By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

The impact of labor negotiations milling right to the brink of the NFL season figured to cause issues on the field. Poor play and non chemistry amongst teammates were expected. The season though has been a success for the most part. More quarterbacks than ever came close to eclipsing Dan Marino’s mark, and Drew Brees accomplished it.

The NFL showcases it’s dominance as the premier sport in America year in and year out. The NBA, however is coping with a delayed start to their season much differently. Teams are no where they need to be.

The first stretch of games have looked awful, and more like exhibition games. The imbalance of putting together four complete quarters is nightly. Struggles of displaying effort consistently is also there nightly. More and more teams are utilizing rookies, undrafted free agent rookies, and even NBA development league players.

Athletes that were likely training harder during the lockout to prepare for overseas, figuring they needed a true backup plan from the NBA.

Games have been so laughable that during the Atlanta vs. Miami Heat game, Charles Barkley and fellow commentators could not hold back comments aimed at lazy play. Atlanta had to rely on their near 12^th man in Ivan Johnson to provide a spark, while their nucleus of stars hoisted errant shots and played defense as if they were participating in practice drills.

To the annoyance of Charles Barkley, he was disgusted to broadcast play by play in a triple overtime game as such. The game already was missing the Heat stars of Dwayne Wade and Lebron James, but the enthusiasm of role players ready to play was night and day, between the two teams.

As the season continues towards a rushed All-Star break, how will fans cope with the accelerated season with a decline on the court? David Stern has been a solid commissioner for quite some time, but this lockout is going to offset some of the momentum the NBA had gained back from the 1999 lockout.

Many teams just do not have the superstars or talent on them. The superstars we are use to are aging fast. After the top ten to fifteen superstars there is a major drop off. Second units that come onto the court are typically inexperienced, as opposed to tenured veterans that could revive teams.

It’s a mess that can all plagued to front offices, coaching staffs, and players rushed to put together a season.

Revenue was already lost with the late start to the season, it will continue with the decline of the performance the NBA is displaying nightly to it’s fans.

By Vidur Malik

notjustagame23@gmail.com

The Golden State Warriors don’t usually make much noise on the national scene, and for the most part, that hasn’t changed this season.

Their main storylines going into this season were the transition to first-year coach Mark Jackson and their inability to land marquee free agents.

Even though the Warriors may not have signed Tyson Chandler, Chris Paul or DeAndre Jordan, a few of their new players could end up having a fantasy impact. Kwame Brown and Brandon Rush are two Warrior sleepers who are worth considering.

Brown may never shake off his status as a bust after being picked No. 1 overall in the 2001 draft, but he has the chance to be a key member of a Golden State team that is trying to establish a defensive identity. At 6-foot-11 and 270 lbs., he brings much needed size to the Warriors and can be a presence down low. He grabbed 10 rebounds in only 12 minutes in the Warriors’ 92-78 win over the Knicks on Wednesday, and his numbers should improve as he gets more comfortable with Jackson’s defense. Brown should also block a good amount of shots this season, so he can help your fantasy team in that category. Brown has bounced around several teams in his career, but if he can become the defensive anchor the Warriors need, he might have a home in the Bay Area.

While Brown has the potential to boost the Warriors’ frontcourt defense, Rush can do the same on the wing. Rush has become an all-around threat in his first three games with Golden State, averaging 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks per game. At 6-foot-6 and 225 lbs., he should be able to outmuscle smaller players on offense and play strong defense throughout the season. He also brings offensive production, so look for him to be a solid bench player you can promote to the starting lineup if need be.

If the Warriors do play stout defense this season, expect Brown and Rush to be major contributors. They may not have been the most sought after players in the offseason, but you can use that to your advantage and add them to your team while they fly under your opponents’ radars.

By Zack Cimini

 notjustagame23@gmail.com

Time and time again college success doesn’t translate to the NBA. Kemba Walker looks as if he has decided to skip his senior season and declare for the NBA draft. Why shouldn’t he? Academically he will graduate, and he is coming off one of the more prolific statistical seasons from a college athlete. He did this all with a team that was supposed to be unimpressive, and full of underclassmen. The school was also surrounded by allegations that surfaced from the past, and led to a three game suspension for Coach Calhoun next season.

None of that affected Kemba Walker. He stormed the scene in the Maui Invitational. Shocking upsets over Michigan State and Kentucky, which propelled the Huskies from not ranked to the top ten. When the wall of the Big East came and the Huskies finished 9-9 in the conference, it seemed like the Huskies had been figured out. Trying to Jimmer Fredette other teams proved an impossible feat. If there is one conference good at adjusting against one another it is the Big East. Syracuse pulled out their usual zone defense against the Huskies, and that’s when the decline began. Walker scored a season low eight points, and the same concepts were applied by multiple Big East teams.

Turnovers started to pick up for Walker along with poor shooting performances. He just wasn’t trusting his younger teammates, and putting to much pressure on himself. Then the Big East conference tournament came along. The transformation as an improved shooter, ball handler, and scorer was evident all season. The area he showcased that made him the best all around college player and eventual NCAA champion, is what carried this team in the post season. He stopped solely relying on himself, and started feeding and trusting his teammates. Confidence began to brew for his team. The freshman began to shoot the ball better and as a team they matured exponentially on the defensive end.

At around 5’10, Walker must know he’ll have to carry over the play making part of his NCAA tournament run to the NBA. The scorer first pass second mentality has to change by a large ratio. Adapting to guards just as quick as him and likely stronger will take some time. So where will Walker fall in the NBA Draft?

We figure he should still be a top ten to fifteen pick. He should come off the bench and can be an instant impact minutes producer for a team. One area he’ll need to concentrate on is getting rid of the ball upon penetration. John Wall’s speed is one of his best assets, but also gets him in trouble quite often. He’ll dribble into the lane with no where to go with the ball and cause turnovers. Walker made the most of his production upon penetration in college or utilizing his step back jumper.

Will Walker be a bust or solid NBA player? Will go with the latter. He has the drive that you expect to never wane, even when millions become a factor. He’ll always work on improving his game and becoming a better all around player. It’s always tough for a small stature guard to have an advanced career in the NBA.

The best player we can compare Walker too for the NBA is a JJ Barea or Aaron Brooks. Probably a mesh of both. Brooks has the speed to blow by opponents or use his streaky three point shot. While Barea is crafty anywhere with the ball. He’ll take it to the hoop or get creative with his intermediate jumpshot. Either way, Walker will find his niche with a team and sustain a relative long career in the NBA.

There will not be any D-League stints for Mr. Walker.

 By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Defensive intensity has long left the NBA. The lack of effort is evident each night with teams scoring averages rising considerably. It’s a run and gun league that is guard oriented. Coaches get so desperate that they try to implement gimmick zone defenses for stretches.

 Come playoff time some teams can ultimately decide that they’re going to suddenly play defense, as the Lakers have done the past few seasons.

 We saw a crop of rookie guards last year storm the scene and make a relatively easy transition. This year Derrick Rose has went from an rising star to likely league MVP. The main reason for this is poor interior defense. Interior defense is supposed to be the area where the point guard has to make the decision. Not score at will.

The non threat inside the paint on the majority of NBA teams is causing a domino affect. Poor rotation is leaving legitimate shooters left wide open. JJ Redick has resurged from draft lottery bust, to finding minutes nailing open jumpers. There are a plethora of guys shooting in the high thirties or even above forty percent from three. Designing a play for offensive purposes has to be as easy as Charles Barkley uttering a sentence.

 In comes Derrick Rose. An athlete barely past the age of 21. There is no doubt what he makes his living off of. He is an attacker and slasher. A bigger sized athletic point guard. It’s hard for anyone to stay in front of him. Sure he has worked on his jump shot and at times has had explosive games with it. Check his nightly highlight reels and game action, and he is scoring at will in the paint. Burning the other teams point guard, and getting to the hole with defenders waving him to the bucket.

 Many think the Bulls can make a surprise run in the playoffs and why not. In the eastern conference there are no teams that scare the Bulls at all from the center position. The only team that does is Orlando with Dwight Howard. Howard gets his fair share of blocks, but the Magic lack the depth of big men to pose a seven game series threat. Everyone knows that Miami has struggled with the five position. They’re just trying to have the health to throw a 6’10 guy out there.

 Boston’s strength was supposed to be at the five, but they decided to build by letting Kendrick Perkins go. Now they’ll take their chances with age. Both O’Neals have missed extensive time. Kevin Garnett may be called upon even more than prior years for Boston. Garnett’s true position like Amare Stoudemire is power forward.

Pick a team in the NBA and the majority have a weakness at the center position. The lack of skilled big man is a huge void currently. There are plenty of raw young talents that just need some time to develop.

This next NBA Draft shows no signs of any centers emerging. Derrick Rose might be the first point guard in a long time to win MVP with a scorers mentality. How long will his success slashing to the hole continue? As long as the NBA’s weakness at the five is prevalent it could extend for the next eight to ten years of his career.

The Wizards are one of few teams with athletic big men. When the Bulls have faced the Wizards, Javele McGee, Trevor Booker, and Andray Blatche have done a decent job shutting down Rose. In four games vs. the Wizards this year, Rose hasn’t had a game where he shot near fifty percent. In McGee’s triple double where he had twelve blocks, six of them were on Rose.

By Zack Cimini

 notjustagame23@gmail.com

The patience to maintain a fantasy basketball rotisserie team may have reached an all time high this year. Constant trades, mediocre players in and out of lineups, and inconsistent play from young emerging stars. Call it a yearly occurrence, but it was scaled a bit higher this year. If you saw your team move up and down more than the typical stock market, you can use that as a reason to blame.

Conquering the top three to four spots in your rotisserie league is going to take full commitment to this last NBA stretch. A few weeks ago, I delivered with some young talent that has been playing even better since. Greg Monroe and Tyler Hansborough have been performing stellar.

If you’ve solidified your proper rotisserie balance than you have no need to worry. Here are some players though that can help push your team in crucial categories, to finish out the year.

PG- Leandro Barbosa- Adjusting to a new team, strong distance of location, and battling injuries has kept Barbosa under ropes most of the year. He came back in mid-February, and once his legs were back under him it has led to a solid March. He has scored over double digits in seven games in March. When on the floor he is looking to score. He still possesses great speed, and a decent three point shot.

PG- Marcus Thornton- In Yahoo leagues he is now owned by 75% of owners. He should be over the 90% range. Since being traded, Thornton is showing off the same skill set he did last year when given free reign with the Hornets. He didn’t mesh with the Hornets new coach and team philosophy in Monty Williams. Putting up points is what Thornton does.

PG- Aaron Brooks- The reason Brooks is only owned by 59% of Yahoo owners is for the reason mentioned in the first paragraph of this article. Brooks dealt with injuries and being traded this year. He still only has a handful of games as a Sun under his resume. Playing behind Steve Nash isn’t a fantasy friendly attribute either. As Phoenix gets closer and closer to the end of their season, they’ll experiment a little bit. It looks like they’re losing the battle on the eighth seed. With that in mind, look for Brooks to get more playing time so Phoenix can analyze a bit what direction they’re headed.

SG- Gary Neal- Neal is a deep league filler, widely available in over 93% of Yahoo leagues. Neal is the classic Popovich late season manuever. Pop tends to decrease his star veterans minutes to gear them up for the playoffs. Neal has been a pleasant surprise being a deadly three point shooter. Carrying that over in the post-season will be crucial for the Spurs bench. Just in the month of March, Neal has drained twenty threes. In fact he is getting over ten shots a game in March. Making six threes in his last game is a category all could use help in.

PF- Chuck Hayes- An undersized athlete that just brings effort to the table every night. He has a decent low post game. Hayes can hit the mid range jumper or beat opponents off the dribble with a quick move. Most of his points come from put backs though, off offensive rebounds. Hayes tallies his fantasy numbers probably seventy percent based off his rebounding. His recent triple double though shows he can be even more of an asset to the Rockets lineup.

C- Darrel Arthur- Arthur came out probably a year too early. Working with NBA coaches and developing in practice has paid off. Arthur is now contributing in a major way for the Grizzlies. They have an underrated tandem with Randolph/Gasol, but Arthur is coming in and filling their roles well. He has been a strong defensive presence, and in the month of March has scored over double figures eight times. Two of those games he scored over twenty. Additionally he has swatted three blocks or more in four contests.

By Vidur Malik

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Ronnie Brewer – Brewer has been scoring over his season average recently, hitting double digits with back-to-back 10-point games over the New Orleans Hornets on Mar 7 and the Charlotte Bobcats on Mar 9. His inconsistency could hurt you, as he’s scored zero points in a Mar 12 win over the Utah Jazz and a win over the New Jersey Nets on Thursday, but he’s still a good pickup because he doesn’t need many shots to get his points, and he can also sprinkle in some rebounds and assists and doesn’t need too many minutes to do so.

Ekpe Udoh – Like Brewer, Udoh doesn’t need too much time on the floor to contribute. He doesn’t get much time in the Golden State Warriors’ rotation, but when he’s in the game, he usually makes an impact. He leads the team in blocks, and had five rejections in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. The next night, he helped out on offense with 10 points in a loss to the Sacramento Kings. He isn’t a great rebounder, but he can score and should be a good pickup just for his ability to block shots and make the most of his game time.

 Dante Cunningham – Since being traded to the Charlotte Bobcats, Cunningham has seen a few productive nights offensively and on the glass. He had 10 points and seven rebounds in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, and had back-to-back solid nights on March 9, when Cunningham had 15 points, six rebounds and two assists in a loss to the Chicago Bulls, and on March 11, when he scored 11 points and threw in two rebounds, an assist and a steal. Cunningham should be a reliable post presence for the Bobcats, and he’s athletic enough to play well on the perimeter.