A week where I really started to hate my decision to trade Calderon for MKG. The kid is going to find himself plastered to the bench this coming week I think.
A week that saw the Offs take the lead. Benny's squad continues to look strong behind the play of Durant and company. While the breakout play of George, Mayo, and Ed Davis continues to marvel - it's the role guys like Aminu and Matt Barnes that really impresses me. Barnes has been in the league a long time now but his fantasy numbers this year have been eye popping. His percentages are 49/36; he' scoring 11ppg with 5 reb; and most importantly he has 49 steals and 37 blocks. Very nice indeed.
Arctic has solidified a grasp in the money spots for now behind the stellar guard play or Steph Curry, Tony Parker, and Monta Ellis. Again, Crikker can breathe deeply that Curry's ankle injury didn't last more than 2 games. Arctic does have 2 guys waiting in the wings that could have an impact in the 2nd half of the season. Bogut has been injured all year and contributed nothing as of yet. As well, Derrick Favors is just waiting for Millsap or Big Al to get traded by the Feb 21 deadline. If one of them goes - expect this youngster to be unleashed.
The Kok saw the healthy return of John Wall this week and rumors are that Bynum isn't far behind. The Kok needs to see if he's a contender or if he's just the best of the middle-of-the-pack teams. A healthy Bynum would certainly help answer that question. The Kok is currently 5th but it's his lack of steals (13th) that could be troublesome. The bright side of that is knowing that the Wack is in 1st place despite being dead last in ATO. So, it can be done.
The Seoul squad climbed to 6th place this week and is starting to put the pressure on his AP buddy. Of course, Seoul getting Calderon (22 and 9 today Phil!) for a rookie-walled MKG was quite the steal. The Brothers don't score much but I can see his %'s climbing all the time. It helps when he's able to light a fire under Landry Fields' ass to the tune of 18 and 10 with 4 steals today. Don't count this team out yet of making a run in the 2nd half of the season.
As usual, the Pimps continue to score (1st) and steal (2nd) while continuing to struggle in every other category ( 11-10-12-13-6). Not much more I can say about this squad. He's got all the 'names' but not the categories.
With the halfway point in the NBA season upon us and the NBA All-Star game about one month away it's time to start thinking about keepers for next season. It doesn't really matter where you are in the standings it's always good to think about it. That's part of the strategy and beauty of the JBL (or any dynasty league). How can I win this year and next and the one after that? That's the key. So, who are the best keepers? I'll have a quick scan of the rosters....here we go.
Kenneth Faried - the dude is a Manimal.
Evan Turner - he's struggling right now but has improved in 2012/13
Taj Gibson - he would be awesome if the Bulls moved Boozer
Andrew Bynum - if only he had good knees
Damian Lillard - he'll be in Brussels forever
Nikola Vucevic - could he actually be the best big man keeper?
Paul George - the new Shawn Marion
OJ Mayo - his big year in Dallas should land him a big fat contract
Andre Drummond - kid looks legit - now only if DET would play him
Derrick Rose - unquestionably the #1 keeper ever and will likely have a new rule named after him
Nikola Pekovic - he's fun to root for that's for sure
James Harden - top notch scorer
George Hill - breakout season in INDY
Kemba Walker - much improved in year 2
Larry Sanders - who woulda thunk it? The kids is a block shot beast
Brook Lopez - totally under-rated and under priced in my opinion
Anthony Davis - the next Tim Duncan?
Kyrie Irving - doesn't get a lot of attention but kid can play
Greivis Vasquez - another breakout PG
That's quite a lengthy list of potential keepers. Many teams have several good keepers so I'm wondering how much movement will be made by All-Star weekend. If I had to put a top 5 keeper list together right now I would go with (in no particular order)....
Derrick Rose, Nikola Vucevic, Paul George, Anthony Davis, and James Harden. Tough call on the last one actually because as good as Harden is - his %'s kill you. That being said, $18 bucks for the #5 scorer in the NBA is pretty damn good.
Anyways, that's a definite poll question in the coming weeks.
Also, I really think we should vote on 2 rule changes for next season at some point...
1) The Derrick Rose rule - certain players will be deemed 'unprotectable' on draft night to avoid the situation with Derrick Rose this year. This was the way it used to be maybe 7-8 years ago and I'm fine with it coming back.
2) Reduce maximum roster size to 15 players and eliminate the IR spot. This puts more guys back into the FA pool and adds a level of strategy/assessment for JBL owners. Do they want to hold onto an injured guy all year?? The other part of this rule would be the $300 dollar hard cap. Right now, you can go over $300 because we don't count the injured players salary against the cap (check out the Kok's roster right now for this example). In future state, we would have 15 players, regardless of injury status and you couldn't exceed the $300 salary cap. I think it adds a nice wrinkle.
Alright, that's it for me tonight. Enjoy week 13...
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