We are less than four weeks into the NBA season. And while it is a small sample size, it is large enough to determine whether teams are off to good starts or bad starts. The bigger question is how long can these teams sustain their starts? For that, we have brought back the Three-Man Weave, where three Sheridan Hoops staff members answer three questions. Making his Weave debut is columnist Ben DuBose, who also handles our Tuesday blog. He was able to
Yesterday, I all but guaranteed the Bulls would win and they lost by 15. But we don’t care about team results in DFS. Using six Chicago players in my DraftKings lineup paid off handsomely. [Read more…]
Of the eight teams that reached the Western Conference playoffs last season, six of them had at least one player among the NBA’s top-20 in win shares. The two playoff teams that did not have a player among the top 20 were Memphis, with stars Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and Zach Randolph, and San Antonio, who boasts the famed star quartet of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Obtaining, maintaining and sustaining a roster with All-Star level talent
For the second night in a row, a top-dollar superstar disappointed. James Harden double-doubled, but when you pay more than 20% of the salary cap for any player, only a massive line is good value in daily fantasy. [Read more…]
Kind of mad at myself this morning — for not winning enough. LeBron James, Gordon Hayward and Pau Gasol combined for 161.25 fantasy points, but the cheaper pieces they were surrounded with all disappointed. [Read more…]
The Memphis Grizzlies begin the 2014-15 season with high hopes. With the core in place and an exceptionally deep bench, making a return to the Western Conference finals – or further – is the goal. Last season, the injury bug bit the Grizzlies. Multiple key players missed extended time, and the Grizzlies couldn’t separate themselves in the West as a result. Ending the season contemplating what could have been is unpleasant, and it’s a situation the Grizzlies don’t care to find themselves
The growth of analytics in the NBA has been nothing short of phenomenal. It started with a deeper look at numbers that already were available and produced new and useful statistics such as true shooting percentage, defensive rebound percentage, offensive rating and win shares. With the use of a grid or a matrix, we now have the ability to determine a player’s offensive tendencies and hot spots. For some players, it is quite revealing. For others, such as DeAndre Jordan, it pretty
BROOKLYN — One season after the Jason Kidd experiment failed in bizarre fashion, the Brooklyn Nets introduced the man the franchise should have hired in the first place. Lionel Hollins isn’t here for power struggles, whether they be with staff members, GM Billy King or ownership. He’s here to coach. “I’m a basketball coach,” Hollins said. “I don’t want to do Billy’s job. I don’t want to do anybody else’s job in the organization but the one that I’m hired to do