Monday, December 14, 2009

Another Nail in the Coffin

The night of December 5th started off with such promise. The Houston Rockets were in Portland that evening for a showdown of probable Western Conference playoff teams. The Trailblazers hadn't played in 3 days and all the buzz was about the breakthrough performance of their young 7 foot center. Greg Oden is coming off of a 13 point/20 rebound / 4 block performance. All Star buzz was swirling and the phrase coming out of every ones mouth was, "He has arrived". No more bust talk. No more second guessing on passing on Kevin Durant. No more the next Sam Bowie chatter. This is what everyone had been waiting for.

Then ...

4 minutes into the game Rockets guard Aaron Brooks drives to his right and into the paint. He takes off and releases a floater just over the outstretched hands of Oden. Their knee's collide and the young 7 footer is on the floor screaming into the hardwood. I can only imagine the sound in the arena at that time. Probably a skin crawling silence. The sound of 20,000 people screaming "Not Again" without a single word being spoken.
Here on the east coast I'm one of the few that still defends the Blazers for taking Oden. I still remember watching the All American game when he was in High School when he was a man among boys. I still remember the NCAA final where Oden put up a 25 and 12 with 4 blocks against a Florida front line that all got drafted in the first round of the NBA draft.
Oden always seemed like he was trying so hard to be the "Next Great Big Man" when his body clearly had other ideas. You can tell he cares. You can tell he wants nothing more than to help Portland over the hump and start collecting jewelry. Unfortunately you can also tell he is probably never going to get to that level. This seems like another nail in the coffin of "Greg Oden the future HOF". Just remember a bust is someone who didn't have it in them or someone who didn't care enough to bring it out of themselves. Greg Oden's body betrayed him. That's not a bust, that's just bad luck.

Fantasy Fortune Teller

By now you have discovered what the strengths and weaknesses of your team are. Although you would like to dominate 2 or 3 categories you never want to do that at the expense of others. Although punting is a little smarter in head to head formats a well rounded team will always give you the best chance to win. With that said it's always difficult to work out a trade for a top 25 player to instantly come in and help your team. The real bargains are the middle tier guys that can fill out your team exactly where you need the help. Also finding guys who contribute in categories that usually don't come from that position help IMMENSELY! Here are a list of guys you can target that can help you fill in some holes on your team without having to trade your 1st or 2nd round talent.
(keep in mind points and rebounds are the easiest things to fill so they will not be discussed here)

Need Assists?
Guys like Boris Diaw, Marcus Camby, Lamar Odom and Joakim Noah all perform well above the league average for their position in this category. Averaging 3 assists a game might not sound like a lot but when most PF/C types only average 1-1.5 you are picking up around 8-10 dimes a week on your opponent.

Need 3's?
Try trading for guys like Channing Frye, Rasheed Wallace, Matt Bonner, Ryan Anderson or Ryan Gomes. When playing a team with traditional big men sprinkling in a few of these guys could give you a 5-6 3pm advantage over the course of a given week or match up.

Need blocks?
This is one of the toughest categories to get help in but in return can be one of the easiest to secure if you have the right guys. Having multiple players contributing in a category is the best way to win it and few players can average a block a game. Guards such as Dahantay Jones, Thabo Sefolosha and John Salmons as well as Small Forwards such as Wilson Chandler, Shane Battier and Charlie Villanueava can all bring you a cheap source of blocks.

Are your %'s lacking to where they should be?
Most big men shoot above 50% but finding PG's who do that is scarce. Getting your hands on plyaers like Beno Udrih, Ramon Sessions or Jose Calderon can go a long way in helping out. Also SG's such as Ronnie Brewer and Anthony Marrow can help out as well.
On the opposite side of things your guards are usually the ones carrying your FT%. Getting big men like Carl Landry, Al Harrington, Elton Brand and Brad Miller will give you a chance to stabilize a normally tough category.