The NFL wildcard weekend is here. The football analysts from The Fantasy Dudes have made their selections for this week. 


Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans
Michael - Texans by 6
Andre - Bengals by 7



Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
Michael - Saints by 13
Andre - Saints by 14



Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants
Michael - Giants by 7
Andre - Giants by 10



Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos
Michael - Steelers by 10
Andre - Broncos by 3

Let us know who you think will win in the comments section below.

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With the recent influx of injuries (Manu and Z-Bo to name a couple), The Fantasy Dudes have provided some options to check out off you waiver wire as replacements:


Norris Cole, PG, Miami Heat: The 28th pick in the draft has come out of nowhere. He's averaging 23 mins a game, almost 12 points (@50% shooting), and is a great source of 3's as well as assists. Norris should certainly be considered in deeper leagues.

Brandon Rush, SG, Golden State Warriors: Despite coming off the bench, Brandon has dropped 7 3's at 50% shooting, while also averaged a steal and a block per game. He's averaging almost 30 mins a game, hence his 10 point average.

MarShon Brooks, SG, New Jersey Nets: The rookie has shot right out of the blocks, averaging close to 14 points per game. Expect inconsistencies, however it helps when he has Deron passing him the ball.

Sam Young, SG/SF, Memphis Grizzlies: Z-Bo is out for an extended period of time. Over his past 2 games he has impressed off the bench. He won't start, but he'll see increased production.


Richard Jefferson, SF, San Antonio Spurs: Will likely need to help out with the scoring now that Manu is out for an extended period. He may be getting on, however he's still a performer from a fantasy perspective.

DJ White, PF, Charlottle Bobcats: Numbers won't blow you away, however he has been reasonably efficient. In his 5 starts this season, he has averaged 11 pts, 5 rebs and a blk per game.

Brandon Bass, PF, Boston Celtics: The key beneficiary of the Jeff Green injury. Getting plenty of mins, and should anything happen to KG, he'd be in line for a lot of work.


Al Harrington, PF/C, Denver Nuggets: With no K-Mart around, Al has stepped up big time. 15.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 3's a game. If he is available, add him now!

Greg Stiemsma, C, Boston Celtics: We all know too well about Jermaine O'Neal, the guy just can't stay healthy. Enter Greg Stiemsma, who has accumulated 12 blocks over his past 4 games, including a 13 point, 7 reb, 2 block performance in his most recent start.

Amir Johnson, PF/C, Toronto Raptors: It surprises me that Amir is still available in a lot of leagues. He's not flashy, but he averages a steal and 1.6 blocks per game, to go along with 6.5 rebounds and decent percentages.

Mehmet Okur, C, New Jersey Nets: Lopez is out, Okur is in... good source of 3's for a big man.


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Buy:

Greg Monroe, PF/C, Pistons: Monroe: Monroe was drafted a round or two too low on average, and in season two he has a become a huge focus of the Pistons' offense (15 points), while proving an excellent source of rebounds too (9 rebounds). Not a great source of blocks, but assists (3 p/g) and steals (1 p/g) a bonus.

Al Harrington, PF/C, Nuggets: The frontcourt is thin in Denver, with only Timofey Mozgov, Harrington, Chris Anderson and Nene around, leaving Harrington to pick up plenty of minutes (24). 16 points, 2 threes and 2 steals per game is very handy at the end of your bench.

Ryan Anderson, PF/C, Magic: With Bass out of town Anderson is playing serious minutes (33 per game) even with Big Baby around. Anderson is averaging 20 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block and 4 threes per game so far this season, and there's no reason to think his impressive performances won't continue. 




Sell:

Deron Williams, PG, Nets: Damion Jones, Sundiata Gaines, Shelden Williams, Johan Petro, Shawne Williams - no, this isn't the roster of the 2009 East Kentucky Miners CBA team. These are actually the guys D-Will has to dish to each night. And with concern over Lopez' long-term health, I don't like Williams' fantasy prospects this season. His FG% (0.349) plummets when he is forced to take a leading scoring role, and he is only averaging 6 dimes in 4 games this season.




Tyreke Evans, PG/SG, Kings: Year 3 of the Evans Experiment has not got off to a good start (14 pts, 0.429 FG, 3 ast, 3 reb), and in the muddied picture that is the Sacramento Kings, I have no confidence that he can get back close to his 09/10 stats. 

Steve Nash, PG, Suns: It's still early going, but it looks like Nash has dropped a level this season (points, FG% and assists significantly down from 2010/11). I think this is the year Nash comes back to the field (if he stays in Phoenix).

So thing are looking up for their Staples co-tenant Clippers, but thing aren't looking quite so rosy for the perennial title contender Lakers.

First up the Lakers choke in the last 2 minutes against the Bulls in their home opener and then follow this up with a loss to the Kings. Fortunately for Mike Brown and Co, the Lakers won their next game against the rebuilding Jazz to avoid what would have be the first 0-3 start for the Lakers for more than 30 years.

So storm clouds are gathering but don't count the Lakers out. Bynum's reduced suspension has him coming back New Year's eve and could very well provide the spark at both ends of the court that the Lakers need to kick start a very average season.

From a fantasy perspective here's our take:

1. Its still Kobe's show - Kobe's injury concerns aren't anything new, this time is a totally torn ligament in his right wrist that holds two small bones in place. You can count on Kobe to play through the pain. If you consider the fantasy depth chart at the shooting guard position Gordon, Wade, Ellis and Curry are the only shooting guards that have received consideration above Kobe. But while Gordon and Curry have already missed time with injury, Kobe has posted a first week average of 27.7 ppg 6.7 rpg 5.5 apg 2 spg with excellent percentages (excuse the 4 TOs pg). I've seen drafts with Kobe falling as low as 30 and if you were fortunate to grab Kobe with your second pick you've done extremely well. Don't expect a huge drop in Kobe's numbers in 2012.

2. Farewell Mr. Khloe Kardashian - The failed Chris Paul trade left a lot of unhappy campers in LA. Lamar Odom demanded a trade immediately after the failed trade and left LA to team up with the rival and champion Mavs for pretty much nothing. If Odom manages to push Marion out of the starting five in Dallas look for slight increases in Odom's 14.4 ppg and 8.2 rpg sixth man of the year performance. If not, expect probably about the same as 2011.

3. Pau - Pau had a fantastic regular season last year and then stunk up the playoffs. Not the first time this has happened but moving on. In his first 3 games he has averaged 17 ppg 8 rpg 2.7 bpg. Even with the departure of Odom, I don't see a significant increase in Pau stats given he already plays 37 mins per game. Gasol averaged 18.8 ppg and 10.2 rpg in 2011 and I see this as close to the ceiling of Pau fantasy potential. This still warrants late first round draft consideration.

4. Bynum - If Bynum stays healthy this could be potentially his break out season. The initial 5 game suspension had Bynum spiraling down fantasy draft boards but in the compressed schedule, this actually means he's out for less than a week. Last year Bynum averaged 11 ppg 9 rpg and 2 bpg in 27 mins. In his two pre-season games, Bynun managed 15 points and 11 rebounds and followed up with 27 points 11 rebounds. Bynum could be a 20 ppg 12 rpg 2 bpg monster this season. Health remains a big concern with only one season over 60 games in his last 3.

5. World Peace to all and your bench - Many would expect that World Peace's minutes to go up given the departure of Lamar, instead Peace's has been relegated to the bench with Mike Brown hoping to add some scoring punch to a depleted bench. The artist formerly known as Ron Artest has had 2 decent games this week with 19 against the Kings and 15 against the Jazz. In both games he added a handful of rebounds, a block and steal and decent percentages making him worth of a waiver wire pick up. As always with Eron this comes with a fools gold disclaimer.

6. New faces in new places - The Lakers' signed Troy Murphy and Josh McRoberts to fill the huge void left by Odom. Murphy has
had 3 consecutive games with 8 or more rebounds, however with Bynum returning to the fold, there's not too much fantasy potential here. However, should health become an issue with Bynum, this would change.

Have a question for me? Hit me up in the comments section below or on twitter/facebook. 

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Fantasy Football Week 17 Starts:

Jared Cook, TE, Titans: Cook had a nice game last week (100 yards, 22 points), and figures to be targeted again often against the Texans, who have already secured their playoff berth.

Toby Gerhart, RB, Vikings: Gerhart has averaged over 13 points per game over the last 5 games in Peterson's absence, and figures to do well again with no AP again against the Bears.



Santonio Holmes, RB, Jets: Against a pretty stingy Dolphins run defence (allows 3rd least against RB's), in a must win game, expect Sanchez to look for Holmes.

CJ Spiller, RB, Bills: Against the mediocre Pats defence, and in red-hot form (47 points in last 2 starts), I expect a huge game from CJ.


Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Bills: The Pats are last against the pass, and gave up a big score to Fitzpatrick the first time they played. I don't see why the same doesn't happen this week.

Matt Ryan, QB, Falcons: The Falcons will be out to atone this weekend against a Bucs sde with nothing to play for, and which allows 3rd most against opposing QB's.

Dwayne Bowe, WR, Chiefs: Against their Divisional rivals, the Chiefs can end the Broncos season. Expect Bowe to step up big-time against the Broncos, who aren't as effective against the pass as they are against the run.

Denarius Moore, WR, Raiders: I'll bet on Moore (94 yards, 1 TD last week) rather than DHB to come up big against the Chargers.



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For those that wrapped up their fantasy football season with a championship in week 16, congratulations, we hope that our advice proved to be useful. For those that still have one week remaining, here are The Fantasy Dudes waiver wire targets for Week 17 of the NFL:

Matt Flynn, QB, Green Bay Packers: No, Rodgers is not injured, but with the Packers wrapping up home field advantage already, look for Flynn to take charge this week, as he did in the final quarter against the Bears. He’s no Rodgers, but if you are need of a QB this week, Flynn certainly has the weapons to succeed. Matt is owned in less than 1% of standard leagues.

Carson Palmer, QB, Oakland Raiders: Carson has passed for a large number of yards since joining the Raiders, and in 9 games, he has only failed to score double-digit fantasy points just twice. Intercepts have been an issue, but he has thrown at least 1 TD in his past 4 games. Carson is owned in 48% of standard leagues.

Toby Gerhart, RB, Minnesota Vikings: What were the Vikings thinking… they had no real need to rush back AP, and I bet management regret it. Up steps Toby Gerhart, who filled in quite well a few weeks back. He’s a threat on the ground and through the air, so he makes for a nice addition. He has scored double-digit fantasy points in 5 straight games now. Toby is owned in 36% of standard leagues.

Khalil Bell, RB, Chicago Bears: This guy has come out of nowhere. We had him as a pickup last week and we hope you listened because he ran for 121 yards on the Packers. The Vikings got beat-up last week on the run, and we expect the same this week. If available, pick him up and start him. Bell is owned in 40% of standard fantasy leagues.

Jabar Gaffney, WR, Washington Redskins: We had him listed as one of our starts of the week and he responded  with 77 yards receiving, including a nice one-handed TD catch.  He’s been on fire of late and is a must add. Jabar is owned in 56% of standard fantasy leagues.

Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks: Actual production is bit hit or miss, but the targets are there (he led the team last week). Given the injuries to other WR’s,  there really aren’t many other options but him. Doug has scored a TD in 2 of his past 3 games. Doug is owned in just 22% of standard leagues.

Jared Cook, TE, Tennessee Titans: Have you seen the numbers this guy has been putting up? He has 17 grabs for 272 yards and 1 TD over the past 2 games alone. Texans are pretty good at limiting TE’s, but he is worth a look if you are need of a TE this week. Jared is owned in 7% of standard leagues.

Jeremy Shockey, TE, Carolina Panthers: Remember him? Well he has scored a TD in each of his past 3 games and faces a generous Saints team against TE’s. However, it should be noted that his receptions have been low, so keep that in mind. Jeremy is owned in 8% of leagues.

Seattle Seahawks D/ST: The Seahawks have been an excellent fantasy option and rank in the top 5 overall for the season, yet ownership is low. Did well against the Cardinals in week 3. This unit is owned in only 42% of standard leagues.

Matt Bryant, K, Atlanta Falcons: Owned in19% of standard fantasy leagues.

Other options: Joe Webb (if Ponder out), Evan Royster (if Helu out), Jacquizz Rodgers, Malcom Floyd, Darrius Heyward-Bay, Nate Burleson,  Dustin Keller,  Miami Dolphins D/ST.

Well, that’s it for me this season for fantasy football articles as Michael will be covering our fantasy starts of the week. See you next year. Feel free to contact us on twitter, facebook, in the comments section below or email should you have any questions.

New faces in new places certainly resonated well with the so-called 'little brother' of Los Angeles basketball in the offseason. The Clips played a near new starting five with Paul, Billups and Butler all making their Clipper's regular season debuts. Here's how their numbers looked at the end of the game:

(Source: 'LA Clippers at Golden State', www.sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore, Dec 25, 2011)

CP3 had an excellent opening night. Clutch, efficient and after numerous injury ridden seasons Paul looked at home in his new LA surroundings. His stats on opening night 20 points 9 assist 2 steals with excellent percentages closely reflect what we have come to expect from Paul. It has been sometime since Paul has had this much talent around him. The teaming of Paul with Griffin should create the best high wire act in the league. Billups, Butler and Williams can all catch and shoot from deep. I would expect Paul to be among the leaders in assists and steals.

Billups has a new role in LA and is starting at shooting guard for the first time in his career. He seems to have taken a liking to the new role, taking 10 three and hitting on 3 in his first game. Expect him to finish the season among the leaders in this category. At shooting guard and with a pass-first point guard, Billups will be taking a lot of shots. His career high ppg is 19.6 in his 2010 campaign at Denver. I would expect around 17-19 ppg in 2012. His assists may dip however in many ways at this stage of his career and his ability to shoot the long ball, teaming up with Paul is an ideal situation.

Butler is often the forgotten signing in LA, despite being one of the most sought after free agents in the shortened offseason. He finished the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Prior to his injury Butler was second leading scorer in Dallas averaging 15 ppg. Expect a similar level of production this season. In Dallas we saw a dip in his rebounds and steals largely the result of splitting minutes with the likes of Stevenson and Marion. However with a lack of depth in this position at LA we expect Butler to play 35+ min on a regular basis. I would expect 5+ rpg, 1+ spg and 1+ threes per game.

Mo Williams seems to be the odd man out playing only 22 mins off the bench. Williams spent time backing up both Paul and Billups but as expected his role is severely diminished. I would expect his minutes to pick up to around 27 mins however with two top line point guards ahead of him I wouldn't be surprised if he demanded a trade.

One tactic that did stand out in this game is the 'Hack-a-Jordan', which Golden State used as early as the third quarter. Jordan responded with 4/12 FT. Be prepared to throw away this category if you're taking on Jordan. On the plus side he did get 8 blocks.

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What a great opening day for the NBA. It was a day that reminded us all what we've been missing out on and how watching games is better than reading about arguments on how to split money between the rich and richer. First up, the Knicks played the Celtics. A thrilling opening game showcasing a number of big signings and a new look line up for the Knicks. The Knicks started a front court of Melo, Stoudemire and Chandler for their first regular season game. This is how their stats looked:

(Source: 'Boston at New York', www.sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore, Dec 25, 2011)

In 2012 look for Melo to remain huge offensively. He won't average 37 and 8 but he will be a contender for the scoring title. In Melo's best year at Denver he averaged 28 points 6.5 rebounds and 3 assists and combined steals and blocks of 1.7. I would not be surprised to see a better stat line in 2011/12. Since joining the Knicks, Melo has hit 2 threes per game at 42%. This is up from less that 1 per game at 33% at Denver.

Chandler will play big minutes in 2012. Unlike the Mavs, the Knicks don't have many options at center other Amare. He averaged 27 mins in 74 games for the Mavs. On opening night he played 36 mins. This could mean a increase in rebounds and blocks (Don't ask me how he got 3 rebounds in 36 mins). Chandler is quite limited offensively and without an elite quarterback like Jason Kidd running show, easy points off lobs won't be so plentiful. Last year he averaged 10 ppg 9.6 rpg and combined blocks and steals of 1.6. I would expect in 35 mins he would average 10.5 points, 11 rebound and combined blocks and steals of 2 to 2.5.

Stoudemire will benefit from not being the primary scoring option. One of the biggest drawbacks from STAT last season was his huge amount of TOs. STAT averaged a career high 3.2 TOs per game. A lot of this had to do with teams send second and third defenders his way. Melo takes away the ability of teams to double team Amare. Look for STAT to average close to 25 ppg and 8 rpg with 2 to 2.5 TOs per game with better percentages than 2011. 2011 saw STAT double his blocks to 2 per game. This is likely to drop with Chandler up front and less minutes at center. STAT averaged 1 bpg at Phoenix, so look to see production somewhere around 1.5 bpg.

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Merry Christmas everyone!!! We hope Santa brings delivers you a fantasy title this year! To help the cause, here are The Fantasy Dudes starts for week 16 of the NFL:


Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons: Matty Ice faces an attractive matchup this week against the high scoring Saints. While Brees may be getting the job done on offense, the Saints defense has been terrible against QB's. Matt has thrown 7 touchdowns alone over the past 2 weeks, and has missed throwing at least one touchdown in only one game this season. As Vince Vaughn would say, "he's so money".

Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers: Destroyed the Buccaneers only a few weeks ago, so he gets a second bite at the cherry, and this time at home. The Buccaneers appear to have given up this season (have allowed a passing touchdown in all but one game this season), and Cam has thrown for 5 touchdowns and rushed for another 3 over his past 3 games.


Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Big Ben will likely sit, meaning that Batch will suit up under center. As such, expect a heavy dose of Mendy against one of the worst rushing defenses in the league being the St Louis Rams.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers: DeAngelo has quietly been going under the radar, and he faces a very soft Buccaneers team this week. Hopefully Cam doesn't steal all his redzone carries.


Malcom Floyd, WR, San Diego Chargers: With Vincent Jackson struggling, Malcom Floyd could well be Rivers main target. He was impressive last week, and has had a decent run lately. He faces a Lions secondary that ranks 24th against wide receivers this season.

Brandon Marshall, WR, Miami Dolphins: He is a must start against the Patriots... did you see what D.Thomas of the Broncos did against them last week? He had 7 catches for 139 yards earlier in the season against them as has also accounted for 3 touchdowns over his past 3 games.


Jermichael Finley, TE, Green Bay Packers: Disappointed last week (dropped passes), however he faces a Bears team that has struggled against the TE position all season. Oh, and the Packers will be looking to bounce back in a big way following their shock loss to the Chiefs last weekend. Need extra motivation to start him? He collected 3 touchdown passes against the Bears earlier this season, including 7 catches for 85 yards.

Brent Celek, TE, Philadelphia Eagles: 5 catches, 156 yards and touchdown last week against the Jets... wow!!! He won't get those stats again this week, but the fact that the Cowboys rank 25th against TE's this season is a strong sign, as is Vick back at QB. Last time against them, he caught 7 passes for almost 100 yards and a touchdown.

Other options to consider: Rex Grossman, Matt Moore, Tim Tebow, LeGarette Blount, Willis McGahee, CJ Spiller, AJ Green, Santana Moss/Jabar Gaffney, Santonio Holmes, Tony Gonzalez, Greg Olsen.

If you are after roster advice... ask The Fantasy Dudes.

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With the NBA season now upon us... finally, The Fantasy Dudes decided to put together our thoughts on who would be the NBA Champions for 2011-12, and who would win each of the awards. What does this mean from a fantasy perspective? Well there is a strong correlation between the award winners and fantasy success, so perhaps these are some of the players you should be targeting in your leagues. Last season we predicted that Derrick Rose would be the MVP, so lets see how each of us go this season.

Before we get into our selections, we have the great pleasure of introducing a new Fantasy Dude into our family, Nick Chiang. Nick has over 10 years fantasy experience (including winning multiple fantasy titles), and will join the team as our latest NBA analyst. I'm sure you will all benefit from his insights.

Ok, so here are our picks... you will note that there is a consistent theme, so perhaps a good omen for the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder:


Mookie Schiralli
Rookie of the Year: Kemba Walker (Bobcats)
Coach of the Year: Frank Vogul (Pacers)
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard (Magic)
Most Improved Player of the Year: Troy Murphy (Lakers)
6th Man of the Year: Serge Ibaka (Thunder)
Scoring Champion: Kevin Durant (Thunder)
Most Valuable Player: Kevin Durant (Thunder)
Eastern Conference Champions: Miami Heat
Western Conference Champions: Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Champions: Miami Heat




Michael Alperstein
Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers)
Coach of the Year: Frank Vogul (Pacers)
Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Smith (Hawks)
Most Improved Player of the Year: Jeff Teague (Hawks)
6th Man of the Year: Jamal Crawford (Trailblazers)
Scoring Champion: Kevin Durant (Thunder)
Most Valuable Player: Kevin Durant (Thunder)
Eastern Conference Champions: Miami Heat
Western Conference Champions: Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Champions: Miami Heat



Nick Chiang
Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers)
Coach of the Year: Mike D'Antoni (Knicks)
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard (Magic)
Most Improved Player of the Year: DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) / Jrue Holiday (76ers)
6th Man of the Year: Lamar Odom (Mavericks)
Scoring Champion: Kevin Durant (Thunder)
Most Valuable Player: Kevin Durant (Thunder)
Eastern Conference Champions: Miami Heat
Western Conference Champions: Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Champions: Miami Heat


Andre Purtell
Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers)
Coach of the Year: Doug Collins (76ers)
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard (Magic)
Most Improved Player of the Year: Greg Monroe (Pistons)
6th Man of the Year: James Harden (Thunder)
Scoring Champion: Kevin Durant (Thunder)
Most Valuable Player: LeBron James (Heat)
Eastern Conference Champions: Miami Heat
Western Conference Champions: Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Champions: Miami Heat

Let us know who you think will win each award... hit us up in the comments section below!

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