When the Oklahoma City Thunder traded James Harden on Saturday night, they revealed to everyone that they are a team far more concerned with the bottom line than the top of the heap. Probably a bit ahead of schedule, the Thunder reached the NBA Finals last season. As we have said before, they were a questionable foul call away from opening a 2-0 lead on the mighty Miami Heat that would have cultivated the doubt and derision that has swirled around
Friday was the final night of exhibition games — hooray! — and this is a huge weekend for fantasy basketball drafts. We’ll take a quick look here at all the results, along with what we learned, if anything. Later today, around 2:00, be sure to return for the debut of our Week Ahead column by Jeff Nichols. Every Saturday afternoon, Jeff — the master strategist behind our Fantasy Basketball Primer — will review the previous week (today, the entire preseason) and
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) The Bobcats of last season were 100 percent tragedy. They were an utter disaster on the court, making NBA history with the worst season winning percentage. Thankfully for them, the shortened season
If you’re someone like me who takes great joy in finding under-the-radar players and watching them rise up the ranks, then you should definitely check out Tommy Dee’s list of eight NBA training camp invitees who could make Opening Night rosters. Most camps open Tuesday, and Monday is media day. We’ll have you covered from different hotspots around the country. Already in the bag are Dallas (championship aspirations in a grand experiment), by Jan Hubbard, and LeBron James’ quest to reach the
Southeast Division Fantasy Preview Part II In Part 1, we covered the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. In Part II, we look at the Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats. Orlando Magic “Incompetence is the world’s greatest cloak for corruption.” I heard this quote on a local radio talk show discussing the referee situation in the NFL. I wish I knew the guest so I could properly credit him. It stuck with me as a perfect explanation for what may be going
SF Tiers The two best players in fantasy hoops are small forwards. You can’t get both; they will go 1-2 in just about every league, for good reason. Which one to choose is more a matter of luck than fantasy expertise. Do you have first pick, or second? This is the third in a series. We’ve already looked at the best point guards and shooting guards. PF and C tiers will follow the next two days. Keep in mind that it’s very early
We’re still in a bit of a holding pattern basketball-wise until training camps get underway, but the news never stops in the NBA. Before we get to tonight’s items, a heads-up to keep a close eye on Kent Williams’ daily fantasy articles, the latest of which is here. They’re an excellent resource for fantasy players, both new and experienced, and for regular basketball fans, too. And right here, we’ve got all the latest news from around the NBA. Dwyane Wade’s ex has some stories
Yesterday we talked about context — especially keeper leagues vs. redraft leagues — being a significant part of any player’s fantasy value. We didn’t even mention custom scoring. There are leagues where missed free throws don’t matter, making Dwight Howard a must-own instead of a category-killer. Turnovers are also not counted everywhere; I’m in more than one league where A/T (assist/turnover ratio) is used instead. Adjust the order of any or all of these names to better reflect your league’s settings. Tomorrow