Another year is complete for Rotoprofessor Basketball. Three years down and we’re still going strong.

I wanted to take a minute and say thank you to everyone who came to the site faithfully and read our content. Hopefully we were able to help you out and that many championships were won by our readers. I love fantasy basketball and love writing about it, but it’s you guys who read this stuff and comment that are the ones who keep this site going.

We’ll be taking a few months off and looking to start things back up here in late August or early September. If you need your basketball fix both myself and Joel Gibson will be cranking stuff out still over on Rankings Professor so you can still get basketball content. If you have any questions regarding keepers or anything related throughout the offseason your more than welcome to drop me a line by e-mail will.overton85 and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can with an answer.

It’s been a fun season folks and I hope to see you all back here again for next season. Thank you again for your support.

-Will Overton

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At this point in the season it’s almost just as important to be looking ahead at what’s coming rather than looking back and seeing what you can learn from the last set of games. Since there were only two games to recap last night, let’s spend this time looking ahead and tonight’s games.

There is no reason to hold anything back at this point. Don’t let one roster spot go to waste on any given day if you have a shot at the title. If a guy is hurt and he’s done, cut him and get someone who can help you in there.

If you’re looking for some fantasy basketball streaming options in tonight’s games I have four guys here who could provide a nice little punch to any fantasy lineup tonight:

Jimmy Butler – SF, Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors: There is no way this guy should available in any league right now. However here he sits, available in 30% of ESPN leagues as I write this. Maybe that’s just a sign of a lot of dead leagues, but if he’s available in your league don’t waste any time. Butler has slowly been getting better and better for the last month and now in the last two he’s blown up. Just two games ago he lit up the Raptors for 28 points and seven rebounds, now he gets to face them again. No reason for him to still be on waivers anywhere. Read the rest of this entry »

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What an interesting night in fantasy basketball. We had some stars going off like Kobe Bryant and his 47 points. At the same time though we had some young guys and some guys who are completely unowned in fantasy leagues putting up big numbers too. If you’re looking for guys to add for a few games you want to pay close attention to this roundup.

1. Andre Drummond – C, Detroit Pistons: We got to see what has the league so excited about Ande Drummond last night. Ever since Jason Maxiell went down for the season with an eye injury I have been saying Drummond should be a must own in all leagues. He had struggled some, until last night that is. Drummond started and played 34 minutes, collecting 29 points and 11 rebounds along the way. Lawrence Frank even left Drummond in the game at crunch time despite the Cavs hacking him on every possession. He was 9 – 17 from the line, which is actually a good night for him, though it hurts your fantasy team. At the same time though he is a FG% machine going 10 – 11 from the field taking only high percentage shots. Drummond has a bright future and he’s still going to help some this year.
2. John Henson – PF, Milwaukee Bucks: Andre Drummond wasn’t the only rookie to go off last night. After having not played double digits in ten games, Henson came off the bench and had 41 minutes last night. In those 41 minutes he had 17 points, 25 rebounds and seven blocked shots while setting Twitter ablaze. Henson has had a few games like this during the season and not been able to string anything together to follow, so who knows where this goes. The Bucks have to give him a little extra run after a game like this though don’t they? Right? Read the rest of this entry »

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by Joel Gibson

Well its the final week for fantasy basketball and the decisions you make over the next few days have never mattered more. Right now is a crazy time for fantasy owners as they are dropping exceptional players who have light or weak schedules for decent guys who play multiple games against weak teams.

However, with the season wrapping up it is hard to tell who to play and who not to play. Coaches are resting their best players (like last week when Atlanta killed me by resting both Horford and Smith). Right now, everything’s a gamble. Here are some guys who are getting extended minutes lately and might be worth a look.

Reggie Jackson: Point guard, Oklahoma City Thunder: On Sunday Jackson came out and played great basketball. Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks has placed a lot of trust in the young guard and management proved their feelings as well by trading away his primary competition for minutes this season in Eric Maynor. Read the rest of this entry »

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Since there were no games last night due to the NCAA Championship game taking center stage, there is obviously no Around The League today. Instead we are going to look ahead at tonight’s games and some potential fantasy adds that could give you a boost as you pursue your championship.

Streaming is a fantasy term used almost exclusively with fantasy baseball and particularly pitchers. It’s not a strategy that I would suggest for fantasy basketball, but at the end of the season you do what you have to do even if that means making daily pickups, assuming your league rules allow for it.

If you have a bench warmer or two sitting on your squad consider dropping them and instead adding one of these guys who have prime matchups tonight:

Wesley Johnson – SG, Phoenix Suns: It’s really not as much about Houston being a bad defense, but rather the style of play they employ. Houston isn’t good on defense perse, but there points per game against speaks more to their tempo and possessions against then talent. Still, they allow a lot of points and as of late Wes Johnson has been scoring a lot of points.   Read the rest of this entry »

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Here we go. We have just a little over one week to go and it’s time to start playing all out in fantasy basketball. If you’re in a head to head league you might be trying to set your lineup with the best possible combination to bring home a title. If you play in a roto league you’re trying to figure out where to gain ground and who can help you do it.

No matter what type of league you’re in you can’t stop using the waiver wire now. It’s all about making the right moves and making them count. Don’t waste your adds/drops on stats you don’t need just to have the best player. Think about what you’re doing and play smart, but play hard, hold nothing back now.

Here are some guys who based on recent play or upcoming schedule I think could help your team out a whole lot this next week and a half:

Wilson Chandler and Corey Brewer – SF, Denver Nuggets: I’m lumping these two together because it’s too hard to separate them. They are both owned in 33 – 35% of ESPN leagues and they are both prime beneficiaries of the horrible injury Danilo Gallinari suffered this last week. If I had to choose just one I’d lean very slightly towards Chandler because I think his upside is higher and he brings fairly significant rebounding which Brewer doesn’t do. If you’re trying to gain ground in steals though Brewer might be your guy. Ultimately both could be playing 30 minutes per game the rest of the way and both make a lot of sense as adds. Read the rest of this entry »

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What a couple of days it has been for Carmelo Anthony who almost looks like he can’t miss. Meanwhile there are a lot of other guys doing some impressive things that no one is noticing like Ersan Ilyasova and Jonas Valanciunas.

Here’s the rundown of Carmelo’s big night as well as the other stuff you need to know that Sportscenter might not be showing you:

1. Carmelo Anthony – SF, New York Knicks: One night after dropping 50 points on the Miami Heat, Carmelo Anthony struck again with 40 on the Atlanta Hawks. Carmelo had combined to go 35 – 53 in these two games and 8 – 12 from outside. Anthony is the catalyst behind this recent winning streak of the Knicks averaging 31.4 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game since returning from his injury nine games ago. Most significant is the fact that Melo is shooting 48.1% from the field in these games. If you have him on your team he is carrying you to the finish line right now.
2. Jonas Valanciunas – C, Toronto Raptors: I just can’t say enough about how amazing Jonas Valanciunas has looked lately for fantasy basketball owners. Valanciunas had 24 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and a steal last night against the Wizards who have a pretty underrated frontcourt. This is Jonas third double-double in four games. He’s also taking off as far as shot blocking, swatting away 13 shots in his last four games. Over his last ten games Jonas V is averaging 15.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Also, what once seemed like a downfall in his free throw shooting has taken a total 180 lately. Valanciunas was 16 – 18 from the line last night and is 25 for his last 30. He’s putting it all together and he’s going to be a complete package next season. Read the rest of this entry »

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by Joel Gibson

It is the championship match-up for fantasy basketball. If you have made it this far, congratulations. Now it is time to finish the job.

In order to win the championship you must not hesitate to pick up players who are on the rise. Sometimes that means dropping good players if they have weak schedules.

At this point dropping good players for weaker players who are getting better minutes and have better schedules might just be the difference between you winning the championship (and bragging rights) and you falling just short of the ultimate fantasy goal. The following are a few guys who have been seeing an uptick in minutes recently and could be quality adds off your waiver wire.

Jimmy Butler: SG, SF Chicago Bulls: When given starters minutes Butler has been a solid both in real life and in fantasy.

With Richard “Rip” Hamilton out for the moment, Butler has been given the role of starting shooting guard. He will not give you huge numbers in any particular category on most nights. However, Butler will only help you win your match-up. Read the rest of this entry »

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This is always an interesting time in the season for fantasy basketball players. As the real teams start looking to their future and playing some different guys just to see what’s out there fantasy players are introduced to all kinds of new waiver wire material.

We saw some of those guys on display last night as well as some proven players really stepping up their game. Devin Harris is one instance. Another one is Roy Hibbert who is just on a different level right now than he has been all season long.

Here’s the rundown on last night’s action:

1.       Devin Harris – PG/SG, Atlanta Hawks: Three games off with a foot injury hasn’t slowed down Devin Harris in the least. Harris scored 17 with six assists in his first game back from injury on Saturday. Last night he scored a game high 25 points with seven assists, three rebounds and three steals against the Cavs. This is now four of his last five games where he has had 15 points or more. He’s also averaging 5.5 assists per game in that five game stretch. Harris is really getting to the point where he deserves to be owned in every league. Read the rest of this entry »

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by Ray Kuhn

This is the time in the season when, for the majority of you, fantasy basketball gets to be boring.  If you are not near the top of your standings or still alive in the playoffs, what do you have to play for?  And the shame of it is, this is time of the year when basketball gets most exciting.

But if you play in a keeper league, the season never really is over.  So if your chances at fantasy success have disappeared for this season, you can very easily start looking towards next season.  And if you are in contention, then chances are you somewhat mortgaged your future for next season.  However, all is not lost.  You can use the waiver wire to help position yourself for next season.  That most of the teams have been eliminated can be used to your advantage, as their owners have possibly stopped monitoring the waiver wire.

• Amar’e Stoudemire, New York Knicks, 44.3%.  Despite what Stoudemire says, it remains very unlikely he will be back at any point in the regular season.  However, it is also very likely he will return for the playoffs.  Hopefully at this point now that he has had recent surgery on both of his knees, he will be able to go through next year’s training camp without incident.  When he started to find his legs and his place in the Knicks offense this season prior to his injury, Stoudemire was proving to be a valuable player.  He was both scoring and rebounding while shooting at a high percentage from the field.  Securing Stoudemire now could be a move that pays off next season. Read the rest of this entry »

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