Week 12: Rejoice With Some NBA Action!

It’s a short week with a trio of NFL games having been played on Thanksgiving Day, but on the other hand, the bye weeks are thankfully over and done with.

But before we get to the football talk, I felt it necessary to take a quick K-turn. The NBA announced they have reached a labor deal, meaning the abbreviated season will begin on Christmas Day.

If you’ve never been a part of an NBA fantasy league, I suggest you give it a try. (How else are you going to get your competition fix between December and April?)

Without fantasy, I could care less about the NBA. The games are often hard to watch and there are so many bad teams. If you happen to be a fan of one of those bad teams (Sixers, cough), then you are staring at roughly 50 games during a regular season between dreck and muck.

That is where fantasy comes in to play. Don’t know who Andris Biedrins or Tyrus Thomas is? (Please refrain from saying ‘no and I’m glad I don’t). Join a fantasy league and you’ll look forward to checking the boxscore of the Hawks v Warriors game.

More good news: The new labor agreement will make NBA fantasy even that much more fun.

One of the big turnoffs of watching the NBA is seeing guys dogging it, one or two years into a seven year guaranteed contract.

It’s also infuriating seeing guys who are mediocre at what they do, getting paid boatloads of money.

To win in the NBA, you need superstars. You don’t need mid-level exceptions earning $8 million a year to play 6 minutes a game (Luke Walton, come on down!).

 You also don’t need guys who are good, but not great, earning $19 million a year. (Joe Johnson, I’m calling you out!)

It sounds as if the new labor agreement will put an end to that.

Not to dwell on poor Luke, but he’s scheduled to earn $5.68 million this year. Kobe Bryant will earn $25.2 million. Is Kobe 5 times better or more valuable than Luke? Unless you are mama Walton, your answer will be yes. In fact, Kobe is 10 times more valuable. So pay him accordingly. I have no doubt that the Luke’s of the world will be able to scrape by on $1-2 million a year.

Some tips to make your NBA fantasy league as fun as possible:

Make technical fouls a good thing: Dwight Howard led the league last year with 18 technical fouls. He would be a first round pick regardless. But did you know that Andray Blatche had 11? Did you know that Andray Blatche was an actual person? Give away points for technical fouls and then grab the rough and tumble Wizards forward.

Give bonus points when a team wins: Then Cleveland plays Minnesota, you’ll be extra happy when rebound machine Kevin Love leads his team to a win. It’s like gambling, but not. But is.

Five point bonus each week based on your players hairstyles: The NBA is loaded with hideous hair, so why not make it a contest. Got Tyler Hansborough and his bowl cut? Bonus! Anderson Varejao? Bonus! Andrew Bogut? Double bonus!

Make turnovers a good thing: I never understood why you should lose points if your guy turns the ball over. He’s just trying to make a play! Why punish a guy for effort? I’m not saying you give out points for turnovers, but don’t make them a negative.

Buzzer beaters: If your player makes a buzzer beater from beyond mid-court, 25 points. It happens a handful of times a season…why not make it a true milestone? If I made a shot from the opposing free throw line, I’d want more than 3 points. MTV Rock and Jock got this one right.

Even if you are not a fan of the NBA, give NBA fantasy a shot. You might end up becoming a convert. Lord knows the league could use the fans.

On to the NFL!

PUT’EM IN!

QB: Vince Young vs NE: The Pats have come out and stated the obvious. Their goal this week is to contain Shady McCoy. That leaves the game in VY’s Cristal loving hands. New England gives up the third most fantasy points to QB’s and the most points to WR’s. Even without Jeremy Maclin, Young should put up a bushel of points.

RB1: Chris Johnson vs TB: The Bucs have fallen apart against the run. CJ2.9YPC keeps getting delicious matchups and doing little with them. He’s killed you all year long, but you’ve got to ride him until he is dead and buried. The Bucs have allowed a RB touchdown in six straight games and are catching the Panthers in worst rush defense.

RB2: Donald Brown vs Panthers: Joe Addai practiced on Friday, but is still listed as questionable. Joe Addai wants nothing more than this season to be over. Brown, on the other hand, has taken over as the lead back in Addai’s absence. The Panthers are allergic to tackling guys who run with the ball, so this could be the one week you can get some points out of DB.

WR1: Percy Harvin at ATL: Adrian Peterson is out, but I think Harvin might end up with more rushing yards than Toby Gerhart. Harvin has carried 28 times on the year, averaging 8 yards per rush. Harvin has yet to gain 100 yards receiving in any single game, but he could easily get 100 yards combined this week.

WR2: Vincent Brown vs DEN: Champ Bailey is still a shutdown corner and should be focused on Vincent Jackson this week. That leaves Brown, who let down a lot of owners last week with his 1 catch performance. Rookie receivers are always sketchy, but this is a good spot for the youngster.

WR3: Santana Moss at SEA: Back after missing four games with a hand injury. He should instantly return to being Rex Grossman’s favorite target (not sure if that is actually a good thing or not). The Jabar Gaffney ride is officially over.

TE: Heath Miller at KC: Can you believe that the Chiefs will be on primetime for the 2^nd straight week? Gotta like Miller against the team giving up the third most tight end points. Anthony Fasano scored twice on them!

D/ST: Steelers at KC: Not to beat a dead horse, but Tyler Palko last week looked like a right handed person trying to throw a ball with their left hand. The Steelers have actually been a pretty lousy fantasy defense this year (only 1 TD), but this week will change all that.

TAKE’EM OUT!

QB: Matt Leinart vs HOU: The Texans are saying all the right things, trying to keep the pressure off of Leinart. But this week will be the Arian Foster show. The Jags hold QB’s to the 7^th fewest points and have nearly as many interceptions (10) as TD passes allowed (12).

RB1: Ahmad Bradshaw at NO: In one of the biggest games of the year for the G-Men, Bradshaw remains out. The Giants’ running game has come to a screeching halt without him and it will have to wait one more week to get back on track.

RB2: Kevin Smith vs himself: I know Smith played on Thanksgiving Day, but if you watched the game, you also know that he got hurt. There is a reason this guy was serving me a chalupa at Taco Bell one month ago. He’s just way too injury prone. I suggested you pick him up last week and it worked out for some of you. But he’s not durable enough to be a number one guy. Sorry to burst your bubble.

WR1: Steve Johnson vs BUF: I’ve officially given up on Stevie J. I own him in several leagues, but he has become unstartable. The Darrelle Revis matchup only makes it worse. Johnson put up 80 yards on Revis in their first matchup this year, but I could care less. Ryan Fitzpatrick is showing the world why the only college that wanted him was Harvard.

WR2:  AJ Green vs JAX: Joe Haden, shut down corner. He’s done an amazing job all year long. Throw in the fact that Green is coming off an injury and this is one of the very few weeks that Green gets benched.

WR3: Sidney Rice vs WAS: Which team has allowed the fewest WR touchdowns on the year? If you said the Redskins, you must be DeAngelo Hall (in which case, thanks for reading DeAngelo!) Rice has been a disappointment all year long with just 484 yards and 2 scores through 11 weeks.

TE: Visanthe Shiancoe at ATL: Typically, rookie QB’s develop a rapport with their tight ends, mainly as a safety blanket. That hasn’t happened with Christian Ponder and Shiancoe. Visanthe has been lousy from start to finish, never topping 58 yards in a single game. He’s been targeted a mere 11 times over the last three games and gets tough matchup at Atlanta, a team that has allowed just 2 touchdowns by a tight end all year.

D/ST: Eagles vs NE: The Birds defense had its best game of the season last week against the Gints. But Nnamdi and DRC are both questionable with leg injuries. That leaves Joselio Hanson, Curtis Marsh and Brandon Hughes to team with Asante Samuel in stopping Tom Brady. Not good.

Be sure to tune into Z88.9 FM Sunday at noon for our live fantasy football pregame show.

Also, if you have a fantasy question you need answered, send us an e-mail at fantasyfootballonz889@hotmail.com. We’ll read your question live on the air on Sunday and give you our opinion of what you should do.