NBL Fantasy | You were so good to us Taipan
This weekly column is produced by Dean Zardo and Steve Chalmers.
With five to play, it's really getting down to the business end of the season. Some owners are losing interest due to their fantasy team no longer in contention for anything worth their while; others are reading and researching twice as hard each week because they're in with a massive shot for NBL 2020 glory!
The schedule really thins out on us from here on in and it becomes an extremely difficult scenario to balance your team so you make sure you have a competitive line-up to take to the floor each week. Time to jump right in on what's going to be a blistering Round 16.
Head of the Snake
The Cairns Taipans have been so good to us this season.
They created a well balanced roster at the beginning of the season. They play such entertaining basketball, and to add to that, they're actually damn good at what they do and could be quite successful come March.
In the fantasy realm, they've treated us bargains, cash cows and out-and-out studs. Kouat Noi was everyone's pick to begin the season and was a staple of the fantasy society before going down with injury. Mirko Djeric was a solid bench SG option when the depth at that position wasn't quite there (at an affordable price). Imports Scott Machado and Cam Oliver are aging through the season like a fine wine and continue to deliver, while we already knew what DJ Newbill was capable of!
Unfortunately, there's always an end to the fun. It's like when the school principal hurries you back to your locker once lunch time is over. The disappointment that you must say goodbye. The Snakes don't play twice in a week again until the very last round - so it may not be goodbye forever!
Bad timing buddy
The South East Melbourne Phoenix were on the clock.
They needed to secure an import replacement before the start of this round if such player was to qualify for the post-season. However, if a player was to be signed, it would interfere with the huge fantasy impact we've seen from some of the squad after rotations were trimmed down.
Devondrick Walker enters the fray, and for fantasy owners, it's just horrible timing. Back-to-back doubles for the Phoenix just as we were set to launch on those playing HEAVY minutes. Dane Pineau had been the obvious benefactor after seeing the back of Keith Benson, however in part, it also saw the worst of Mitch Creek.
Where does Walker fit in and who will be impacted 'fantasy' wise. There's no time to find out!
The Stars
DJ Newbill (Cairns Taipans)
Yeah, let's keep this Cairns love going a little longer! Newbill been torching opposition squads as of late and Round 15 was no different. He's just been ultra consistent this season which has made him a delight for owners all round.
The Value
Dane Pineau (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
Might be a little bit of a stretch to call him value now, and he deserved to be in "The Stars" spot, but we couldn't help ourselves talk about the Taipans again. At $1.45m, Dane Pineau is now a legitimate NBL player and no one can take that away from him. He's developed into a true centre who just continues to use his engine to get up and down the floor which would make coaches ecstatic.
Pressure Cooker
David Barlow (Melbourne United)
Barlow was a massive winner in season 2018/19 when it came to the fantasy format, however it seems both he and Melbourne United are way off right now. He hasn't quite hit the marks of his previous season and it's not looking like he's trending in the upward direction to end the season.
Injury List
CairnsKouat NoiAnkle - TestIllawarra Aaron BrooksAchilles - SeasonLaMelo BallFoot - UnknownMelbourneCasey PratherHamstring - 1 to 3 weeksNew ZealandGlen Rice Jr.Contract TerminatedCorey WebsterOn Loan - ChinaAter MajokAnkle - UnknownPerthDamian MartinHeel - 1 weeksSydneyCraig MollerAnkle - TestKevin LischAnkle - Test
The Tweets
We see you! Anything that catches our eye, we'll attempt to share with all of our readers.
https://twitter.com/BBall_Blokes/status/1216583009861693440
https://twitter.com/JDub3332/status/1216300595281158145
https://twitter.com/NrlPlayerStats/status/1216255489186705411
https://twitter.com/RioAbrio/status/1215909966835376128
https://twitter.com/cp_chalmers/status/1215429010886283265
The Summary
So, you've come here for a reason haven't you? Who do you bring in for the next round? Let's make it simple, below are a few names (at different levels) who you can target:
Doubles in Round 16: NZ, SEM, SYD
PG: John Roberson (South East Melbourne) $1.55m
PG: Casper Ware (Sydney) $1.15m
SG/SF: Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne) $1.83m
SF: Scotty Hopson (New Zealand) $1.18m
SF/PF: Jae'Sean Tate (Sydney) $1.44m
PF: Xavier Cooks (Sydney) $0.73m
PF: Finn Delany (New Zealand) $1.15m
C: Dane Pineau (South East Melbourne) $1.35m
C: Andrew Bogut (Sydney) $1.47m
For those you should be keen to oppose
We said it before, but it's time to ship those Taipans along. They'll have a stack of cash available for you in the bank so we expect to see some primetime trades take place this week!