Fantasy related but good info...
Wired: The Fantasy Awards
Here are the Fantasy Hoops Awards for the year. Aaron Bruski and I combined our thoughts on this one and chances are, if you're still reading about fantasy hoops, you won your league, or had a nice year, and many of your players will be listed below. Enjoy.
Fantasy MVP
Alexander: LeBron James
Bruski: LeBron James
Honorable Mention: Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire & Monta Ellis.
Dr. A: LeBron overcame playing with two very skilled offensive players in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to have another huge fantasy season. Whether or not the Heat can advance to the Finals remains to be seen, but in terms of fantasy, LeBron was better to own than Kevin Durant and Chris Paul. We had Durant as our preseason favorite to take this crown, but the strong play of Russell Westbrook derailed that train.
Bruski: Ironically, the choice comes down to James, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and though Durant didn't win a positional award by my accord, he was probably James' closest competition. And the two were very close statistically, with James carrying advantages in field goal percentage, assists, and steals, and Durant carrying advantages is free throw shooting, blocks, and threes. Add it up and James has a slight edge in a per-game valuation, and with two extra games under his belt the advantage gets more pronounced cumulatively. My guess is that these two are going to do battle for these honors for the next five years.
Best Point Guard
Alexander: Chris Paul
Bruski: Derrick Rose
Honorable Mention: Russell Westbrook & Stephen Curry.
Dr. A: Paul was somewhat quiet, but still had a huge season and stayed pretty healthy, despite concerns about his knee. I could have gone with Rose here, like Bruski did, but Paul's owners were in good shape all season and he led teams to a lot of titles. However, that zero-point game on Sunday was painful.
Bruski: Yes, you read that right, I listed Rose. To clarify, Chris Paul was the most valuable PG on the year, but since I'd venture to say the majority of leagues have some form of playoffs, I have to give the nod to Rose. Over the last month, Rose scored 26.6 points with 1.9 threes, 3.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.6 blocks while shooting 46.5% from the field and 90.8% from the foul line. Paul's numbers were just behind, as he scored 16.5 points with 0.6 threes, 5.2 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 2.3 steals, 0.1 blocks while shooting 46.2% from the field and 79.7% from the foul line. And while Paul was giving owners fits with the early signs of Brandon Roy syndrome, Rose was hanging in TV land with Katy Perry. Advantage, Rose.
Best Shooting Guard
Alexander: Monta Ellis
Bruski: Dwyane Wade
Honorable Mention: Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili & Kevin Martin.
Dr. A: It was tough to pass on Wade here, but Ellis got the minutes from Keith Smart and had a monster fantasy season, playing in five more games than Wade up to this point. Yes, he crumbled in the fantasy playoffs, but based on his draft position (outside of Round 1), I'm giving Ellis the nod over Wade – who might be the best player in the league when healthy. Ellis is probably done for the season after going to the hospital on Sunday with a head injury.
Bruski: Wade falls down a million times, milks it, and gets right back up. And while he was one hangnail away from sitting out seemingly all year long, he stayed healthy and played in 75 games to date. His closest statistical comparison is Monta Ellis, who only creeps closely when you look at cumulative values. As you'll see with the SF discussion, Miami proved to be a more fertile fantasy ground than we thought it would be entering the year.
Best Small Forward
Alexander: LeBron
Bruski: LeBron
Honorable Mention: Kevin Durant
We covered this in the MVP section.
Best Power Forward
Alexander: Kevin Love
Bruski: Amare Stoudemire
Honorable Mention: LaMarcus Aldridge, Josh Smith, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Millsap & Kevin Garnett.
Dr. A: Bruski and I failed to talk about position played before putting this together, so we're stuck. I had Amare as my No. 1 center, but I can't argue with Bruski having Amare as a PF. Love was a fantasy beast all season, but a groin injury sidelined him down the stretch, when it really mattered to his owners. Maybe I should have gone with Aldridge or Smith, but it's hard to argue with what Love did before going down with the injury.
Bruski: Amare pooped out at the end, and if anybody with his body of work had started to top the charts late I'd give this a second look, but that didn't happen so Amare gets my nod. And while Kevin Love put up some monster numbers this season, his lack of steals and blocks and low field goal percentage kept him from taking the next step into elite territory. As for Love's potential for improvement in those areas? It's not going to happen when he's pinning down his guy well before a shot is released to get rebounding position, and otherwise jacking up a bunch of threes.
Best Center
Alexander: Amare Stoudemire
Bruski: Dwight Howard
Honorable Mention: Pau Gasol
Dr. A: Amare had a huge year and rewarded owners who took him with a first-round pick. His minutes were ridiculous and while he has been sitting recently in preparation for the playoffs, he came through in a big way for owners. I almost went with Dwight Howard as well, but it's still no secret that his free throws and turnovers remain a problem. I'll let Bruski handle the love for Dwight.
Bruski: Even in 8-cat leagues that count his awful 59.2% free throw percentage, Howard was still able to rank as the best true center of the bunch with high second round value (cumulative). He added a few new post moves and started to get a little bit meaner, which comes when the weight of expectations start to get a little heavier.
Keep reading for the rest of the awards.
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Fantasy Steal of the Draft
Alexander: Dorell Wright
Bruski: Dorell Wright
Honorable Mentions: Monta Ellis, Kevin Love, Paul Pierce, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Martin, Jrue Holiday, J.J. Hickson, Beno Udrih, Michael Beasley & Channing Frye.
Dr. A: Wright was likely gobbled up near the end of your draft and hit a ton of 3-pointers, as well as racked up huge fantasy numbers along the way. If he was drafted in your league, he was the obvious choice here.
Bruski: There's been some debate about whether or not Dorell Wright should be listed in the 'draft steal' section or the 'waiver wire pickup' section of the awards, which to me says all you need to know about a guy that was a flier pick in many drafts. Being a Warriors fan and following him in the preseason, it was clear to me early on that he would be productive in Golden State, and that one thought carried almost all of my teams to the promised land.
Fantasy Waiver Wire Pickup
Alexander: Kyle Lowry
Bruski: Kyle Lowry
Honorable Mention: Serge Ibaka, Marcin Gortat, Kris Humphries, Landry Fields, Jordan Crawford, Wesley Matthews, Nick Young, Tony Allen & Marcus Thornton.
Dr. A: Lowry was possibly dropped in some leagues when Aaron Brooks returned from his ankle injury, but it was Lowry who held onto the starting job and the numbers before Brooks was finally sent packing to the Suns. If you picked up Lowry and held onto him, you might have won your league due to a savvy move on the wire.
Bruski: There can be arguments made for guys that got hot during the playoffs (Jordan Crawford, Marcus Thornton) and an argument can be built for guys like Marcin Gortat and Kris Humphries, too. For my money, you just can't overlook the breadth of Kyle Lowry's work, as he held off Aaron Brooks and put up monster numbers in 71 starts.
Fantasy Bust
Alexander: Joe Johnson
Bruski: Brandon Roy
Honorable Mention: Joakim Noah, Rashard Lewis, O.J. Mayo, Marcus Thornton, Rashard Lewis, Aaron Brooks, Antawn Jamison, Jeff Green & Brandon Jennings.
Dr. A: Johnson finished with 8th-round fantasy value, and while he was still rather productive, he just no longer looks like a player who should be taken in the first three rounds of fantasy drafts. He stayed healthy and still really hosed his owners, so I'm going with him as my bust of the year. How can Thornton be on both the Bust and Pickup list? It's pretty simple, in that he killed those of us who drafted him in October, and then likely came through for another team in your league late for someone who grabbed him off waivers after he was traded to the Kings.
Many folks will have Brook Lopez on their Bust list, but he played well late and was still at least productive throughout the season, despite being outrebounded by several guards in the league.
Bruski: As he did with the Portland brass, Brandon Roy sold owners a bill of goods that implied he had a functioning knee. As it would go he didn't, and many owners' seasons were crippled early on.
Fantasy Rookie of the Year
Alexander: Blake Griffin
Bruski: Blake Griffin
Honorable Mention: Greg Monroe, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins & Landry Fields.
Dr. A: Bruski covers this pretty well and Blake was a no-brainer for this award. Therefore, I'll let Aaron do the heavy lifting.
Bruski: Griffin will get overdrafted next season, and depending on your format his value swings wildly, but no other rookie came close to equaling his fantasy value over the entire season, though John Wall has come on late and outproduced him in the playoffs. When you factor in Wall's midseason struggles and injury concerns, it's clear that the points go to Griffin. And when you add into the mix that you got to watch your guy put on a show every night, there really is no contest here.
Most Frustrating Player To Own
Alexander: Danny Granger
Bruski: Brook Lopez
Honorable Mention: Joe Johnson, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Any Piston, Stephen Curry, Marc Gasol, Carlos Delfino, Andrew Bogut, Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, Jeff Green, Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, DeJuan Blair, Tyreke Evans, JaVale McGee.
Dr. A: Danny Granger missed a Sunday game late with the flu that cost me a shot at a championship. He also shot it miserably at times, jacking up ill-advised 3-pointers and playing without any semblance of discipline. He's not a leader and reminds me more of Joe Johnson and Shawn Marion than anyone else. He's a solid NBA player, but I pity the Pacers for having him being options No. 1 and 2 in Indy. I'm putting him on my "never again" list, although that could end up being a bad decision in the long run.
Dr. A (for Bruski): Any time your starting center and high draft pick grabs less than six rebounds per game, it's going to be a rough season. Lopez had five or less boards in 37 games (and counting) and three or less 12 times. C'mon, man.
Fantasy Coach of the Year
Alexander: Larry Drew
Bruski: Tom Thibodeau
Honorable Mention: Doc Rivers, Paul Silas, Rick Alderman, Frank Vogel, Vinny Del Negro, Scott Brooks & Nate McMillan.
Dr. A: You could rely on the Hawks' rotation throughout the season and it's hard to blame Drew for Joe Johnson's problems. I'm putting that one on Joe.
Bruski: Like many things coaching related, the personnel made all the difference here, as I could write the Bulls blurbs before the game was even played. And like a referee that doesn't get noticed, Thibs found a rotation at shooting guard and let his other four starters play heavy minutes. There were other coaches who faced a greater degree of difficulty on their jump, but when you can set it and forget it with Thibs -- I can't vote against the guy.
Worst Fantasy Coach of the Year
Alexander: John Kuester
Bruski: John Kuester
Honorable Mention: Avery Johnson, Jim O'Brien, Keith Smart, Scott Skiles & Monty Williams.
Dr. A: Kuester's rotations, random lineup changes, misuse of Rodney Stuckey, Greg Monroe (early) and Austin Daye, as well as the situations with Rip Hamilton and Tracy McGrady, made Kuester the toughest guy in the league to get a read on. He won't have a job next season, and has no one to blame but himself. I didn't think a guy like Kuester or Keith Smart (GSW) could make me miss Don Nelson, but these two pulled it off. Not to mention Avery Johnson.
Bruski: One month ago I would have voted Avery Johnson for his overwhelming mental kung fu grip, but I cannot ignore the mess in Detroit. Surely, those cats had already devoured Flip Saunders, and Kuester was probably dead to rights before he arrived -- but good god man have some dignity. You don't deactivate a player in Rip Hamilton, who helped deliver a championship to your city, when he can start for any number of teams in the league -- and you certainly don't get into a urination match with him, either. Daily rotation changes, players openly laughing at him and disrespecting him, and generally pinning the tail on the wrong donkey -- John Kuester took train wreck to a whole new level.
