Fantasy Basketball:

Make It Nashty

By Muntradamus

BEAST DOME NATION.

With the NBA in Full Swing with a weeks worth of action.  You can finally expect some expert analysis without those other sites jumping on every one or two weeks Bandwagon players they have been jumping on (Tobias Harris, Dante Cunningham, etc.) Before I get into the full featured article of what coach D’Antoni means to this ELITE Lakers squad.  First let me give you some names of players who are going to be IMPACT players in certain categories.

*All Players Owned in Less than 75% of Leagues

3PTM

BRADLEY BEAL – G – WAS

While Beal will be at his best while John Wall is out.  Beal is the type of player that can knock down 2-3 3PTM a game with ease.  He should be starting all season long, but there will be some inconsistent nights when Jordan Crawford comes off the bench, and it will be hard to put him back there because of his production.  Either way, if you need a cheap Ray Allen on your team, this is your guy.

 

REBOUNDS

OMER ASIK – C – HOU

The Turkish Monster is a huge presence down low.  His offensive skills are just about par level, but it is good enough when he is averaging over 12 Rebounds a game.  Asik is the perfect big man for Kevin McHale, because all McHale asks for is someone who can control the paint with their size.  He is playing well over 30 Minutes a game fairly consistently, and with a 19 Rebound game already in the long season.

Make sure he is not on your wire.

 

BLOCKS

DERRICK FAVORS – F/C – UTA

If you need Blocks and a guy who could potentially be a 20/10 guy down the road with his eyes closed.  Derrick Favors is your man.  Right now he is coming off the bench behind Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, yet he is still averaging over 7 Rebounds a game, and over 2 Blocks.   Some nights he will play only 20 Minutes and still get those type of numbers.

With Millsap being a name that can easily be moved before the deadline, and a very fragile Al Jefferson.  Only time will tell before Favors is a Fantasy Basketball MVP.  Minus his potential terrible FT%.

ASSISTS 

ANDRE MILLER – G – DEN

“Steady as he Goes” is the nickname to give to Andre Miller.

He does not give you huge performances, but he does give you around 6 Assists a game fairly consistently.  This also being a backup PG.  If Ty Lawson has to miss any time, or if Andre continues to be the better PG (Which he probably is if you look at production/per minute) Andre will force himself onto the court more than you better believe.  Grab him now before his value skyrockets if you need the assists.

 

STEALS

RON ARTEST – F – LAL

Metta World Peace is a nickname that does not fit him whatsoever.  So I will continue to call him Ron.

Artest has always been a great defensive threat his entire NBA career, now that he is seeing 30+ Minutes a game consistently, he is knocking down nearly 2 3PTM a game, while getting over 2 Steals a game.  Things could change with D’Antoni as the head coach for the Lakers.  But only good things will come out of it because…

 

MAKE IT NASHTY

For all of you Steve Nash Fantasy Basketball owners out there.  Go celebrate.

If Coach D’Antoni was the head coach coming into this season, Steve Nash would have been a 1st round pick in all Fantasy Basketball Leagues.  What this means for the Lakers offense is a few things.

1. Lakers will be scoring over 120 Points a game. Multiple Times.

2. Steve Nash will not only lead the NBA in Assists, he could set new records in the modern ERA.

3. Kobe Bryant can average 30 Points a game.

4. Dwight Howard can average 30 Points a game.

5. Pau Gasol should average 20 Points a game.

6. Antawn Jamison will be the productive player his Fantasy Owners hoped for (18% owned). 

This is how you can really tell how the Lakers are going to get a HUGE boost.  

PHOENIX SUNS (2005-2006)

Team Scored: 108.4 PPG (1st in the NBA)

STEVE NASH AVERAGES: 10.45 Assists. 18.84 Points 

*(WHERE THEY ARE TODAY)

PG: STEVE NASH (Starting PG for Lakers)
SG: RAJA BELL (Not in the NBA because of Skill)
SF: SHAWN MARION (Averaging less than 10 PPG. Mavericks)
PF: BORIS DIAW (Averaging less than 10 PPG. Spurs)
C: KURT THOMAS (Backup on Knicks)

6TH MAN: LEANDRO BARBOSA (Backup on Celtics)
7TH MAN: EDDIE HOUSE (Not on a NBA Team)

This 2005-2006 Suns team was the team that missed Amar’e Stoudemire for the season.  The first knee injury of his career, that is bothering him today.

As you can see this Suns team does not have one player in the NBA who can score 20 Points a game more than twice in a month today.  Not even if they were on a different NBA team back then.

Shawn Marion was their best scorer, but he is far from a productive shooter.  Even back then, just dunks and floaters with the occasional 3PT shot.

Raja Bell took 446 3PT attempts, he made 197 of them which would likely be top 3 in the NBA today if a player can finish with that amount of makes.

The Bench of the Suns is nothing special, and Leandro did not even have his best season as he was injured and only played 57 Games.

Not to mention this team does not have one legitimate big man between Boris Diaw, Kurt Thomas, Brian Grant.

The reason this team led the league in the NBA in Points is D’Antoni.

Now that System Moves to the Lakers.

So if that team can average 108 Points per game.  How many points can this team score?

PG: STEVE NASH
SG: KOBE BRYANT
SF: RON ARTEST
PF: PAU GASOL
C: DWIGHT HOWARD 

6TH MAN: ANTAWN JAMISON
7TH MAN: JORDAN HILL 

What you should expect is Steve Nash to have the ball. Then create for everyone else.

1. Picks & Rolls with Dwight and Pau. Mostly Dwight.

2. Kobe will be put in better positions to score.

3. Ron Artest will camp in the corner for 3PT shots.

4. Antawn Jamison will play over 26 Minutes a game and score over 12 Points. 

It is about to get NASHTY.

Muntradamus is a Fantasy Sports Expert who specializes in Fantasy Football/Baseball/Basketball. He is currently in his first season as a Pro on FantasyPros where he is the only expert to have Adam Dunn, Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, Ian Desmond, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Wilin Rosario in his top 20 at each position. Muntradamus not only leads many to championships with his great advice, and outlooks into the future. He is also consistently on the top of leaderboards in DraftStreet. He was also the #1 Fantasy Football Expert of IDP & Overall Rankings, first time in Fantasy Sports History.  To check his Preseason Fantasy Football Rankings Click Here. He also won a 1,000 person tournament in Fantasy Football to qualify for a trip to Vegas to play for $500,000 in Prizes.