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Down and Out in the FL Keeper League

The Lethal Warriors had a very good run this season in the Fantasy Lounge Keeper League. Only problem was they ran into a powerhouse, that too went by the name Warriors, in the final matchup.

Ritz's Warriors sent my team home packing with an inconspicuously easy 5 - 4 victory last Wednesday.

My 'go for points' strategy was abandoned Sunday night when I came to the conclusion that trailing by 100 points with just three days left only so much could be done. The cat I did find myself in surprisingly was rebounds and actually took it by ten, despite going up against Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire, whose teams were fighting for playoff positioning.

Either way you have it, the cat I needed most was the one with the least predictability. Before the matchup started, I made a list of all the cats to be had and whose team held the edge in each. For FT%, I put next to it 'hope to win,' which is all you can do, really. I had the cat lost by Sunday, and, although slow on the uptake, I adjusted by adding more big men, who naturally shoot a lower FT%, to win REBs and BLKs.

What I have to blame this losing matchup on is my superstars, who didn't come to play. Brandon's four best players each scored over 100 points, while my best four players merely averaged 63. You're not going to win much that way. Unfortunately for me, Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace were able to rest before the playoffs, where they will surely need it, almost destined to meet each other in the Eastern Conference Championship. And here I am in my first basketball keeper league with the unprecedented task of not being able to drop dead weight for usable talent.

Anyway, I'm sure I wasn't the only person with this problem in 2008. I heard some serious Sheed bashing in the forums I visited last week.

A look at the final matchup:

Stats   Team FG% FT% 3PTM  PTS REB AST ST BLK TO Score Lethal Warriors .470 .750 62 812 338 142 46 47 94 4 Ritz's Warriors .509 .770 49 896 328 135 51 39 84 5

As you can see, the fifth cat I came closest to winning was steals, which I was never going for but struck gold with on the final day to make the outcome appear closer than it actually was. And I was second closest in TOs, a cat you never want to have to rely on in a H2H matchup where each team dropped 12 and 14 players respectively. And guess who dropped the least...I did. No heavy conscience of an overstreamer here.

All that's left now is to enjoy watching the real playoffs (at least as much as I can without Golden State being in it) and try to adjust to rooting for teams instead of players, which I've come to realize is much less frustrating.

 

Through to the Finals of the FL Keeper

I escaped the semifinals of the Fantasy Lounge Keeper League last weekend...but just barely. Trailing five cats to three and out of players, Radar's early week pickup, Spencer Hawes, committed two very helpful turnovers that pulled the score to a tie, finishing off the week 4 - 4. That Sunday evening I had no idea how a tiebreaker was worked out and had no choice but to stick it out until morning to find out. I checked the league one last time before bed and saw a message from Brandon (a.k.a. Rtiz) the Lounge's administrator and number one seed in the league. He said I was moving on to the next round. Turns out points is the tiebreaker for playoff matchups and my guys put the ball in the hoop a few more times than Radar's. As you have it, I'm still alive and actually well into this week's finals, which last 10 days, up until Wednesday's regular season finale.

My team has changed and morphed itself multiple times in the past two weeks. But I stuck to my principles and streamed hardly any more or less than anyone else. This week I'm facing Ritz's Warriors, and the only reason I have a chance is because a couple of keepers on this star studded team are out for the season: Andrew Bynum and Dwyane Wade. The matchup as it currently stands:

Stats   Team FG% FT% 3PTM  PTS REB AST  ST BLK  TO Score Lethal Warriors .468 .747 34 399 152 79 17 26 48 3 Ritz's Warriors .544 .750 29 462 168 55 29 21 42 6

Lethal Warriors

Beno Udrih
Lou Williams
Cuttino Mobley
Paul Pierce
Thaddeus Young
Josh Powell
Rasheed Wallace
Tim Duncan
Samuel Dalembert
Leandro Barbosa
Wilson Chandler
Anthony Parker
Travis Diener
Jamal Crawford

Ritz's Warriors (red = injured)

Peja Stojakovic
J.R. Smith
Greg Buchner
Reggie Evans
Amare Stoudemire
Rasho Nesterovic
Chris Bosh
Leon Powe
Kelenna Azubuike
Lamar Odom
Grant Hill
LeBron James
Dwyane Wade
Andrew Bynum

Here you see how keeper leagues can get. Teams can become pretty dominant. It's sort of amazing to think Brandon's team belongs to a 16 player league and makes me feel like I didn't make enough moves this year. Heck, I hardly made any moves. But I'm still in it, right?

I'm fighting, down 6 - 3 with five days left to play. I don't want to give my whole strategy away since I've made the Lounge folk aware of these playoff updates, but aside from him already having FG% and STL's in the bag, all the cats are up for grabs. I might have to punt TO's if I sink to desperate stream mode, which means I'll be running out of cats. I'm trailing by about 60 points, which isn't insurmountable, and that's the cat I'm really going after. I'm going to need a new source of luck because my Billy Ho tank ran out some time last week against Radar. It's time to get scrappy!

The Plan for Winning My Basketball League's Playoffs: Phase 1

I enter my fantasy basketball playoffs as the underdog this year, but like the hustlin' Billy Hoyle from "White Men Can't Jump"—I'm feeling so lucky.

Just like Billy tried so hard to dunk, my team gritted out 21 weeks of grueling play to find itself in the second seed of the 16 team Fantasy Lounge Basketball Keeper League. With most of the guys knowing each other  from the forum, the league stays pretty active and competitive. I inherited my team at the beginning of the season, renamed them, drafted a solid supporting cast, and it has become my baby.

In this week's semifinals it's my Lethal Warriors vs. Radar's Pointweilers 

Being the second seed, I had a first round bye in the six team playoff bracket. I don't have the most talented team by any means. And it's not as firmly rooted in the pretty stat of FG% as I'd let on before (bottom third of the league...shame on me for embellishing).

I have come to realize Radar's team would have whooped me if we were in a roto league, being better in almost every statistical category. Normally in this case, I'd punt turnovers and stream to go after a cheep win, but I'm trying not to be known as "that guy." Instead I've added four players with four game schedules this week. Since Radar has so steadily outdone my team this year,  it's hard to focus on one category, so I've picked up guys I predict will have the best overall value.

Lethal Warriors - after the moves (in blue)

Javaris Crittenton (4 games)
Daequan Cook (4 games)
Travis Diener (4 games)
Paul Pierce (3 games)
Josh Powell (4 games)
Tim Duncan (3 games)
Rasheed Wallace (3 games)
Samuel Dalembert (3 games)
Leandro Barbosa (4 games)
Jared Dudley (4 games)
Steve Blake (3 games)
Jamal Crawford (3 games)
Louis Williams (3 games)
Thaddeus Young (3 games)

Pointweilers (red for injured) 

Devin Harris (3 games)
Vince Carter (3 games)
Cuttino Mobley (4 games)
Anthony Parker (4 games)
Nick Collison (3 games)
Jamario Moon (4 games)
Brendan Haywood (4 games)
Emeka Okafor (4 games)
Baron Davis (4 games)
Brandon Bass (4 games)
Beno Udrih (4 games)
Dikembe Mutombo (4 games)
Joel Przybilla (3 games)
Richard Hamilton (3 games)

Off the bat I'm a little behind because his team plays 51 games and mine plays only 48. In addition, most of my four game players are my weakest. Four of my five keepers play three games, while two of his top three players (Baron and Okafor) play four games.

As you can see, my team is full of waiver wire talent, players whom most wouldn't touch in a 12 team league. The adds I've made are for no-name young guys who have shown progression in the late parts of the season, ranging from the last week to the last six weeks.

Unquestionably my love for this team, having put in the work all season, gives me a slight advantage.  And when TNT Thursday hits, having a better idea of how things are going to shake out, I'll adjust my roster accordingly. Only seven guys on my team are safe this week. Everyone else is disposable, and I'm o' so hungry to reach the finals and claim bragging rights in my league.

To Be Continued...