Hoops Lab: Beast Mode?

Beast Mode?

OK, for the second time in two weeks, I'm booting my lead due to something historic I just saw on TV. I'm going to write about daily leagues, I promise I am, but I need the "OMG-I-CAN'T-BELIEVE-THAT-JUST-HAPPENED!!!" stuff to stop happening right as I'm ready to submit. Last week, it was Klay Thompson becoming One with the Force that threw me off kilter. This week, it's not even about basketball, so if any of you want to skip to the Around the NBA section for your hoops fix, I understand. But I've got to get this off my chest.

I. CAN'T. BELIEVE. THEY. DIDN'T. HAND. THE. BALL. TO. MARSHAWN. LYNCH!!!!

Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

OK, let me take a step back for a second and try for coherence. For those of you that hate football or don't own a television or the internet, the Seattle Seahawks were playing the New England Patriots for the Super Bowl. The Patriots scored a touchdown to go up four points with two minutes left. The Seahawks proceeded to march all the way down the field. They had a player turn in the requisite greatest/flukiest catch in Super Bowl history nominee to get the ball down to the five yard line (that catch, as football fans know, is required for any Patriots Super Bowl loss). Now, the key stuff happens.

It's first down from the five yard line. A minute left. Seahawks have two timeouts left. I look over at my wife and say, "I'm calling Beast Mode every play from here." Mind you, my wife knows (or cares) nothing for football except that she wants the Steelers to win (she's from Pittsburgh, so that's in her DNA). But she's around me enough that she at least knows who Beast Mode is and agrees that he should get the rock. Sure enough, Russell Wilson takes the snap, hands it to Marshawn Lynch, and he bulldozes his way to the half yard line.

Now it's second down. Clock running, 45 seconds left. The announcers on TV are suggesting that the Patriots should let Seattle score on this play so that they can keep about 30 seconds for Brady to work with. Twitter (@ProfessorDrz) is going nuts because Belichick isn't calling timeout and is instead letting the Seahawks run the clock down. And then Wilson leads the team up to the line of scrimmage and lines up in…the shotgun?

What?

I turn to my wife and say, "they're getting too cute here. Just line up in the eye, hand it to Lynch, and go celebrate." Wife says, "I thought they were gonna hand it to the Beast Mode guy?" I say, "they will, but for some reason they're lined up in the shotgun. I guess they want to spread things out for him. I don't like it, but…"

I was going to finish saying, "I don't like it, but it'll probably still work," but before I could, they snapped the ball. And Wilson dropped back to pass. Pass??? You've got the best goal line running back in the NFL, the best player on the field, inside the one yard line! His name is BEAST MODE, for crying out loud. And you decide to throw the ball?

What???!!!

I'd be lying if I said I expected the interception, but then again, my brain was still numb that they weren't running the ball, so I didn't really process much before the pick actually occurred.

Interception. Patriots ball. Game over.

I tried to verbalize the ridiculousness of that play to my wife, but I couldn't articulate. She already knew something was up, as she said again, "Wait. I thought they were gonna hand it to the Beast Mode guy…" Since I couldn't speak, I went to Twitter with my thoughts:

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. Sometimes you get TOO cute. Seattle has this guy they call Beast Mode, maybe they might consider handing him the ball!

— Andre Snellings (@ProfessorDrz) February 2, 2015

Worst play call of all time?? WOWWW

— Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) February 2, 2015

You got BEAST MODE and you don't run the ball? Come on son

— Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) February 2, 2015

Why the f,,,k would u throw a pass when u got #BeastMode in the back field. Who the hell called that play #waytoblowsuperbowl#dumbassplay

— SHAQ (@SHAQ) February 2, 2015

A Spur snatching ball from Ray Allen & making 3 for him... RT @JonesOnTheNBA What's the hoops equivalent of that last Seahawks play call?

— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) February 2, 2015

@JonesOnTheNBA Down two. Designed 3 point shot by Shaq with 15 seconds on the clock.

— Michael Hancock (@hitch4645) February 2, 2015

They should have game me the ball fam 😒

— Marshawn Lynch (@BigNeechi) February 2, 2015

OK. I think I'm good now. Thanks to those that read this far, and now on to the hoops.

Around the League

Howard's knee:Dwight Howard is expected to miss "at least" the next month due to "persistent trouble with his right knee." Howard has missed the last few games with the ailment, but this changes the time scale of an issue that was previously thought to be day-to-day. Howard's level of play was already down a bit this season, primarily in the areas of shot-blocking and rebounding that were once dominant but were now merely good. The knee issue is thus a double-edged sword, as not only will his absence now extend through at least half of the remaining season, but if the knee further weakens his explosiveness moving forward, it could depress his production even when he's healthy enough to return. Plus, it doesn't help that Donatas Motiejunas is playing so well in his absence or that Josh Smith and Terrance Jones are also on-hand now to claim their share of big man minutes. The bottom line is that Howard has lost a lot of luster, and may not have the chance to really get it back this season.

Superstar ouchies:LeBron James (wrist) and Kevin Durant (toe) have both recently returned from minor injuries that kept them out of action for a short time. Anthony Davis has been diagnosed with a grade 1 adductor strain and is considered day-to-day. James Harden suffered a bruised left knee in his last game but was able to come back and play in the second half. The point is, all around the NBA, players are starting to accumulate minor injuries. It's only natural, as we're just past the halfway point in this ultra-marathon called the NBA season. With the rise in analytics, teams are increasingly seeing the value in not over-pushing their best players through the gruelling regular season so that they can be healthier and fresher for the playoffs. I wouldn't worry about the little bumps and bruises, even if they cause a missed game or two, because the All-Star break is approaching, which should a) give everyone the chance for a bit more rest and b) seems to mark the "go" signal for the stretch run in which the stars are more likely to push through and play if their teams need them to.

Aldridge's flip-flop: This bullet-point is best fleshed out with a Tweet that I sent almost exactly a week ago about LaMarcus Aldridge:

I wrote Hoops Lab late Friday night & @aldridge_12 was out for 6 - 8 weeks. By Saturday night he was dropping 26 and 9. Timing is everything

— Andre Snellings (@ProfessorDrz) January 25, 2015

Wade's hamstring:Dwyane Wade is expected to miss at least the next 2-3 weeks with an injured hamstring, and the tone is that it could be longer. Wade was always a super risky play for this year, as his health has been pretty steadily in decline for the last few years. So while this injury is bad for his owners, it's hardly unexpected and is kind of the price you paid for taking the risk. Perhaps this could even be a good thing in the long run, as perhaps Wade getting his longer injury absence out of the way now could lead to him being fresher and healthier for the stretch run and fantasy playoffs.

Keep Walker?:Kemba Walker underwent surgery on his torn left meniscus last week and is expected to miss a minimum of six weeks. That means that, best case scenario, he's back in early-to-mid March. This raises the question: is he worth keeping? As a Walker owner, I say yes, because if he returns on time, he could still get almost a month of production including the fantasy playoffs. However, keep an ear out, and if there is any indication of complications or delay, it could be worth re-visiting his roster spot.

Rubio's impending return: As I mentioned in a previous Lab, I don't get to flesh out/include every bullet point idea for this section every week. Last week, I had a bullet titled "Timberwolves comings and goings" that I didn't end up including because Ricky Rubio wasn't quite ready to return. But according to the latest, Rubio is coming back on Monday. So let's take a moment to review the state of the Timberwolves, who have been the source of a lot of fantasy goodness this season.

The Wolves will have Rubio, Mo Williams, rookie Zach Lavine, Kevin Martin, Andrew Wiggins, Thaddeus Young, (eventually) Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, and Nikola Pekovic all as potential producers that have spent time in the starting lineup. That's obviously more players than there is time for. I think that Lavine is the obvious one to lose out, with Muhammad (whenever he gets back) the other big loser because they only ever got time because of the injuries. Williams could still have some viability as an offensive spark off the bench, but obviously, he loses a lot of value and no longer is a threat to score 52 points on a given night. While Martin came off the bench in his first two games back from his wrist injury, he was moved into the starting lineup Saturday. The team likely wants to see what they have with the Rubio/Martin/Wiggins perimeter crew. This means that Dieng could be coming off the bench for the foreseeable future. Ultimately I think that Dieng and Pek are a big part of the future that coach Flip Saunders sees for the Timberwolves, so if healthy I expect them to get their minutes. I could see Young as someone that might be featured until the trade deadline, but in the long run I could see him as the starter that loses out the most once everyone is healthy.

Melo moving forward: In my very first Hoops Lab of the season, I noted Carmelo Anthony as a player that I was worried about this season, and for those that catch me when I co-host Celtics Beat on www.CLNSradio.com, you know that I was down on Melo even when doing my season previews. Last week, I mentioned him again. So it shouldn't surprise you that I continue to have questions about what Mr. Anthony's season holds moving forward. Coming into the new year, Knicks coach Derek Fisher said that that Anthony might be shut down due to knee concerns. Then, there was a report citing Phil Jackson that said that Melo really wanted to play in the game in London and the All-Star Game, and the next thing you knew Melo was saying that he wasn't shutting it down. Yet. In the meantime, Anthony was able to suit up for that game in London, and every indication is that he will play in the upcoming All-Star Game. But once that game is over, the reality is that the Knicks are still headed rapidly to the lottery, and there is no real benefit to Melo continuing to risk his health on a lost season. I, for one, would be absolutely shocked if Anthony isn't shut down at some point before the fantasy playoffs.

Lakers new order: The Lakers no longer have Kobe Bryant this season. In the aftermath, coach Byron Scott has seemingly decided to turn any remaining order upside down just to see what happens. In the first game post-Kobe, he crossed everyone up by benching Jeremy Lin, who was expected to be a big winner, and promoting a bunch of players that previously weren't getting run. Now Lin is coming off the bench, and Nick Young (who also hoped to get a lot more shots post-Kobe) has been injured. The result has been gold for some previously unheralded players. Wayne Ellington and Jordan Clarkson have been the big winners, combining to form the primary offensive backbone for the team. Ellington has come so far so fast that I had someone tweet me whether they should give him up for Jrue Holiday. I don't know what will happen when Swaggy P is healthy enough to return and start jacking shots, but in the meantime, both Ellington and Clarkson should be owned.

New Additions

Khris Middleton (52% owned in Yahoo! Leagues): Middleton has long been one of my favorite lesser known players to watch, because he's shown over the last two seasons that, when called upon, he can produce. With the injuries in Milwaukee, Middleton has stepped in as a key glue guy, and his role seems to be getting larger. Over the last couple of weeks, he has averaged 13.6 points (57.7% FG), 1.9 treys, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 steals. While the percentage is unsustainable, he should continue to be a positive in the other categories moving forward.

Donatas Motiejunas (36% owned): Motiejunas has taken advantage of injuries to the Rockets frontcourt, specifically Dwight Howard, to finally start to live up to some of his lofty expectations. Motiejunas has averaged 21 points and seven rebounds over the last three games, and with the news that Howard is out for the next month, he should have the opportunity to build upon this success.

Wayne Ellington (29% owned) and Jordan Clarkson (14% owned): As mentioned above, so far Ellington and Clarkson have been the big winners in the new Lakers order post Kobe. Their production could be affected when Nick Young is healthy enough to come back and claim his shots, but in the meantime, both are averaging in the upper-teens in scoring, and they're the primary ball-handlers and offense producers on the team.

John Henson (27% owned): Henson has been starting in place of the injured ZaZa Pachulia (calf) and has responded by averaging 13 points, 9.5 rebounds and three blocks over the last two games. Henson was productive in limited minutes last season as well, so he could sustain his production for as long as he keeps getting minutes.

Cody Zeller (11% owned): Zeller has taken advantage of injuries first to Al Jefferson and lately to Marvin Williams to start to come into his own a bit. He has been strong on the boards for the last several weeks, and in his last outing, he added some scoring to that with a career-high 21 points. He has also averaged 2.0 blocks over his last three games and will likely start showing up on people's fantasy radars soon.

Keeping up with the Professor
If you're interested in my takes throughout the week, you can follow me on Twitter @ProfessorDrz. Also, don't forget that you can catch me on the radio on RotoWire Fantasy Sports Today with Chris Liss and Jeff Erickson on XM 87, Sirius 210. I also co-host the RotoWire Fantasy Basketball Podcast with Kyle McKeown once a week and co-host the Celtics Beat podcast on www.clnsradio.com about once a month.