A Little Rhythm for the Pre-Season

Tmoor Rodriguez has the NBA beat...



Souls Of Mischief - From 93 Till Infinity

Trip to The Honesty Box

Trade Goat's weirdo of the week...Frank Thomas of FranklyGolf.com

Trip to The Honesty Box

Frank at the "honesty box"



Frankly Golf? YGBKM...God love you Frank

Seriously, Frank may have more to do with the modern sport of golf than any other human being. He was behind many of the modernizations of golf clubs we see today and has worked very much with the PGA on rules. He also has some great tips if you are a golfer...and some very funny videos. Frank, you take the whole thing way too seriously.....

Hmmm...any idea why I keep getting that nasty slice? Nevermind...

Larger Than Life

Hate the Backstreet Boys? This is trade goat's favorite song, so it's going to be here even if you do hate them.



I say...what ain't larger than life ain't a thing. We expect the players to be larger than life in the NBA, so I expect the same from you guys and myself!

Trade Goat Comments on the End of the NBA Lock Out

Trade Goat's 2011-12 NBA All Watch Team

Trade Goat is proud to announce his 2011-12 NBA All-Watch team. This group is comprised of players whose story is the most interesting and of players to keep an eye on in the upcoming year. Tune in for these blue chips this year...

PG Andre Miller-Will he run the Nuggets?..13 years of beating the odds says so...
SG John Salmons-Will have the Kings to himself in the front court
SF Paul Pierce-8 overall in the Y! rankings last year...again?
PF Al Harrington-In a situation where he could go off
C Pau Gasol-Setting my watch by Gasol
BN Vince Carter-35 in January, 2nd year with Nash
BN Tony Parker-30 in May...sensing an explosion
BN Carlos Boozer-Will he perform for the Bulls?

Bulletin: StatYourDraft.com 5 Tips for Winning

This list I found from a link at Interbasket.com:

StatYourDraft.com
5 Facts You Must Know If You Want To Win Your League
1. An average fantasy basketball team keeps roughly 70% of its drafted players throughout a fantasy season. That means 70% of your season outcome relies solely on your draft.
2. Research of 10-years worth of fantasy basketball data shows that drafting your team to produce certain categories (i.e. blocks, assists, free throw percentage) will guarantee your team's entry into the playoffs.
3. The most abundant statistic in fantasy basketball? Points. That means you don't need to draft a shoot-first guard with your top draft picks.
4. Player projections are an absolute con! In reality, many unseen events such as offensive/defensive playbooks, free-agent signings, and coaching styles affect a player's future stats. Its essential to draft certain positions which produce wins for your team.
5. You don't need to sift through thousands of pages of "advice" from "fantasy experts" to win your league.

Response:
The first two are worth noting. 3 might be true, but it depends on your draft position. The scorer might be the best player to take early in a given season at a given point in the draft. Also, players who score alot are on the floor alot. Chances are they are doing some other good things. Points can be valuable to acquire early, too. Scorers in the mid ranges of drafts tend to be weak in other categories. Picking up a scorer who is excellent across many categories early can be a big even huge bonus, especially if the player is a big. 4 is not true on its face value, although I believe the author of the list is trying to pump up his method of player projections. It's critical to have a good idea of what each year will be like. Projections are key to making good decisions. The part about drafting certain positions is standard knowledge in NBA leagues. Still there aren't any guarantees the most important positions will be well represented at any given point in a draft, especially in deep leagues. Got to cover the big stats. 5 was another attempt to sell the service, but if the author means that you need to develop your own style of draft and season preparation, I agree. I don't see why part of that can't be looking into what the experts have to say. Point here is that the experts are good for a thing or two, and I wouldn't count them out as a valuable source for help. A good system will save hours of work, though...Comments...

Trade Goat's Preseason Trading Guide

  Trade Goat's Formula for Successful Trading

1. Make sure that ALL your offers would have the respect of the NBA players involved if they saw them.

2. Avoid chasing a player to accomplish an end for your roster. If you have a player in mind, check to see if you can find anyone on your roster that would help the manager of the other team have a better team if he completed the trade with you for the player you had in mind, but keep your options open and stick to working hard to improve your roster through lots of good communications and contacts with other managers. Keep your mind open to opportunities of every kind.

3. Be careful not to overlook multiple player trade opportunities. So many times, excellent trades can be overlooked simply because someone did not notice that a two for two or three for three trade could be completed. Keep 1 for 2, 2 for 1, 3 for 2, etc. offers a last resort. Either you or your prospective trade partner will be required to drop a player in this situation, and the extra drop can be the straw that breaks a deal in this situation. If you find yourself nearing this kind of agreement, don't be afraid to ask who your prospective trade partner will be dropping if he is the recipient of the larger number of players as it stands in the final stages of negotiations. You may be interested in the player if you will be receiving the lower number of players as the trade is currently being finalized.

4. Early in the year, especially following the draft, be ready to trade ANY of your players to get better. Be careful not to hurt your team's performance, however. You may find yourself in a bind and unable to recover if you do. Take note of ALL your weaknesses following the draft and stay open to ALL opportunities. It's important to get out of the gate hot, but even more important to be working VERY hard early in the year. Championships are difficult to earn, but the things you do early in the year and pre-season will pay the biggest dividends toward that end.

5. Be careful not to consider your players who start at a certain position or who put up specific or special types of numbers as the only options of a type available for trade. You may have the best player at a position and may be willing to trade him, but a creative manager may find a way around you. The most important thing about this point, however, is that it will save you time and heartache to remember that you can be "stuck" with the best player at a position or, for example, the best rebounder. In these types of cases, just stick with the player and be as content as you can be. Maybe a surprise will come along if you stay busy looking for other options for improvement.

6. Never allow yourself to believe that there is no way to win the championship this year. When you have been mathematically eliminated, begin your focus on next year, but every position in the standings you rise from trying harder in a difficult or bad season will bring a reward for you somewhere down the line. A defeatist attitude can lead to horrible trade offers and ultimately to dismal, even disgraceful, results.

7. Respect your prospective trade partners implicitly. When you make an offer, make sure that you can make a case for the trade being a plus for your trade partner's roster. Actually, don't even bother making an offer until you can make the case with yourself that it makes your prospective trade partner's team better. Also, make your case with prospective trade partners. Sometimes, they don't see the light until someone explains to them how a trade improves their team. Remember, the bulletin boards here at Yahoo! are full of managers looking for advice. Your trade prospect is looking, too!

8. Pay your ultimate respects to the top 5 players in your negotiations. You may not agree with Yahoo!'s assessment, but ALWAYS be ready to make the case for your top 5 and always be ready to defend their value in trade. This is a matter of survival, really. It's not really possible to "steal" a player in a trade, no matter how much it may seem so.

9. DO NOT try to hurt another team/manager with a trade offer. This is deeply offensive and embarrassing. I only mention it, because it is possible to be working fast and not realize that a trade offer is offensive, especially in a situation where you become desperate to make the playoffs and/or to perform. On another note, also be wary of handing a prospective trade partner a championship with a trade. ALWAYS be aware of how the trade will affect his chances. Make him pay hard for a player he wants if he is close to a championship caliber team. Drive as hard a bargain as you possibly can in this situation and remember that you don't have to make the deal. Just make sure you are getting EVERYTHING you can when dealing with top teams.

10. Do your absolute best to break down every season before the season starts, so that you can recognize trends and make good trade decisions. Each year has twists and turns and there will be threads of success running through each one. Try to identify what kind of players will be successful given off-season moves and given fan tendencies. Pre-season preparation is the real key to successful trading. Remember, ideally, you wouldn't even have to make a single trade to achieve a league championship.

Who Will Step Up and Save the NBA in a Lockout Shortened Season?

The lockout is dragging into it's fourth week, and it's like being in the middle of armageddon.  Back and forth, one offer after another, but no deal.  The worst part of the whole process is the optimism that comes from hearing that the sides are close.  One day, the deal is close, then one day later the sides break off the talks, and we are left with a week or more with no discussions.  For NBA fans, all we have now is hope.  Hope that ANYTHING at all can be salvaged from this year of basketball.

It's a giant leap to assume that the players and owners will reach an agreement to save this season at this point, and, even if they do, the season will be forever tarnished by the lockout.  But, because I miss the NBA, I have decided I am going to proceed with the hope that somehow there will be an agreement and that there will be a good year of NBA basketball.

From the fantasy viewpoint, assuming the lockout is over soon, the question I am asking myself is, "Which players will rise to the top of NBA production as a result of the stoppage?"  I want to know, because it seems a sure thing to me that the lockout will affect players in different ways.  Shooters will have only a short pre-season to find their range and new and young players will be under the gun to put up numbers without the benefit of the rhythm that is built into the NBA schedule.  Also, there will be tremendous pressure on the veterans to step up and save the day with the fans.  We also have the question of which positions will benefit the most from a short season.  Are we likely to see above normal production from the big players?  Finally, who will be the surprise producers coming out of the lockout?  There are still players unsigned who could end up in a good situation and take off this year or just have a great year.  This seems inevitable.

Some players will probably be relatively unaffected.  For example, a player like Derrick Rose.  There won't be the same pressure on Rose that there is on the 8-10 year veterans, but he is established enough so that he should be able to push the whole thing aside and get down to business quickly.  It's the second and third year players that I wonder the most about, especially the ones pushing for playing time, already.  Fortunately, many of them are playing in europe and in other spots around the world, right now.  This should help at least some.

I am confused on the response of veterans, though.  Will they come back with a vengeance or will the lockout hurt their production?  This is a serious question, and I guess we'll just have to wait and see.  For me, I need them to step up both in the media and on the floor and prove to me that the lockout isn't going to kill basketball.  I hope they do.

Noone is talking much about the affects of the lockout, yet...I guess since there isn't any end to it in sight.  But I would appreciate comments on the situation and what we are likely to see in its aftermath.  Please feel free to leave a comment and share your opinion of the affects of the lockout on the NBA players...

Is Gilbert Arenas Finished?

In 2006-07, I made Gilbert Arenas the central player of a championship run in what is now SIX SHOOTER.  That was my first year competing in fantasy sports, and there was alot of buzz from the media, and there were multitudes of information sources with video and all sorts of media features.  That was a fun year.  It was all new to me, and the figures and internet coverage blew me away.

I had been away from basketball since the waning days of Bird in Boston in the early nineties.  I just hadn't found any reason to really care about the game since that time.  And entering the SIX SHOOTER (LFLBBall in those days (I never did find out what that stands for)) draft, I knew nothing about Gilbert Arenas.  For some reason, though, I had him targeted with the 9th overall pick.  Honest truth was that I just liked his name...and I had a hunch.  Something was telling me that I might be able to compete at this game.  

Looking at the draft that year and the way it set up, I developed a plan.  I wanted Arenas with the 9th pick and to take Michael Redd 2nd and nail down the guard spots with superior firepower.  I was lucky and got Arenas and Redd, but the centers were all but gone, and I started to lose faith as the draft moved through the 3rd.  I grudginly took Ben Wallace, not that Wallace was a bad guy to have in those days, he just wasn't the firepower I was hoping for to get started at the position.  I had been hoping I could draft him in the 4th.

I still had my mind on the 3 pointer as the draft went into the 4th, and I was able to get Mike Dunleavy.  I know it's hard to believe where these guys were going, but each one of them ended up having a good year.  But the best pick of the draft for me was in the 5th round.  That pick was David Lee.  He was amazing in that breakout year.  The only problem was that Lee wasn't center eligible...in 06-07, he was a SF/PF.  I was big time stuck at the center position.  I got the steal of the draft picking up Stephen Jackson in the 7th round, but I would not add another center until the 10th round, Jorge Garbajosa.  Add Leandro Barbosa, my 6th round pick, and Tim Thomas, my 12th rounder, and this team was loaded with junkballing 3 point bombers, including Garbajosa.  But when the draft ended, I still had a total of two centers, Wallace and Garbajosa, "the garabage man".   Here is the full draft of that team:

As the year wore on that year, I was totally blown away by the numbers of Arenas and Redd, who had huge years.  Somehow I managed to get Nene Hilario, who helped with some boards.  I think it was actually a waiver pick up, but getting Nene sort of sealed things, and the team just took off.  I had had a hunch, but I really wasn't expecting the results I was getting, especially right out of the gate.  I had only one loss, a 5-6 defeat, to the team I eliminated in the finals, A Good Knick's Team, but I also registered 8 double digit (10 or more) cat win weeks in that run.  That league started week 6, so there were only 16 regular season weeks.  In fully half of the games I scored 10 or more of 12 cat wins.  Again, totally unexpected.

Before the draft that year, I had done some homework.  I had read around, and I knew what was being said about the players.  But my instincts were telling me to stick by my guns.  I was focused on dominating with superior 3 point shooting, points, and rebounding.  By default I knew that would mean I should be competitive with steals, but I also wanted to try to snatch some blocks...hence the Ben Wallace pick.  The strategy also involved making some even riskier picks, but I was able to make them pay off that year.  Tim Thomas knocked down 136 3 pointers that year and pulled down 315 DRB.  Garbajosa knocked down 65 3 pointers and grabbed 282 DRB.  Mike Dunleavy put up 1000+ points and buried  70 more 3s.  He also had 347 DRB.  Stephen Jackson added another 1100+ points and 100 3s.  I was getting supreme production from the SG and SF.  And I was getting the added benefit of PF eligibility with Thomas and center eligibility with Garbajosa.  It was a very good combination.

For sure, this was a team that broke the rules.  As soon as you can, get your big man...that's the rule.  Then keep getting bigger.  I have had to learn to respect that viewpoint, but there is definitely a case here for seizing the moment, too.  This was probably moreso a case of a lucky hunch than anything, but I did know I was crazy to try it.  I guess I just didn't know enough not to try it might be the best description, though.

The NBA was much more interesting in those days to me.  There were great characters.  Allen Iverson was still putting up numbers.  Actually, in the following year, he was the 2nd ranked player by my POWERBALL index.  He had a great year.  It's too bad he ended up in Detroit.  Anywhere else, and I think Iverson could possibly still be in the NBA.  Baron Davis had 1200+ points.  Things were definitely better at the PG in those days.  So what about the future of Arenas?

He's in Orlando now, and, with all the major press hits he's taken over the years, I have my doubts we will see him make another run at greatness in the NBA.  I wish I were wrong about that, because I do think it's possible, and I do love Arenas' style.  He turns 30 this year, and he could easily break back into the big time if things went his way.  I just don't see how, right now.  The NBA is so much better to me with Arenas' gunslinger antics in the mix and producing like he did in 06-07.  For now, I guess I am left to just hope...

Come on Gilbert give us some of that 0 we know and love so much!