From: Charlie Zegers
Sent: Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009 7:48 AM
To: Christopher Liss
Subject: Give and Go: The Holidays and the Aftermath
I didn’t get to see much of the NBA’s Christmas Day marathon. This, of course, is a side effect of having two little kids; I spent much of the day with a mega-pack of AAA batteries, a wire cutter, a Phillips screwdriver and some really unkind thoughts for the people who design packaging for toys.
Oh, and for the record … Transformers have gotten way more complicated than they were when I was a kid. I actually had to consult the directions to turn Bumblebee into a Camaro without inadvertently removing his arms. I blame Michael Bay.
Sounds like Kobe Bryant and Stan Van Gundy had a worse Christmas than I did. What’s your take on the Cavs’ demolition of the Lakers? Personally, I don’t buy the “L.A. just came out flat” explanation being floated by some observers – though that may be because I just got through Chris Ballard’s “The Art of a Beautiful Game,” which describes Kobe as one of the five most competitive people on the planet. I’m more agreeable to the idea that having Shaq in the mix allows the Cavs to single-cover Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum down low, which makes Cleveland’s defense much more effective against strong low-post teams.
Which was the point of acquiring Shaq – in response to Cleveland’s playoff loss to the Magic – in the first place.
I’m not particularly interested in owning the big fella in a fantasy league this season, but I’m starting to think he’ll help the Cavs a lot more than his box score shows, particularly in the playoffs. I do still think they could use a mobile power forward – the Antawn Jamison rumors make a lot of sense. On the other hand, LeBron James is approximately the same size as Charles Oakley – maybe he’s the mobile four they need.
I suspect the Cavs will make some sort of move, if only because they stood pat last season and wound up getting killed for it. If you’re Danny Ferry, what are you looking to add?
Of course, the way Andrew Bynum has been playing of late, the Cavs could probably defend him with Delonte West and still do OK. Bynum scored just four points on 2-of-5 shooting in the Cleveland game, then posted a three-point, 1-of-9 stinker in 37 minutes against Sacramento the next night. The kid looked like an all-star early this season, but since Pau Gasol returned he’s been a major disappointment. We’ve talked about looking for skills and not situations when drafting fantasy players – and clearly, Bynum is a player with skill and 20-and-10 potential. But it also seems clear that he’s having trouble adjusting to his role in the offense when Gasol is on the floor. Are you buying or selling Bynum for the rest of this season?
And speaking of 20-and-10 potential … where do you rate Zach Randolph at this point? Z-Bo has posted averages of 23.3 and 14.3 for the month of December. Those are “Young Shaq” numbers. And he’s shooting over 90 percent from the line, blocking the occasional shot, and – as near as I can tell – hasn’t been a problem on or off the court. Is it time for us to re-consider how we value the talented-but-troubled Randolph? Because the way he’s playing right now, he’s a borderline top-10 fantasy player.
via Give and Go: Holiday leftovers – Fantasy – Yahoo! Sports.
