This article is part of our Rebound & Rant series.
Ugh, the holidays are over. During my old corporate days, the Monday after the holidays was always my saddest day of the year. There was nothing to look forward to beyond cold weather and lots of corporate drone office hours. Endless meetings forcing unnecessary overtime while the sky turns dark at 4:30 p.m. Thank God for the delightfully juvenile escape of fantasy sports!
It's understandable that you might have gotten behind on fantasy hoops during the holiday season. But the NBA rests for no holiday, so let's get caught up on things.
Do We Have A Right To Know The "Personal Reasons"?
Larry Sanders is out again for the dreaded "personal reasons". I'm guessing this is worse than just an embarrassing picture of him naked, chugging Egg Nog at the Bucks' holiday party. You'll recall Sanders lost 25 games last year to a thumb injury resulting from a nightclub brawl:
Watch out for flying champagne bottles! Amazingly, this happened shortly after Sanders signed a four-year, $44 million dollar contract to be a leader of the team. Then, in April he was suspended five games for violating the league's drug policy. Sanders subsequently apologized for his marijuana use, but then rather vehemently defended use of the drug.
There are two takeaways from this. First, Larry Sanders seems like a great guy to party with at the New Year. Second, he's a pretty bad option for your fantasy squads. Like many, I was excited to see him start 26 of the Bucks' first 27 games. I had dreams of him returning to his 2012-13 days of 2.8 blocks per game. Now it looks like that isn't going to happen. Do we as fans and fantasy players have a right to know what the personal issues are? No, but I still want to know.
For those seeking help at the five, consider Cole Aldrich in New York. Rumor is the Knicks might release Samuel Dalembert to save cash. With nothing to play for this season, the Knicks might as well see what they have in the 26-year-old Kansas product. Aldrich has averaged a pleasant 1.4 blocks per game in his last five games, all starts. Other options include Ed Davis, Patrick Patterson and either Miles Plumlee or Mason Plumlee.
So Who Wants J-Smoove?
Admit it, as soon as you heard the Rockets picked up Josh Smith after he was dumped by the Pistons, you thought, "and the West gets even stronger." I had that thought for about two seconds, but then remembered he was outright released by the woeful Pistons, meaning no one was willing to trade Detroit anything of value for Smith's services (and ugly contract). Is James Harden really going to pass the ball to a guy shooting 39 percent from the field? And how does Smith work as a stretch four in Houston's "threes or layups" system if he's shooting 22 percent from three-point range? And did I mention Smith's 46 percent shooting from the charity stripe? Those are all decent reasons for why Houston moved Smith out of the starting lineup on Saturday night. I know Smith's blocks are fantasy gold, but the percentages are deadly.
I think the following video from earlier this season of Smith bricking a possible game-winning (losing?) three-pointer versus the Thunder, with some wonderful Jim Ross wrestling commentary overdub, captures the "Smith In Detroit" era quite well:
To me, the real fantasy news here is clearly the Rockets don't think Terrence Jones is coming back anytime soon. The 22-year-old had "breakout season" written all over him this summer, and he started hot with 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 0.8 three-pointers in his first four games before suffering a bruised nerve in his leg. (Those are Josh-Smith-Peak-Of-His-Game stats). Unfortunately, Jones is still out indefinitely. I was stashing Jones in one league, but the Smith signing convinced me to finally let go. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Gee, Maybe This Is Why The Celtics Felt They Couldn't Rebuild Around Rondo
Wow, two years without defense? It is half the game, Rajon -- this isn't the ABA. In Boston, with Rondo gone, look for Evan Turner to get just as much of a boost as Marcus Smart due to added minutes.
Spur-gasm®© Update
I grew up a Washington Bullets fan (see Gheorghe Muresan jersey) and can't believe the wonderful start they've had this season. Yet, in total Spur-gasm®© fashion, somehow John Wall was outplayed Saturday night by the dynamic duo of Cory Joseph and Patty Mills. Seriously, that happened. Check out these highlights:
The deliciousness that is Spurs basketball is unfortunately fantasy kryptonite, particularly for daily fantasy. All I can suggest is keeping an eye out on our
Daily Lineups Page for who coach Pop might rest next game.
Wait, you say you don't believe me about the Gheorghe "My Giant" Muresan jersey? OK, you asked for it:
Peace out!
Editor's Note: Ken comes off boisterous, but he's too humble to brag, so I'll do it for him. Thanks to all the readers of the Rebound & Rant, Ken was named a finalist for the FSWA Humor Article of the Year. Congrats Ken! You deserve it. Here's hoping you bring home the trophy. :)
