The NBA is fantastic and there are so many things to talk about each and every week. Whether you are a Fantasy Basketball fanatic or just a fan here are ten things about the NBA that I want you to know about as we head into week five of the NBA season!
Best NBA Games to Watch this Week
Monday: Denver Nuggets at the Portland Trail Blazers: This is going to be a fast paced exciting game featuring a young up and coming Nuggets team against the backcourt wizardry of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Tuesday: Boston Celtics at the Brooklyn Nets: The Celtics are on a roll taking on a Nets team that ranks near the top of the League in points scored and pace. Should be fun.
Wednesday: Philadelphia 76ers at the Los Angeles Lakers: the “Process” against the Lakers is must see TV!
Thursday: Golden State Warriors at the Boston Celtics: the Celtics are on a roll and will face a serious test against the defending NBA Champion Warriors.
Friday: Detroit Pistons at the Indiana Pacers: the top two teams in the NBA Central Division square off in what should be a very interesting game.
Saturday: Sacrameto Kings at the Portland Trail Blazers: it’s always interesting anytime Kings forward and former Trail Blazer Zach Randolph returns to the Moda Center.
Sunday: Washington Wizards at the Toronto Raptors: two of the best backcourts in the NBA square off in what should be an entertaing option to the NFL.
You are a Happy Fantasy Basketball Owner If;
You have players on your roster from the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards as each of those teams has four games on the schedule this week.
Dunk of the Week
Belongs to Dallas Mavericks rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr posterizing New Orleans Center Boogie Cousins……throw the hammer down young fella.
You are a Unhappy Fantasy Basketball Owner If;
You have players on your roster from the Oklahoma City Thunder as they are the only NBA team with just two games on their schedule. Every other NBA team has three games on the schedule this week.
Is Lonzo Ball a Fantasy Basketball Bust?
Ball came into the League with plenty of hype; he was the number one player taken in the 2017 NBA Draft, he was lauded by Lakers President of Bssketball Operations and living point guard legend Earvin Magic Johnson as the one who would bring the “return of Showtime” back to the Lakers. Not to mention Ball’s father LaVar Ball constantly telling anyone and everyone just how great he would be!
If you were to say that Ball hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype you would be correct.
According to ESPN Ball had an Average Draft Position (ADP) of 53.9 meaning Ball was taken in the mid to late fourth round to the early fifth rounds of ESPN drafts. Currently Ball sits at number 31 among all eligible PG rated players and that is far below what his draft position suggest he should be. So what happened?
The simple truth is Ball can’t shoot the basketball. Okay, he can shoot the basketball but the problem is the ball only goes through the hoop 29 percent of the time and is averaging a pedestrian 8.9 points per game. In a point guard driven league such as the NBA that isn’t going to get it done is it?
There are bright spots; Ball averages 6.4 rebounds (3rd), 6.9 assists (6th), 1.2 steals (21st) and nearly a block (2nd) per night. If you could white out the scoring and shooting percentages what you have in Ball is a ROOKIE in the top ten amongst his positional peers in three categories. That ain’t too shabby.
Is Ball a Fantasy Basketball bust? In my humble opinion Ball is only a bust if you bought the hype and drafted him in the first eight rounds. If you were one of those wise heads and took him later than the seventh round you have a rookie who is excelling in three scoring categories with plenty of room for improvement without the lofty expectations.
Are the Boston Celtics a Real Thing?
Imagine you are the coach of an NBA team that dismantled the top seeded team in your conference by adding eleven new faces INCLUDING four new starters. Imagine then losing what many feel is your best player for the season and maybe longer just six minutes into your first game?
Doesn’t sound like much fun now does it?
Flash forward four weeks later and your brand new squad has reeled off ten straight victories and is sitting atop the NBA eastern Conference standings with no letdown in sight.
Yes, the Boston Celtics are a real thing.
Head Coach Brad Stevens has done a masterful job putting this bunch into his system that puts his players in positions to excel at both ends of the floor. Boston currently sits atop of the League in Defensive Efficiency (95.0) which is no small feat for a brand new team to accomplish.
The offense is obviously led by Kyrie Irving and watching him and Al Horford in the pick and roll is a beautiful thing as is the immediate impact of rookie Jayson Tatum and second year guard Jaylen Brown. Throw in veteran Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier contributing off the bench and its no secret why the Celtics are a real thing.
Waiver Wire Pickup of the Week
This is totally dependant on what your individual needs are but the player I am highest on this week is Utah Jazz shooting guard Donavan Mitchell. Over his past five games Mitchell is averaging 28 minutes a night, 17.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 2.8 triples and just under a block per night. The Jazz have four games this week and Mitchell is widely available industry wide.
What Happened to the Oklahoma City Thunder?
The Thunder made some flashy moves this past off-season aquiring both Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. These moves had Thunder fans talking Championship but thus far things haven’t exactly gone according to the script. In fact opposing teams have flipped the script and at the time of this writing the Thunder have lost to every Western Conference team they have faced so far this season.
The odd thing here? The Thunder are second in the League in defensive efficiecy (97.7) and seventh in the League in points differential (+4.5). Those two things right there shouldn’t amount to their underachieving 4-7 record.
Carmelo Anthony leads the team in scoring (20.5ppg) with George and Westbrook each averaging 19.5 points per game. That’s all well and good but their 21.3 assists and 16.0 assist percentage as a team tells me the “big three” aren’t moving the ball very well and instead relying on isolation plays and hero ball.
Their points differential is encouraging but until they start moving the ball on offense and a clear cut offensive leader not named George or Anthony steps up and leads this offense they will continue to lose games that they should otherwise win.
Best NBA Benches
If you are a Daily Fantasy Sports player you are always looking for value plays. One of my go to places to search for these value plays is the bench. I especially look for solid bench players in games that are expected to be blowouts. My go to site for finding these players is Hoops Stats and I encourage you to check this site out!
Tweet of the Week
It hasn’t taken long for Thunder fans to turn sour on Carmelo Anthony……….geesh
Carmelo Anthony goes from a horrible Knicks team to a good OKC team. Yet the Knicks are now good, and OKC, dead last. 🤔 Can u say CANCER?
— Ace T. Brody (@GreatestTweets7) November 6, 2017
You can find Phil on Twitter @flashtennis31
Matt Craig may be on to an interesting idea for the Thunder. Rather than trying to emulate the Warriors, go with the Cav’s, James, Love, Irving style. Of course it would really help, as Craig points out, if Melo would actually set the pick rather than slipping it.
http://dailythunder.com/wake-up-call-is-floor-spacing-overrated/