The 20% Check-in

Well, here we are. Almost 20% of the way into the 20/21 NBA season. How’s it going so far? Well, I think we all had hopes of an amazing JBL XXX with gummy bears and whisky at endless supply. Instead, every week has been a battle. A struggle to find 12 healthy guys to get into your active roster. A challenge to find that perfect Free Agent who is ready to breakout. And a frustration to hear about another player going down to ‘health and safety protocols’.

 

So, there are a couple of things that these factors all add up to:

1) These challenges make the weekly grind of the JBL very difficult and enjoyable.

2) These challenges mean that the JBL is far from over

 

Some of us have been JBL’ing for a couple of decades now and we can see the trends and how things are shaking out. I use the term ‘shaking’ as a reminder to the Wack, Bangkok and French that they owe some shotguns on the feed. In a normal year, this is a two team race, Brussels is 300 points clear of 3^rd and almost 400 points clear of 4^th and the rest of the pack. Normally, even at this stage of the season, this is a sign of the end. That everyone else would be fighting for the top 4. But not 20/21…

 

This season, from week to week, we have no idea when covid will strike. It’s ruthless and shows no bias or preference. Anyone, anywhere, anytime. And because of that, it continues to change the playing field. Look at how many man-games have been lost already. Look at how many make-up games will be happening at the back end of the NBA schedule. So, this year is like no other. It’s not over. Not yet.

 

Now, all that said, make no bones about it…Brussels is the favourite to win it all as it currently stands. His top 6 are playing fabulous and his depth guys are performing very well. So far, for the most part, this team has been quite healthy. Let’s see if they can keep it up.

 

OK, so, like I said, we’re about 1/5^th of the way through the JBL 30 season so let’s have a glance at how all the JBL teams are doing with some quick thoughts on everyone. And I will point out, that at the time of this posting, 5^th to 13^th in the JBL standings is separated by just 112 points.

 **** STANDINGS BASED ON MONDAY, JANUARY 18TH ****

1^st place – Brussels – 1175 points

·   Keepers Doncic and Wood have been nothing short of spectacular

·   Big dollar auction guys (Kawhi, PG13, Sabonis, VanVleet) have been playing extremely well

·   Mikal Bridges having a breakout season at an undervalued price

·   Garland was trending up before his injury

·   A strong team across all categories. 7^th in steals is the low point so yes, Brussels is having a dream season so far

·   I am a huge fan of the guys that Brussels is taking chances on – Giles, Claxton, and Vanderbilt (aka The Vandalorian – check out his stats today). Risk v reward and if one of them pans out – that’s always fun!

·   Not much to say about this team other than it’s really, really good. A good top 6 and some strong role players getting stats across all 7 categories.

 

2^nd place – French Lick – 1080 points

·   CJ McCollum was the highest priced guy at auction and he’s performing at an all-NBA level so far. The recent foot injury could be cause for concern. Check out CJ’s ATO so far this season.

·   The 2 big Celtic keepers have been amazing – with Jaylen Brown being almost as good (and maybe better) than Tatum so far this season. Having them at bargain prices always helps. As I’ve said many times, the key to success in the JBL is having great keepers.

·   Can we say Simmons has been a bit disappointing so far? This is Simmons final year as a keeper and I’m interested to see what he goes for at auction next year.

·   I think CP3, Jordan, and Draymond are likely disappointments so far for French

·   The TJ Warren injury is challenging this team’s depth

·   Will Porzingis be able to stay healthy and provide big numbers?

·   This team is still strong across all categories with his weakest being a 7^th place effort in rebounds. A return to form for the Unicorn and Draymond would certainly help out here.

 

3^rd place – Seoul – 889 points

·   The top of the 2^nd tier of teams – or maybe Woo has his own tier at this stage? I think, as it currently stands, Seoul is well positioned to be the 3^rd best team this season. Everyone else now appears to be fighting for 4th. The question is can Seoul still challenge French and Brussels?

·   Tobias has been as boring as usual but he always plays well under Doc Rivers. He’s a 6-cat guy

·   Zion is averaging 22 and 8 quite easily and his only drawbacks are lack of blocks and ATO

·   Scary Terry, a late night $1 dollar auction pickup, has been stellar. 20ppg and fantastic %’s

·   Collins has been a major disappointment for ATL and Seoul

·   Seoul’s ATO continues to be an issue (14^th) but at this point he might as well punt it and see if he can improve in other areas.

·   Mitchell scores. That’s it. Is he really a 1 category guy already?

·   Patty Mills was a great FA signing and I do like the long term potential of Saddiq Bey

·   Will Seoul be able to save Lord Covington? What happened to this guy?

 

4^th place – Bellingham – 787 points

·   Definitely the most surprising team of the season so far

·   Breakout seasons from Chris Boucher and Jerami Grant are the major reasons behind it

·   Beal, Curry, Hayward have all been very good as expected. I didn’t expect to see Beal averaging 35ppg.

·   What will Jarrett Allen do in Cleveland? How long will they timeshare with Drummond? If this kid could get 30+ minutes I think he’ll be a monster.

·   The Ham N Eggers have started to struggle a bit in steals and rebounds. Getting Kevin Love back might help with the boards but is he another one of these aging veterans who is just “done”?

·   I like some of the young guys potential here – Avdija, Roby, and Horton-Tucker – all have potential if they can find the minutes.

·   Dillon Brooks has cooled (no iced) off since his hot start. His %’s are killer and as a fan of the Grizzlies I really wish they would find someone better.

·   Happy to see this team performing well above early projections

 

5^th place – Juan de Fuca – 730 points

·   A strong performance so far considering all the man games missed.

·   Michael Porter Jr, Sexton, Westy, Hachimura, and now LeVert all missing time for one reason or another

·   Loving Sexton’s game as a scorer so far

·   The biggest surprise for me on this team (and maybe in the NBA) has been the play of Julius Randle. 23-11 and shooting over 50%. Let’s hope Thibs doesn’t burn out his starters

·   Juan’s had great success on the FA wire with the signings of Jackson, Maxey, and Dort. Will Okoro be the next big find?

·   DeVonte Graham and Lou Williams have to be the biggest disappointments for me – with Devonte shooting 31/32 and Lou down to just 9.3ppg

·   It will be interesting to see what this team can do if they ever get 12 healthy guys playing in a week

 

6^th place – Norfolk – 720 points

·   A couple of the big boys (Drummond and Lillard) are doing just as expected. Good things.

·   A few more of the big boys (Booker, Young, Oubre) would have to be considered disappointments

·   That whole ATL situation is killing Trae’s numbers. According to some JBL experts – he was going to average 34 PPG EASY. He’s at 23ppg.

·   The %’s and ATO are not good right now in Norfolk but he certainly can’t blame his FG% on the strong performances of Kanter, Portis and Harrell

·   I think the biggest concern would be the play of Kelly Oubre. Maybe his focus is on this lawsuit/extortion claim - https://www.tmz.com/2021/01/15/kelly-oubre-claims-lawsuit-ex-girlfriend-attempted-extortion-3-million-dollars/

·   Cole Anthony shoots like his dad. Poorly.

 

7^th place – Idaho – 720 points

·   Idaho quickly righted the ship, in my opinion, by trading Westy away for Myles and Fultz. That went to shit when Fultz tore his ACL – which is too bad because that kid had gone through a lot.

·   Turner’s 4.1 blocks per game is an insane number so far. To put this in perspective, the Jizzlies have 57 blocks TOTAL – while Myles has 49 by himself!

·   I think the majority of this team would be considered underachievers in Idaho’s eyes. Ayton, Markkanen, Gallinari, and Richardson – I think we all expected more.

·   Not having Jaren Jackson Jr yet definitely hurts.

·   Idaho’s taking a major flier on Whiteside – might pan out if Walton gets fired; Bagley gets moved; or Whiteside gets traded. So, we’ll see how this one plays out. I think we know the kind of dude Whiteside is though as he put up monster numbers last season – yet when it came time to play bubble-ball – the Blazers started Nurkic even though he hadn’t played a game in 9 months.

·   I think Ingram and Conley have been very good and we know this roster will continue to evolve over the coming months

·   The %’s continue to be an issue but let’s see if those can be turned around

 

8^th place – Bangkok – 697 points

·   Giannis is going Giannis things. Being really good

·   Jrue is actually a better fantasy player in Milwaukee even though he is scoring less and taking fewer shots

·   The young wings for the Kok have be nice surprises. Keldon Johnson, DeAndre Hunter and Lonnie Walker have all provided valuable contributions so far

·   The Headmaster Jamal Murray has been OK. He certainly hasn’t carried over his bubble level of play though

·   Siakam can be good one night and disappear the next. But we all know the Kok loves him.

·   Getting Shake and Biyombo improves the depth of this team and makes sense to make that move now

·   The Anthony Edwards trade has been ___________. You guys can fill in the blank here.

·   Wiseman looks like he could be really good. He’s already at 11-6 while shooting 49% and getting 1.6 blocks. And this is all in JUST 20 minutes a game. The kid needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble though

 

9^th place – Golden – 685 points

·   Where to begin? How about the poor play of LaMarcus Aldridge. At some point, all these ‘old’ guys have that season. The one where they just can’t play anymore. This is it for LA12. Sad. He looks fat and out of shape – just like his JBL owner.

·   Evan Fournier has had back spasms for 3 weeks? Come on dude! WTH? I’m not buying it. Something else is going on.

·   Nurkic breaks his wrist – out 8 weeks? The poor guy is cursed. He certainly did not have the bubble magic back either though.

·   Derrick White, recovering from fractured toe surgery, returns to the lineup only to find out he fractured another toe!!! You can’t make this stuff up.

·   I’ve been happy with DeRozan and SGA – despite them missing some games.

·   My keeper Brandon Clarke has been disappointing. In hindsight, I clearly should have protected VanVleet. I had a man-crush on Brandon because he’s a Canadian and on the Grizz – but I was hoping for more.

·   My rookie pick Haliburton has done very well so far. He reminds me a lot of SGA in how he appears to be playing in slow motion. I like him a lot.

·   Bam has been good but again missed time due to covid protocols. I know he’s taking some flack as his numbers don’t pop off the page. I think his value in real life might be higher than it is in fantasy. How many teams wouldn’t trade their center to get their hands on Bam? He’s just 23.

·   Seth Curry was playing amazing until he got covid. Stay home Seth and wear a mask!

·   Darius Bazley was hyped up for a breakout season and he’s been a MAJOR disappointment.

·   A pre-season title contender, I will now have to downgrade that based on the injuries and disappointing seasons some of these guys are having

 

10^th place – Cali – 659 points

·   Cali is 1^st in both FG% and 3PT% but 13^th in points and 14^th in steals

·   Durant for $52 seems like a bargain now. He’s averaging 31ppg, 7reb, and shooting 55% and 48%. Wow. Can he keep those numbers up now that the Beard is in town?

·   While Anthony Davis’s numbers aren’t eye-popping (22 and 8) the most impressive thing, to me, is that he’s playing games and not resting every other night.

·   Clint Capela got off to a slow start but is rounding into shape nicely (12ppg, 13reb, 58%)

·   It will be interesting to see what Oladipo does in Houston? More shots? Less shots? He’s been pretty good statistically so far this season.

·   Cali has some very good young talent ready to breakout. The TimeLord Robert Williams is screaming to be a stocks monster and I think everyone knows the man-crush I have on rookie Patrick Williams.

·   Cali has become a very happy place for NBA role players – Royce O’Neale, Justin Holiday, Cam Johnson, etc. Maybe they like the laid back lifestyle and access to the beach?

·   This will be a fun team to watch over the coming months as the projections show this to be a very balanced team.

 

11^th place – Vancouver – 642 points

·   This team is led by the 2 giants – Embiid and Jokic. Both MVP candidates so far this season. Both averaging 25 and 11 with Embiid getting the blocks and Joker getting the ATO. Amazing years for both so far.

·   They are getting Kemba Walker back now so he should help out in scoring, steals, and ATO

·   The other 2 high priced guys (Griffin $24 and Payton $23) would likely be disappointments based on years gone by and expectations

·   This is another team getting lots from unheralded fantasy players. Jordan Clarkson and Harrison Barnes have both been quite good.

·   Monte Morris, PJ Tucker, and Kelly Olynyk, Kyle Anderson, and others have all taken turns with prominent moments

·   Coby White looks like an All Star some nights and then at other times looks lost. He isn’t 21 yet.

·   The injury to Bogdan Bogdanovic hurts but he hadn’t really gotten on track yet. The whole ATL situation continues to be a mess.

·   Let’s see where this team can go with a healthy Kemba and Bogie and an improving Coby White

 

12^th place – Chilliwack – 620 points

·  If you thought the Golden list of injuries/excuses was long – buckle up.

·  Towns is snake bit. Injures his wrist and then gets covid?

·  Ja Morant missed time but appears ready to make that 2nd year leap. Again, I love this Grizzlies squad. 

·   James Harden wanted a trade. He was fat. Or was he? Did he fake it all to get him traded?

·   https://www.awesemo.com/sideaction/did-james-harden-somehow-fake-being-fat-to-get-traded-bjs/

·  Overall, I still like the looks of this squad. Even in 12^th – the Wack is just 120 points from 5^th. He could be there tomorrow.

·   The Wack is the Kings – with Fox, Buddy and Holmes leading the charge.

·   This team has some recognizable names just trying to contribute (Millsap, Boogie, Rubio, Rose, Favors). This is a bit of an ‘aged’ roster but again, in my view, are capable of easily climbing the rankings if they could ever get (and stay) healthy.

 

13^th place – Arctic – 618 points

·   Again, just 112 points from 5^th!!!

·   The Arctic leads the JBL in Free Agent players with now 9 on their roster.

·   The star of the show continues to be Nicola Vucevic (23-11, 51/42) – which is a bit odd to say considering this roster also has Kyrie and Rudy Gobert on it. Vooch is just as consistent as they come. Night in and night out – he gets you the numbers. Bravo.

·   Imagine if Kyrie wanted to play and put up the kind of numbers he is capable of?

·   Larry Nance Jr. remembered how to steal the ball. He has 31 steals in 13 games.

·   Wiggins and D-Lo can score but they don’t provide much else. Although Wiggins is now a blocks guy? Who knew?

·   The Tyler Herro bubble breakout, like many others, has not carried over exactly as planned. He’s still putting up 17ppg but his 3PT% has been off

·   The rest of this squad is a mixed bag of aging veterans (Carmelo/Gay) to surprising youngsters (Quickley/Reddish/Huerter) trying to provide fantasy stats for the coldest team in the JBL (at least we know how they stay warm in the Arctic)

 

14^th place – Maui – 478 points

·   Our only JBL XXX theme team finds themselves in the basement so far. Again, credit to Trevor for giving it a go but theme teams are a tough journey in a normal year yet alone during a pandemic.

·   Losing Thomas Bryant to a gruesome knee injury did not help. Missing games from your best player (Jimmy B) also doesn’t help. Rebounding and blocks was always going to be an issue with this B-build.

·   Malcolm Brogdon has been amazing and I’m impressed with Malik Beasley’s scoring.

·   LaMelo is the prize addition to the squad. Yes, he can’t shoot, but he’s already averaging 12ppg, 7reb, 1.5 steals and 2.87 ATO in just 25 minutes a game. At some point, the Hornets will have to unleash him.

·   The goal/challenge for Maui is to finish anywhere but 14^th so he gets a keeper or two and because of the limitations on his build Maui will have to ignore rebounds, blocks and FG% and see if he can improve in the other 4 categories.

·   Can this team move up? Yes, based on projections – there is that chance. And we still have a long way to go.

 

There it is gents. The 20% review. Hope you enjoyed some light reading.