By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

The Atlanta Hawks were supposed to be a team similar to the Golden State Warriors of several years ago. A team that has budding young talent that can be scary on any night but the truth in their 8th seed would not blossom into much more than that. We saw the Warriors use their youth to upset the Dallas Mavericks and cause quite a stir for their style on the court. That did not make the proper move forward partly due to poor veteran leadership and the powerhouse of the western conference. Over in the East though the divisiveness of power has been usually considered between a few teams. The Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and up until last year the Detroit Pistons.

The team that’s replaced the Pistons and maybe started to even edge up on a few some of the top tier are the Atlanta Hawks. The organization has let coach Mike Woodson develop a great young core and it’s translated to an extremely unselfish team. On any given night a different Hawk player may rise to the occasion and be the leading scorer. Unlike most teams that have to rely on that go to player or second primary scorer the Hawks are so talented that they’ve deferred without flinching to the hot hand on a particular night. The generosity of distribution has the Hawks flying high and for the first time in awhile the leading sports franchise in the Atlanta area over the Falcons and Braves.

This isn’t more evident by the fact that six of their players are averaging ten points a game. What other team in the NBA has that type of potency and reliability on a given night? It’d be hard to find one. Currently, Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby, Josh Smith, and Al Horford are the leading dynamic players that have stirred this tremendous turnabout. The good willed unselfishness displayed by their superior talent is started by their leader in Joe Johnson. Questioning his aggressiveness offensively to take over games use to be a problem, but with the growth of the team as a whole his all around talent is rubbing off. Johnson’s averaged over five assists a game for quite some time, and is the veteran leader of this team with Mike Bibby.

There is one key ingredient that has been the biggest difference of addition to this Atlanta Hawks team. That was the key signing of Jamal Crawford. Players know his game as he has been one of the leagues most electrifying scorers on several teams. He comes in and is not necessarily going to be a guy that sets up the offense and passes the ball into the post to Horford and Smith. When he is on the court you can expect Crawford to want to take over the game offensively. Be it no surprise that Crawford is the second leading scorer on the team averaging sixteen a game. He gets his shot off with regularity and is putting a shot up at a rapid pace per minutes played.

There are just moves that make perfect sense. Crawford was that missing piece to just slightly take that pressure off of guys that necessarily couldn’t put up 15-20 points a game every night. Players like Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Marvin Williams are going to have their nights of dominance, but bring more to the table with their athleticism to hinder teams. Credit for this team getting to the level of play they’re at has to all circle back to their leader in Mike Woodson. Woodson’s been a patient developer with this team and has brought in the necessary ingredients to get to this point.

How Crawford is only owned in 80 percent of Yahoo leagues is mind boggling. We would consider highly in grabbing Crawford as he is content with his role and you know he is going to be a consistent factor each night. As long as this team stays healthy expect to see Atlanta challenge strongly in the Eastern Conference playoffs just as they did two years ago taking the Celtics seven games, and then last year by defeating the Heat in round one. They’ve taken the necessary steps the past few years to get to this point. With all the attention still centered on the Celtics tremendous talent and LeBron that’s exactly how the Hawks would like it to remain.

By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame23@gmail.com

It seemed as if JJ Redick was ready to be labeled as most Duke high profiled college athletes do, and that is a major bust. Often times college powerhouses are built by the coaches too have complimentary players that fit the team perfectly. When Redick was drafted as a high first round pick by the Magic it seemed a pretty fair assessment that Redick was not going to pan out. Similar to Chris Duhon, another former Duke Blue Devil, Redick kept working on his game and improvements began to show here and there.

In the playoffs of 2009 Redick was able to show some toughness to knock down some shots here and there and by playing aggressive defense. Once the Magic signed Vince Carter, Jason Williams, and Matt Barnes it looked as if there would be limited minutes for Redick. When you can shoot the ball like Redick can though a team is going to find minutes for you. With Rashard Lewis’s early season suspension, Jameer Nelson going down to injury, and Jason Williams coming off a year in which he did not play basketball, minutes have arose to a career high average in 24 minutes a game for Redick.

When you enter the NBA and things don’t go your way off the bat it can be hard to remain focused on being that 10th-12th person on your teams rotation. That’s exactly what Redick was, and most of those players buried on benches get maneuvered around their whole career in that same role. Redick is worth a look at including on your fantasy nba teams if you are in a deeper league. He has eclipsed Anthony Johnson in the rotation for coming off the bench. With Jason Williams only playing 25 minutes a game it favors to see Redick likely keep hovering around the 20-24 minutes a game area.

Redick has exploded for a 27 point game already this year, and is coming off another game of over 20 points, scoring 20 against the Jazz. He is shooting the ball just about as good as any guard in the NBA right now. Percentage wise he is shooting 48 percent overall and 46 percent from three point range. Great statistics for people hurting in those columns in your rotisserie leagues. Factor in that over his last seven games he is averaging 12 points a game and two triples as well, while shooting 60 percent from beyond the arc.

By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame23@gmail.com

Our latest installment of rankings ends concludes with power forward rankings. Look for updated rankings via each position every two to three weeks. The rankings just like we’ve mentioned in all our fantasy position based on what Yahoo’s standards are for each individual player. Obviously players will be included in multiple rankings of ours due to the fact most can be moved seamlessly in various positions.

Power Forward Rankings

1. Dirk Nowitzki- Deserved every bit of his MVP title a few years ago, and has been a high caliber player since he was drafted.
2. Chris Bosh- Now that the Raptors organization pursued talent it seems to be rubbing off on Bosh to put in optimal levels of effort each night.
3. Tim Duncan- Still a monster too control the paint against any opponent.
4. Pau Gasol- Best all around offensive game in the post of any big man.
5. Zach Randolph- Just had a game breaking performance that may be one of the best all season long.
6. Kevin Love- Probably wishing he didn’t come back to the nightmare that is fully alive in Minnesota
7. Danny Granger- Should Yahoo be able to let owners start him at PF?
8. Antwan Jamison- All Star Caliber level for many many years
9. Carlos Boozer- Responded to adversity and injuries like a professional with his talent should.
10. Brook Lopez- The newest youngest stud big man that’s made his official stamp on the league.
11. Amare Stoudemire- Statistically looking great but on film is disappearing in stretches. He could be putting up better numbers than he is.
12. David Lee- Found a place to build a long lasting career at.
13. Marcus Camby- The Camby man still has the Dikembe esque finger waving presence higher than any other big man in the league.
14. Gerald Wallace- Super freak of an athlete. The Jevon Kearse of basketball.
15. Jason Thompson- Raw ability is starting to be turned into advanced play on the court.
16. Rudy Gay- Transforming the Grizzlies into a young future contender
17. Josh Smith- Letting the game come to him.
18. Nene Hilario
19. Joakim Noah
20. Al Harrington
21. Al Horford
22. Jeff Green
23. Andrea Bargani
24. Al Jefferson
25. Corey Maggette
26. Kevin Garnett
27. Rashard Lewis
28. Channing Frye
29. Stephen Jackson
30. Carl Landry
31. Charlie Villanueva
32. Luis Scola
33. Michael Beasley
34. Emeka Okafor
35. Troy Murphy
36. David West
37. Kenyon Martin
38. Anderson Varejeo
39. Mehmet Okur
40. Thaddeus Young
41. Paul Millsap
42. Ersan Ilyasova
43. Elton Brand
44. Shawn Marion
45. Al Thornton
46. Ben Wallace
47. Andres Nocioni
48. Andrei Kirilenko
49. Lamar Odom
50. Spencer Hayes
51. Boris Diaw
52. Drew Gooden
53. Chris Anderson
54. Rasheed Wallace
55. Marvin Williams
56. Anthony Randolph
57. Andray Blatche
58. Udonis Haslem
59. Jared Dudley
60. Ryan Anderson

By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame23@gmail.com

We will forget about Darko Milicic being the piece of NBA draft history that separated the true number one and two picks of the 2003 NBA Draft. Linking Lebron and Carmelo is just a natural part of NBA history. Melo got a championship in college and had been successful on pure talent his first five years in the league. After the Olympic run though Melo saw that extra level of play he needed to build towards. Dedicating himself in several areas on and off the court became his mission. We no longer hear stories of Melo’s controversial involvement off the field. Instead he is putting in extra work conditioning and adding moves to his repertoire.

At an MVP level he might be able to swing around the automatic distinction of rankings between him and Lebron.

Small Forward Fantasy Rankings

1. Lebron James- Magic Johnson esque. Near triple double threat every night.
2. Carmelo Anthony- Pay attention more to what he is doing off the court. Donated 3 million to help build Syracuse’s new athletic facility named after Carmelo.
3. Joe Johnson- Seemed to be coasting a couple of years but it’s just his easy smooth demeanor to the game. It truly comes easy to him.
4. Kevin Durant- Showing what Tracy McGrady could have been like from the gate in Toronto. Durant is right behind Melo and Lebron as the front runners to lead the face of the NBA for the next decade.
5. Andre Iguodala- Underrated and one of the best roamers for thefts in the league, averaging two a game.
6. Brandon Roy- Has to be the vocal leader for a team in dire need of floor leadership.
7. Gerald Wallace- Why did he ride the pine in Sacramento for three years before being dealt?
8. Josh Smith- Gives so much extra with his two blocks a game.
9. Danny Granger- Injured but still makes our top ten
10. Rudy Gay- Memphis is quietly building a talented team.
11. Antwan Jamison- Incredible how his level of play has sustained at such a high level for all these years.
12. Luol Deng- Needs to stay away from the injury bug and out of the dog house the entire year.
13. Trevor Ariza- Went from role player in the 08-09 season, to playoff catalyst in 09 to mega contract and stud for the Rockets. What a difference a year makes.
14. Jason Thompson- Started the year slow but over the last three weeks is showing great progress. At 6’11 he is just touching the surface of what he can do.
15. Jeff Green- Were thinking the Thunder won’t let either Green or Durant leave the foundation they’ve started.
16. Vince Carter
17. Paul Pierce
18. Jason Richardson
19. Danilo Gallinari
20. Hedo Turkoglu
21. Caron Butler
22. Michael Beasley
23. Stephen Jackson
24. Rashard Lewis
25. Corey Maggette
26. J.R. Smith
27. Chris Douglas-Roberts
28. Carl Landry
29. Charlie Villanueva
30. Shane Battier
31. Shawn Marion
32. John Salmons
33. Josh Howard
34. Ersan Ilyasova
35. Thaddeus Young
36. Richard Jefferson
37. Al Thornton
38. Grant Hill
39. Wilson Chandler
40. Andres Nocioni
41. Mike Dunleavy
42. Dahntay Jones
43. Anthony Morrow
44. Boris Diaw
45. Andrei Kirelenko
46. Peja Stojakovic
47. Larry Hughes
48. Lamar Odom
49. Paul Millsap
50. Ron Artest
51. Marvin Williams
52. Jared Dudley
53. Quentin Richardson
54. Mike Miller
55. Hakim Warrick
56. Terrence Williams
57. Nick Young
58. Martell Webster
59. Chuck Hayes
60. Corey Brewer
61. Chase Budinger
62. Anthony Parker
63. Thabo Sefolosha
64. DeJaun Blair
65. Louis Amundson

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Whose the face of the NBA when it comes to the center position? Shaq O’Neal would like to say that’s his ring of honor until he retires. Clearly though the last two to three years the most dominant center has been Dwight Howard. In fact without a doubt Howard has been the front runner. From a fantasy standpoint though does his deficiencies at the free throw line cost him his actual NBA ranking? Yes it does.

Center Rankings 12/19

1. Chris Bosh-Playing up in Toronto with literally no nationally televised games, Bosh’s game is not available for NBA fanatics to see on a regular basis. Bosh’s numbers are better than Howard’s and he doesn’t cost you dearly shooting at 77 percent from the free throw line.

2. Brook Lopez- There isn’t much to talk about in New Jersey, but the emergence of Lopez is. Hard work in the off-season is paying huge dividends for Lopez.

3. Paul Gasol- All this talk about awards for the decade. One we have not heard is steal trade or bogus move of the decade. That clearly goes to Memphis for how easily they handed Gasol over to the Lakers.

4. Tim Duncan- Showing a lot of guts to still carry this team, even though Richard Jefferson was supposed to take some of the burden off of him.

5. Carlos Boozer- Many were ready to write Boozer off. He didn’t get traded like he wanted too but has brought the same approach he has had since he entered the league as a second round pick.

6. Dwight Howard- We have to be critical of his free throw percentage. He gets to the line so often but is a costly detriment from an nba fantasy standpoint in his inability to nail them.

7. David Lee- Hustles every night. Went from hardly used to being a difference maker nightly.

8. Marcus Camby- Shuffled around from team to team but stays consistent every year. This from a guy that has been in the league since 1996.

9. Amare Stoudemire- Once a perennial elite specimen, Stoudemire is either playing at a level he wants to or will never be the same from all of his various injuries.

10. Zach Randolph- Injuries and being on poor teams his whole career have not stopped him from coming to work.

11. Kevin Love- Should surge up as the season goes on as he is just coming into form after missing a big portion of the season.

12. Chris Kaman- Camby and Kaman are arguably the best big man tandem in the NBA.

13. Marc Gasol- Talk about a turn around of a transformation. Gasol is on pace to be in contention for most improved player.

14. Joakim Noah- Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Brad Miller, etc. The Bulls finally have their center for years ahead.

15. Al Horford- Florida somehow had the tandem of Noah/Horford for multiple years. It has to be the best interior prescence college basketball has had this past decade.

16. Nene Hilario- Credit Hilario for his quick recovery and vital role as a Nugget. If it weren’t for Hilario’s development the Nuggets decision to trade away Camby could of back fired.

17. Troy Murphy
18. Luis Scola
19. Andrew Bynum
20. LaMarcus Aldridge
21. Al Harringotn
22. Andrea Bargani
23. Andrew Bogut
24. Brendan Haywood
25. Emeka Okafor
26. Elton Brand
27. Erick Dampier
28. Channing Frye
29. Mehmet Okur
30. Jermaine O’Neal
31. Anderson Varejeo
32. Marreese Speights
33. Kendrick Perkins
34. Shaq O’Neal
35. Joel Pryzbilla
36. Chris Anderson
37. Samuel Dalembert
38. Ben Wallace
39. Rasheed Wallace
40. Andray Blatche
41. Spencer Hayes
42. Nenad Krstic
43. Ryan Anderson
44. Matt Bonner
45. Andris Biedrins
46. Roy Hibbert
47. Chuck Hayes
48. Udonis Haslem
49. Tyson Chandler
50. Louis Amundson

By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame23@gmail.com

As the football regular season winds down look for notjustagame to provide more content geared towards your fantasy basketball leagues. There has been an unusual amount of early season injuries this year in the NBA. Most teams across the board have been affected strongly by this. Another factor is the league is much younger. The last three to four years of drafts have started to embed rosters heavily percentage wise on the younger side.

Unlike in fantasy football wheeling and dealing players on your team is a must. You can be overloaded in one position unexpectedly. Be a true manager and make the sacrifices early on before you bury yourself too far down the standings to make a run. The impact of the waiver wire also needs to be a daily scouring activity. This time of year you can really see some managers in leagues that are use to checking in and participating in their fantasy football leagues. In football it requires less maintenance than the day too day max views necessary of your nba team. Get on top of those lazy owners early if you have not already.

Shooting Guard Rankings

1. Kobe Bryant- His spot forever unless he is out due to injury
2. Kevin Durant- Gaining weight to play with the big boys does not look like it will ever bother him.
3. Dwayne Wade- Being on a dismal team seems to be affecting his pysche
4. Monta Ellis- Perfect Don Nelson system player
5. Andre Iguodala- Doing much more than people are noticing.
6. Joe Johnson- Wonder if Phoenix ever regrets letting him go.
7. Brandon Roy- Roy is excelling in different areas of his game every night. One night he is able to do it off the dribble, another he can drain perimeter shots like it’s nothing. He is letting the game come to him and not pressing.
8. Tyreke Evans- Proving that the high school jump needs to be permitted for some athletes. Maybe they should create a board to evaluate seniors in high school, and see if their NBA talent. In the long run keeping an athlete of Evans caliber away from the NBA for a year is doing more harm to his family and college for being one and done.
9. Caron Butler- In shape thanks to not doing the dew.
10. Danny Granger- Even though he is out three more weeks Granger is duplicating last years effort and officially a nightly force in the NBA.
11. Trevor Ariza- Houston is just one of those franchises that knows what they’re doing. The Lakers drew the praise for stealing Artest away and gladly letting Ariza depart. Ariza has been playing with a toughness and leadership level no one saw in him.
12. Vince Carter- It’s hard to believe Carter is in his 13th year. Carter still has the rare athleticism very alive in him. Off balanced shots are just a blip of his regular repertoire.
13. Rodney Stuckey- When Detroit made the move to bring Stuckey in and Iverson to the bench they knew what they were doing.
14. OJ Mayo- Sort of having a semi step back start to his 09 year.
15. Luol Deng- Responding well from his injury prone 08 year.
16. Ben Gordon- No one is as lethal when he is on.
17. Richard Hamilton- Has increased production
18. Paul Pierce- Just one of those wily veterans that picks his spots to perfection during a game.
19. Jamal Crawford- The definition of instant offense. One of the main reasons for Atlanta’s surprising success.
20. Louis Williams- Set to return this week.
21. Stephen Jackson- Hated wherever he is but is one of those players that stays in the NBA because he has exceptional talent.
22. Jason Terry- Is as hot and cold a shooter there is but never loses the confidence to chuck up that basketball.

The Rest

23. Eric Gordon
24. Chris Douglas-Roberts
25. Hedo Turkoglu
26. Mike Dunleavy
27. Ray Allen
28. J.R. Smith
29. Jonny Flynn
30. Steph Curry
31. Jason Richardson
32. John Salmons
33. Wilson Chandler
34. Raymond Felton
35. Ron Artest
36. Will Bynum
37. Allen Iverson
38. Josh Howard
39. Michael Redd
40. Manu Ginobli
41. Dahntay Jones
42. Corey Brewer
43. Grant Hill
44. Courtney Lee
45. Ty Lawson
46. Leandro Barbosa
47. Terrence Williams
48. Quentin Richardson
49. Mike Miller
50. Eddie House