Okay... the first two days sucked. Both Harden and Z-Bo (as usual whenever I pick him) shot miserably. Look for my picks to suck in the first round as most of my time after work is spent on helping on the site. (Btw the points and leaderboard are almost ready we just hit a snag. Might as well not promise an ETA, but we'll try to fix it before Round 2. Don't worry, your picks and points are intact).
DeMar DeRozan shot poorly in Game 1 (don't they all do nowadays?) but I am hoping he bounces back big-time playing at home. And oh, I am risking picking the Pacers to win the series after stealing Game 1 (which historically is a big indicator).
Those few who picked Isaiah Thomas in Game 1 should be ecstatic. He put up big numbers on the road, and I'm hedging on a repeat of that... in a losing effort. The Celtics are just so young.
Good luck!
I wouldn't pick a Toronto player yet. They will most likely win tonight (or they are basically finished anyway), and that series will likely go longer than both the Dallas vs. OKC and Houston vs. GSW series. Both OKC and GSW could actually sweep, or at worst a 5 game series.
ReplyDeleteI'll probably hold my nose and pick another Rocket player, since Dallas is pretty much devoid of options after Dirk Nowitzki, barring a surprise emerging from somewhere. Not expecting much though in any event.
Got "lucky" in Game #1 picking Trevor Ariza (18 PRA vs. 22 PRABS) which in the latter case was as good as picking James Harden who I can pick later preferably at home.
Is there a free league where most of the normal players that normally contribute to this forum are in?
Not that I know of on Drive and Slam. I'm only a member of the "Dallas Mavericks Fanclub", and we are 5 members strong!
DeleteInteresting. Picking DeRozan is right out of my playbook after the road team takes game 1. It's a strategy I'm not taking this year, interestingly enough. I have mt reasons. Firstly, the Raptors are a 56 win team, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and more time than I have in previous years. Secondly, I did it last year and all that lead to was a 12 from Lowry anyways. And thirdly, I'm Canadian. Go Raptors!
ReplyDeleteTonight, I've got James Harden. I like him in what I call "the chase", with Houston behind, and the team realizing "we need to give the ball to Harden, our star player, to avoid losing Game 2". There is some fear of another blowout, but with Steph Curry questionable, along with Livingston too, this might be a good game for Houston to do better, with James Harden leading the charge.
Tomorrow, I've got Z Bo. Memphis looks awful. There is a good chance of a blowout, but with the other option Boston vs. Atlanta (no thanks just yet!), so I'm going to go with the heard and pick their best player, and hope he shoots better than 3-13.
Wednesday, I've got Batum. The three teams who are trailing 0-1, the Pistons looked the most competitive. They are still most likely to lose their series of the three, but I've picked one so I'm not in a hurry to pick another. Portland and Charlotte are interesting because they play on the same day this entire round. Thus, with Lillard, McCollum, Walker, and Batum, and a good chance both series could be done by the end of game 5, I'm not going to wait and pick a Piston. Since Portland and Charlotte are always together, I'll start with the guy who has connections to both teams. When he gets hot, he stays hot, as evidence from the previous playoffs the past two years. He did well with 27, but we've seen him hit the 30's. I'm saving McCollum for his own court, and Lillard and Kemba for an elimination game. However, if both go down 0-2, I'll probably go Lillard first.
I'm sticking with my gut and not picking a single Grizzlee including Randolph even though they get knocked out prolly swept. I just think there are too many other options. For instance there are 3-4 Celtics easy I'd pick before Randolph. Atlanta is gonna win that series. Boston needed that game 1.
DeleteOtherwise your upcoming pick strategy is exactly what I was planning. Clearly we think alike there & even part of me wants to pick Z-Bo tomorrow & save Thomas, but I'm so happy with my first 3 picks I'd hate to leave my hot streak in the hands of Randolph especially when the Spurs will blow them out (again)
DeleteI don't see many non-Thomas Celtics I like this round, other than perhaps Crowder or Turner, and I didn't get that "Atlanta's got this" feeling from Game 1. Well, actually, I did briefly, and it went away as quickly as their lead did.
DeleteRandolph certainly had some stinkers early in the season in blowout losses, but if you look at his PRA down the stretch (when everybody was injured but him), it's must pick. This includes a 34 PRA performance in only 25 minutes in a 21 point loss at Golden State for the last game of the season. That's actually three minutes less than he got in game 1. However, if you have confidence in the Hawks, this strategy could work out beautifully. I think Thomas has yet another very good game. If I were you, I'd at least consider Randolph when he gets back to his home court. I'm hoping tonight's big performance will convince you of that ;)
How about Marcus Smart? Does he become playable with Avery Bradley out?
DeleteThe problem with the Celtics is there are 5 or 6 guys who can break out any given game... but 4 of them will get below 20.
Yeah I think crowder and turner for sure. And now very likely Smart but i wanna see Brad Stevens rotation first this game. Z-Bo at home isn't the worst idea. Just depends on my other options. If Celtics win tonight for instance, then I won't be picking another Celtic any time soon.
DeleteDitto. Boston started terribly. Other than that, they were in. I still think this series is 50/50.
DeleteSeries is certainly still up for grabs. Hence the sacrificial lamb named Z Bo being sent out tonight.
DeleteMarcus Smart joins that growing list of tier two players on Boston. If Boston makes round 2, then that group will make for some fun decisions. I'd rather play Z Bo (a sketchy pick from a team that certainly will not move on) than a tier 2 Celtic (who may move on), which is why I'm holding off on Isaiah. Plus, he is Taong's pick. I'll let Taong rid himself of the curse first before I join him on that sinking ship :P
Thomas wasn't great, but my theory of the Celts def not winning the series is proving accurate. I do think I'll pick Z-Bo some time given how awful the Celtics prove they can be on any given night. At least the Grizzlees fans will expect to see some playing time from the only guy that maybe helps sell tickets lol.
DeleteYep, Hawks definitely showed us that they are the favourites here. I've got Thomas ready to go soon, all depending on how the Pistons do tomorrow.
DeleteNo spoilers please. Gonna binge watch Mavs G2 later :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a game, eh? I would have never guessed it. OKC looked so dominant in game 1, but the Mavs showed some true grit on the defensive end. I'm really happy to see that, even if they don't win the series, that at least they are putting up a good fight!
DeleteNever heard of someone blaming their work for their players not panning out lol that's pretty funny. All you have to do is pick one player which takes a minute or two there's not much skill involved. Your first two picks were likely blowout games too...
ReplyDeleteI totally understand Taong's point. I spend a LOT of time considering different player options. Watching / following the details of the games, listening to predictions, planning weeks ahead with picks, etc are all part of how you play this game. Being focused on other things totally affects that and Taong's basically say go figure I'm so involved in a dif aspect of the game that has become true work that I've struggled with maintaining my normal strategies & routines. So yeah, we best all be thanking him for giving us a game to play. Thanks Taong!
DeleteOh there is skill and effort into involved Anon if you've been following us these past few years. Alright I'll pick up my game there's no excuse :P Gotta cope, my Google Drive buddies are killing me hehe!
DeleteTough luck with your picks so far. Hang in there buddy! I'm super happy with my first 3 but that only means worse days are right around the corner. Lol. Although I share your Thomas pick so good luck to us both!
ReplyDeleteJust happy didn't pick Dirk in Day 3. Was so so close to doing so. Bleeds blue.
DeleteAny update on the leaderboard?
ReplyDeleteThis site is great that we have opportunity to play but the league I'm running is getting alil restless without the leader board and being able to see people's picks. Would be a huge help! Any chance we could see 'today's top available players' like we could on NBA.com?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the point of this if we can't even see the scores of our picks and who's winning? This has to fix or the ones who signed up will not continue to play this game. It was good that you guys made this game but so far it's been a let down.
ReplyDeleteHey Bud. I love your enthusiasm for the NBA. It would be great if you can get the scoreboard going though. I wouldn't worry about anything other than showing daily league standings and points scored by each team.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said....it's great that you guys put this together but without seeing the scores or who others picked it takes most of the fun out of it.
ReplyDeleteIt took all of three games to annoy me. I should not switch players around.
ReplyDeleteHad prepicked Harden, switched to Dirk. Of course, Harden goes off and Houston loses, Dirk goes nowhwere and the Mavs win. There´s that at least, but I don´t think it will help them much except prolong the series to maybe 6 games tops. Although, who knows, maybe they can take care of business at home three times? That would be fun.
Tonight it´s Z-Bo. Tomorrow, I will decide tomorrow. No idea yet. Hopefully I will have a little more time to decide.
Can't even see who is in my group right now. Any update on when this will be fixed?
ReplyDeleteAnyone else notice the bigger glitch, that you can select players that you have already picked?!
ReplyDeleteOne can always quit if it's not enjoyable anymore. I would. There's always next year.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost a one-man job for free. NBA.com and AutoTrader had a dev group that's paid full-time. Go figure.
Definitely appreciate the effort you put into this. I am sure it is overwhelming. Autotrader and the NBA really dropped the ball on this, this year.
DeleteUnfortunately the trend on the internet is for these types of games to vanish. ESPN now basically has a nonexistent side game package where they used to offer several side games. Now just Streak for the Cash, and a couple of soccer games that most could care less about in the USA, as well as their traditional leagues in the main 4 sports, but none for the playoffs of any. And Yahoo is better anyway for fantasy sports than ESPN.
The outlook isn't much better for other games offered on the internet. Other than horse racing, those games are almost nonexistent. The internet is dying.
Taong, email me, I possibly have some people that can help. At least in regard to building the site up for next year. Maybe we even do a similar format for the regular season so that there's always activity & traffic, possibly get some decent ad revenue. I have some creative ideas for a reg season daily format, etc
DeleteI really miss the original DTTF game to play along with during the playoffs. Seems like something is totally missing and my interest is definitely waning overall in the NBA Playoffs. Got spoiled over the last several years with that game holding interest throughout the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely appreciate the attempts to keep this going by Taong and others, but they old interface isn't there to mess around with, there isn't a running leaderboard for both NBA players and those playing the DTTF format. Overall it really leaves a lot to be desired. I even missed a day, not that it really matters this year, this is a just for "fun" thing now.
I wonder how much interest Autotrader and the NBA will lose overall once some of the fans' teams become eliminated as the Playoffs progress?
Congrats to the Dallas fans on this board! OKC laid down in Game #2 with a horrible display and really kept the Mavericks in the game long enough for OKC to lose.
ReplyDeleteCould another OKC choke be in the works? It's been known to happen come playoff time.
People need to stop crying about not having the scores up. I'm sure he's working on it and will get it done. It's not hard to figure them out for yourself for the time being. How does not seeing them take the fun out lol just figure it out for yourself for now lol.
ReplyDeleteReally? You need someone to explain that to you?
DeleteLol man up and calculate the score for yourself. You can't count?
DeleteI know what my own score is. I don't know what the scores of the others in my league are or who they picked. Try to keep up.
ReplyDelete