Pathetic,…I’m simply pathetic. My internet went out last night and it was the end of my world! I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself without constantly being able to check the box scores. I was contemplating going for a jog to pass the time, but it was dark and I had a beer in my hand and in all fairness the beer came first, so I had to check all of last night’s scores this morning. I hope you folks appreciate the kind of dedication I have toward ensuring your success in your fantasy leagues. I got my ass up at the crack of 11:30 to check those stats. Now I know how farmers must feel. Python 167, thanks for waiting for this. Craig Hamilton…yours is next.

Python 167’s Team:

PG: Jameer Nelson
SG: Kobe Bryant
G: Jason Kidd
SF: Shane Battier
PF: Carlos Boozer
F: Quentin Richardson
C: Jermaine O'Neal
Util: Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Util: Chris Kaman
Bench: Ronny Turiaf
Bench: Gary Payton
Bench: Antoine Walker
Bench: Hakim Warrick

This is a head to head league with 9 stat categories... the winner of the stat category at the end of the week gets the win in that category... so nine wins per week. Here are the stats: FG%, FT%, 3PTM, PTS, REB, AST, ST, BLK, TO
(So I’m assuming that this is a Yahoo Public League h2h? Because that’s exactly how it plays out…in which case there must be 12 teams in the league…correct?)

The Assessment

Python managed to grab a pretty good balance. He does have some weaknesses and, in my opinion, he has some players he’s putting a lot of stock in right now who will probably cool down a bit later. But, this isn’t a bad looking team by any means.

POINTS – With Jermaine O’Neal hurt, Boozer bound to cool down at some point, and not much else for scoring, you really, really need Kobe to get healthy soon. QRich has provided some help of late, but though this isn’t a weakness, I can’t see you at the head of the league. That’s OK and I wouldn’t panic over it, but you could really use a healthy Kobe in your lineup.

REBOUNDS – You might think I’m nuts, but I would seriously suggest shopping Carlos Boozer…right now. He’s red hot and a lot of people are drooling over him at the moment (which might eventually make him miss quite a bit of shots as I hear the new ball doesn’t fair well to fan drool). But, if you look at his career numbers, he hasn’t had a healthy season in three years and has a career average of only 0.8 bspg and 0.6 spg. What’s more, his free throw % is typically under the league average. So you’re basically looking at a guy who gets decent points with good %, good solid boards and absolutely nothing else. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice fantasy contributor, but I’d suggest at least shopping him around and seeing if you can reel in the big fish with him. If you don’t get any good offers, stick with him. Between him, Jermaine O’Neal (once he becomes healthy again), Chris Kaman, Warrick (for as long as he collects some boards), and Kidd and Bryant helping from the guard spot, you’re looking very, very good in boards.

ASSISTS – Kidd’s adjusting to a couple less minutes per game, but he’ll still give you a solid leader in assists. Nelson is struggling early, but he should eventually come around. Arroyo is more of a scorer than a true point guard and he can be streaky. Kobe will help some in assists once he’s healthy, but you can’t – as I’m sure you know – rely on Payton for a whole lot this season even though he’s the temporary starter. I’m still confident that Kidd will have a typical Kidd season. That alone should ensure an OK finish in assist at least. You could use another assist-man to…well, assist in assists. However, I wouldn’t call this a weakness.

STEALS – Kidd’s steals are down, along with most of his other numbers. What’s that mean? Don’t panic with him. I realize that everyone says his minutes will continue to decrease as Marcus Williams develops, but so far he’s only averaging one minutes less per game than last year, so it’s not the minutes. Between him and Kobe, you’re looking pretty good in steals, and guys like Battier and Nelson will chip some in here and there to help.

THREES – Here’s a stat you’re kind of hurting in. Kidd will pick up a fair number of threes. With Kobe, you never really know what kind of Kobe you’ll get. He’s only averaging 0.4 threes per game so far this season. Last year, he averaged about 2.3. The previous year, he averaged 2.0. The year prior, he only averaged 1.1. Quentin Richardson was a nice pick up. He should help, but you could still use another gunner or two.

BLOCKS – Another stat you might be hurting in. Jermaine O’Neal has been a blocking fiend so far, but with him out, you’re really hurting for blocks. Contrary to popular belief, Boozer, Kaman and Warrick are not shot blockers.

FG% and FT% - Solid all around. I don’t see anyone who could really kill you in either FG or FT%.

TOs – Nothing to worry about here. Kidd has been turning it over a lot early, but typically keeps his turnovers low. Kobe has a history of being turnover prone, but you should be fine in turnovers.

Conclusion

You’ve got a couple holes, which could keep you out of first if you’re not careful. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that Boozer will cool off. Personally, I think Boozer and O’Neal are a bit overrated, but they are good players if they can stay on the court. Payton and Walker have put together a few solid games, but be careful with them. Walker’s in consistent and Payton won’t put up numbers as soon as Wade starts playing like Wade’s capable of playing.

Not a bad team at all, though. Personally, I’d recommend trading one of your bigs…either Boozer in a package to try to reel in a bigger fish, or perhaps Kaman…and get another legit shot blocker or another point guard who gets three pointers and assists if possible.
Just some things to chew on.

Now who will sex Dikembe?