Where The Big Fundamental Plays Beas[t]ley

Tim Duncan (34 points on 14-22 shooting, 6-7 from the line, 14 rebounds, an assist, 3 blocks, and only 1 turnover) failed to carry his team to victory at Phoenix against Steve Nash (25 points on 11-20 shooting, a trey, 2-2 free throws, 3 boards, 13 assists, and a steal) and Amare Stoudemire (28 points on 12-21 shooting, 14 boards , and 3 steals), but he was victorious in earning the best line of the night. San Antonio is notorious for being a strong defensive team, but for some reason, Stoudemire always plays very well against Timmy and Co.

It's quite advantageous to be a sports fan living in the West Coast. 7 P.M. games on the East Coast start at 4 P.M. here and end at 7 P.M. (games usually take 3 hours), which is when West Coast games start. So it's a good 6 hours of basketball from 4 P.M. to 10 P.M. However, fans in the East Coast need to stay up until 1 A.M. to watch the end of a game in the West Coast.

I can watch Michael Beasley (28 points on 11-19 shooting, 6-6 free throws, 11 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block, with no turnovers) torch the Raptors at 4 P.M., then watch Brandon Roy (25, 5 and 10, and 10-20 shooting) go to work against Sacramento at 7 P.M.

It was bittersweet watching Kobe Bryant torch the Bulls for 42 points on 15-26 shooting, a trey, 11-15 free throws, 2 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals in a victory in Chicago. The Bulls are really struggling. They are losers of 6 of their past 7 games. Derrick Rose (21, 4 and 6) and John Salmons (2 points on 1-5 shooting) have struggled all season, and it doesn't look like their team is improving. (I own Salmons in both leagues, and my h2h opponent this week owns Kobe).

I used a mid-round draft pick on Salmons, and he is one of the reasons why my roto team finds itself second to last place in a standard-sized (12 managers) league. Salmons has struggled all season, killing my field goal percentage (38.5%) in the process. His numbers are down throughout the entire board this season. And he is just one of those players I want to strangle. (You know you have players like Salmons on your roster.) He's that guy on your team that fails to live up to your expectations. He's the guy you start every night, all the while hesitating, stressing, and contemplating whether or not he's even worth a roster spot.

The thing that makes me so mad about fantasy basketball is that it makes me feel so powerless. I cannot actively improve my team. I have absolutely no control on how well my players play. I have no control of their personal lives and how it affects their performance on the court. I have no power over the management that decides which players will play and how much minutes they will play in a game. I have no say in whether an injured player will play tonight or not. All I can do is add and drop a couple players through the waiver wire, propose a couple trades, shift around my lineup, and hope for the best.

I'm not saying that fantasy basketball is all about luck. I would say that it is about 25% luck and 75% savvy management. You see, fantasy basketball is all about predictions based on our knowledge. We can keep ourselves updated on the latest news, injury reports, management and personnel changes within an organization, but ultimately, it's the players who go out there and play. You can draft the most consistent player in the league, and he can have a season-ending injury. You can draft a rookie or a guy who has never played in more than 20 games a season due to injury and absorb a first round value out of him.
 
But whatever happens, I would attribute my success (1st place in my h2h league) to my managerial skills, and my failures (11th place in my roto league) to bad luck. (Come on, guys. I am the poor owner of Nelson [knee], Thomas [arm], Biedrins [back], and Calderon [groin].)

Life lesson of the day: Never listen to those who say "Limits exist only in the mind." Realistically, you've got to know your limits.