Week 2 in JBL 31....

 I thought I would put some thoughts together of what's going on around the JBL world. 

• This Arctic squad is off to a nice start. I thought all those $1 dollar guys would cause some trouble but the reality is that guys like Rubio, Gordon and Mills have all provided decent value. Rubio is a really nice backup PG in Cleveland and putting up some really good fantasy numbers. I always liked the Spaniard. Although Eric Gordon is shooting 54/56 so we know where those %’s will ultimately end up. 
• For all the AD hate the big man is at 28-11 and 2 blocks. Arctic makes him sleep outside for the cold therapy.
• Arctic acquired Tyrese Maxey from Brussels to complete the trade for his #8 rookie draft pick (Alperen Sengun). This was the right call as Maxey is putting up 14ppg and it doesn’t look like Big Ben is coming back to Philly anytime soon.
• Imagine if TJ Warren and Kyrie came back – say in the next month or so – this team could actually be a bit of a sleeper in the standings.
• I like Jalen Green. You can see the potential 20+ppg just oozing out of him. Uber athlete and was obviously the key to the KD deal. A super-keeper for years to come in Arctic.
• While it doesn’t equate to JBL fantasy numbers, Davion Mitchell (Off Night) is already locking down opponents. What a defender. Fun kid to watch play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdsEvU3p5Qw

• The Bangkok squad can score and rebound. Probably even better than the Kok thought. It’s the other categories causing issues so far.
• Lot of guys, taking a lot of shots, struggling to hit the mark. Dejounte (37%), Edwards (41%), Mitchell (39%), Barrett (39%), Harris (34%) all shooting blanks. The good news is that they will all get better.
• Herro has been the real surprise for me. 21 and 7 (yet 43/31 shooting) is impressive. 6^th Man candidate?
• Is Anthony Edwards the #1 guy in Minny now? He’s taking the most shots. He’s fearless. And his interviews are funny. I can see why the Kok likes the kid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn7Zj-8BmaY
• Wendell Carter Jr is off to a nice start. 13 and 9 with some blocks. Golden had eyes on him in the draft and I believe was in on the bidding for a long time. 
• Scottie Barnes, while probably barely meeting Kok’s lofty expectations, has exceeded mine. I did not expect 17 and 8 on 54% shooting. All the pre-draft hype was hard worker, great defender, could be a Draymond-type – but he can’t shoot. So far, he’s doing a nice job. Can he stay this productive when Siakam returns? Would the Kok dare to turn him into other assets from the Raptor fanatics 
• That 3^rd Center spot is a bit of a conundrum right now. Naz Reid or Brandon Clarke or Jaxson Hayes. Kok needing one of them to step up.

• Bellingham’s main man James Harden is averaging 16-8-7? Huh? Are the new rules (jumping into a defender to draw fouls) really causing that much of an issue? I’ve read that he didn’t do much over the summer due to the hamstring injury. It seems like the perfect time to go out and get Harden as he probably won’t play much worse that he is right now. Could Ham turn Harden’s potential into multiple assets in a trade?
• Cole Anthony’s been a pleasant surprise. 17ppg and 7 rebounds? Can he continue this pace when Fultz comes back?
• Saddiq Bey at 18 and 10. Very nice start to the year without Cade around in Detroit.
• Sabonis is earning his $50 dollar price tag. 
• The Marcus Smart for Harrison Barnes trade hasn’t worked out well so far. Although Barnes shouldn’t be that good and Smart cannot shoot 25% and 24% all year. 
• Bellingham holding 2 potential fantasy assets in Thad Young and Marvin Bagley. Surely both the Spurs and Kings are looking for deals – what about a trade for each other? Kings get a veteran forward who can play some D and the Spurs get a young big man that Pop can mold. I guess the Kings would want some other assets since they did pick Marvin over Luka and Trae. The question is how long can Ham wait for these guys to get some playing time? 

• Brussels is still patiently, or not so patiently waiting for the Ben Simmons saga to resolve. Simmons represents 17% of the Brussels $260 budget and is just there, just sitting…waiting…
• Jakob Poeltl is the breakout Center of the season (no offense Mo Bamba). I didn’t expect him to be averaging 16-11, shooting 72%, have a good ATO and getting 1+ steal and block per game. Nice keeper Timmy.
• The Cam Reddish experiment is still going OK so far. 15ppg and decent 3PT% - can it last? Golden and Arctic went thru Reddish periods last season. 
• All the big boys are performing well – Luka, LaVine, OG, Wood, Bridges – so the team is hanging tough without their highest priced player yet.
• Jalen Suggs is slowly starting to turn it around. 11pg. 1+ steal. But that 29% and 21% need to improve. 
• Aside from Simmons, Brussels also has Markelle Fultz and Chuma Okeke, his MAGIC boys, waiting to return from injury. Both would provide even more options for the defending champs. 

• How is my Cali theme team doing? Quite well actually. The team is off to a very strong start in most categories. When you have Joker and Giannis that can be a very easy thing to do. But strong contributions from Buddy, Fournier, and Timelord have also been key.
• Some medical signs starting to pop up which will certainly test the teams depth at some positions. But so far so good for this bunch. And it’s easy to tell which free agent Internationals might end up here when they get hot. 
• Fournier at 19ppg with great %’s and steals is obviously loving all of those Thibs minutes. A bargain price too at just $13 bucks. And I believe he’s fixed that dreaded hairline. Just shave it off my friend. It cannot be salvaged. https://www.dexerto.com/nba-2k/new-york-knicks-player-shocked-by-how-he-looks-in-nba-2k-1639146/
• Good production from the role players early on – Ingles, Markannen, and Bjelica. We’ve already seen some decline in Bjelica and the current Cali bench (Dragic, Poku, Tristan) doesn’t scream confidence to me. Something to watch here if injuries ever mount. 
• Timelord really is special. 5 games. 10ppg. 72% shooting. 9 rebounds. 6 steals. 16 blocks. 1.800 ATO. Yummy yummy. 

• The Wack is off to a great start. He made 2 fantastic trades early on (getting Durant for Green/Haliburton and then Barnes for Smart). Both have worked out in his favour so far.
• Durant is 30 and 10 and healthy; Morant is 30ppg, shooting 56% and 46% and getting steals; and Hairy Barnes is 27 and 10. While some regression is obviously expected you just ride the wave. 
• This team has some underachievers as well. Which could be bad for the rest of the JBL if they wake up. Lord Covington is averaging 4 and 5. PJ Washington is 6 and 5. Jerami Grant is shooting 36%. Bam’s ATO is negative. Nerlens Noel hasn’t even played. If some of those guys turn it around, or start playing, look out JBL’ers. 
• Why can’t the Nets just play Claxton? I like the kid. He’s talented. 
• Another Off I really like is Jae’Sean Tate. Swiss army knife. Big fan. Nice get for $9 bucks. 
• Speaking of $9 bucks, Harrison Barnes is just $9 and having a career year. Does Benny try and sell high? Idaho – remember – buy high. 

• Next week I’ll be doing updated Power Rankings, but for now, this French Lick squad appears to be the new #1 title contender. But there are 2 key components to that ranking. A healthy LeBron and CP3. The King has already missed 2 games so I’m sure French is watching closely. I would never wish ill-will on any player – but French is rolling the dice a bit with these 2 aging Hall of Famers. If they missed some time it would likely keep the race a lot closer in the long run. 
• French is a big team. 3 guys averaging 10+ rebounds and another couple at 8+ right now. 
• Loved the Grizzly Adams pick. While he doesn’t block much he’s definitely found new life in Memphis. 11 and 11, 54% shooting; 2.000 ATO and 3 steals in 4 games. Love him.
• This is another team doing very well despite missing a couple of key guys. Norm Powell has been out and TJ McConnell is underachieving. 
• This French dynasty team will be losing 2 core guys at the end of this season. Both Jaylen Brown and Jaysom Tatum will be going back to Auction. They were instrumental in providing value WAY beyond their JBL price. This has to be one of the better times that drafting guys from your favourite team has really worked out. Well done Frenchie. 
• It doesn’t even really phase me anymore to say that this is the team to beat. French is a dynasty. If the Godfather is the OG – then French is the Now G? We’re smack dab in the middle of his dynasty. It’s his JBL and we’re just living in it. He’s not going anywhere. It’s going to take some hard work and research to get the guys on our teams to beat this squad. Good luck JBL’ers. Let’s go get him.

• I’m scared to admit that I actually like the ‘names’ on this Golden roster. I landed a lot of my targets on draft night. I somehow managed to see the Auction board through the fart-stench and fog that Maui and I produced in that Fairmont hotel room. Amazing what hot wings; coke bottles; wine gums; chocolate buttons; wasabi peas; sunflower seeds and other snacks can create in my system. STANK
• To say the shooting got off to a rocky start is an understatement. Lillard went 0/9, 2/7 and 0/8 from downtown in his first 3 games. Middleton is 7/28 from downtown. So there is room for improvement in 3PT% that’s for sure.
• What can I say about Miles Bridges? He was a target of mine in that $10-$15 range. So were guys like Tate or PJ Washington or Barnes or Saddiq Bey. I ended up with Miles and it’s worked out. I expect a big regression when Scary Terry comes back but I enjoy watching the Hornets play so I will ride the wave with Miles. While it has no relevancy whatsoever to JBL fantasy - have you seen him dunk? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_5MIK0KfJ8
• Brandon Ingram was another guy I was targeting since Chubby Zion was having foot issues. I thought Ingram would be able to put up some good numbers to start the year. Watching him he’s definitely put some weight on over the summer. He’s following the Johnny/Trev draft night eating plan as promised so he’s definitely getting some meat on those bones. Now if he could just steal and block a little bit more. 
• So far I’m digging my potential 3-headed Center plan – Nurkic, Holmes, Stewart. I will admit that Wendell Carter Jr was VERY high on my draft board but I had to overpay for Beef Stew cause I needed the boards/blocks. If one of them goes down, Golden will be scrambling for boards and blocks.

• OK, so I ranked Idaho 11^th in the pre-season poll. Since then, only one trade (Alexander-Walker in, Kuminga out), and he’s only signed Huerter and Love. Not 2013 Kevin Love, current day Love. So why am I so bullish on this team? I like the potential and would rank them higher than 11^th now. We all know the trades are coming. No one sends more offers out than Idaho. He’s clearly quantity over quality. But we know at some point, one of us is going to hit ‘Accept’ and the snowball begins to manifest. There are plenty of other teams out there that should be looking at shaking things up. Idaho just needs to find a dance partner. 
• And let’s face it, Idaho has LOTS of guys that should be in high demand as keepers for next season. Kawhi and Jamal Murray are the star attractions. Oladipo, Duarte, and Giddey are also potentially great options too. I’m not sure Idaho should trade them ALL away – but if he gets some ‘now’ assets he could climb the ladder.
• Idaho’s struggling because his big boys can’t shoot. Porzingis 30%, Fox 37%, Bazley 39%, NAW 35%, Booker 41%, Duarte 41%. And don’t even get me started about the 3PT%. 
• Rudy Gobert has been amazing. Is he the most reliable fantasy stud? Boring. Simple. You know what you’re going to get year in and year out.
• How many Kemba offers have been made? Seriously? Has every team received one? Could it be approaching 100? Love the effort.

• Juan de Fuca has been hanging around the mid-pack so far this year. Some good categories, some not-so-good categories. The good stuff has clearly been provided by Chef Curry on a nightly basis. He’s just so fun to watch. 29ppg, 8reb, 1.8 steals, 40% from downtown on 11 attempts. Studly stuff
• I’ve been very impressed with Franz Wagner to date. I guess I was tainted by his brother so I wasn’t expecting much. Franz is clearly the better bro. Pretty solid numbers across the board. Almost, dare I say almost, a 7 category contributor for fantasy. Great keeper potential here.
• Tim Hardaway is another who is off to an impressive start. 18ppg and shooting 51/46.
• I was surprised that Hassan Whiteside went at auction (even for $1) but he’s actually put up 8 and 7 with 1.3 blocks and shooting 64% on limited attempts. Always nice to have a cheap source of blocks around
• Michael Porter Jr is NOT off to a good start. Everyone anticipated big things with Murray out but he’s mired in a shooting slump (35/32) and only scoring 11ppg. We all know he’ll turn it around. 
• I really liked the FA signings of Ish Smith and Anfernee Simons. Both are solid backup options that can fill in when necessary.
• I still think Juan is just maybe a class below the title contenders at this time. Some work to do to get into that title conversation I think. 

• Maui is still in 1^st place, north of 1100 points and their worst category is currently 8^th in FG%. My projections show this is Maui’s main weakness but if they could stay mid-table in FG% they are going to be in the mix I think. Maui is top 3 in five of the seven categories, including 1^st in steals and 1^st in blocks, so this is a stocks dominant team and I’m looking forward to see how they fare this season.
• Maui has 9 players averaging 2+ stocks per game. That’s insane. 
• This is a well balanced team with ultimately 16 guys who could be active any given week. Only one 20ppg at the moment (DeRozan) but there is LaMelo and Embiid and Bane all averaging around 19ppg. 
• This team has 3 guys averaging over 2.0 steals per game (Lonzo, LaMelo and Bledsoe). Pretty impressive. Can I just say how good the Balls have been. Wouldn’t you want a couple of Balls on your team? Let’s look at their numbers side by side:
• LaMelo  5 G  19.6 ppg  6 reb 43% FG 46% 3PT 10 stl  1 blk   2.142 ATO
• Lonzo   5 G  12.6 ppg  6 reb 43% FG 39% 3PT   8 stl  8 blk   2.000 ATO
• Needless to say, I’ve got Ball-envy. I love your Balls Maui.  
• Evan Mobley has been very impressive. He’s almost an automatic keeper as he’s averaging 14, 8, 1stl, 2blk, and shooting 50%. Like many rookies in Maui – we won’t see him back in auction for quite some time. He’ll be paired up with LaMelo and form part of Maui’s dynamic duo for years to come. 
• Speaking of dynamic duos, how about the 2 Grizz in Maui – Melton and Bane? Both off to amazing starts. Hopefully the Grizzlies have figured out they are better off with either Bane or Melton starting over Dillon Brooks. Have you seen Melton’s stocks? Good Canadian kid but he jacks some seriously bad shots..
• Draymond is rejuvenated it seems with the imminent return of Klay and GSW flying high. He’s up to 14 stocks in 5 games. He rebounds. Good ATO. And if French targets a guy – we should all be targeting the guy. 
• For everything that’s gone right in Maui, they can still get more from Kyle Lowry as he’s only put up 7ppg and is shooting 30% and 18%. 

• Ahh, Norfolk. I guess there will be numerous Chronicles this year discussing how the Doctor fell asleep at the Auction or wasn’t paying attention or was waiting for deep league bargains. Whatever it was, things haven’t gone great so far in Norfolk. Which by the very team name alone, kind of represents his hopes this year I think. 
• Did you know Norfolk is currently starting 4 players that average 6ppg or less? Sure, there are some potential underachievers in this group. You would think Portland will play Larry Nance more. Jaden McDaniels was on my list of deep sleepers as a potential breakout candidate. Andre Drummond rebounds, steals, blocks and shoots well – but he doesn’t score. And Davis Bertans has already been cast aside by Idaho only to land in Norfolk and still poop the bed. I’m thinking these guys will get better? Maybe? Hopefully?
• There is some good in Norfolk. The team is 3^rd in ATO. That’s good right.
• Beal is underachieving (20ppg on 33/16 – who does he think he is – Lillard?); Montrezl Harrell has been amazing 18ppg and 8reb while shooting 68%; and Trae is doing his usual putting up almost 27ppg despite some struggles from deep.
• Speaking of Montrezl, I’ll admit, I didn’t think protecting him for $30 bucks was good ‘value’, I thought he would go for less at Auction. But I was wrong, so far, because Harrell has been on fire. He’s back to his 6^th man Clipper-energy days and putting up monster lines. 
• The Patrick Williams injury news isn’t good for Norfolk obviously. While he wasn’t doing much, it’s still one less rotation guy available. He was playing 25 minutes so which player will soak those up? We do know however that with Williams’ inflated auction price he’s unlikely to stick around since he’s not a value keeper. 
• Precious Achiuwa was another good find and I think there was a lot of hype surrounding him after his good pre-season. He’s been good but can he keep it up when Siakam returns? 
• I feel like Norfolk’s auction was all about breakout candidates. Achiuwa, McDaniels, Jordan Poole, Wiseman, Isaac and Patrick Williams (most I had on my draft list as well) all had this hype around them as sleepers and guys to target at the end of the draft. And he drafted them near the end. It just appears that Norfolk forgot about the beginning and the middle of the draft though.  
• So let’s dive a little deeper and look at the draft results. With JBL keepers in place and rookies already on rosters – our JBL 31 Auction would see 167 players auctioned off. In the draft results section, under nomination order, you can see the order the players were nominated, which team won the bid, and the winning price/salary. So let’s look at how Norfolk attacked the draft and see what players he won the bids on in the draft. And let’s remember he already had Trae Young and Montrezl Harrell as keepers.
• Nominated player #8 – Bradley Beal 
• #54 – Andre Drummond
• #76 – Derrick Rose
• #90 – Cam Payne
• #97 – Reggie Jackson
• #99 – Jordan Poole
• #118 – Precious Achiuwa
• #124 – James Wiseman
• #125 – Jonathan Isaac
• #127 – Larry Nance Jr
• #129 – Patrick Williams
• #130 – Jaden McDaniels
• #151 – Kendrick Nunn
• So as you can see, it appears Norfolk was silent for a good hour or more in between picks 8 and 54. That’s a long wait and some really good guys going off the board. And then, he dominated the last 49 picks (drafting 7 guys) from pick 118 to 167. Like most auctions, for the most part, the BETTER players come up earlier, so it’s probably not the best plan to be drafting half your roster in the later rounds. Anyways, fascinating little review I thought. And as they say, only one way to go in the standings….UP.

• Did I miss something in my pre-season ranking of Seoul? Was I actually too high? I know my projections accounted for a healthy Zion – but this fall from grace is quite dramatic. On top of the Zion injury, Seoul was going to have to wait for Pascal Siakam as well. And then Terry Rozier went down. And then Jrue Holiday. And then Josh Hart. Then Marcus Morris. Then Malcolm Brogdon. 7 medical signs as I write this. That’s some tough luck to start the season. 
• All that said, there are still a lot of weeks to go. We know Seoul will be making some deals. He’ll have to. So I still would consider Seoul in the top 6 teams but he’s going to need a healthy Zion to have any chance of getting there.
• I’m surprised the Doctor didn’t end up getting breakout candidate extraordinaire in Mo Bamba. The $24 bucks has paid off as he’s at 14 and 8 with 1.6 blocks and shooting 54% and 41% from downtown. 
• Will Barton has been sneaky good while Clint Capela has been a disappointment. Jimmy Butler is like a fine wine and Malcolm Brogdon has exceeded expectations. For $18 bucks, Brogdon is performing very, very well. 
• Is Capela off to a slow start because of the lingering Achilles injury? Should this be a concern for Seoul? Should it be a concern for anyone making trade offers? Surely, ATL is just bringing him along slowly to make sure he can last the season. 
• It’s hard to say much more about this team right now due to all the injuries. It’s really about staying afloat and trying to stay in touch in the certain categories. None of the injuries sound serious so most of the guys should be back soon. The concern, of course, has to be with Zion. Without him this Seoul team won’t be a contender. And his trade value would be at an all-time low since no one knows how a 300 pound man can get past potential foot issues. Would someone swing for the fences and make a serious offer for Zion? He’s got 2 years left on his rookie deal so there should be no urgency for Seoul to move him. Will be interesting to see what the next update is on him as that might decide the next steps Seoul takes in JBL 31.

• The Jizzlies are smack dab in the middle of the standings again. They had that late season run last year to get into the top 8 and now they are hanging around with the big boys again. Well done to the boys in Vancouver.
• Things are going quite well so far considering they haven’t gotten anything from their prized rookie yet. Cade should be back soon and that will only help the cause. 
• CJ McCollum is playing so well that a couple things could happen. (1) He plays so well that the Blazers believe they are good enough as is and don’t trade him or (2) he plays so well that Darryl Morey caves and builds a trade around CJ so the 76ers can move on from Ben Simmons. Regardless, CJ is lighting the NBA so far and this is really good for the Jizzlies. 
• Jonas is another Pelican benefitting from Zion’s absence. He’s grabbing 15 boards a game while also chipping in with 17ppg. His buddy Devonte Graham is shooting really well (for him) at 44/40 and he’s been much better than I expected him to be. Zion’s absence means good things for his teammates. 
• I think we can agree that Vucevic is underachieving with just 14ppg and 11reb. Although those 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks sure are nice. But 40/21 are not good percentages for the 1^st overall nominated player in the JBL 31 auction. 
• Paul George had that 8 steal game and then had another 4 the next game. He’s up to 15 steals in 4 games and scoring 25ppg. Life without Kawhi sees the Clips at 1-3 and struggling to find some other fantasy stars.
• Jizz keepers Kyle Anderson and Jordan Clarkson have been major disappointments I would say. Kyle is 5 and 5 and only playing 20 minutes a night while Clarkson scores 17ppg but the supporting cats really aren’t that impressive.