NBA Underbelly

I recently had a fellow GM ask me if its detrimental to have 2 players from the same team on your fantasy squadron.  He made the point that “if one guy plays really well, he’s probably hurting the other guy’s numbers”.  This is an interesting wrinkle in the fantasy world and my viewpoint is that his claim CAN be true, but most times it is actually beneficial to have a team’s top 2 players.

The biggest reason its good to have a pairing of guys (like Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison or Shawn Marion and Steve Nash) from the same team is that its insurance on every game they play.  The chances of both players having poor fantasy numbers in the same game is extremely slim.  ie. If Arenas has a bad game, chances are Jamison had some solid numbers.  The nice thing here is that it doesn’t mean that they both can’t have very good games.  Also, if an injury occurs, then the other player’s role on his team is now increased. ie. if Carmelo Anthony goes down, Allen Iverson is probably going to get a lot more touches and shots. 

With that in mind, I wouldn’t recomend going after 2 players from a team that have similar fantasy contributions.  Ideally you would like to have two guys that do completely different things.  Ideally, you want a distributor and a scorer (ie. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer) or a rebounding scorer along with a 3 point specialist that can get you a few assists (Mike Miller and Pau Gasol).

In acquiring a player to gain this tandem advantage, you can afford to give up a player that contributes the exact same fantasy numbers because of the insurance that the tandem would provide you.  So don’t be afraid to send a couple offers out and take advantage of the only kind of insurance in life that you won’t have to pay for.

For all of you looking for a Buy Low player or two, read below:

Andrea Bargnani

After a couple of stellar performances to start the season, Il Mago has gone cold.  It seems the Raptors are confused about what role is best for Bargnani, but after the feeling out process, Andrea will be playing 30 minutes a game and getting lots of touches by mid season.  Right now, coach Sam Mitchell may be overusing his role players just a touch but when the Raps start hitting some jumpers as a team, Bargnani will follow suit.

Rajan Rondo

This is a Buy-Super-Low as Rondo has barely been a fantasy contributor to this point, but with a few nice games under his belt he has some nice upside.  The Celtics will not be able to play Garnett, Pierce and Allen 40 minutes a game all year.  They wanted to get some chemistry and they definitely have it, but as their minutes come down a bit, guys like Rondo and Posey will have a chance to take some shots and see the ball a little more.  Don’t expect consistent greatness here but Rondo has the ability to put up a triple double if he plays his best and you won’t have to give up anything valuable to get him.

The Chicago Bulls

Its just foolish to think that Hinrich, Deng and Gordon will continue to play like untalented chumps.  These guys are too good and they will get something going soon, so see if you can get one of them for cheap.