Thursday, March 29, 2012

Examining Deron Williams as a Fantasy Player


If you recall, back in the Fall (Summer? Spring?) I spent $67 of my $200 fantasy basketball auction budget on Deron Williams. Ballsy, move right? I mean that's more than what Derrick Rose ($65), Kobe ($43), Dwight Howard ($64), Kevin Love ($57), Dwyane Wade ($64), Russell Westbrook ($56), and Carmelo Anthony ($48) went for. In fact, only Chris Paul ($68), Lebron James ($73), and Kevin Durant ($74) went for more. It seems extra ballsy now, right?

Well check this shit out, heading into the fantasy playoffs (we might be like 3 days in. Sue me):

  • Points: 1002 (9th, 2nd among point guards)
  • Assists: 379 (T-5th and the leaders are all point guards)
  • 3-Pointers Made: 103 (3rd, 1st among point guards)
  • Free Throws Made: 221 (12th, 4th among point guards)
  • Free Throws Attempted: 261 (14th, 4th among point guards)
  • Free Throw Percentage: .847 (26th among point guards, 15th among PGs with 50+ attempts)
I compare Deron to CP3 and DRose, because those are the guys in the same price range. 
  • Points: Paul (859, 6th among point guards) & Rose (776, 11th among point guards)
  • Assists: Paul (379, T-5th among point guards) & Rose (271, 16th among point guards)
  • 3PM: Paul (59, 12th among point guards) & Rose (48, 26th among point guards)
  • FT%: Paul (.857, 21st among point guards) & Rose (.819, 31st among point guards)
Here's what plays out: I win the point guard matchup every single fantasy week. Normally it's not close. Nobody can match Williams across the board. He scores a huge chunk of New Jersey's points. He also dishes out most of their assists. He can shoot the three, and he gets to the line a fairly high number of times. All around, he's the best point guard in the game. It's just a shame that he plays for such a shitty team. 

Dallas 2012?

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Bullets Blog Fantasy Baseball Draft Summary - Team TOPH

This was an intense draft.  Other than the Jae Hawks and Twins, everyone was relatively conservative in their bids.  Very few teams bid higher than market value, unlike basketball where people like Zach Randolph went for $100 more than they should have.  Here are the results for Team TOPH, broken down by position, in order by price.

Infielders
Joey Votto, First Base, Cincinnati, $31
Hanley Ramirez, Shortstop, Miami, $28
Jose Reyes, Shortstop, Miami, $25
Ryan Zimmerman Third Base, Washington, $21
Dan Uggla, Second Base, Atlanta, $17
Buster Posey, Catcher, San Francisco, $10
Martin Prado, Third Base, Atlanta, $5
Ike Davis, First Base, NY Mets, $3
John Buck, Catcher, Miami, $2
Daniel Murphy, Second Base, NY Mets, $1

Something I just realized after listing these out, 80% of my infield is in the National League East.  To be fair, the only reason I got John Buck was because Gonchar was being a jerk and outbidding people who had no money, so when he couldn't bid over $1 I made sure to get him back.  Sweet revenge, Gonchar, that's what you get.  My starting infield is unbelievably fresh though, around the horn of Votto, Uggla, Hanley, and Zimmerman with Posey at catcher, and Ike and Reyes in the 1B/3B and 2B/SS respectively.

Outfielders
Josh Hamilton, Outfield, Texas, $18
Ben Zobrist, Outfield, Tampa Bay, $14
Carlos Lee, Outfield, Houston, $8
Josh Willingham, Outfield, Minnesota, $4
Lucas Duda, Outfield, NY Mets, $1

Lucas Duda is going to be an enormous contributor to Team TOPH this year.  He's going to be a household name in a few years, he's got enormous power and he can hit lefties.  I'm a little concerned about Willingham, and I think Lee's health is always a concern, but overall, I like my outfield.

Pitchers
Yovani Gallardo, Starting Pitcher, Milwaukee, $15
Madison Bumgarner, Starting Pitcher, San Francisco, $11
Josh Johnson, Starting Pitcher, Miami, $9
Tommy Hanson, Starting Pitcher, Atlanta, $9
Tim Hudson, Starting Pitcher, Atlanta, $8
Gio Gonzalez, Starting Pitcher, Washington, $8
Heath Bell, Relief Pitcher, Miami, $7
Johan Santana, Starting Pitcher, NY Mets, $1
Vance Worley, Starting Pitcher, Philadelphia, $1
R.A. Dickey, Starting Pitcher, NY Mets, $1

My God I'm NL East biased.  I know they're going to be the best division in baseball, and that they'll wind up getting both of the NL Wildcard spots, but to take 80% of my pitchers from that division as well?  I'm a bit scared now, overloading on players from the same division, but oh well, if you're good, you're good.  Plus, Dickey is a stud, and he's worth way more than $1.

I'm taking a lot of risks with people who have a history of injuries.  Santana, Johnson, Lee, Hamilton, Murphy, Reyes, and Posey are all major injury concerns.  However, my team has a ton of potential, and I'm excited to see what we can do.

Bullets Blog Fantasy Baseball Draft Summary - The Blue Jaes Edition

Since fantasy basketball, Oscars, Grammys, and college basketball worked out so well for us, we decided to join a random fantasy baseball league and tear it up. Here are the auction results for the Bullets Blog Blue Jaes (see what I did there?), sorted by category and in order of how much I paid for them:


High-Priced Starting Pitchers
Justin Verlander, Detroit $32
Clayton Kershaw, LA Dodgers $26
Cliff Lee, Philadelphia $25
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco $23
Felix Hernandez, Seattle $23
Cole Hamels, Philadelphia $22
CC Sabathia, NY Yankees $20
Zack Greinke, Milwaukee $19
Dan Haren, LA Angels $18
David Price, Tampa $16
Yeah. I spent $224 of my $260 on my first ten picks, and they were all starting pitchers. I'm hoping that doesn't backfire but I think I'll get a ton of points from innings pitched/strikeouts/wins. If not, well then the Blue Jaes are shit out of luck.


Expensive Position Players
Starlin Castro, Shortstop, Chicago Cubs $16
Jeff Francouer, Outfield, Kansas City $6
Chase Headley, Third Base, San Diego $3
"Expensive" is a relative term. I didn't have a whole lot of money to play with and I blew a lot of it on Starlin because I like him and I think he's going to be one of the best shortstops in the league soon. 


The One Dollars
JP Arencibia, Catcher, Toronto
Mark Trumbo, First Base, LA Angels
Mark Ellis, Second Base, LA Dodgers
Jose Altuve, Second Base, Houston
Garrett Jones, First Base, Pittsburgh
Austin Jackson. Outfield, Detroit
Dexter Fowler, Outfield, Colorado
Alfonso Soriano, Outfield, Chicago Cubs
Carlos Quentin, Outfield, San Diego
JD Martinez, Outfield, Houston
Mike Carp, First Base, Seattle
Mark Buehrle, Starting Pitcher, Miami
Yeah. A lot of bargain guys. And by bargain I mean mostly I hope some of them turn out to be decent contributors. I want to point especially to Trumbo, Soriano, Quentin, and Buehrle. I think they're going to be worth a lot more than what I paid. 


There's your fantasy baseball team. Still working on a logo but I probably won't end up doing anything about it.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Fast Food Bracket

Here's the deal. It's becoming a weekend tradition for me and one of my roommates, Alex (The Daggy, on Twitter at @Tsoupac), and I to do a random March Madness bracket. Maybe it's just a March thing. Last weekend we went thru a candy bracket that was featured in a Reese's commercial (link here). This weekend, we did a random fast food bracket that we found online. Here's the blank bracket, if you want to fill it out (we won't be offended if you only fill it out inside your head):


Some bullets (pun intended, as usual) from the first three rounds:

  • McDonalds and Taco Bell flew through to the Final Four. Like they were never challenged. 

Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Reese's Bracket

My roommate Buzz (Alex, Teddy, Xander, the Daggyy, hit him on twitter at @Tsoupac) and I were watching March Madness a few minutes ago and we saw that Reese's commercial with the bracket of snacks/sweets/things that people like to bake into cookies (but the bracket included cookies. Like some Inception cookies within cookies. I'll experiment with them this weekend). We decided to go thru the bracket as a team and decide what the most delicious thing was.

Note: the actual criteria we used was "what we love more" and even that was really ambiguous. If you try it, you'll see what I mean.


Some bullets (pun intended) about our deliberations:

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

My Apologies...But this is the reality of things- I'm ranting.


I am very sorry to all of my fans for not writing a post recently. It's been a busy few weeks but I promise I'll get back into writing. If I don't Jason can pimp smack me in the face 3 times..and that's it.

First let's talk about last night's NCAA tournament games. Two games with 4 teams that maybe shouldn't be in the tournament-but are anyways. The first game between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State was an interesting one. The Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky had a very mediocre year (with a record below .500) but still somehow managed to win their conference tournament. MVS was the better team by far, compiling 21 wins throughout the season (17 in conference).

Here's the deal, I don't care who you are. But when you have a 16 point lead with 5 minutes remaining, you better close it out. Appalachian State could be beating the Kobe-Shaq Lakers, I don't care. If you're up 16 with 5 minutes to go, you need to win the game. Mississippi Valley State blew it. Plain and simple. Congrats to Western Kentucky. Have fun playing Kentucky and Anthony Davis' unibrow.


The second game was between BYU and Iona- two of the better mid majors throughout the season. Iona came out to BALL in the first half. I've seen them play. Scott Machado is dirty. Mike Glover is a beast. And then add Momo Jones, a transfer guard who started on ARIZONA a year ago? Come on. No competition right? 2 possible draft picks against a bunch of Mormons? Well, the first half went smoothly for the Iona Gaels. They could do no wrong. On absolute fire from every spot on the court. They went into halftime up 15. And then....the second half started. In the second half, Iona was outscored 38-17 by the BYU Cougars. It's really unacceptable for such a lapse to occur. You cannot simply dominate a team, have broadcasters give out warnings to Marquette in the second round match up, and then lose. It's ridiculous. Personally, I put all the blame on the coach. He obviously was not prepared for such a lapse during the second half and didn't know what the hell to do when it happened. Hey buddy, it's called a time out. Bring your guys in, sit them down and tell them to relax and work for their shots. Unbelievable. The Gaels lost 78-72 to BYU and their best player, Brandon Davies, who happens to be the same guy kicked off of the team last year for admitting to having sex with his girlfriend. Crazy world we live in.

(does anyone really care about BYU anymore now that this guy ^ is gone?)

FINALLY, let me make a few more basketball points switching from the NCAA tournament to the NBA.

Dwight Howard: Make up your mind. It's really getting childish. Either you let the magic trade you or you sign a new deal. Personal opinion- stay in Orlando. Guys will come play with you. You're the best center in the league. Chill with Mickey Mouse and keep grabbing 25 rebounds per night.

The New York Knicks: ARE A MESS RIGHT NOW! But Carmelo Anthony will not be traded. Amar'e Stoudemire will not be traded. The reason the Knicks are so inconsistent time and time again is because they never allow for chemistry to come together. Over the past few years, the roster has experienced so many changes, creating chemistry has been impossible. Without a training camp and preseason, chemistry is impossible. I'm confident things will come together. And if not, Mike D'Antoni better start looking for a new job.

Pau Gasol: Should not be traded. I really don't understand why the Lakers keep shopping this guy. Literally, the organization was thrilled to acquire him for KWAH-MAY Brown and now the want to get rid of him? I don't get it. He still produces. Maybe if they got a decent BACK UP for him, they wouldn't have to rely on him so much. What makes the Lakers good (besides Kobe Bryant) is the fact that they two humongous big guys to fill the lane and block shots. For the sake of the team, don't trade Gasol.

If Carmelo Wants A Trade, Carmelo Can Get Himself A Trade


First off, let me just say that Carmelo's head is currently lodged very far up his anus. He wants more of a say in the team's operations and he's upset that NY went after JR Smith when Melo told them not to. He wants to feel like he matters. He wants to feel like the superstar of the Knicks. It's a little Lebron-esque, actually. Except Lebron is having the best statistical season of his life and Melo is playing like a big pile of cow manure. And now Carmelo has decided that the best course of action would be to ditch New York, ditch Lin and Stoudemire and Chandler, ditch being the best player on the team, and start over. Well here's a possibility...

New York receives: F Hedo Turkoglu, F Quentin Richardson, F Glen Davis
Orlando receives: F Carmelo Anthony


For the Knicks

  • Well, it solves the Carmelo drama. So there's that. 
  • You can get all three of these guys (inlcuding Hedo's monstrosity of a contract) for $1.2 million more than Carmelo's deal. 
  • It frees up more shots for Lin and Stoudemire. Remember when they were 6-0 without Melo? Granted, they played a bunch of shit teams, but they won. 
  • They get more pieces, and thus more depth. We've learned this year that the teams who can play the most guys usually have the most success. Well that's not entirely true but teams like Denver (who can play like 9 guys equal minutes) overachieve by running and gunning. This would give NY Lin, Davis, Smith, Shumpert, Douglas, Fields, Walker, Turkoglu, Novak, Jeffires, Stoudemire, Richardson, Davis,  and Chandler. That's a 14-man roster of guys who could all log minutes. 
  • More freedom to play team basketball. Melo catches the ball and shoots it, with maybe a pump fake or a drive mixed in. That doesn't leave a whole lot of room for ball movement or chemistry. Now you have point guards, shooting guards, shooting forwards, power forwards (including one of the best, if Amar'e can fix himself), and one of the best centers in the NBA. Lots of freedom on offense and defense. 
  • Starting 5: Lin, Smith, Fields, Stoudemire, Chandler
  • Second 5: Davis, Douglas, Shumpert, Novak, Jeffries
  • Third 5: Lin (again), Walker, Richardson, Turkoglu, Davis
For the Magic
  • Dwight wants to stay put. 
  • Bringing in Carmelo guarantees that you'll get half a season (plus playoffs) of Dwight-Melo. If they have success and make a deep playoff run (or look like they might be able to soon) then maybe Dwight is more likely to stay - after all, Orlando can offer him money by the ton. 
  • Even if Dwight jumps ship this summer, the Magic can still go forward with Carmelo and a ton of cap room. 
  • Ryan Anderson plays for the Magic. Anthony-Anderson-Howard in the frontcourt? That's a team. 
  • The Magic don't have a great situation at point guard. Melo can play point forward and run an offense. Problem solved. 
  • You can get rid of Hedo's ugly deal. 
  • Starting 5: Nelson, Richardson, Anthony, Anderson, Howard
  • Bench: Duhon, Redick, Wafer, Clark, Orton
I think New York says no, but they have to think about it long and hard before they turn it down. 

Jay's 2012 March Madness Bracket

Not that it matters because in about a week and a half everyone's bracket is going to be covered in dog shit but here are my picks for the tournament so that when I win (the war of attrition) and win hundreds of dollars you guys can all see how I did it.

South Region
Nobody should have a team other than Kentucky coming out of this region. They are a professional basketball team in a college basketball tournament. I'll skip the first round and just give you my Sweet 16 and on: Kentucky, Indiana, Baylor, Duke. No upsets, I know. Whatever. Then Kentucky and Baylor and (as mentioned before) the Wildcats again.
Jay's Pick: Kentucky


West Region
I have Michigan State, Louisville, Marquette, and Missouri in the Sweet 16. A lot of my fantasy team is riding on Draymond Green's shoulders - but that's nothing compared to how much of Michigan State's title hopes are riding on him. We both need him to do well and take the Spartans deep in the tournament. Michigan State over Louisville is easy - I hate Louisville. Marquette over Mizzou is harder, but I still like Marquette's duo of Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom.
Jay's Pick: Michigan State


East Region
By far the most wide-open region, even before Syracuse lost Fab Melo for the tournament (idiot). I think Cuse, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, and Cincinnati all have good chances of making it to the Final 4. I went with Vandy over Wisconsin to the Sweet 16, and then a Vandy-OSU matchup in the Elite 8. You have to go out on a limb with some 5 seeds sometime, right?
Jay's Pick: Ohio State (I didn't say I was going far out on a limb)

Midwest Region
There is one team and one team only that should be coming out of this region. There are two teams and two teams only that should be the Elite 8 matchup in this region. North Carolina (and Kansas). I have Temple and San Diego State getting thrashed by those two in the Sweet 16. Combined point differential of like 25.
Jay's Pick: North Carolina


Final Four

  • Kentucky beats Michigan State easily. Draymond Green vs. Anthony Davis? Okay even if you give Green a little boost and call him as good as Davis. The rest of Kentucky is one hundred bazillion times better than Sparty. 
  • North Carolina beats Ohio State easily. Zeller-Henson are more than capable of slowing down Sullinger. And I know I just said that two of Toph's players are going to shut down two of my players, but that's fine because I'm going to jump out to a commanding fantasy lead (oh wait, already done that). I just wish that Kendall Marshall was more athletic because his court vision is absurd. Oh, and, uh, Harrison Barnes. 
  • A UK-UNC national championship game would be absolutely phenomenal. The coaches (Roy Williams and John Calipari), the prospects (Davis, Zeller, Henson, Kidd-Gilchrist, Marshall, Barnes, Teague, Jones, Lamb), the prestige of the programs (some stat about combined championships or whatever). I'm rooting for this.
Jay's Pick: North Carolina

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

BBFMM Transaction List - Pre-tournament

Not that anyone should ever have to make drops or adds before the games even start, but we have one anyway:

Team Jay
Drop G Allen Crabbe, Cal
Add F Noah Hartsock, BYU

Chris' March Madness Bracket Picks

I've always filled out a bracket, and this year is no different.  I was going to post a little segment of why I picked who I picked, but that's a lot of games and I'm a lazy guy.  I'll give you my Elite Eight, and break down who gets into the Final Four and ultimately wins.

South Region:
I struggled mightily with the top seeds in this bracket.  I'm a Duke fan, and I've never taken anyone but Duke to win the tournament before.  Ever.  Until this year.  They're just not that good.  I have them getting to the Elite Eight against Kentucky, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were to get bounced by Baylor.  Baylor's extremely athletic, and they would be a real tough matchup for the Blue Devils.  I think Kentucky steam rolls through this region, and if they played Duke they might win by 35.

West Region:
I love Missouri in this region.  I think they'll beat Louisville in the Elite Eight, as I think Louisville can give Michigan State a lot of trouble.  I think due to their style they can play with the Spartans and stay in the game.  If they're close late in the game they can win it, and I think they will.  Missouri is just too balanced between their bigs and their guards, and they also have a real nice mix of athletes and skilled players.

East Region:
I'll just point it out, I think Syracuse has a real tough matchup against Kansas State.  They have enough size to own the glass against the poor rebounding team that is Syracuse.  Wisconsin will beat Kansas State and then fall to Ohio State in the Elite Eight.  Ohio State worries me a hair due to the fact that they're exactly the same team as they've been all year.  The name of the game is peaking at the right time, and I can't say Ohio State is doing that, as they haven't peaked all year.  That being said, I think they're the most solid and consistent team in this region.

Midwest Region:
Outside of Kentucky, Carolina is the most talented team in the country.  They're truly unbelievable, and as much as it pains me, nobody's beating them in this region.  They'll top Kansas in the Elite Eight, but they're the better team.  I think North Carolina State will be a surprise in this region, I really like the way they've been playing, they gave Carolina a run for their money in the ACC Tournament.  I think they'll beat Belmont who will upset Georgetown, and then eventually fall to Kansas.

Final Four:
The Kentucky-Missouri game will be an instant classic.  Both of these teams are athletic enough to play at a high paced, frenetic game, but they're also skilled enough to put up points in the half court.  I think Kentucky wins this, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit if Missouri were to win that game.
The Carolina-Ohio State game will not be an instant classic.  Carolina has too much size inside, especially if Henson is able to play, and Sullinger will have trouble putting up his usual monster numbers against Zeller and Henson.  Throw in the fact that Kendall Marshall has the best vision, and is the best point guard in college basketball, and Harrison Barnes is probably the second most NBA ready player in the NCAA.  Carolina will win this game fairly easily.

Finals:
This game, much like Kentucky-Missouri, will be one of the best games in a long time.  Both of these teams have immense talent, athleticism, and length.  They're by far the best two teams in the country.  However, Carolina will ultimately win the game.  Not only are they by far the more experienced team, but they're deeper, and they have the better in-game coach in Roy Williams.  Calipari is a fantastic recruiter, but he's an average coach when it comes to making adjustments during the game.  Roy Williams is fantastic, and he'll surely have an impact on this game.  I just don't see anyone stopping Carolina, and this is coming from a life-long Duke fan.

BBFMM Chris vs. Mark

In the spirit of March Madness, I couldn't stop at one fantasy draft.  Mark wanted to get in on the brilliant idea that is taking over the country by storm, Bullets Blog Fantasy March Madness.  We decided to have a draft this morning and this is how it turned out.

Round 1:
Mark - Anthony Davis, F, Kentucky, Tier 1
Chris - Thomas Robinson, F, Kansas, Tier 2

Round 2:
Mark - Kendall Marshall, G, North Carolina, Tier 1
Chris - Jared Sullinger, F, Ohio State, Tier 2

Round 3:
Mark - Phil Pressey, G, Missouri, Tier 2
Chris - Will Barton, G, Memphis, Tier 3

Round 4:
Mark - Perry Jones, F, Baylor, Tier 2
Chris - Garrett Stutz, C, Wichita State, Tier 3

Round 5:
Mark - Kevin Jones, F, West Virginia, Tier 3
Chris - J'Covan Brown, G, Texas, Tier 4

Round 6:
Mark - Doug McDermott, F, Creighton, Tier 3
Chris - Keith Appling, G, Michigan State, Tier 1

Round 7:
Mark - Jason Brickman, G, LIU-Brooklyn, Tier 4
Chris - C.J. Leslie, F, North Carolina State, Tier 4

Round 8:
Mark - Kyle O'Quinn, C, Norfolk State, Tier 4
Chris - Tyler Zeller, F, North Carolina, Tier 1

I tried out a new method of drafting today, and I think I executed it relatively well.  I call it the charge method.  I tried to beat him to the spot on the 2-4 Tier players, so that I would be left searching for two Tier 1 players as opposed to drafting in the same Tier as Mark each round.  I'm not positive I made the best choices, but I executed the draft strategy pretty well, and I like my team a lot.  I really like C.J. Leslie, I think NC State is playing great ball right now, and they could win their first round game.  Mark made a great pickup in Kevin Jones, he's a stud and if West Virginia wins a couple games, he's going to put up monster numbers.  Also, McDermott dropped far, and again he'll put up great numbers if Creighton can advance.  Kyle O'Quinn, the player with the highest BBFMM Points Per Game throughout the season, finally got an opportunity to play somewhere, and I'm unbelievably curious to see how he does in the first round.  He averages 15.9 Points, 10.4 Rebounds, and 2.7 Blocks Per Game.  I want to see how he does against the first real team he plays, Missouri.

So to recap:

Mark
Guards - Kendall Marshall, Phil Pressey, Jason Brickman
Forwards - Anthony Davis, Perry Jones, Kevin Jones, Doug McDermott
Center - Kyle O'Quinn

Chris
Guards - Will Barton, Keith Appling, J'Covan Brown
Forwards - Thomas Robinson, Jared Sullinger, C.J. Leslie, Tyler Zeller
Center - Garrett Stutz

It'll be interesting, that's for sure.  There will be plenty to watch, starting tonight.

Monday, March 12, 2012

BBFMM Draft Recap - Team Jay

I'm going to be honest. I think Toph did better in the draft then I did. But I'm not really worried, because March Madness is 10% skill and 90% luck anyway.

Round 1: Draymond Green, F, Michigan State (1)
He was the top player on my board, which used an equation something along the lines of:

((Seed)/16)*2*(PPG+RPG+APG+SPG+BPG)

No word yet on if that makes any sort of sense. It's supposed to take into account the player's likeliness to play more than one game in addition to their per-game statistics. Four players on my board (five if you count John Henson, who neither of us decided to take a risk on due to injury) scored above 50. Green led the way with 64.8 and he's the best player (by far) on a #1 seed that could make a deep run. It seems like Tom Izzo finds his way to the Final 4 every Spring. 

Round 2: Harrison Barnes, F, North Carolina (1)
Barnes was the top player on my "eye test" board, as Jay Bilas might say. Watching him, at times, is like watching a symphony on the basketball court. He's just so smooth. Plus he averages 25 fantasy points a game. We all knew he was going to end up on my roster at some point. But thinking back, I really should have grabbed a second-tier player and just come back to the first tier because Toph couldn't take any more. Shit. 

Round 3: Jared Sullinger, F, Ohio State (2)
He's definitely played like the second-best Tier B forward (behind Thomas Robinson) but I get the feeling that Sullinger's quietness all season will be thrown aside as he tries to prove himself to pro scouts - remember that this is a guy who was going to be a lottery pick if he declared for the draft after last season. He's probably still going to be a lottery pick, and this tournament is his way to solidify that on a national stage. 

Round 4: Tyshawn Taylor, G, Kansas (2)
Without Robinson, I was happy to snag Tyshawn from a Kansas team that could do really well but could totally flop. In a tournament like March Madness, you really want to avoid having more than one person per team. You've heard the expression, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket"? Well in this case just don't put more than one egg in a basket. Or something. 
PS - A good sign that my formula was accurate: the four players taken from Tier B were the top four on my board

Round 5: Doug McDermott, G, Creighton (8)
Even when you factor in that Creighton is an 8 seed, McDermott's scoring numbers still put him towards the top of the Tier C players. The only downside is he's limited to play 2 games, maximum. If they get past Alabama (likely) they have to face UNC (impossible). But I still aim to get 50-55 fantasy points out of him. 

Round 6: Jeffrey Taylor, G/F, Vanderbilt (5)
I like this pick because Vandy has a fairly easy draw in Harvard, Wisconsin, and Syracuse. Add in that Taylor can play both positions (giving me a lot of roster flexibility) and it's a nice complimentary pick. 

Round 7: Brandon Davies, C, BYU (14)
There was a little controversy as to his position, but we said that our official source of stats and positions was ESPN and there was an article I found that referred to him as "BYU center Brandon Davies" so he counts (link here). If you click the link, you'll be reminded that he's the guy who got kicked off the team last year because he had sex with his girlfriend. Plus BYU is in a play-in game so he's likely to get two games. 

Round 8: Allen Crabbe, C, California (12)
Another play-in game means another shot at a team playing three games before even making it to one of the top four seeds. I like those odds. I've actually never heard of or seen Crabbe before, but California is a nice state. 

Sunday, March 11, 2012

BBFMM Team TOPH Draft Recap

So, as I'm sure you're all well aware, Me and Jay's fantasy league for the NCAA Tournament begins on Tuesday, with the Selection Sunday taking place only hours ago.  Shortly after, we did a draft, and I'm pretty excited to see how Team TOPH does.

Round 1: Thomas Robinson, F, Kansas
As the overall number one pick, I had no problem taking Robinson as I thought he was a steal of a second tier player.  He averages 18 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1 block per game, giving him a total of 33.8 BBFMM Points Per Game.  Throw in the victory one point bonus that he'll surely get being on Kansas, and we've got ourselves off to a nice start.

Round 2: Anthony Davis, F, Kentucky
He's the best player in the country, playing on the best team in the country.  He's averaging 31.3BBFMM Points Per Game, and I was able to get the top two players on my board.

Round 3: Tyler Zeller, F, North Carolina
This was a tough pick, as he was high up there on my draft board too, although after drafting two forwards already, I really wanted to take a guard.  After looking at the players still undrafted, there were a lot of good guards in the second tier of players, and not many in the first tier.  That meant it made the most sense to pass on Jared Sullinger, and fill that final Forward and first tier spot with Zeller as a guard would be available later.  Plus if Henson comes back, Carolina's a damn good team.

Round 4: Marcus Denmon, G, Missouri
I love Missouri.  he was the second highest rated guard on my board, behind Tyshawn Taylor, but I didn't want to get bogged down with having too many players from the same team.  Denmon actually had the second highest BBFMM Points Per Game among guards playing in a major conference with 26.6, trailing only J'Covan Brown who averages 28.5.

Round 5: Will Barton, G, Memphis
Barton's fresh.  He held the highest BBFMM Points Per Game among guards playing for a team that I knew played in Division 1.  31.2 is a crazy high number for a guard, as only C.J. McCollum from Lehigh (35), and Nate Wolters from South Dakota State (34.3), averaged more points.  It was the fifth round, and I went with the best player on my board.  Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.  But you've got to spend money to make money, for lack of a better term.

Round 6: Garrett Stutz, C, Wichita State
It was a steal getting him in the sixth round.  They got screwed over getting a six seed and having to play VCU, but I think they could win a couple games.  Stutz averages 24 BBFMM Points Per Game, and since I wasn't aware until after I made this pick that Brandon Davies was a center, Stutz was third in centers behind Gorgui Dieng (24.1), who I will never take because that Louisville game was so hard to watch, and Kyle O'Quinn who posted a blistering 31.6.  Unfortunately, Norfolk State didn't draw a play-in game, which would have increased his value exponentially, so I had to go with Stutz on the basis of he's played better competition and has the potential to log more minutes.

Round 7: J'Covan Brown, G, Texas
How the guard playing in a major conference who posted the highest BBFMM Points Per Game lasted until the seventh round is beyond me.  Plus, throw in the fact he's on a team that's certainly been competitive all season, playing against a Cincinnati team that's painful to watch, with a second round matchup against a team that blows out nobody in Florida State looming.  Brown could be the best fourth tier player in this draft, and if Texas can win a couple games that gives him fantastic value from that fourth tier position.

Round 8: Scott Machado, G, Iona
To be honest, I had no idea his stats until 2 minutes prior to picking him, if that.  He averages 13.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 9.9 assists a game.  Plus he's playing in a play-in game, so if Iona can beat a mediocre BYU team he can log me some precious minutes.  I look at getting more than one game from a fourth tier player as a bonus, so hopefully he can work a little overtime for me, give or take.

Team TOPH Roster
Guards: Marcus Denman, Will Barton, J'Covan Brown
Forwards: Thomas Robinson, Anthony Davis, Tyler Zeller
Center: Garrett Stutz
Utility: Scott Machado

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Bullets Blog Fantasy March Madness

Selection Sunday is 3/11 - First Round Starts 3/14 - Championship Game is 4/2
Toph and I had lunch today, and our goal was to come up with a new way to enjoy March Madness. Don't get me wrong - the typical bracket-filling-out, giant group of people style of play has no problems. But it feels like every year we each do like six of those and they all blend together and get stale. So we wanted to spice it up, Bullets Blog style. We went fantasy draft style, because if you know anything about the blog then you know that we love fantasy drafts. Here's the details:

  • First, you need a group of friends (or strangers) ranging in size from 2 up to 4 (if you're looking for an easy time) or like 8 or 10 (if you're really really into gambling and college basketball)
  • Draft. However you want to do it: auction, alternating, snake, whatever. Our setup allows us to trade draft picks. All that really matters is that each player has a roster to fill that consists of:
    • 3 guards
    • 3 forwards
    • 1 center
    • 1 utility/flex/wild card (we're still looking for an official name for this)
  • The following statistical categories each count as one point:
    • points
    • assists
    • rebounds
    • blocks
    • steals
  • At the end of the tournament, whoever's team's players combine for the most points is the winner
That seems fun and new, right? Well, we decided to get a little more creative because we have a lot of free time and we really like fantasy sports. We understand if you decide to leave these out of your own version. No hard feelings. 

The Pyramid
For the next few rules, you'll want to reference this pyramid of point distributions. It will all make sense in a minute:
Extremely crude, but it gets the job done. 
The Draft Restrictions
To fill the eight roster positions, two players from each level of the pyramid must be drafted. That means you can only draft two players total from the four #1 seeds combined
  • For example: let's assume that the four #1 seeds are going to be Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, and North Carolina. You can draft, say,  Harrison Barnes and Scoop Jardine, but you can not draft any other players from any of these four teams in addition to them. 
The Drop/Add Rules
After a round of the tournament is completed, you may drop a player (for any reason: injury, elimination, you don't actually need a reason at all) and replace him with a player from a lower level of the pyramid
  • For example (continuing on the example from above): if Syracuse is a #1 seed and they lose in the first round, I could replace Scoop Jardine with a player from any level of the pyramid. 
  • Another example: if a player from a #7 seed's team is eliminated, you can drop him and replace him with a player from the lowest level of the pyramid. You have to move down. Unless you are utilizing the....
Wild 4's Clause
To display how much we really devote ourselves to fantasy sports, we added in a clause that says:
  • You may drop a player from a 1, 2, or 3 seed and replace him with a player from a 4 seed. 
This sidesteps the whole "you have to move down" part and could end up benefiting us if a team like Notre Dame (are they going to be in the 4-seed range? I have no idea but roll with it) makes a deep run. Again, these transactions must be made in between rounds. 

And now, for the most ridiculous, nerdy addition to the BBFMM rule book:

The Caramello Combination Clause
All you need to know about the name is that Caramello bars are delicious. Basically, this states:
  • You may trade in two players from the same tier in exchange for one player from the tier above that, if and only if both players in the lower tier have been eliminated from the tournament. 
  • See the pyramid for other combinations of trades. For example:
    • Two bottom level (1 point each) for a C-level (2 points)
    • Two C-level (2 points each) for a B-level (4 points)
    • Two bottom level (1 each), a C-level (2), and a B-level (4) for a top level (8)
The point of this clause is to allow for roster turnover, so that nobody is ever actually eliminated from fantasy play. However, it still makes much more sense to just draft the guys that you think are going to contribute the most for the teams that are going to be around the longest. 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012