New season

Ok so it´s not new anymore but here is my blog for today.

Hot pickups right now.
Steve Blake - he came into training camp this year in shape and so far this season he has been solid. A big part of the gameplan for the Blazers is 3pt shooting and for now the most lethal shooter is Blake with 29 so far. Rudy Fernandez is struggling at the same time so pick up Blake if available. He should also give you around 5 ast pr. game.

Dj Augustine - Really been on fire for the last few days since he was made a starter for Charlotte.

Elton Brand seriously injured - out till 2008?

Always sad when a first round fantasy player gets injured even before the season starts. The news this morning is that he ruptured his left Achilles' tendon on Friday during his daily workout.

The 28-year-old will undergo surgery but plans for the operation have not been finalized yet, the Clippers said. With Livingston out next season and possibly Elton Brand out for most of the year, who will pick up the slack for the Clippers?

Will the team go into rebuilding mode, tank the season and go for the nr. 1 pick at the 2008 draft? Last year they signed Tim Thomas as a free agent in one of the worst deals during last years offseason, he played mainly SF last season and I don´t see them giving him these Brand minutes as this team is going nowhere with Cassell as their only point guard and without Brand this team scares no one. Al Thornton should start at PF and the 14th pick of this years draft could be a surprise rookie of the year if everything goes well.

NBA Schedule 2007-2008

Created the cheatsheet for those who want to have a complete, one excel sheet for all teams, all games. I play in a daily roto league on Yahoo and it´s crucial in a competetive league with that format to pick players who can play on days when there aren´t a lot of games so.

No huge surprises in the schedule this year compared to the last. The lakers, Spurs, Dallas, Phoenix are up there as usual but Chicago is a surprise nr. 3 on the list when looking at days when there are 6 games or less. Portland is feeling the Oden effect by jumping all the way up to nr. 8th place on the list while Cleveland, Miami and Sacramento fall down the list from previous years. For the excel sheet go to

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pamBwq29Za8LG3Nnhu8czaQ

Please comment on this and if you know of something similar out there let me know.

Breakout player - Rajon Rando

This guy will rock next season both due to new additions, Ray allen and KG as well as no more D. West or Telfair to steal his minutes. I expect him to be playing 30 plus minutes a game. His strengths will be a lot of steals, assists, hell he could even lead the league in steals in a couple of years. His rookie season he had 128 steals in limited minutes and actually led the whole league in steals per 48 minutes and was 10th overall in total steals. He needs work on his shooting and he had poor stats in the FG and FT% categories (42 and 65%), he doesn´t shoot threes (he won´t have to with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce by his side next season). He won´t score a lot but should rebound more than average for a PG. Where do you pick this guy? If assists and steals are what your looking for then this guy should be a great backup PG, perhaps even more than that. I would say look for him to go in rounds 8-10 (in a 10 team league), also depending on how sleeper hungry your opponents are.

Garnett to the celtics

This trade which is all but finalised will send KG to the celtics for forwards Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green, center Theo Ratliff, guard Sebastian Telfair as well as two future first-round NBA Draft picks, according to the report.
Starting lineup for the celtics is pretty easy to figure out but the timberwolves is more tricky with all these new players coming in.
The biggest losers in this trade might be Ray allen and Paul Pierce while the biggest winner might just be KG since he will keep most of his stats and probably get more assists and blocks etc. than before. I believe he will be so motivated now, unlike the last couple of years where he was stuck, alone in Minnesota with no hope for a championship.

Baron Davis

Here is a guy that can help your fantasy team in a huge way, when healthy and that is a big when. He missed something like 28 games through injury and his stats were 18-9 2-3pts and 1.7 steals a game. Not bad at all but we all know he should have a better season this time around and be a top 5 PG in your fantasy league IF healthy. His FG% hurts him though, bigtime... he is below 40% so be prepared to pick up a shaq or two if you want this guy in your team (and if your looking at getting something for the FG% category.

A little quote from him "My focus and where I'm headed is where I need to be at this point," Davis said in a phone interview from his home in Las Vegas. "I don't think I have to prove anything to nobody except myself. Last year I was out to prove to everybody I was back. This season, I don't care about that. I've just got a more selfish approach with the things I need to do." -

A more selfish approach.. SWEET for his fantasy owner, not so sweet for the other players in his team.

AMARE

Hiya all. The start of the NBA season is crawling towards us and this is the time to prepare for your fantasy draft. One of the top picks last year was Amare Stoudemire and we all know some sorry a## that picked him last year. Who will take the chance on him this year and at what point in the draft? Second round is my guess and I for one might pick him in my draft at the nr. 13 spot. Why? I love taking risks and I normally end up losing but hey.. it´s a game right? A nice article link for amare and his progress. see below

AMARE