Fantasy related but good info....
Rose Seals Deal On MVP
There were just two games in the NBA on Thursday night, but that's not going to stop us from taking a look around the league as the season winds down. The latest superstar to officially shut it down is Deron Williams, who will have wrist surgery today. Additionally, it was announced just after I posted this column that Andrew Bogut is done for the year as well. See Rotoworlld Player News for details.
FantasyPostseason.com
But before we jump into what's going on with the players in the league, I thought I'd let you know about the NBA Fantasy Playoff league we put together here at Rotoworld. It looks like most of the owners in this one will consist of the Rotoworld Hoops Crew you know and love, with a couple rock stars filling in the last couple spots. In any case, there aren't many sites out there that offer fantasy playoff leagues, but we found one at Fantasypostseason.com. We're going to have a live draft, start 2 G, 2 F, 1 C, 1 F/C and 2 Flex players, with points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks all worth 1 point. Turnovers are –1, while Double-Doubles are worth 3 bonus points, Triple-Doubles are worth 8, and a 30-point scoring game is worth 5 bonus points.
The site and setup are very flexible and you can really customize it in any fashion you're in the mood for. So if you're as sad to see the season end as we are, roll your league over to Fantasypostseason.com and enjoy some bonus fantasy hoops through most of June. I'll be back with some strategy advice and a look at how our draft went in upcoming columns.
Additionally, I'll have my year-end Fantasy Awards Column out this weekend in place of a new Waiver Wired, so look for that on Sunday. And my first NBA Mock Draft is on tap for next week as well.
Thursday Night's Action
Bulls Throttle Celtics
The Bulls crushed the Celtics last night, as the Twitter community continued to ask the question on the mind of most Celtics fans. Which is, why in the world did Danny Ainge trade Kendrick Perkins for Jeff Green? Yeah, I get that they were going to lose Perk after the season, as well as that they needed to get younger. But it really feels like Boston went from having a decent chance at winning it all to having no chance with the trade. And yes, maybe he assumed Shaquille and Jermaine O'Neal would be fully healthy by the playoffs, but again, those are not the guys who took you within a game of a title last year, and they're both hobbling around on one leg, or less. Had Ainge had this same mentality when he pulled off the deals for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, he would have never done it, knowing the window for a ring was going to close so quickly. At least they got one championship, but I don't see how the Celtics win the East this year, let alone make it to the Finals. And while this probably isn't fair, trading Perkins, the core of the team defense, away for Jeff Green when you already have Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett really feels more like something the Hawks would have done a few years ago, and not today's Boston Celtics.
Garnett double-doubled with 10 points and 10 rebounds last night, while Pierce and Green scored 10 points each. There they are – the only highlights for the Celtics. Oh, and Jermaine O'Neal played 16 minutes for five points, zero rebounds and two blocks, while we still haven't seen the much anticipated return of Shaq, which could happen on Sunday.
For the Bulls, Derrick Rose posted his standard line of 30 points, five boards, eight dimes, two steals and two 3-pointers, and put an exclamation point on the MVP Award last night. Joakim Noah hobbled through his sprained ankle and played solid D, but owners were certainly hoping for more than two points, six boards and a couple blocks. He had ice packs on various body parts whenever he was on the bench last night and played just 23 minutes. He's playing the role of warrior, but you have to wonder if he's about to get another couple games off before the playoffs start. Luol Deng scored 23 and Carlos Boozer double-doubled as the Bulls are now primed to capture the No. 1 seed in the East on Friday night with a win over Cleveland. And just to humor myself, the Bulls would also clinch if Boston loses at home to the Wizards. And if that happens, Chicken Little himself will make a personal appearance at the Garden after tonight's game.
Blazers Blast Jazz
Marcus Camby was out with a sore neck, Brandon Roy somehow scored 11 points in 21 minutes, and the Blazers got rock-solid performances out of Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews, sending the Jazz to yet another loss. Matthews had 18 points, seven boards and two threes, and might be worth grabbing if he was cut in your league, while the same goes for Batum.
For the Jazz, rookie Gordon Hayward finally cooled off a bit with just 10 points, C.J. Miles stayed ice cold, going 3-of-11 last night for six points. He's now hit just 3-of-24 shots from beyond the arc over his last five games. Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson double-doubled, while Devin Harris returned from a seven-game absence with 26 points, five assists, five 3-pointers and seven turnovers. If you want to pick him up, it seems to make sense, although I'm still in a bit of shock that he returned at all from his hamstring injury.
News & Notes
Nets Deron Williams (wrist surgery) and Kris Humphries (ankle/back) are both done for the season, while Anthony Morrow is expected to return to action on Friday night. Jordan Farmar is an automatic start, or at least he should be, while it's anyone's guess whether Avery Johnson will go with Dan Gadzuric, Travis Outlaw or Brandan Wright at power forward. When Williams had an MRI in Utah it was determined surgery was not needed, but obviously things took a turn for the worse between then and now, and it's become pretty obvious that he shouldn't have been playing through the injury all this time.
Amare Stoudemire will be out for the Knicks on Friday night due to his sprained ankle, while Chauncey Billups is expected to start despite his thigh injury. Start Billups at your own risk, but make sure you've got someone else in there beside Amare tonight. Shawne Williams is expected to start in his place, while there's also been talk about Shelden Williams starting at center for the playoffs.
Josh Smith (knee) is out again for the Hawks and isn't expected to play until Monday.
Dwyane Wade is probable for the Heat tonight against the Bobcats, which means he's very likely to play, although it's possible his minutes could be limited.
There's still no word on whether Jason Kidd (knee) and Tyson Chandler (back) will play on Friday night, but it sounds like there's a decent chance each of both giving it a go.
Kevin Love (groin) and Darko Milicic (ankle) are still on shutdown watch for Minnesota and we should have an answer soon on both of them. In other news, Ricky Rubio is expected to play for the Wolves next year, if the NBA can avoid a lock out, although I'll believe RR in a Wolves uniform when I see it.
Leandro Barbosa (finger) and Amir Johnson (ankle) are game-time decisions tonight, while Andrea Bargnani (ankle) and Jose Calderon (hamstring) didn't even travel with the team. My guess is Bargs and JC are done for the season. Reggie Evans, Jerryd Bayless and Ed Davis are the big winners in this mess.
The Magic are off until Sunday, when Dwight Howard will sit out with another suspension. Quentin Richardson will also be suspended, although that one doesn't really matter in fantasyland. Ryan Anderson will start in his place.
The Memphis Grizzlies can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Kings tonight.
