Connelly’s Top Ten: Bruins Up 2-0

2013 NBA Playoffs Expert Picks: Third Round

After Three Hour Rain Delay, Red Sox Complete Sweep of Twins

2013 NBA Playoffs Expert Picks: Second Round Results

Fantasy Basketball Review: Week 20 (3-9 – 3-15)

A Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you out there! Entering the final week of the fantasy regular season, I hope you were bitten by the luck of the Irish and are in position for the playoffs. To those who have already locked up a playoff spot, I hope you see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow very soon.

Injury Roundup

Caron Butler (SG,SF), Washington Wizards: Butler is experiencing another hamstring injury and he left Friday’s game as a result of it. He did not play Sunday and has no plans to start any time soon.

Yao Ming (C), Houston Rockets: Don’t worry, this is not a typical, crippling Yao injury. Yao has a touch of the flu that was serious enough to sideline him for Monday’s game. He is day-to-day.

Deron Williams (PG), Utah Jazz: Williams suffered a knee injury against Orlando and those covering the game said it looked like he was in a great deal of pain. He was only 3/10 on his FG’s in that game on Sunday. Keep an eye on the situation.

Three Shining Stars

Antawn Jamison (SF,PF), Washington Wizards: Week 20 was very, very good to Jamison. His offensive explosion gave owners 30.3 points on 50.0% shooting. This was aided by 2.7 threes. Filling out the rest of his line were 8.3 reb, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals.

Kobe Bryant (SG), L.A. Lakers: In all of Yahoo! basketball, Kobe is one of the few players who is 100% owned. He showed why with a dominant line of 29.3 points, 5.7 reb, and 5.7 assists. He was graceful from beyond the arc with 2.0 threes and even threw in 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks for good measure.

Joe Johnson (PG,SG), Atlanta Hawks: If you saw the top players from Week 20, you would see that SoB’s Mike had four or five of them in the top 10. Johnson was one of them when he scored 32.0 points with a 52.9 FG% and 88.9 FT%. Johnson grabbed 4.7 reb and even shared the wealth with 7.0 assists. While he was at it, he helped your three pointers by making 2.0 for the week.

Three Fading Stars

Mike Bibby (PG), Atlanta Hawks: Bibby continues to suck the life out of me by only shooting 38.2% and missing his season averages in points and assists. Since his flu epidemic, he has not been the same.

Shawn Marion (SF,PF), Toronto Raptors: Marion has failed to recapture his glory days in Phoenix as a member of the Raptors. His steals, blocks, and reb, are all down. Want to know something fascinating? Marion hasn’t made a single three pointer in 13 games in Toronto.

Shaquille O’Neal (C), Phoenix Suns: Shaq’s points, reb, and blocks were all on the decline in Week 20. If you didn’t think it was possible for his FT% to sink any lower…it did with 55.6% for the week.

Players to Pick Up

Antonio McDyess (PF,C), Detroit Pistons: This is the guy to have for a playoff run. We have been seeing vintage McDyess in the past few weeks. He is averaging a double-double since the break and in March is averaging 13.1 points and 12.4 reb with 1.3 blocks.

Joel Przybilla (C), Portland Trail Blazers: In four games last week, Przybilla had 14+ reb in three of them and blocked five shots in two seperate games a piece as well. He shot 57.1% in those games, so he can be a defensive guru and not kill your shooting.

Leon Powe (SF,PF), Boston Celtics: This is not just a hometown-bias pick. Powe has been lighting it up in the month of March with 15.4 points and 8.1 reb on 63.8% shooting. This includes three games with 20+ points including a season high 30 against the Grizzlies.

Sports of Boston Friends and Family League

• Another decisive win for me by a score of 6-3. I remain in 2nd place.
• SoB’s Mike also won 6-3 and is the only team to clinch a playoff spot. Yes, mathematically I could still miss the playoffs, but I would need to collapse in an 8-0 shutout.
• Only 6 playoff spots in the league. The best matchup for the week is SoB’s KC vs. SoB’s Jeff. KC sits in 7th behind Jeff and is only 0.5 games behind Jeff for the last playoff spot. Oh drama!
• Recent pickups include: Kendrick Perkins, Jason Thompson, Larry Hughes, and Thablo Sefolosha

Tags: Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Deron Williams, Fantasy, Fantasy Basketball Review, Joe Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Mike Bibby, Shaquille O'Neal, Shawn Marion, Yao Ming