Fantasy NBA

This was my first year playing Fantasy Basketball, and my preference is definitely for leagues with Head-toHead competition that enjoy a Playoffs System to determine a winner (maybe because I won in a league like that!). As “The Commish” for this league of 5 players, I have put together a concept for a playoffs-type conclusion for our Total Points league; but, basically, the guy with the most points after the regular season already won – and everybody knows it!

Congrats, Dad!

Nevertheless, I have enjoyed putting together a playoffs system, even if others haven’t considered it significant or of any interest to them. We have all learned a little bit about ourselves, about how fantasy leagues work, and all of us “novices” will probably have a different perspective on matters next year.

There’s always next year!

Bottom Line:

Desert Rattlers  is  THE WINNER  for this 2008-2009 season.
#2: Enochs Eagles.
#3: SoCal BeachBums (me).
#4: Modesto HotShots.
#5: System.

 

Playoffs Action: (in process)
1 Eagles (CLEVELAND CAVALIERS) – OUT
2 Rattlers (LOS ANGELES LAKERS), Lakers lead 2-1
3 HotShots (BOSTON CELTICS) – OUT
4 BeachBums (ORLANDO MAGIC), Magic down 2-1

HotSHots could win the whole thing if back-up team HOUSTON ROCKETS works there way to a FINALS VICTORY without McGrady!

You never know. That ball bounces funny sometimes…

 

Updated from first edition: April 28, 2009

“Go, Lakers! beat The Magic!”

If you are a huge Lakers fan like I am, then you have probably gone through a series of emotions this playoffs season, from chewing your finger nails to walking away in disgust to shouting for joy! Thankfully, it is “better to be lucky than good” – at times. But referee calls aside, the experience of The Lakers as an organization may have a lot more to do with their success this year than anything else. The Orlando Magic had a great game plan in play for Game #2 but their “rookie” Courtney Lee missed THREE LAYUPS down the stretch – not just one. The supposed Pau Gasol “goal tend” of the most critical one with time expiring in regulation… Like I said: “Better to be lucky than good!”

The thing about LUCK is you don’t generally have any unless you first have talent! KB24 had his worst game of any playoff game he ever played, and I highly doubt there will be a repeat of that miserable performance of numerous blown defensive plays and SEVEN turnovers! Not tonight. Not by one of the very best DEFENSIVE players in the league, somebody who just so happens to always be one of the 3 best offensive players in the league year after year (Is that all you know about him? His scoring?).

Without Kobe Bryant, The Lakers are still a solid team. Their GM Mitch Kupchak has helped build a team with great chemistry, and I am astounded at his ability to acquire a former Cavalier (Shannon Brown) and a former Magic player (Trevor Ariza) so easily – possibly giving us an insider’s understanding of the coaching philosophy of those teams. That both players have come up BIG for The Lakers in the playoffs has been a HUGE part of why we have been so successful. Regardless of Bynum’s inconsistent play (which has been unfortunate), the steady play of Gasol and Fisher, as well as the resurgent play of Lamar Odom that has been borderline INCREDIBLE. The Magic have their work cut out for them if they are going to keep The Lakers squad from sweeping them in FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES as I hope will occur (six likely, five a possibility, but if they gather themselves together, they can do it in four).

The Orlando Magic are a very good team, but there time has not yet come: another two or three years, perhaps; but with Garnett on the mend, The Celtics could easily dash their hopes of making it back to The Finals next year. Time will tell. “Go, Lakers! Beat The Magic!”

I am a Fantasy Basketball League Winner!

SoCal BeachBums win the title!

It may be the first and last season I ever play fantasy basketball; it’s a lot of work! But I thoroughly enjoyed a couple leagues I was a part of. Of course, winning helps! Right? But an 82-game schedule is grueling.

I much prefer Fantasy Football with weekly action, one game per week; that’s comparitive to a NBA season where a team may play 3 to 5 games in a week, with possible back-to-back games… the variables become endless, roster concerns are greater, especially if you factor into it injuries, trades…

Guys at work tried to get me interested in a Fantasy Baseball League… Are you kidding me! A 162-game schedule with the same problems as the NBA scheule? No thanks.

While I may be a huge Los Angeles Lakers fan, and a mere interested bystander of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the world of fantasy sports, fantasy football most definitely reigns supreme!

Even so, it was a thrill to overcome the odds, watch the favorite choke in the playoffs, and pull out a not very convincing win coming from behind on the last day of the regular season with many starters benched for the playoffs, seeing the trend and trading for bench players that would receive more playing time than normal and see them come through! Way to go, team! I mean, my team that’s not really a team, my fantasy team, The Champion SoCal BeachBums!

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SELF-POST: Head-to-Head vs. Total Stats

Yahoo! Sports … ESPN … FoxSports … CBS Sportsline

Basketball: NBA, LAKERS

Baseball: MLB, Dodgers

Football: NFL, 49ers