Okay, so I really just wanted to write something controversial to see if I could get people to comment. So, here's my argument for why Shawn Marion should be MVP (only as of right now, of course).
First off, he's the #1 player in Fantasy Basketball. That really should be the only argument needed.
But, in case you happen to care about real basketball as well as fantasy... his PER is higher than that of Steve Nash's (23.34 to 22.49), whom many say is the MVP so far. If one can be an MVP without being the best player on the team, then Marion certainly deserves consideration. [I don't even want to get into the whole semantics issue of whether MVP means "best player" or "player who most makes the team they play for better"]
Marion shoots 84.6% from the line. This should be evidence enough that he deserve the award over Shaq. I would argue that the Heat would as good as they are now with the same line-up they had last year simply due to the gained maturity and experience of Dwyane Wade. Shaq used to be much more valuable, but as Danny Fortson has shown, he can be shut down. His ability to make free-throws should also put Marion above others like Duncan, and even Amare (another MVP canidate). They are FREE throws guys. If you can't make them, you don't deserve to be MVP. If those other guys were shooting 85% from the stripe, they'd easily be MVP's and we wouldn't have to worry about someone like Steve Nash or Shawn Marion threatening the crown.
The Matrix shoots 48% from the field. Most players shooting at that high a rate are inside players. However, Marion also hits 1.4 threes per game. He has an inside/outside combo that no other MVP candidate can claim. Marion is also getting more rebounds than he did last year, despite the emergence of Amare Stoudemire (another MVP candidate). He is improved from last year in almost every category, despite the additions of Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson. Marion is 4% higher in FG%, up .6% in 3PT% while making .3 more per game, grabbing 1.3 more rebounds than last year, including .2 more OREBs, .7 less TO's per game, same number of steals (an impressive 2.1), .2 more blocks (1.5), .1 less fouls per game, and .3 more points per game (despite Amare imcreasing by nearly 5 ppg). He is only down in assists because Nash handles the ball for the Suns now.
Without Marion, Nash and Man-Child would be nothing more than a faster version of Wade and O'Neal. Marion has recognized where to fit in on the team, in addition to stepping his game up this year, while playing less time than last year. He is not only the best player in fantasy basketball, but he is one of the best players in basketball right now and his prescence and ability to adapt to fit within a team make him the most valuable player in the league.
The views expressed in this article are the sole opinion of the author, and are not representative of the Give Me the Rock corporation or any of its subsidiaries.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Jim Jackson strikes a blow for all the overpaid stars out there
I mean, I guess if my job paid me a million a year, and I'd been working for 14 years, and then my division was sold off to another company that I didn't want to work for, I might consider not going to work too. Especially cause there no championship of web application development or anything...
Fantasy Impact
Let's just start with the Suns/Jackson side... cause it actually matters.
Jackson will inherit at least 20 minutes a game, since that's what Jacobsen was playing. He'll increase those minutes since he can play both SF and SG for the Suns (this is why they talked so much about gaining depth with this trade). This will allow Phoenix to rest Q-Rich and the Other JJ a little more and save their legs for the playoffs.
Needless to say, Jimmy is a good pick up if he's available on the FA list. Owners who held onto him can feel somewhat vindicated. Jackson will likely continue to hit 2+ three-pointers, shoot well from the free-throw line (thought not take many attempts), and give you decent steals, rebounds, assists, and points. He's not someone to depend on for anything but 3's, but he's not a black hole in any category except blocks (and that is to be expected from someone who's 6-6 and 34 years old).
As for the Hornets, let's just say that none of the new Hornets are greater than 0% owned according to ESPN.
Casey Jacobsen will probably get about the same 20 minutes he'd played with the Suns. He'll be backing up JR Smith, and since the Hornets aren't quite as much of a running team as the Suns he might have a better chance to use his spot up shooting skills.
Magic Lamp (which will be his nickname once he hits it big), will be backing up Chris Andersen at Center, and maybe get some time at PF until David West and Jamaal Magloire come back. At that point, his PT will probably drop back to the 7 mpg he had in PHX.
Jackson Vroman is about as effective per 48 minutes as Jacobsen and Lampe, so I wouldn't expect him to play any more than he did with the Suns.
Fantasy Impact
Let's just start with the Suns/Jackson side... cause it actually matters.
Jackson will inherit at least 20 minutes a game, since that's what Jacobsen was playing. He'll increase those minutes since he can play both SF and SG for the Suns (this is why they talked so much about gaining depth with this trade). This will allow Phoenix to rest Q-Rich and the Other JJ a little more and save their legs for the playoffs.
Needless to say, Jimmy is a good pick up if he's available on the FA list. Owners who held onto him can feel somewhat vindicated. Jackson will likely continue to hit 2+ three-pointers, shoot well from the free-throw line (thought not take many attempts), and give you decent steals, rebounds, assists, and points. He's not someone to depend on for anything but 3's, but he's not a black hole in any category except blocks (and that is to be expected from someone who's 6-6 and 34 years old).
As for the Hornets, let's just say that none of the new Hornets are greater than 0% owned according to ESPN.
Casey Jacobsen will probably get about the same 20 minutes he'd played with the Suns. He'll be backing up JR Smith, and since the Hornets aren't quite as much of a running team as the Suns he might have a better chance to use his spot up shooting skills.
Magic Lamp (which will be his nickname once he hits it big), will be backing up Chris Andersen at Center, and maybe get some time at PF until David West and Jamaal Magloire come back. At that point, his PT will probably drop back to the 7 mpg he had in PHX.
Jackson Vroman is about as effective per 48 minutes as Jacobsen and Lampe, so I wouldn't expect him to play any more than he did with the Suns.
More basketblogs
So maybe fantasy basketball isn't as big in the blogging world as say "IT" or "video games" or even "blogging" itself... but it's starting to get hot. Check out these other recent entrants to the fantasy basketblog arena:
EasyMarksman and Fantasy NBA Blog.
EasyMarksman reminds me a lot of Give Me The Rock in it's self-effacing, yet useful style. Fantasy NBA Blog has a schedule across the top of their blog, so that tells you something in and of itself. They also have five authors, which also says something.
Another team blog recently discovered is: GH and Petey's Timberwolves Blog. They've been going since the start of the season, but I hadn't found it before... Just something else to add to the RSS reader. There are others... I need to update my side bar to highlight the best ones, but you can scroll on down to "Give Me Everything" to see all the blogs I read.
Count it.
EasyMarksman and Fantasy NBA Blog.
EasyMarksman reminds me a lot of Give Me The Rock in it's self-effacing, yet useful style. Fantasy NBA Blog has a schedule across the top of their blog, so that tells you something in and of itself. They also have five authors, which also says something.
Another team blog recently discovered is: GH and Petey's Timberwolves Blog. They've been going since the start of the season, but I hadn't found it before... Just something else to add to the RSS reader. There are others... I need to update my side bar to highlight the best ones, but you can scroll on down to "Give Me Everything" to see all the blogs I read.
Count it.
Pick-up Games
Some players you should consider picking up (provided they're available):
Chucky Atkins - pretty much on fire in Kobe Bryant's abscence. He's #3 according to Yahoo over the last week. Pick him while Kobe's out, but be prepared to drop him when number 8 returns.
Dan Dickau - Starting in place of the oft-injured Baron Davis... scoring 27 points. Hornets are 5-5 over the last 10. Sure, I'm a little late to the party on this one, but it's possible that he's available, since his value fluctuates depending on how injured the Baron is.
Kyle Korver - he's very streaky, but since he was in somewhat of a slump before his latest breakeout he may still be available. Can't argue with 3.3 three-pointers over the last week, and 100% of 2.2 FT's over the last 5 games.
Chris Duhon - I just dropped him for Troy Hudson, and now I'm wondering whether to waste a move on undoing that action... He's been playing better than anyone could have expected, and filling in for Ben Gordon during his slump. With them both being rookies, it's hard to know when one will have the hot hand and the other will come up empty-handed. If you're in need of help at the guard position, consider picking up both of them as a sort of "put" move.
Eddie Griffin - he's once again on fire. Catch him if you can.
Derek Fisher - he's been playing well whenever Speedy Claxton has been out. When Fisher starts, he gets an extra 5-10 minutes of PT, giving him that much more time to rack up stats. Speedy looks to miss at least one more game.
Chucky Atkins - pretty much on fire in Kobe Bryant's abscence. He's #3 according to Yahoo over the last week. Pick him while Kobe's out, but be prepared to drop him when number 8 returns.
Dan Dickau - Starting in place of the oft-injured Baron Davis... scoring 27 points. Hornets are 5-5 over the last 10. Sure, I'm a little late to the party on this one, but it's possible that he's available, since his value fluctuates depending on how injured the Baron is.
Kyle Korver - he's very streaky, but since he was in somewhat of a slump before his latest breakeout he may still be available. Can't argue with 3.3 three-pointers over the last week, and 100% of 2.2 FT's over the last 5 games.
Chris Duhon - I just dropped him for Troy Hudson, and now I'm wondering whether to waste a move on undoing that action... He's been playing better than anyone could have expected, and filling in for Ben Gordon during his slump. With them both being rookies, it's hard to know when one will have the hot hand and the other will come up empty-handed. If you're in need of help at the guard position, consider picking up both of them as a sort of "put" move.
Eddie Griffin - he's once again on fire. Catch him if you can.
Derek Fisher - he's been playing well whenever Speedy Claxton has been out. When Fisher starts, he gets an extra 5-10 minutes of PT, giving him that much more time to rack up stats. Speedy looks to miss at least one more game.
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