Week 23/24 - Still too close to call...

I'm blurring Week 23 and 24 into one post. The nightly drama between Maui and Bangkok continues and I really do expect that the final night, Saturday, April 10th, will be the deciding night. I'm told that Maui will be in transit and might not be able to see the drama unfold live. I know I will be glued to the boxscores and Live Scoring page to see how it all plays out.

As I write this, Maui is at 1242 and Bangkok is at 1122. But there is still lots of room for Bangkok (and French) to climb the points ladder.

Could you imagine, after all the talk about Maui and Bangkok, if French Lick swooped in during the last win to claim another title? That would be crazy.

Looking at the totals, I kind of feel like this (1242) is Maui's peak total. Maybe he could get to 1255 with some ATO luck, but this feels like his max point total. Which remember would be an all-time JBL record.

Bangkok is at 1122 but can actually, quite realistically, get to 1261. That would require the sun and moon and all worlds aligning perfectly, but it is actually possible. So that's why I'm saying it's not over.

And while French coasts along in 3rd place, they could still get to the 1175 region. So you just never know.

The other races of interest:

- 4th place is still up for grabs. Brussels has the inside track. Golden is hanging around the Wack could still be a factor as well.

- 7th/8th place looks to be a battle between Seoul and Idaho. Either way, both appear to be locks to get 3 keepers. 

- 9th to 11th appear to be locked in some order - Arctic, Juan and Cali

- 12th/13th - a bit of a late season surge from Bellingham and disinterest from Vancouver means 12th place is still up for grabs. While it doesn't mean much overall - getting a 2nd keeper could be a real value for one team. 

And while Norfolk is destined for 14th and no keepers, I give the Doctor full credit for signing Free Agents to the bitter end. Full commitment to the craft and trying to improve and he gets an A for effort from me. 

Other random thoughts:

• Did anyone else see what Isaiah Roby and Drew Eubanks did last night? Career nights at the right time for Golden.
• Tanking is reaching new levels and this really does enforce the idea that JBL teams should keep some Free Agent dollars for the late season bargains. While grabbing the star FA's early in the season can be important - so too can getting the late season tank stars.
• Will Zion really get traded this offseason? I didn't think that the Pelicans would ever consider it after having to move on from Anthony Davis - but can they really afford to keep him and pay him max dollars?
• I know for Fantasy that Jokic is still the MVP - but I'm going with Dejounte Murray as my Fantasy MVP. He has been the Viagra for Kok this season. I still think Kok might have the toughest keeper decisions we've seen in awhile for a JBL owner. Getting those 4 keepers right will be important for Kok to come back and be a contender again next season. For the rest of us, as the summer progresses, it will be interesting to see which guys the Kok will be parting with. I think he has 8 options for keepers and will only be able to keep 4 of them. Count me as intrigued.
• The Brussels team is very impressive considering they are in 4th and haven't been able to add any Free Agents since essentially the start of 2022. Outside of Simmons, the team has remained pretty healthy for most of the year and still look to be the favourite to grab 4th and 4 keepers. Imagine if Brussels had used the $45 he spent on Simmons on another player of that caliber. 
• I laughed at Andre Drummond's quote about whether he'd be back in Brooklyn next season. No. That was pretty much his answer. I wonder where he ends up? As bad as he might be in real life, he can certainly stuff the fantasy boxscore when he gets minutes. He has 71 steals and 61 blocks in 66 games in 19 minutes a game. 
• The other JBL team with some difficult keeper decisions will be Arctic. With only 2 spots likely available and Kyrie, Maxey, Jalen Green, Tyler Herro, and Kyle Kuzma to choose from - who gets the axe? 

OK, that's all for now. Enjoy the home stretch. We're getting another 1st time JBL winner. It's going to be close and it will be interesting to see how injuries, tanking and resting impacts the JBL teams.