The Chicago Bulls Situation..

Does no one think the bulls really aren’t that good and we're over achievers to begin with??

Their top player is NO superstar, Deng doesn't make anyone better and can't help out in other ways when his shot isn't falling

The same with Ben Gordon. When he's on he can be really good, but when he's not he doesn't do anything else.

Hinrich was probably some really great basketball player in his hometown and was usable in college, but in terms of talent in comparison to the NBA talents of Chris Paul and Deron Williams or even Rondo, he falls way short.

Ben Wallace is done at his age, on top of the fact that he offered no offensive game to begin with.

And Nocioni who could probably be the heart and soul of the team gets irratic minutes. They needed him to play major minutes at his passionate level.

Ricky Davis likely traded to the Miami Heat..

ESPN is reporting that the Miami Heat will soon complete a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire swingman Ricky Davis and center Mark Blount in exchange for Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac and Wayne Simien. If this happens, instantly does it wash away Ricky's upside for the whole season. Gone would be the potential for him to score as much as he wants to and cap his statistical production. I also personally think Antoine Walker will hinder Big Al Jefferson's growth in the long run. Antoine is Mr. Lackoffundamental and he can only teach big Al bad things (outside of a younger' Antoine's passion and heart, which he seem to have lost since the miami championship).

Following Pre-season Games for Fantasy Basketball Purposes

Preseason success or failures doesn't necessarily translate into the regular season, but it does represent somre more information for the equation. Here are some preseason notables:

Marvin Williams - 17 ppg in 6 games on 50% fg and 89% ft shooting. He should be starting this year, but too bad he doesn't really help out on the rebounds, assists, steals, blocks or 3's categories.

Louis Williams - 16.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.2 spg on 54% fg and 84% ft shooting. He certainly has the talent. However, he doesn't have a starting job yet, can't shot the long ball and probably won't be a super high assist point guard.

Rudy Gay - I don't need to list the stats, he's been on a flat out tear in the pre-season. Let's hope he gets the regular minutes he deserves.

Lamarcus Aldridge - Another one of those, already hyped players. He's already passed the sleeper zone and will be drafted or bought at a level where he will be one of your team's key contributors. Understand what he'll do this year before you over spend.

Al Thornton - 18.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.3 3pg on 48% fg and 86% ft shooting. I havn't seen Al play live yet, but judging from these stats he looks like a shooter. (13 3 point attempts and alittle low on the rebounds in 6 games, I thought he was a post player)

Ronnie Brewer - 17 ppg on a blazing 59% fg and 92% ft shooting. The kid's been shooting the lights out in 6 games. But I wouldn't expect too much just yet from the rook and Jerry Sloan controlled system.

Kevin Martin - picking up where he left off as the leading scorer for the Kings.

Wow 13 for 16..

Dwight Howard shot 13 for 16 today at the free-throw line and gets a double wow. For the pre-season he has now shot 20 for 25 (80%). I'm impressed and I would certainly raise his range of what his ft percentage would potentially be and a step toward being a safer bet. I am definitely impressed but will still warn that one, its only preseason and two, his killing eyes were out today, as he looked at the weak Cleveland big men and was playing with great confidence all day. If he can walk with that confidence this whole year, I still have time to grab him for myself this year…

(Note: Dwight shot 67% from line at FIBA games this summer.)

Is this the year I want to own Dwight Howard?

Let's get the good stuff out of the way. Dwight is a flat out beast:
- his body is mature like a 26 year old but is 22 years old and doesn't miss games
- qualifies as a center
- will grab you at least 12 boards a game (and if everything pans right, show flashes of a Kevin Willis at a sick 15 rebounds a game season)
- will carry your fantasy squad with FG% at least a 54% clip
- I can see his assists raising to at least over 2 a game, possibly 3 (Dwight averaged 2.5 assists a game last season in March and April)
- will increase BOTH his steals and blocks this year
- and word is, he's worked extremely hard on his spot up shooting, free throw shooting and passing out of the post

What's not to love? I personally still think that the free throw shooting optimism is a little bit over blown. I would not bet on him being ready to shot at a 74% clip for the whole season. While the ceiling for that is low, the downfall is a long way down. At 8 ft attempts a game (possibly more this year) if he shots 66%, that will create quite the hit on your points standing. If he shots 59%, you would need to be cleaning house in all the other categories to win your fantasy league title. Let's also not forget the turnovers. I think there is no chance he can drastically improve statistically on that category this year. You don't just shave 1 or 2 turnovers from your average. It comes from years of basketball experience and knowledge.

So with all that said, do I want to own Howard this year? I would have to say no. Through out all my years of fantasy basketball, I've rarely seen a Shaq lead team win a well balanced and competitive league. It just doesn't happen that easily. Sure Dwight is slightly different, because he has a CHANCE of improving his ft shooting (unlike Shaq in the past). But you would need too many other things to go right. The situation has to be recognized for what it is, if you have Dwight Howard, you will be risking bad performances in ft’s and turnovers. I would pass on Dwight in the first or second round but possibly look to draft him in the mid 3rd if he's still out there. At 3rd round value, I would play him out a month and see if he really has improved and play it by game.

New fantasy basketball season!

Professional basketball is finally back in the air. This is the time to watch 1 or 2 pre-season games, get back into the routine of eyeballing box scores and most importantly, paying attention to team and player news. A new season brings new lineup opportunities, new skills, new physical development or problems. Time to get ready for your draft or season! More to come, check back with this blog soon!