Fantasy Basketball Frustrations

Posted by Phil Partington Nov 12, 2009

When it comes to fantasy basketball, it's never a bad idea to grab players from teams that don't play defense. Typically, those are the teams that go by the philosophy of "the more possessions we get, the more we score." This philosophy seems to contend that if you let the opposition score really fast, you have a chance to get the ball back...and score again.

Teams that follow this rule? The New York Knicks, the Phoenix Suns, the Toronto Raptors, and the Golden State Warriors. Therefore, I figured it wasn't a bad thing that I had three Warriors on my squad at the start of the season (Andris Biedrins, Anthony Randolph and Stephen Curry). Yet, Coach Don Nelson has taken the approach that, since the team sucks, he ought to change the lineup every night until he finds something that works. Hall of Fame coach my rearend. The problem with this ideology is that all those young players on his team don't get much of an opportunity to get into a rhythm, or to gain confidence. The problem may be the fact that he plays four shooting guards at the same time, most of whom don't play a lick of defense.

Andris Biedrins is hurt, but even before he got hurt, Nelson decided he wouldn't play Biedrins at the same time as Randolph, because neither one of them were jump shooters. Nevermind the fact that they both hustle and they both play defense. Nelson prefers to reward players who take a lot of shots. Moreover, Nelson doesn't like Randolph, or at least doesn't care for his game. That's what he's shown anyway by not playing him. With Biedrins out, Randolph has received more minutes for the most part. Yet, it's not enough. He's only received more than 25 minutes three times this season. In those games, he's averaging more than 17 points per game, grabbing 11-12 boards per game, blocking 2 shots per game, and collecting nearly 3 steals per game. However, he doesn't shoot jump shots well, like the forty-thousand other players on that team, so he should be benched every other night.

Does any other fantasy basketball owner feel my pain?