Congrats to the Spurs (NBA Playoffs fantasy review)
They may be vanilla, they may be called boring, but call them NBA Champions once again. The Spurs dismantled the completely overmatched Cavaliers thursday night (and the entire series) to claim NBA title number 4. Since no one outside of San Antonio (and me) could stand to watch this series, allow me to tell you what we gained fantasy wise out of this series, and the playoffs:
Tony Parker, Finals MVP (and the future Mr. Longoria): great player, explosive to the basket, terrible rotisserie PG. He will score you points, and will shoot a pretty good FG percentage for a point. He will kill you in assists, FT %, 3 pointers, and isn’t great with steals either. Love him on the floor, not great in the box score. This all goes out the door, however, if you get extra points for having a really, really, really hot wife. Tony wins that one, no questions asked. Can the TV really show Eva in the crowd one more time?
Tim Duncan: Those reports of him on the decline; WILDLY EXAGGERATED!!! Timmy is still one of the league’s elite and will fill up a number of categories for you. Points, rebounds, assists (great for a PF), blocks, FG%. Try to have Nash on your team, however, to counteract his usually lousy free throw shooting.
Manu Ginobili: If flops, and falls to the floor are categories in your league, grab Manu #1 overall. Love him, but he flops a lot.
LeBron James: The King was made to look like a mere mortal during the Finals, but everyone seems to forget one thing, and that is……HE’S 22!!! ok, here’s another thing we are forgetting: His team…….SUCKS!!!!! How did they make the Finals????? James did it all alone! The Pistons and Nets aren’t awful teams and he beat them both. Did you think Drew Gooden and his idiot hairdo had anything to do with that???? Just quickly, what is that stupid little hair spot Gooden has on his head? Is that supposed to be cool? Did someone think it was so easy a caveman could do it? It looks like a blind guy cut his hair, or someone fell asleep and forgot to finish. Anyway back to James…..he’s the number one pick in fantasy next season folks, with the possible exception of Bryant. Garnett is great, but he’s gotta be on the downside. Grab LeBron first. Forget that he got the LeBroom this year, it wasn’t his fault.
Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, Utah: Not saying they creep into the first round, but you have to take these guys seriously now, especially Williams. Boozer is a nice double-double guy, but a tad injury prone. One of the few Dukies who made an NBA career for himself, Boozer has turned himself into a force inside, and one of the top 5 PFs in the Association. Williams flew under the radar much of the season, but put together a great second season. He averaged over 19 points a game and was second only to Steve Nash in assists with nearly 10 a game. Not only was he great during the season, but he really became the man in the playoffs. He should be the 2nd PG taken off the board after Nash in next year’s drafts.
Anderson Varejao, Cavaliers: If goofy hair, and no skills are categories, he’s a first round pick! What was he thinking shooting that ball in the final minute of Game 3????? Should I shoot, or pass to LeBron? He’s only the best player on the floor. No, wait I’ll take some idiot finger roll! Andy, you suck, pass the ball next time.
Chris Bosh, Raptors: This young man has turned himself into a first round pick in my estimation. Outside of steals 3pts, and assists (not categories you count on from PF), he fills up all the categories. He shoots a good percentage, can make free throws, his points and rebounds continue to rise, and he blocks shots. Not to mention he won’t turn 24 until next season is almost over. Keeper league or not, get Bosh right now!
Miami Heat: Unless it’s Wade, stay away! If you are in the need for 3’s, grab Kapono, but I think there are better options. Unless they retool before next season, try to avoid South Beach. But put Dwayne in your Fave 5, he’s a stud.
Gilbert Arenas, Washington (for now): Agent Zero says he will opt out of his Wizards contract after next year, but fantasy owners shouldn’t care where he plays. He’s not great for assists as a point guard, but he scores like a shooting guard and hits 3’s like they are going out of style. He really came into his own this past year (of course, as soon as I traded him away), GA is a great late first or early 2nd round pick.
Dwight Howard, Orlando: Talk about a boy in a man’s body! Howard is huge and just becoming a dominant big man in the NBA. Chances are if you are in a keeper league, his owner already has a vice grip on his services, but try to get him away, he’s a 20-20 guy on a fairly regular basis. And anyone who can dunk and put a sticker of his own face that high on the backboard, I am a fan of.
Golden State Warriors: Great story, pretty irrelevant fantasy wise. Baron would be better if he didn’t miss 20-30 games a year, Harrington fills up a bunch of categories for a guy with center eligibility, Monta Ellis was a nice story but faded late (fantasy wise), Stephen Jackson is great if you need 3’s (and if arrests are a category), Matt Barnes emerged as a guy worth having on your roster, and Jason Richardson is very explosive and a good scorer…..when he’s not in a suit on the sidelines.
There you have it, that’s everything we learned from the NBA Playoffs since they started in 1943. They gotta fix this schedule so they don’t last so long! Do we need a series to play on Tuesday, Saturday, and then Thursday? C’mon Commish, let’s tighten this schedule up! I guess we are a long way from thinking fantasy basketball for a while, but keep these things in mind when you are ready to draft next season, when the Spurs are ready to make it 5 in 10 years!
