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 is ten things about the NBA that I want you to know about as we head into week 20 of the NBA season!
Best Games to Watch in Week 19
Monday February 26: Houston Rockets at the Utah Jazz. If the Jazz want to make the playoffs they are going to need to win big games and none would be larger than beating the number one seed Rockets on Monday night.
Tuesday February 27: Washington Wizards at the Milwaukee Bucks. This is a possible first round playoff matchup and a nice way to spend a Tuesday night.
Wednesday February 28: Milwaukee Bucks at the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are fighting for a playoff spot and have a nice opportunity against a Bucks team on the second game of a back to back and third game in four days.
Thursday March 1: Minnesota Timberwolves at the Portland Trail Blazers. This one is another possible first round playoff matchups and a great way to end a Thursday night.
Friday March 2: Charlotte Hornets at the Philadelphia 76ers. If the Hornets have any hope of making the playoffs a win in Philly on Friday wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Saturday March 3: Boston Celtics at the Houston Rockets. The number one seed in the West Rockets take on the number two seed in the East Celtics in what will be a great way to spend a Saturday night.
Sunday March 4: Atlanta Hawks at the Phoenix Suns. After all these great games with possible playoff implications we end the week between two teams with fighting for dead last in the NBA.
You are a Happy Fantasy Basketball General Manager If
If you have players on your roster from the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards as they have four games this week.
You are an even happier General Manager if you have players from the Sacramento Kings on your roster as they are the only team with five games this week.
Waiver Wire Pickup of the Week for Week 19
Sacramento Kings SG/SF Bogdan Bogdanovic has five games this week (Minnesota, @Portland, Brooklyn, Utah and the Knicks) and over his past five games Bogdanovic is averaging 16.4 points, five assists, 3.2 rebounds and 3.2 triples playing 27.2 minutes per night. Bogdanovic shoots 46 percent from the floor, 84 percent from the line, has a 19 percent Usage Rate and is widely available across the Fantasy Basketball industry.
You are an Unhappy Fantasy Basketball General Manager If
If you have players on your roster from the San Antonio Spurs as they are the only team in the NBA team with two games this week.
Tweet of the Week
Los Angeles Lakers center Channing Frye spent an hour this week on Twitter chatting with fans and had this gem for a “fan” that was less than friendly; Frye sizzled the guy and deserves the Tweet of the Week!!!
You’re the type of dude that’ll brag to his Doritos and Mountain Dew buddies about how you got me to respond to your weak ass tweets https://t.co/S9jmkgY8VR
— Channing Frye (@Channing_Frye) February 23, 2018
Dunk of the Week
Fresh off his second place finish in the Slam Dunk Contest Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr sets this one down against the Washington Wizards and is worthy of our Dunk of the Week!!
Are Hustle Stats Dependable?
The NBA has been awesome with the way they have provided statistics and shot charts so we all could become better Fantasy Basketball GM’s and fans. Recently they have added another category called “Hustle Stats”. New to their list of Hustle stats were “box outs” and defensive box scores. It would take too much space to try and explain it for you; Rotowire NBA Writer Alex Rikleen and I discussed them on my show and I would invite you to listen to our thoughts on that as well as our first half Fantasy Basketball All Stars and Busts.
Widely Available Streaming Options for Week 19
Monday February 26: Chicago Bulls PF Bobby Portis has a great opportunity on Monday night against a Brooklyn Nets team over their past five games is in the bottom ten in defense against power forwards
Tuesday February 27: I am going back to the well with Portis again on Tuesday night against a Milwaukee Bucks defense that leaks points against power forwards and centers.
Wednesday February 28: Atlanta Hawks center John Collins has a great opportunity against an Indiana Pacers defense in the bottom ten against centers this season.
Thursday March 1: Miami Heat small forward Josh Richardson has a super matchup against a Los Angeles Lakers defense over the last five games are in the bottom five against small forwards.
Friday March 2: Memphis Grizzlies point guard Andrew Harrison has a good opportunity against a Denver Nuggets defense in the bottom ten against point guards this season.
Saturday March 3: Cleveland Cavaliers point guard George Hill is in a good spot Saturday against a Nuggets defense in the bottom ten against point guards and on the second game of a back to back on the road.
Sunday March 4: Atlanta Hawks center John Collins has a good chance on Sunday against a Phoenix Suns defense in the bottom ten against centers this season.
Heading into the Home Stretch in Your Fantasy Basketball League
There is just a few more weeks until the Fantasy Basketball playoffs begin. Are you ready? You MUST do all that you can to make the league playoffs and here’s a little checklist to help you get it done!
- Re-read your league rules and double check your league trade deadline.
- If you are in a league with position limits pay careful attention to how many games you have left.
- If you are not safely in the playoffs and you have a player like Kevin Love on your roster and don’t have an injured reserve spot than you need to drop that player.
- No matter where you are in the league standings please continue to update your rosters every Monday in weekly leagues and every day in daily leagues. There is nothing worse than a General Manager that quits before the regular season ends.
That’s all I can think of right now but if there is something I have left out please use the comments section and help us out!!
Mark Cuban Fined 600 Grand for Telling the Truth
The NBA has fined Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban plenty over his tenure as Mavs owner. Some were deserved and some maybe not so deserved. This past week the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Cuban for comments he made about his Mavericks team tanking.
So let me get this straight; thanks to the NBA, teams have an incentive to build rosters to intentionally lose games. Everyone under the Sun knows these teams are doing so yet as long as they don’t publicly say what they are doing it’s okay?
Is this for real?
So it’s only detrimental to the NBA if owners talk about something that everyone understands is happening except just don’t say they are actually doing it?
Hmmmm. That makes a ton of sense. Instead of simply acknowledging that their rules allow this, that it was a mistake to allow this and that we are working on a solution (like this one ) instead he fines Cuban 600 large.
Oh wait; the NBA has done something about this and while I applaud the League for implementing this fix it amounts to nothing more than putting a Band-Aid over a broken arm and thinking the problem is solved. The only thing this new fix for 2019 does is force NBA teams to be cleverer about tanking.
Enjoy the NBA this week!!!
You can follow Phil on Twitter. Listen to the Phil Naessens Show.
