14). If Curry is worth his salary (and that could be low because of his injury risk) then isn't Felton worth $19 as a keeper. Yes, Curry has the edge in most categories but Felton is having a very good year. Others to watch in Arctic include Faried and Favors of course.

• Bangkok has a couple of potential keepers as well. How about Evan Turner's breakout season? Or General Greivis taking charge of the Pelicans? Will Harrison Barnes rookie season develop into something keeper worthy? Will JJ Hickson's double-double convince the Kok to keep him? Too early to tell with this bunch me thinks.
• The Brussels squad might as well throw the 5 year contract at Damian Lillard right now. This $12 dollar rookie isn't going anywhere. Honestly, what would it take to get him from Timmy? Would Tim trade him for anyone right now? Would Timmy trade him for a $3 dollar Derrick Rose? What if Seoul offered him Kobe? Is it about right now or the next 5 years? Besides Lillard, Timmy has cheap promising players on his roster. Patrick Patterson ($1) is having a nice season. Nicola Vucevic ($1) has been very good in Orlando. What about Batum at $30 bucks? He's become an all round Shawn Marion in his prime type player.What about Jeff Teague at $11 bucks? So many choices on this roster. The first task is to move up in the Standings so he can keep more of them.
• The Wack is contending and licking his lips over his potential keepers. OJ Mayo and Paul George could both be back again at the current rate. Mayo $12 and George $13 are exceeding all expectations so far. Then Benny has his rookie pick Andre Drummond sitting there for just $3 bucks. As stated before, I didn't think this kid would be that good - boy, I was wrong. Benny also has emerging Kevin Seraphin in Washington for just $1 dollar. And would Benny consider keeping Durant for $78 bucks. He's probably worth every penny at that price the way he's been playing.
• French has to toss Ty Lawson back into the Auction next fall. Finally, the rest of us will have a chance to get our hands on this little speed demon. Zach Randolph $21 is having a resurgent year. He's 2nd in the NBA in rebounds! And what about Chris Kaman $8? Where will he be playing next season? He's injury prone but seems to be able to get 14 and 7 in his sleep. Plus, the hair. I even think Austin Rivers for $1 buck is worth keeping an eye on. Sure, he has a long way to go to become a 'good player' even - but he's worth watching.
• Golden has a bunch of options as well. Big Baby, Ryan Anderson, and Pekovic would all be contenders based on how they've played so far this season. Biyombo and Shved could be longer term options and I'm interested in seeing how their playing time goes through the season. I think they both have potential. Is Jose Calderon $5 worth a look if he finds the right home? And what to do with those middle priced studs on opposite ends of their careers (Duncan and Young)?
• Idaho has James Harden for just $13 bucks and he can be protected one more year. Idaho also has George Hill for $5 bucks and he's really having a good start to the season. Of course, the big name that Idaho has in the stable is Derrick Rose for just $3 bucks. This was a crafty late round selection in the Auction. As our current constitution states - any player drafted in the Auction can be protected. Had Rose been signed as a Free Agent he would have had to play at least 20 NBA regular season games (again in the JBL Constitution). So, Idaho will likely have Derrick Rose on his team for $8 bucks next season. Hey, I like Derrick Rose, and he's worth way more than $8 bucks but he's not a fantasy superstar in my mind. Last year he shot 43 and 31. Sure, he averaged 22 and 8 but he didn't get more than 1 steal a game. Idaho could have some great keepers in Rose, Harden, and Hill but I wouldn't go and hand him any trophies for next season just yet. Remember, Tuna had Andrew Bynum, James Harden, Isaiah Thomas and Ricky Rubio to start this season. Things don't always work out as planned.
• Juan de Fuca is following up their success from last season and continue to climb in the standings. They have Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker as cheap PG options for next season. I also really like David West at $16 bucks. Yes, he's 31 years old and is playing for a new contract but man, I really like him. I also like their recent acquisition of Enes Kanter off the waiver wire. If Utah moves Millsap and/or Jefferson and let this kid play - Juan could have another keeper on their hands. 
• Manhattan Beach has Brook Lopez for $26 bucks and he intrigues me. Sure, he's had some injury problems and he can't rebound but for that price he's really good. He's averaging 18 and 7 with 40 blocks in 16 games. Wow. I like those numbers. Jamal Crawford ($2) is certainly turning some heads with his bench play in LA. He's a notoriously bad shooter so 43/38 is certainly an improvement. Kevin Love is just $44 bucks. I say "just" because had he not been hurt to start the season he would have gone for so much more. Is he worth $49 bucks as a keeper? Absolutely. Do you feel like MBB has a huge advantage going into next season because he has Love for $49? No, not at all. And the biggest question - will MBB keep Lebron for $82? It seems like forever since Lebron was in the Auction.
• Maui has a couple of potential locks for next season. The Unibrow will be back in Maui. It would probably take a monster offer to get him out of there. Chandler Parsons ($4) is having a really good year in Houston so far. He's a 6 category guy right now and is really undervalued. Varejao ($16) is playing like a man possessed. Will he still be in Cleveland though? I just finished talking about Love being $49 dollars - well, Carmelo can be had for the same price. He's only averaging 28ppg and 6reb while shooting 47/46. Is he worth the money? 
• Montreal has Kyrie locked in for another few years. Rubio can be protected for $20 bucks but that would be his last season before going back to Auction. Jason Thompson is just $1 dollar and is a very serviceable PF these days. Amare is only $28 bucks and he could have value for next season if the Knicks can figure out how to use him. I'm sure they'd love to ship him out of town. Would a team like Charlotte be interested? Lord knows they need a star. Does Amare have a no trade clause? Anyways, he could have some value at $33 bucks - if he can stay healthy. Is Jeremy Lin worth a look for $17? Is Kirilenko worth $25? A lot of potential here for next season.
• Seoul, as usual, is built for present day. However, MKG has great keeper potential but I know Seoul would move him in a heartbeat if he could improve his chances at getting into the money spots. Tyler Zeller ($1) is an interesting player here too because of Varejao's situation. Zeller could be thrust into a starting role is the Cavs move Andy and don't get a big man in return. 
• Yuma has Brandon Jennings for $22 bucks and he could be back for one more season. He could also find a new home in the NBA if Milwaukee decides to part ways. Arron Afflalo ($14) has some potential depending on what Orlando decides to do in the coming months. They are certainly not as bad (record-wise) as I thought they would be. Kawhi Leonard ($10) was called the face of the franchise by Coach Pop earlier this year. Let's see if he can improve his numbers to earn that title. Right now, I'd say he's borderline at best. And if Jason Kidd wasn't 47 years old I'd say he'd be worth a look at that cheap price.

Well, that's that for tonight. Time to hit the sack...then go to bed. 

Saturday Night Loving...

I had a few minutes here on a snowy night and I thought I'd compare a couple of players. You see, it's almost Christmas, and it's almost time for some JBL teams to start thinking about building for next season isn't it? There are usually a couple of teams that say 'screw it', I'm getting cheap guys for next year. So, I just wanted to throw out a couple of comparisons and see if I can drum up some loving.

Check out the first pairing...

Player A - 15.2 PPG, 8.2 REB, 1.1 STL, 0.96 BLK, 47.9% FG
Player B - 15.7 PPG, 8.1 REB, 1.0 STL, 0.68 BLK, 43.9% FG

Pretty similar numbers with Player A having a slight edge in blocks and FG%. The real difference between them is their JBL salaries. One of the guys is $37 dollars more than the other guy.

Check out the second pairing...

Player A - 17.6 PPG, 8.3 REB, 0.7 STL, 1.1 BLK, 50.1% FG
Player B - 15.2 PPG, 9.1 REB, 1.5 STL, 0.7 BLK, 45.5% FG

Again, similar numbers between these two players. Which guy would you rather have? Player A scores more, blocks more, and shoots better while Player B gets more steals. Again, the biggest difference between these 2 players is their price tag. One guy is $34 dollars more than the other.

Final one...

Player A - 15.4 PPG, 7.2 REB, 0.8 STL, 1.8 BLK, 49.6% FG, 2.59 ATO
Player B - 15.4 PPG, 7.3 REB, 0.8 STL, 0.3 BLK, 44.5% FG, 2.00 ATO, 47.5% 3PT

Now these 2 guys have similar numbers again but they don't even play the same position. Player A gets all those blocks and shoots better so he gets all the attention. But don't sleep on Player B. The salary difference between these 2 players is $43 bucks!!

So...any guesses who all these players are??
And in each case could the cheaper guy who gives you great value be potentially a nice keeper for next season?

In the 1st scenario - Player A is Paul Millsap ($45) and Player B is Big Baby Davis ($8).
In the 2nd scenario - Player A is David West ($16) and Player B is Greg Monroe ($50).
In the 3rd scenario - Player A is Marc Gasol ($54) and Player B is Evan Turner ($11).

Sometimes we have to forget the names and look at the numbers. And that's why Big Baby, Turner, and Westy get the Saturday night loving.

Portland and All Things JBL

Whoops, it's been awhile since my last post...
I heard from the masses (Benny) that a Chronicles post was needed and when my public calls for me - I come to their rescue.

Yes, Brussels and I went to Portland this past weekend to take in a Blazer game. The weekend was awesome! It was just what the doctor ordered for a little rest and relaxation for the both of us. What's funny is that the actual Blazer game itself was the worst part. I've been going to Blazer games for years and have probably taken in a dozen or more over the years. Well, this one was the worst one I've ever seen. The Blazers are not a very good basketball team right now. And neither are the Kings. But when Batum has a bad back and can't do anything; Lillard is turning the ball over; and Matthews is getting injured multiple times; it means you're relying on Luke Babbitt, Nolan Smith, Sasha Pavlovic and others to pick up the slack. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that isn't gonna work. The saving grace about the game was the fact that we had the all-you-can-eat seats so we were stuffing ourselves on roast turkey, prawns, pizza, and everything else you can imagine. We didn't even stay for the whole game!!

Here are my other thoughts about the PDX weekend and what's going on in the JBL these days...

• Brussels and Montreal hooked up on a trade. Jonas Valunciunas for Eric Bledsoe. Montreal has Kyrie and Rubio coming back so he could afford to give up Bledsoe. I thought for a second that Montreal was theme-teaming euro style - but apparently it's just a coincidence. But hey, if they wanted to - they're half way there
• The news that Bargnani is out for 1-2 months flooded the waiver wire with Ed Davis bids I'm sure. In the end it's Chilliwack winning his services for just $25 bucks. The rich get richer. The other part of this transaction was another JBL Lottery Rookie getting dumped. Jared Sullinger is no longer eligible for 5 years protection and finds his fat ass on the JBL waiver wire. If I had to guess, I think he'll get another shot on a JBL roster at some point this season.So, that's 3 of the 13 rookie picks now dropped. I would imagine Davis will be active next week in the CHWK lineup in place of the still disappointing Dorell Wright.
• Seoul was the other big winner of the night as he won CJ Miles for $20 bucks. Seoul needs Guards and he needs scoring so Miles fits the bill. Will Miles be able to keep up the hot streak is another question though. 
• Juan de Fuca must be kicking themselves this week. They just traded Cousins for Bargnani, Sanders, and Andray Blatche and what happens - Bargnani goes down for 1-2 months; Sanders gets the flu and misses a game and Blatche, who's still playing well, is likely headed back to the bench when Lopez returns from injury. Tough break for Juan.
• Idaho used another precious Free Agent dollar tonight on Kyle Singler. While the signing itself isn't really special what's worth noting is that Idaho now has just $8 bucks left for the entire season. Oh my.
• Maui got older with the signing of Derek Fisher. Love this signing by the way. Maui is an old injured team but Trev needed some PG/ATO help and Fisher might be able to fill in if needed.
• I like Arctic's signing of Toney Douglas. He's been very good lately. But it's the drop that is worth noting in this transaction as well. Elton Brand is now a free agent. In recent years Brand has been a hot commodity for his all round game. But this year, in Dallas, he sucks. Plain and simple. Is he worth signing down the road? Probably. But his glory days are clearly behind him. Somehow I can imagine him getting an offer sheet from Seoul.
• After spending the weekend in PDX with Brussels I know Timmy must be cringing to see Bryon Mullens decent line tonight. I think I heard Beasley and Mullens' names mentioned more times in a negative way last weekend than most divorced bitter ex-wives talk about their exes. Timmy hates the Beez and Mully. Hates them. And frankly, I think it's justified. But Murphy's Law states that when you bench someone - they will play well. Point proven tonight with Mully.
• I see Kyle Lowry is back on the sidelines again. The news is partially torn tricep? How is that a 10 day injury? Seems a little light. Anyways, looks like Jose Calderon becomes relevant again. Too bad I didn't have him active this week. 
• I also benched Dragic this week because he only played 2 games and one of those games was tonight against Memphis (Mike Conley). I went with 4 games from Devin Harris. Well, I can say I'm not overly impressed with Harris this week. He was OK tonight but I'm not sure he's gonna survive the week.
• I read a recent Grantland article about which guys might get traded after December 15th. One of the guys on the list was Jason Thompson in Sacramento. He's an OK forward who is who he is and he's blocking the development of Thomas Robinson. It will be interesting to see if Sacramento makes any moves and if T-Rob gets a chance to play. I've held on to him this long I may as well let this play out.
• Ersan Ilyasova is getting better. He's finally found a rhythm it looks like. It would be nice if he could get a few more minutes still.
• The much anticipated fart off between Brussels and Golden in PDX never really got off the ground. Both of us had our moments where we could really taste the odor but I think we'd have to call it a draw in terms of overall quality. Very disappointing in that regard.
• The much hyped all you can drink at Embassy Suites lived up to the legend and Timmy and I got snottered on Friday night. Then we hit the Mexican food cart for a dozen chicken tacos. Oh yeah. Gooned + Chicken Tacos = Yummy Heaven.
• Golden had 97 rebounds tonight with 12 guys playing. Impressive.
• Jason Maxiell already has 40 blocks this year in 24 games. Last year he had 50 blocks in 65 games. So, did he learn to jump this off season? What gives?
• Who is the best fantasy player? Lebron or Durant? What an awesome discussion topic.
• Kevin Love, despite averaging 21 and 14, continues to struggle with his shot. Tonight he was 3/17 from the field. He lost the head to head match up vs. the Manimal (26-14). 
• How does Phoenix beat Memphis? Makes no sense.
• Why does JaVale McGee continue to get limited minutes? Tonight he played just 16 minutes. I'm sure Benny would like to talk to George Karl about that rotation. 
• The Hawks are now 13-6. I have to say I didn't think they would be this good. They really don't have a go-to scorer. They must play wicked defense. Josh has certainly turned it around after his very slow start. I'm still glad I made the move for Westy though (even though I hate his game) as I needed his scoring. Timmy and I watched the OKC vs. Laker game on Friday night in Portland. Westy had 27 points at half time and finished with just 34 (or something like that). I think he's actually too athletic. Hear me out. When he takes a jump shot he actually jumps too high. He can't help himself. He's going so fast that he can't control himself when he takes off. It's not a pretty stroke by any means.
• The Lakers are now 9-13. Crazy.
• With Christmas just around the corner it's almost time to start looking at some of the cheaper keeper options for next season. Who has the best keepers? Who will be a buyer and who will be a seller. How many teams are still title contenders? All of us?? I think so. But some are obviously more urgent to make positive moves than others I would say. Who are the undervalued guys? I think this will be the focus of my next JBL posting - whenever that may. 

So for now, I say good night.