Seth Vigdor
We are now officially one week into the NBA Season and I can truly say that I have missed the hell out of the NBA. I know that we’re still in the heart of fantasy football season, but I love having plenty of sporting options to watch on my television. Before we dig deeper into the NBA’s first week, let’s have some fun! How sick is this on court screen projection for Atlanta?
https://vine.co/v/eY6HVQu0vQH
Here’s a peak at their intros:
Well done, Hawks!
It was an action-packed week, so let’s take a look at the NBA week in review:
Five takeaways from Week 1
1.) All Steph everything
In case you forgot just how good Steph Curry is, all you had to do was watch his first four games. Let’s look his stat lines from those games.
10/27 vs. New Orleans – 40 points, 2 steals, 7 assists and 6 rebounds
10/30 vs. Houston – 25 points, 1 steal, 6 assists and 7 rebounds
10/31 vs. New Orleans – 53 points, 4 steals, 9 assists and4 rebounds
11/2 vs. Memphis – 30 points, 3 steals, 3 assists and 3 rebounds
Sounds impressive, huh? Here’s some visual aid for you in case you missed some highlights…
https://vine.co/v/e3EqVWIibe7
Do you want some more?
https://vine.co/v/e3EMDP19OvK
Chef Curry is legit. He also earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors. He’s already in mid-season form. He’s averaging 37 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2.5 steals per game. What more do you want?
https://vine.co/v/e3JtBmnb5FP
Are you not entertained?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs
He’s going to be fun to watch this year.
2.) Boogie Nights
Another guy that had a pretty good week 1 was DeMarcus Cousins. He’s averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per game. However, the Kings confirmed on Monday that Cousins will at least miss the next couple of games, due to an Achilles injury. This was one of my concerns coming into the season when news started to circulate that he was dealing with a heal issue. I love his game, but I have a bad vibe about this Kings team and the heel injury was enough to scare me away from drafting him in all of my Fantasy leagues. Cousins is a monster when healthy, but keep an eye out on this injury because it could linger all year.
Oh and Boogie shoots 3’s now…
https://vine.co/v/eYFUiEDDdOY
He has 4 in his first 3 games. That’s badass for a big man!
3.) Thunder storm
Oklahoma City is off to a nice start this year and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you as to why they look so good. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are playing lights out early on. Durant is averaging 29.8 point and 6 rebounds per game. Even without a shoe, Durant has game.
https://vine.co/v/e32l5rriMwZ
Meanwhile, Westbrook is doing what he did last year, averaging 30.3 points, 9.3 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game. He’s all over the court and he exemplifies the word hustle.
https://vine.co/v/e3pIliVA1Vt
Durant missed most of last year with a foot injury, so it’s nice to see him back and play like he never left.With these two guys healthy and each playing at an elite level, the Thunder are going to be tough to beat this year.
4.) Sad start for Kobe
Well, that didn’t take long at all. In what could be Kobe Bryant’s last season in the NBA or at the very least in a Lakers uniform, the Lakers have gotten off to a 0-3 start and Kobe is sad already. He’s averaging 17.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, but his shooting percentage is God awful. He’s only shooting 31.4% from the field and that’s clearly not helping the team, considering they’re already a team that lacks good players. He’s already been granted a day off from practice since he’s really angry with himself. I’m certain that he’ll pull himself together because he’s a fighter, but it’s not a good sign that he’s already disappointed with the way things are going this year. It could be a loooooong year for Mr. Bryant.
5.) Detroit Rock City
One of the very early season surprise teams are the Detroit Pistons. Head Coach Stan Van Gundy has these guys playing great and Andre Drummond is playing a key role in the team’s success. Drummond has always been a double, double monster and he’s been extra ferocious early on. In his first 3 games he’s averaging 18.7 points and 16.3 rebounds per games. Those are true big man numbers and there’s no reason that they won’t be that way all year. Andre Drummond won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for his outstanding play last week. Coach Van Gundy and Piston fans should be stoked with where things are heading.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSzT2jNPATM#action=share
Another reason for the Pistons strong start is PG Reggie Jackson. He’s averaging 18.7 points, 5.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. Jackson getting traded from the Thunder was the best thing that could’ve happened to him for his growth and development. With Drummond and Jackson leading this team, the Pistons will be in good shape for years to come.
Your Team, Your Town, Your 76ers Weekly Update
Sixers General Manager Sam Hinkie’s plan is finally starting to take shape. Syke! The Sixers still suck and they’ll still be in the draft lottery again at the end of the season. At the moment they’re 0-3. However, there are two bright spots on the team.
Jahlil Okafor & Nerlens Noel
The Rookie Okafor is averaging 20 points and 5.3 rebounds to start the season. He could easily be the rookie of the year when all is said and done this year. Along with Nerlens Noel, the Sixers front court looks like it could be special. Okafor is more of the offensive guy, who will continue to have the offense run through him. Look at Big Jah give it to Kevin Love:
https://vine.co/v/e32iQa7lUwY
Then you have Nerlens Noels who provides the great defense. Noel is averaging 12 points, 2.3 blocks and 10.3 rebounds per game. Provided the Sixers get a legit point guard at some point in my lifetime, we could see Hinkie’s plan start to work. Until then, the Sixers will suck and we’ll continue to go through the same process each year.
Waiver Wire Watch (*Keep an eye on, **Time to consider it, *** MUST Grab)
Each week, I will supply you with a list of players that you should consider adding from the waiver wire. Above, I listed the three tiers of players they are. So let’s take a look at the guys that you should be paying attention to. To qualify as a Waiver Wire guy, I’ll only consider those players that are owned in less than 60% of Yahoo! leagues at the time of this writing.
**Kent Bazemore (ATL – SG) – 33% owned – Bazemore is starting to get on a hot streak as he’s scored 19 and 20 points consecutively. He was a “sleeper” for some coming into the season and with DeMarre Carroll in Toronto now, Bazemore will get plenty of opportunities to shine. I think he will turn out to be quite valuable for the ROS. Strike now, while you can.
**Marvin Williams (CHA – SF/PF) – 48% owned – Williams has been rock solid to start the season averaging 12.7 points and 9 rebounds for the Hornets. We’ve been waiting for him to breakout over the years. Is this the year? Take a flier if you want to find out.
**Zaza Pachulia (DAL – C) – 29% owned – Pachulia finds himself in a nice position in Dallas, since DeAndre Jordan spurned the Mavs in free agency. He’s averaging 24.3 minutes a night, while averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. He’s a nice source of rebounds, so if you need a big, give him a look.
*Jared Sullinger (BOS – PF/C) – 39% owned – This one is more of a speculative add. We know what Sullinger can do with solid playing time and with David Lee sure to see his minutes monitored to preserve his health, I can see the C’s relying on Sullinger a lot more later on in the season. If you have a roster spot to tinker with, this isn’t a bad option.
**Kosta Koufos (SAC – PF/C) – 32% owned – Koufos is the prime beneficiary when DeMarcus Cousins is out of the lineup, like he is now. He’s capable of putting up double, doubles on any given night. If the playing time is there, he can be valuable to your team.
…
Daily Fantasy Sports
Each week I will give you my value picks that can be used for both FanDuel and DraftKings. Since NBA teams play more than one time a week, my five value plays will be plays that are recommended for the whole week based off of their salaries to start the week. While I won’t list their salary (as they may change multiple times during the week), I consider my value plays usually on, around or below $6,500 at the start of the week for both sites. Another thing to pay close attention to is injuries. Always make sure you check the status of the player prior to your official picks. Lastly, at the end of the day, the final decisions are yours to make, but I’m here to guide you through some value picks. Without further hesitation, let’s get into my DFS value picks.
Mo Williams (CLE– PG – 4 games in week) – Mo will most likely be in many of my DFS lineups going forward until Kyrie Irving returns to the Cleveland lineup sometime in January. He can score, he’s a good shooter and he can dish the rock with the best of them. Get used to seeing him in this post.
Monta Ellis (IND– SG – 3 games in week) – Ellis has no doubt sucked so far this year. I expect things to pick up quickly for him and he has some juicy matchups this week that will surely speed up the process of getting him in a groove.
Trevor Ariza (HOU– SF – 3 games in week) – Ariza is one of those guys that can contribute in all categories. Look for Ariza to be all over the stat lines this week and going forward.
Thaddeus Young (BKN – PF – 3 games in week) – Young has started off a bit slow this season, but he’ll find his groove sooner rather than later. He’s averaging 27.5 minutes played per game and along with Brook Lopez, he’ll be the top scorer on this team.
Tyson Chandler (PHX – C- 4 games in week) – Look for a big week here, especially on Wednesday night against the Kings without DeMarcus Cousins.
Here are few more parting gifts from me to you, until we meet again next week:
Big Jah with the fancy moves…
https://vine.co/v/eYtOUpgjl9T
Rudy throws a block party in Philadelphia…
https://vine.co/v/e3OtBnETTdQ
Victor Oladipo sends the OKC game into double OT…
https://vine.co/v/e3KaDarvEja
You can stay up to date with everything Fantasy Sports related by following me on Twitter (@ViggieSmalls765) and Instagram.