Week 6 - Tendex Alert

Welcome to Week 6. Going to change it up a bit this week. 

Currently, with Golden’s shooting percentages in the tank and the team refusing to steal or block, the Godfather sits in reflection mode and a bit of the stormy angry 8 year old mode. You know, you’ve been there. Constantly asking why did I draft that guy? Why can’t Brandon Ingram steal? Why can’t Nurk or Holmes blocks shots? Why is Beef Stew so angry? Why is everyone getting injured? 

I’m having a bit of a moment here. My interest in reading every single box score in great detail is not there at the moment. It happens to most of us every year – the JBL doldrums where we feel everything is going against us. I’m there. Right now. I know, I know, Golden’s still at 800+ points and in contention – but we have high expectations in Golden – and the current formation of this roster is giving me doubts whether we can climb the mountain again this year. I’m giving myself a timeout. But, I will still find the time to provide some weekly banter in the Chronicles.

OK, rant over, let’s move on to this week’s topic.

So in my spare time I often peruse an old faithful site for NBA stats. Quick and easy format. Nothing fancy. Just stats. www.dougstats.com

We all know about in some shape or form because this is where Woo’s favourite tagline – TENDEX – comes from. In the early days of the internet (really dating myself writing that one), Doug’s was an easy place to go and get the latest year to date NBA stats – or quickly see how a player was trending over the last 10 games – or even better, it’s home for many years team NBA stats going back to 1988/89. So 30+ years of NBA stats in one place where you can quickly get all the NBA at your fingertips. AND…he has all the NBA draft results going back to 1976!!!   Come on – how cool is that. Trust me, if you haven’t visited or used this site – once you go there – you will be hooked. I still use this site almost on a daily basis because of how simple it is. Good old Doug’s.

If you read the Disclaimer on the site – here’s what you will find:

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Doug's Stats Disclaimer

These stats are provided as a hobby of mine. I can't guarantee correctness or timeliness of the statistics here (I'm not the world's best typist, and the sites that provide boxes and the local newspaper aren't always correct and complete). I try to keep up with mistakes and scorers's changes, but I count on you all to help me keep things correct. If these characteristics are important, you may want to try professional Web pages like ESPNNet, the Sports Network or USAToday.

I will try to cross-check my numbers about once a week to keep things close. As for timeliness, I will try to update every day or two given the limits I have on my personal time because of work, my children, etc.

Anyway, suggestions and corrections are ALWAYS ENCOURAGED.

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The guy’s name is Doug Steele and I almost feel like I should send him a THANK YOU message for all his years of NBA (and MLB) stats. I’m hoping he’s got everything automated and he’s still not manually entering stats. Could you imagine?

So, my focus for this week 6 article is going to be on the “Last 10 games” tab and look at one random stat from each NBA team. And of course, I will get some Tendex numbers into the mix as well. Ok, here we go…(as of November 23^rd)

 

Brooklyn – KD might be lacking the stocks (1 steal, 4 blocks) but in his last 9 games he’s shooting 53% - 46% - and 92% from the line. All while averaging 29ppg. No wonder his Tendex is 27.7

Boston – Dennis Schroder jumps out. 30/30 in free throws in his last 10 while scoring 22ppg. Guess he wants to try and earn that big contract again. Tendex just 16.6 though.

Charlotte – LaMelo! Tendex is 25. 20ppg, 41/37 shooting. 22 steals. 10 rebounds/game. 9 assists/game. Can’t get over how good he is.

Milwaukee – Bobby ‘Crazy Eyes’ Portis. 16ppg. 9reb. Shooting 50/46. 9 steals, 9 blocks. Tendex is almost 18. What a job he’s done filling in for Lopez.

Chicago – DeRozan continues to impress. 26ppg on 48% shooting. 45/25 ATO and 10 steals in his last 10.

Washington – Caldwell-Pope – the recent Brussels signing has 20 steals in his last 10 games. Sure, the 35/32 percentages aren’t great but those steals just popped off the page

Indiana – Myles Turner and his 15 tendex and those 32 blocks. He’s also shooting 50% from the field and 43% from downtown. FYI – the other 13 players on Indy have a combined 41 blocks over the last 10 games.

Miami – PJ Tucker – the recent Maui signing has put up 9ppg and 7reb over the last 10 games. Nothing earth shattering but when you add in 65% shooting and 14/24 (58%) from downtown – now you’ve peaked my interest

Atlanta – Trae is heating up. 27 and 9 assists. Shooting is 47-43-91. 9 steals in his last 10 games. He’s certainly on a hot streak.

Cleveland – Darius Garland – one of the few pleasant surprises in Golden as he’s averaging 21 and 6 with 13 steals over his last 10 games.  Add in 39% from downtown and he’s been impressive. (spoke too soon, 0/6 on Wednesday night)

Philadelphia – Another plug for Tyrese Maxey. Over his last 10, his shooting is 52-43-92 while scoring 22ppg. His ATO is 49/6 (8.166) and he’s swiped 12 steals. Come on man. His Tendex is 23.8 in this stretch.

New York – It’s been a rough stretch for the Knicks and RJ Barrett. His Tendex is 7. He’s shooting 31/21 with just 4 steals and 3 blocks. The buy-low window should be open on this kid. He can’t stay this bad.

Toronto – Freddy has been really good lately. 21-6-4 with 16 steals. 43/42 shooting. Over 93% from the line. 2.280 ATO. Go on FVV.

Detroit – the best Tendex on Detroit is just 15 (Grant) right now. Cade is at 13.5 but is rising with his 15ppg, 5ast, 6reb, and 15 steals in his last 10 games. Some work to do with that shooting still (36/27).

Orlando – Those 35 stocks for Mo Bamba in his last 10 games sure stand out. He’s only averaging 9 and 9 over his last 10 but stocks are tough to come by these days.

 

Phoenix – CP3 has a 22.4 Tendex and continues to be a fantasy star. 91/21 ATO (4.333) and 21 steals in his last 10 games.

Golden State – Draymond’s 18.2 Tendex is real nice and reflects on how well he does in the non-scoring cats. Only 7ppg but shooting 54%, 72/23 ATO, 10 steals, 6 blocks, 7.2 rebounds.

LA Clippers – The 2^nd highest Tendex belongs to Ivica Zubac (16.9). He’s been on fire averaging nearly 12ppg and 10reb while shooting 68% and blocking 12 shots.

Portland – While I’ve been hard recently on Lord Covington he’s still producing an all round game. 47% from the field. 44% from deep. 13 steals, 12 blocks. 1.900 ATO. Not a bad 10 game stretch.

Dallas – Porzingis has been amazing over his last 8 games. 23 and 9 while shooting 50/38. Add in 20/10 ATO, 7 steals, and 11 blocks and he’s been a 7 cat guy. And just for good measure, 31/34 from the line.

Minnesota – The Vandalorian (Jarred Vanderbilt) is another non-scorer who is playing really well. 55% shooting for just 5ppg. But it’s the 7 rebounds per game, 15 steals and 12 blocks that are so noticeable. All in just 21 minutes per game.

Oklahoma City – The 2^nd worst Tendex team in the NBA with only 3 guys above 10. Dort at 14, SGA at 14.5 and Giddey at 13.1. The only thing jumping out at me here is how bad this team is.

Utah – just 5-5 in their last 10 games means some struggles. But not for Rudy Gobert. 15ppg. 13reb. 20 blocks. 11 steals. Shooting 74%. He just keeps on rolling. His Tendex is almost 24.

Memphis – another team that’s cooled off lately but JJJ is just getting going. 16.5ppg. 6rebs, 23 blocks while shooting 43/37. Things are looking up.

Denver – Will Barton is on fire. 19ppg and shooting 47/43. His ATO is 36/10 and he’s grabbed 5.5 rebounds. A nice stretch for him. I will mention Jokic later on because over his last 10 games he has the highest Tendex in the NBA.

LA Lakers – just 4-6 in their last 10. The Unibrow has tried his best with 24 and 10 shooting 54% and getting 15 steals and 22 blocks in his last 10 games.

San Antonio – some love for the much-maligned Keldon Johnson. He’s scoring 14ppg but it’s his 54% from downtown stretch that’s been the most impressive. Tendex at 14.1

New Orleans – And turnabout is fair play – so let’s pay respect to Josh Hart and his 2^nd place Tendex (16.4) on the team over the last 10 games. 50/39 shooting. 42/17 (2.470) ATO. 13 steals. 64 rebounds and scoring 12ppg.

Sacramento – another team really struggling. The high tendex man (17.2) is Richaun Holmes with his 14 and 10 and shooting 71% averages. Not a lot of high performers in Sactown these days.

Houston – 0-10 stretch. The worst Tendex team with only 3 players over 10 and the high man (Wood) sitting at 12.5. The standout is Alperen Sengun and his 10.2 tendex in just 18 minutes/game. He shoots well (51/50), passes the ball well and rebounds. It’s a shame Houston won’t give him more minutes.

As mentioned above, Nikola Jokic has the highest Tendex score in the NBA over the last 10 games. He’s at 36.2. He’s averaging 29ppg, 13reb, shooting 58/41. His ATO is 49/18 (2.722) with 7 steals and 6 blocks. Absolutely amazing.

OK, if you've made it this far, I know what you’re thinking – WTF is Tendex anyways? Check out the calculation here - http://dougstats.com/Tendex.html

While it’s outdated it still does hold some weight with me and others who visit the site. It’s won Golden and Seoul some JBL titles over the years. And if you look at the Tendex rankings over the season, I do feel Tendex numbers do match quite well with JBL auction values.

Anyways, I enjoyed my little trip down memory lane. Looking at Tendex and stats and who is hot and not. Good times. And it's far more entertaining than reading a Golden stat line at the moment. And in case you’re wondering, I wrote Tendex 27 times in this article.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

 

Surprise!! It's Week 5 in the JBL

OK, here we are for another week of all things JBL.

Week 5 has been a roller coaster for some teams so far. Idaho is up +133 points while Brussels is down -61 points so far this week (as of Thursday morning). Maui still leads the way despite not having Embiid for the last week and half and the Ribs also just lost Evan Mobley for 2-4 weeks so we will see how the Maui depth holds up.

As mentioned in my last chronicle, I wanted to do a quick review of the most surprising players (good or bad) from each JBL team so far this season. I know it’s only been 4.5 weeks but there are some really surprising numbers and performances so far this season. So, without further delay, I will dive in to my 5 for week 5 surprise lists. (I will mostly be using JBL Fantasy numbers here – not NBA overall)

 Arctic

-          Tyler Herro has been good, really good. First in Bangkok and he’s carried that on to Arctic. In the 6 games in the frozen tundra, he’s averaged 22ppg.

-          Tyrese Maxey was claimed from Brussels and he’s put up 18ppg and 5ast while shooting 54% and 47% in Arctic.  Good scoop.

-          Patty Mills went from Kyrie’s backup to playing 25mpg, scoring 11ppg and a scorching 48% from downtown

-          Kyle Kuzma is fantasy relevant again? 14 and 9 with some stocks? OK, the shooting isn’t great but Kooz is doing very well in Washington.

-          And why does Arctic continue to roll out Blake Griffin. While his play (4ppg and 4reb) in Arctic/Brooklyn doesn’t surprise me – the fact he’s still on a JBL roster sure does.

 

Bangkok

-          The Kok is on the rise (surprise!). He’s on pace for a top 5 finish now and there are bunch of guys exceeding what most expected from them

-          Dejounte is now the face of the Spurs. His 19ppg, 8reb, 8ast with 2 steals and 46% shooting is very impressive

-          I didn’t expect Scottie Barnes to be this good – 16ppg and 8reb with 51% shooting

-          RJ Barrett is a surprising disappointment so far. Only 15ppg on 40/32. I was expecting the Knicks and RJ to be better

-          Wendell Carter Jr shooting 3’s at 44.8% clip? Ya, none of us saw that one coming.

 

Bellingham

-          No Kyrie and James Harden is ONLY averaging 20/7/8. I thought those numbers would be higher.

-          Cole Anthony – come on kid – no one saw 20 ppg, 7 reb, 6 ast, 1.2 steals, and 37% from downtown coming. He won’t win it but those are MIP numbers

-          Chris Boucher’s inability to convince Nick Nurse to play him more is surprising. Ham protected him but Boucher hasn’t been able to produce any meaningful fantasy numbers so far

-          Jarrett Allen’s numbers of 14/11 and 69% shooting are expected but it’s been his ability to mesh perfectly with Evan Mobley that’s surprised me the most. The new twin-towers are fun to watch.

-          I’m surprised that Thad Young is still in San Antonio. The Spurs never announced his arrival but he’s played well in minimal minutes. How much longer before he gets moved?

 

Brussels

-          The most surprising thing in Brussels is his place in the JBL standings. I certainly didn’t see this coming. Even without Ben Simmons, I thought this team would be better

-          OG’s play in TO has been better than I expected. 20ppg, 5reb, 1.5stls, and 36.6% from downtown with decent ATO and even some blocks. He’s taken a big leap here. But now an injury? Oh oh.

-          I thought Christian Wood would be better than this. 16 and 11 is nice and all but I thought on this really bad Houston team that he would push over 20+ppg easy.

-          Daniel Gafford was projected to be a breakout star. His $33 dollar JBL salary tells me others felt the same way (or was it Norfolk trying to spend his cash?).

-          Ricky Rubio, who only recently joined Brussels, and because of Sexton’s injury, has been amazing this season. The %’s have never been great but he’s scoring, rebounding, passing and stealing.

 

Cali

-          Lu Dort didn’t like it in Brussels but since he’s joined the international boys in Cali he’s been on fire. In 7 games he’s put up 22ppg and shot 52%. Way above his usual averages.

-          I expected more from Evan Fournier. He’s in Thibs dog house now and is only averaging 12ppg for Cali.

-          Aleksej Pokusevski is a surprising disappointment. Look, my bar wasn’t very high for this kid, but he’s still underwhelmed. Is he a big-time prospect or just a 7 foot unicorn who runs around and jacks bad shots?

-          Timelord was projected to be a major fantasy asset this season and he’s living up the billing. 10ppg, 9reb, 73% shooting, with 37 stocks in 13 games. 

-          While he’s just a role player, Deni Avdija’s 13 blocks have been a surprise. He’s been raved about as a + defender so let’s see if he can keep it up over the season

 

Chilliwack

-          We all knew Ja Morant was good – but did we know he was this good? 26ppg, 6reb, 49/38%, 1.6 steals (most impressive). A star is born. Get your MIP tickets now. 

-          Harrison Barnes is off to a wonderful start. Did anyone predict he would be averaging 20ppg for Sactown? No, you didn’t. Throw in good %’s (49/42) and 8 rebounds and 15 steals and he’s been a complete surprise.

-          Lord Covington has not done much in Portland’s new offense. Just 7ppg and 5 reb. There are some stocks and decent 3PT% but I know I’m shocked he hasn’t done a bit more.

-          I’m surprised the Wack is shooting 36.1% from downtown. With guys like Westbrook, Jerami Grant, Tate, and others – how is he achieving this number? Must be his ownership style.

-          And I have to of course mention Carmelo. I didn’t think he’d be averaging 15ppg and shooting 47/44. And he also has 26 stocks in 16 games. Come on man. Turn back the clock Melo.

 

French Lick

-          While Jayson Tatum’s overall numbers look good (24ppg, 8reb) – his percentages are shocking – just 39% and 32%. I’m sure those will improve over the course of the year.

-          My title favourites have already lost time from Jaylen Brown, LeBron and Tobi Harris. Despite these man games lost – French is still in the 800’s and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them catapult up the rankings when everyone is healthy.

-          We all know about Mitchell Robinson’s potential and that he’s probably not reaching it (for French anyways) – but did you know he’s shooting 81.6% on the year? Umm, ya, that helps the FG%.

-          I know I shouldn’t be surprised but CP3 is still healthy and putting up 14ppg and 10+ assists per game and almost 2.5 steals. Ageless wonder.

-          15ppg. 52% shooting and 47% from downtown. Surprised to learn those are Seth Curry’s numbers?

 

Golden

-          I’d love to say I knew Miles Bridges would be averaging 21 and 7 with 38 stocks in 16 games. I didn’t. But I’m happy he is.

-          I’m surprised how well my FA signings have done so far. Brunson, Caruso, Allen and Beverley all appear to be serviceable for now.

-          Middleton and Ingram, thru Covid protocols and injury, have both been disappointing so far. Middleton is shooting 26% from downtown and Ingram has just 2 steals in 9 NBA games.

-          Darius Garland is averaging 17ppg, 6ast, and 1.4 steals while shooting 46/38 so he’s off to a very nice start to the season

-          Much like Gafford in Brussels, Isaiah Stewart’s performance, after being drafted for $33 bucks, has been extremely disappointing. Just 8ppg, 7reb, and 1.3 blocks.

 

Idaho

-          Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that Idaho has already employed 27 players on his roster this season.

-          Gobert has upped his rebounding to over 15reb per game and is shooting 70%. Should we just give him another DPOY award now?

-          Bazley must have photos of JBL owners to stay employed for this long. 38% shooting and 33% from behind the arc and negative ATO. Yet it’s those once in awhile games of 20 points and 5 blocks that keeps him rostered

-          Since Idaho traded away JJJ, Porzingis, Kemba, Giddey and Duarte for Trae and Lillard – he’s gained 200+ points in the standings. Crazy? Like a fox maybe.

-          We will surely see Idaho approach 50 players in Idaho by the end of the year. And I’m here for that!

 

Juan de Fuca

-          Franz Wagner has maybe been the most surprising rookie so far. He’s starting and putting up over 13ppg. He’s shooting well, getting steals, and playing big minutes.

-          After last year, I’m surprised to see Whiteside back on the fantasy radar. He’s in the perfect spot backing up Gobert as they play similar styles. He’s at 7 and 7, shooting 59% and blocking shots. Considering I paid $33 for Stewart to give me those exact same numbers – Whiteside for $1 was a good deal.

-          Bobby Portis has taken full advantage of no Brook Lopez in Milwaukee. He’s up to 15ppg and 6reb with 51% shooting.

-          Collin Sexton and Michael Porter Jr have both been surprisingly disappointing. Mostly due to injuries but MPJ was especially poor.

-          Nic Batum has been a pleasant surprise for the Clippers and for Juan. I thought he was turning into another Boris Diaw but Batum has averaged 10ppg, 5reb, with 26 stocks in 13 games. Well done mon ami.

 

Maui

-          Where to begin with the Ribs? How about just that they are in 1^st place? How about they’ve been there pretty much since the start of the season? How about the fact that Trev has never won a JBL title?

-          The rookie draft picks – LaMelo and Mobley – appear to be stars. Already. Melo is 19ppg, 7reb, 7ast, 2 steals. 38% from deep. He’s fun to watch. A fantasy monster already. Mobley is 14ppg, 8reb, shooting 49% with 37 stocks in 15 games. They are both just 20 years old.

-          And did you really expect DeMar DeRozan to be leading the Bulls in scoring at 26ppg? He’s been amazing. And how about old-timer Draymond getting his mojo back and putting up across the board fantasy numbers?

-          Despite Maui’s early success, they really haven’t got much from their biggest ticket item – Joel Embiid. He’s only played 9 games and he’s only at 21 and 9 (remember he was 29 and 10 last season).

-          And while they’ve tailed off recently, the early week performances from Desmond Bane and De’Anthony Melton was outstanding.

 

Norfolk

-          Some might think that averaging 23-5-5 is really quite good – but when it’s Bradley Beal – I expected more. He’s only shooting 41/28 and I was expecting closer to 30ppg. A surprising disappointment early on.

-          Andre Drummond, for $21 bucks? Come on. That’s what I was thinking during the auction. I didn’t think he’d be putting up 7-11 with 33 stocks in 14 games. He’s been very good in Philly.

-          Ignoring the fact that Larry Nance went for $27 on draft night – even if he went for $1 dollar I think we all expected more than 7 & 5.

-          I’m really surprised how well Cedi Osman is playing in Cleveland. He’s just a role player but I think some thought he might not have a role at all on that team. 

-          As I mentioned in an earlier Chronicle, I wasn’t sure that Montrezl Harrell was worth the $30 dollars to be a keeper. Again, I was wrong. Man is a beast. 18ppg, 8reb, 64% shooting and 1 block a game. Monster.

 

Seoul

-          If you told me that Mo Bamba would be a better fantasy contributor than Clint Capela at this stage I would have laughed at you. But Big Mo is doing his thing with 48 stocks to Capela’s 33. Sure, his %’s aren’t as good as Clint’s but he’s exceeded my expectations so far this season.

-          So if Bamba has been the pleasant surprise that means Capela is the “WTH is going on” kind. Last year Clint was keeping company with Mr. Gobert but this season Clint is 11-11 with 1.2 blocks. He’s coming on as of late, but for $59 bucks I’m sure Seoul expected much, much more.

-          Did anyone think Gary Trent Jr would be the #3 steals man in the entire NBA? No, me neither.

-          Scary Terry must now refer to this shooting percentages cause 39% and 27% is very scary.

-          Another ageless wonder has been Jimmy Buckets. 24-6-5 while shooting 53% and getting 28 stocks in 12 games. How does he do it?? I think we all know the secret…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoskJPDbXR0

 

Vancouver

-          The surprising Jizzlies must be loving the Zion-less Pelicans since Jonas Valunciunas is tearing up the league. He’s at 19-13 while shooting 51% from the field and 16/29 (55%) from downtown. Throw in a block per game and Jonas is having likely his best year ever

-          As good as Jonas has been, Vucevic has struggled scoring big time. He’s averaging just 13ppg and shooting under 40% from the field and just 26% from deep. Now he’s out due to Covid protocols. A poor start for the big man.

-          Devin Vassell has been a nice Free Agent find. He’s averaged almost 14ppg in Vancouver on 51/45 shooting.

-          It’s still early but the #1 pick Cade Cunningham is off to a surprisingly slow start considering some of the successes we’ve seen from other rookies. It’s a long season though and Cade is showing some signs of his potential recently.

-          I know there are a lot of mouths to feed in Atlanta but considering the contract they signed him to, I would think ATL would want more than 12ppg from Bogdanovic. Let’s see how this plays out over the season.

 

OK Gents – that’s it for this week. Enjoy the rest of week 5 in the JBL and we’ll catch you next week.

Week 4 - Since the last time...

Here we are in Week 4 of the JBL season. We are roughly 15% of the way through the season and we can finally see things settling down in the nightly standings. By this I mean that we don't see teams moving up or down 300 points in a given night just because they have a lot (or no) man games. Sure, +/- 100 points is still possible, but we're starting to "normalize".

The last JBL Chronicle covered 3 big trades and I would be remiss if I didn't touch on the deal that I was involved in since the last time. Golden traded Damian Lillard to Idaho for Josh Giddey and Chris Duarte. So many points to note on this deal.

- Golden was after Giddey since the day Idaho selected him in the rookie draft (with what could/should have been Golden's selection)

- There were many back and forth offers and counters on this trade. It certainly was not consummated in an hour. Although is any Idaho trade?

- On the surface, giving up a $47 dollar Dame who can average 27 and 8 for a couple rookies seems a bit lopsided for Idaho. So why did Golden pull the trigger? A number of reasons. 

I'm a Blazer fan and when Golden owns Blazers - they suck. You're welcome Portland

I needed those extra rebounds and steals as those 2 categories are extremely tight. I'm hoping I have enough scoring with Ingram and Middleton due to return soon.

I actually don't enjoy watching Dame anymore as he dribbles around and jacks fall away 3's

Giddey could be a long-term keeper. He's 19 years old and already averaging 10-6-6 with 1.5 steals

If I have to suffer through watching OKC games because I have SGA - I might as well have their likely 2nd best player already as well.

Duarte is another $1 depth player in Golden. With all the injuries and health issues, I needed a body that could play any given week if needed.

OK, enough about the deal, I will move on...

A lot of players are missing time to positive covid test results and close contact tracing. It's proving to be a bit of an issue already as JBL team have lost man games as guys get sat down for 10 days mid-week. Guys like Tobias Harris, Khris Middleton, Joel Embiid, Jakob Poeltl and many more are missing games and it sucks to not have them playing for their respective teams.

Maui continues to hold firm atop the standings. It's exciting for Trev and this is probably the longest stretch (in recent memory anyways) that his squad has been on top of the league. Trev is an original owner in the JBL. Many of you know that when the JBL began it was all down by manual entry of the NBA stats into Excel (and then ultimately the Don Nelson program).  

https://www.designdepot.com/nelfandc.html

My dad would go across the border to Point Roberts every Tuesday and pick up the USA Today as it had the full team-by-team page of NBA stats. It was Trev and I that would go through all the JBL teams and figure out the weekly stats player by player. We would then print out the weekly stats and distribute the paperwork to all the JBL owners. Maybe Trev doesn't watch as much hoops as some of us or maybe he doesn't know all the players - his persistence and willingness to "play JBL' every year is unrivalled. 

I was also trying to think of all the team names Trev has gone through.  Lubin My Pole and BC Budz (another theme team) immediately come to mind. However, there was another early team name - something like ManChowder or something like that because he was dating a girl with the last name Crowder and we just made it dirty.  What was it Trev? Do I have that right? ManChowder?  And was there another team name I'm forgetting? Ultimately, the team moved to Maui because if they weren't going to win the JBL title at least it would be sunny and warm as they played along. All that said, I'm happy for Maui to be on this early season heater. He did a great job at Auction and could be a serious contender for years to come with LaMelo and Mobley as his superstar keepers. Go on Maui!

Maybe it's just me but I find some pleasure when I see a Free Agent get signed for a big dollar amount and then see that the team could have had him for $1. I don't know why that still makes me smile after all these years. It's like, Oh, nice signing, but you could have saved $15 bucks. 

On the FA amounts, while we are just 15% of the way through the JBL season we have collectively spent 35% of our FA dollar allotments for the season. No surprise there really. 

Some random thoughts to finish out this episode:

- My title favourite is still French. He's high 800's and he's missed a lot of games from LeBron and Jaylen Brown and will get back Isaac and Klay at some point. Just saying. Watch out.

- Chilliwack will win the Points category. No question. Look at those scorers. He did go over 200 points the other night and only had 9-10 active players.

- Bellingham opened the FA purse strings and signed Kevin Huerter last night. This meant the end to Marvin Bagley's time in Birch Bay. The former #2 pick refused to check into a Kings game the other night and has played just 1 game this year. Remember he went 2nd in that 2018 draft behind DeAndre Ayton. Luka went 3rd; JJJ went 4th; Trae Young went 5th; and then guys like Wendell Carter, Collin Sexton, Mikal Bridges, SGA, Miles Bridges and Michael Porter Jr all went in the top 15 picks. Look further down and you find Robert Williams at 27 and Jalen Brunson at 33. All better picks than Bagley at this point. Now, that said, if the Kings trade Bagley - I anticipate a rush to the FA wire again. 

- Golden having a really bad week as I patiently wait for Brandon Ingram and Khris Middleton to return. 

- Juan is quietly hanging around too despite not having Sexton, MPJ, and LeVert playing many games. They also have Thomas the Tank coming back in a month or so. Watch out for Juan de Fuca.

- Here come the Kok. Up 84 points so far this week despite getting nothing from Ayton or newly acquired Tyrese Haliburton. Big weeks/years from Edwards, Barnes, Dejounte and Donovan have stroked the Kok to some early season success. If I was doing an updated power rankings this team would be a top 6 squad easily.

- Our defending champs are anxiously waiting for the Ben Simmons trade to happen. Brussels has room to move in all the categories that Simmons will provide. ATO, steals, rebounds and FG%. When Big Ben gets moved, keep an eye on the Brussels squad. 

- The other team that still projects well is the Seoul squad. It's really hard to predict how good this team is when they cannot stay healthy. They just got Siakam and Jrue back but now Butler goes down. They are still waiting for Zion and who knows when he'll be back. Hopefully he has some Doctor Scholes comfort inserts in his shoes to soften the pounding because those feet of his are going to be sore. 

- I always support the local teams so it's been nice to see the Vancouver squad doing so well to start the season. Being on the left hand side of the JBL scoreboard seems to indicate 'hope' and 'relevance' so there's that. Now, despite the hot start, the Jizzlies are losing Vucevic for 10 days and Kelly Olynyk for 4-6 weeks. It will be interesting to see if their depth can handle these losses. 

- I have to touch on Idaho of course too. He's got essentially a Big 5 with the likes of Gobert, Lillard, Fox, Trae, and Booker.  If I did the NBA2K simulation again I think this group of 5 would do quite well. The question will be around whether he can find enough depth from a forward group to produce some decent numbers. It will be interesting to see how many FA's he can go through til he finds the right combination. This week's candidates were Jae Crowder, JaMychel Green, Derrick Jones Jr, and Furkan Korkmaz.  Crowder's already been dropped and the next man up is Jaden McDaniels (who I really like by the way) to have a go. 

- The Arctic squad continues to hang around too. Crikker's done a decent job of trying to balance out his roster after this usual draft night approach of loading up on superstars. The Tyrese Maxey acquisition from Brussels has helped him. He essentially gave up the #8 rookie pick (Sengun) for Maxey. I'm sure the Arctic is hoping the Simmons trade doesn't bring back another point guard. TJ Warren is coming back and could be a major boost to the team if he can stay healthy. Imagine if Kyrie just went and got the vaccine?

- What can I say about Norfolk? He's up 75 points this week so getting Kemba, Porzingis and JJJ get some credit for that. 

OK, that's it for me this week...back next week where I will look at the biggest surprise player (good or bad) for each JBL team so far this season.

Enjoy the weekend!

Week 3 Musings...

 

What’s going on in week 3 in the JBL?

Trade #1

It was like a sasquatch siting when we saw the Bangkok and Arctic hook up on a trade. How many of those have we seen over the years? I’m thinking we can count those on one hand. I wish there was an easy way to find all the historical trades. It is fun to go back in the history books and look at some of the historical trades. Here’s a doozy from 5 years ago – November 5, 2016.

 

Anyways, back to the deal. Arctic acquired Tyler Herro and Bangkok acquired Tyrese Haliburton. On the surface, it appears to be pretty even. Herro obviously scores and rebounds more and should pick up better 3PT% along the way while Haliburton should be superior in steals and blocks and ATO (while also being a very good 3PT shooter). It is a little comical to see that, in 7 games, Herro has just 1 steal. That’s it for stocks. Meanwhile, Haliburton, in 7 games, has 7 steals and 9 blocks. Yes, not a type-o, 9 blocks. A definite stocks magnet.

 In hindsight, maybe Golden should have protected Haliburton for $7 bucks!! And let’s remember that Arctic’s final cut was Tyler Herro (for $15 bucks). So there is a history there and with his hot start to the season you can see why Arctic would want him back. With 35% of the roto values weighted to PTS and REB you can see why the Arctic squad would want him back. Plus, he was drafted for only $9 bucks so maybe this time around, Arctic won’t let him get away.

 Overall, if I had to pick a side, I would take Haliburton for his more rounded fantasy friendly game. You could argue that he is almost a 7 category player. He’s probably light in points and rebounds but everything else looks solid. While if you needed PTS – Herro is the guy. He has a good shot at winning 6^th MOY.

  

Trade #2

The 2^nd trade of the day saw Brussels acquire Bam Adebayo and Derrick White from Chilliwack in exchange for Luka Doncic and Cam Reddish.  It’s my understanding that the Wack coveted Luka and had inquired before about his services. Pairing Luka and Ja Morant together in 2022/23 should be quite the cornerstone. Luka is a walking triple double – just squint so you don’t see that 3PT% - but you know what you’re going to get from him each and every night. I’m sure Benny is hoping that Jason Kidd doesn’t slow down his superstar.

All that said, I think Brussels wins this deal. I think Bam > Luka for fantasy and I think White > Reddish.

 Yes, Luka out-scores Bam - but every other category, save for ATO, is likely in Bam’s favour. So if you’re looking by categories – it’s 5-2 for Bam. Now, factor in that the Wack gets Luka for this year and next (while Bam goes back to auction) you can see why the Wack likely wanted to make this deal. Again, a Ja and Luka pairing going into an auction could be lethal. How many times have I said the key to winning the JBL is great keepers?

 The secondary pieces in this deal are a bit closer in value but I still give the edge to Derrick White. His path to minutes is clearer and he has to be more involved in that San Antonio offense if they even want to have a chance to win some games. I had no idea his ATO was 44/11 this season so far (Reddish is 7:14 ATO). Reddish started hot last year and then fizzled. I know because Golden had him for about 2 weeks before injuries and time-shares kicked in. He’s off to another hot start with 16ppg (2^nd best on the Hawks) and shooting 44% from deep. Can he keep it up? Or will guys like Bogdanovic and Hunter and Huerter start to eat away at his minutes? Maybe I’m a bit more down on Reddish because of our history.

 While the Wack has clearly set himself up for success in 22/23, I don’t think he’s completely removed himself from contention this year either. He’s currently in 2^nd place, over 1,000 points, so let’s see where this goes. We know with injuries and ‘health and safety protocols’ that the best projections can easily be altered from week to week.

 Side note: in the last 24 hours we’ve seen Tobias Harris, Khris Middleton, Lauri Markannen, Jakob Poeltl all go down with ‘health and safety protocols’ and are likely to miss 10 days. Some curveballs already.

 I believe this trade elevated Brussels’ hopes to repeat as JBL champ. Gives some more balance across all the categories and gets rid of that 3PT shooting. Addition by subtraction there.

 The other interesting thing to know about this deal is that Doncic was actually in another accepted trade that was going to go down on the weekend. I guess the ‘snooze you lose’ saying applies here. And from what I know of the deal, Brussels was far better off doing the deal with Chilliwack.

 

Trade #3

Oh wow, another Arctic trade. He’s been busy. I’m not sure I’ve ever received an Arctic trade offer. The latest trade sees Ricky Rubio land in Brussels and Jalen Suggs land in the frozen tundra. Hope Suggs brought some ear-muffs because it be cold there. Arctic acquires another gem from this strong rookie class. He now has both Jalen’s and hopes that they can both improve their shooting. Jalen Green (38/33) and Jalen Suggs (31/24) both have some work to do in that department. From having zero picks in this rookie draft to now having 2 of the top 5 picks is pretty cool for Arctic. Suggs has great potential and we’ll see if Brussels gave up on him too soon.

While Arctic is gathering young potential, Brussels is acquiring a veteran PG with great ATO to see if he can go back-to-back. Based on the current numbers, Brussels wins this deal, but for the long term potential, Arctic gets the nod. Rubio’s been impressive in Cleveland and is seeing 28 minutes per night, getting good ATO, lots of steals, and even scoring 13ppg.

 And, randomly enough, Ricky Rubio was involved in a trade almost exactly 5 years ago. And guess who was involved in the deal??? That's right....ARCTIC.

 

Big Jon Isaac

 

In a somewhat surprising move, Norfolk released Jonathan Isaac. The Norfolk roster was over-flowing after the 3 for 1 deal seeing him acquire Kemba, Porzingis, and JJJ. Someone had to go, I just didn’t think it would be Isaac. Elfrid Payton, sure, good call. But Isaac? Hmmm. So how much does he go for in this week’s Free Agent frenzy? He COULD be 12 and 6 with 1.5 steals and 2 blocks per game. And those could be conservative. The issue with him, as it’s always been, is his health. How many minutes will Orlando want to play him? They are destined to be a bottom 5 team and get a really good draft pick – so you definitely don’t want him playing so much that you actually win more games. That said, the kid is a stocks monster.

I’m reminded that the highest ever FA bid was on Leandro Barbosa WAY back in the day. His winning FA bid? $101 dollars. This goes back to the 06/07 season and the Brazilian Blue averaged 18ppg and shot 48%/43% with 1.2 steals per game. Now, because Isaac was drafted at auction for $26 dollars – he will retain that salary when he gets signed this week. So he’s not exactly a cheap keeper option at $31 bucks for next year. So, whoever gets him is likely taking the one year gamble that he can be a stocks monster for them. I believe he goes for a massive amount of FA dollars.

 

 

Players Run the League

 

Lots of articles and tweets about the Ben Simmons situation these days. How he’s maybe even faking his mental health issues so he can get paid but not have to play. I have no idea whether that’s the case, but I do know that many businesses likely have similar concerns on some of their employees as well. But there is really nothing an employer can do about it.

 Will Ben Simmons ultimately get traded? Of course he will. Harden did. Westbrook did. Anthony Davis did. For the most part, if the player says I’ve had enough, they will be moved (as long as they are still good). Sorry Kevin Love, you are stuck in Cleveland. Gone are the days where someone commits to a team for the long term. The 76ers hurt Ben’s feelings after their game 7 loss and now he’s pouting and wants out. While the comment itself is maybe generic enough it’s clear Simmons took it as a shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjxjjIibEyg

You aren’t allowed to say ‘man up’ or ‘suck it up’ anymore. The world has changed.  Not every player is like this – but there definitely seems to be more and more of this in the last few years. So Ben Simmons will get moved ultimately, that’s what he wants and the Sixers want to win and can have a better chance of that by getting good pieces back. They might not get everything they want – but they can get some good pieces to help them win now. And ultimately I’m sure Brussels will be happier than Simmons’ himself when that trade occurs.

 I would say it’s the same thing for Damian Lillard and the Blazers. That whole franchise hinges on whether Lillard says he wants to stay or go. Currently, he’s saying he’s ’10 toes in Portland’ and doesn’t want to go. But if he says he wants out – guess what – they will trade him. They will maximize their return and the world will carry on. But the GM (Neil Olshey) is at the mercy of his star player. The wrinkle in the equation is this connection that Lillard has with Nurkic. Isn’t he a Godfather to Lilliard’s kids or something like that? What happens if PDX trades Lillard? Will Nurkic be the next to want out? He’s a Free Agent this summer so I could see him wanting out if Lillard goes – so that means PDX needs to trade him or risk losing him for nothing. And on the flip side, if Lillard stays, how much do you want to bet that Portland brings back Nurk? How can you let Lillard’s best buddy leave?? If Lillard says bring back Nurkic, what do we think they will do? Neil Olshey can mess around with all the peripheral pieces – but the core of the team is who Lillard wants to be there. Lillard essentially runs the Blazers.

 Milwaukee did all they could to make sure they kept Giannis. They went and traded for Jrue Holiday. They signed/acquired Bobby Portis. They tried to sign Bogdanovic before they were allowed. They bolstered the team to ensure their main guy, the one who would ultimately win them a title, was happy. In reality, Giannis could probably just be the GM and have some assistants go out and do his dirty work for him. Go sign this guy. Or trade for that guy. Giannis can have back room or even on court chats with players about coming to Milwaukee and playing with him. How do you stop that when the players chat or go out for dinner after games? Imagine getting into a beef with Giannis and he says to the GM – I don’t like this guy – I want him gone. What do we think would happen? Giannis essentially runs the Bucks.

 And look at the offseason stuff that goes on between players. Do we really believe that the players, on different teams, don’t talk to each other about coming and joining forces? You could go back summer over summer and look at the deals that are signed at 12:01am (or whatever time free agency opens). LeBron and Bosh had no idea that they were both going to Miami? Kawhi said I’ll come to the Clippers if you get me Paul George – so they did. How did Lonzo, his agent, Bulls front office, and everyone else involved agree to that 4/80 million dollar deal in less than 1 minute?  Big secret – they talked before they were officially allowed to. Sometimes the NBA does something about it – like the Bogdanovic situation the year before in Milwaukee – and sometimes they turn a blind eye. Even looking at the Bogdanovic incident – they didn’t get their man – but they STILL won the title! The reality is that there is communication going on long before the NBA rulebook says it’s allowed. Deals are made. Guys talk. Players recruit players. It’s all just part of the NBA now. The players run the league.