Hoops Lab: Accountability for the Professor

This article is part of our Hoops Lab series.

As Kanye West says, "Like we always do at this time ... "

As I say at the end of every basketball season, one thing I hate about sports prognoisticators is that there's no accountability. You can make whatever claim you want early in the season, safe in the knowledge that by the end no one will remember how wrong you were. So, in what has become a yearly tradition, I have once again put my money where my mouth is and gone back through some of the predictions I made in the Hoops Lab earlier this season to see how well I did.

Slow Starters I Expect to Recover: Andre Drummond, Paul Millsap and Eric Bledsoe
-- Nov. 12 Hoops Lab

• At the time of the article, Andre Drummond ranked 217th by Yahoo in part because he couldn't stay out of foul trouble, was playing only 29 minutes per game and was out of synch (42% FG). I predicted he'd bounce back, and now for the season he is shooting 50.9 percent from the field with 13.6 points, 13.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He's still only ranked No. 109 because of his poor free-throw percentage, which was always a given, but other than that he has definitely bounced back big-time. Correct

•Paul Millsap was on the list because he was ice-cold from the field (39.5%), which had his scoring average down to 14.2 ppg and his Yahoo ranking down in the hundreds. Fast-forward to now, and Millsap is shooting much closer to his career norm with averages of 47.9 percent from the field, which has led to 16.8 ppg and a ranking of No. 16 by Yahoo. Correct

•Eric Bledsoe was a question mark because Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas were cutting into his minutes and keeping him from consistently producing. I thought that would eventually level out with Bledsoe finding his level similar to last season. Bledsoe did find his level and start getting more consistent minutes, and proved himself to be the future of the Suns backcourt as eventually they traded the other two. Bledsoe is ranked No. 39 by Yahoo, just about where he was predicted (No. 35). Correct

Slow Starters Who Worry me: Carmelo Anthony, Ty Lawson, Derrick Rose, Brook Lopez-- Nov. 12 Hoops Lab

•Carmelo Anthony worried me since before the season started. I just didn't see him as a good fit in the triangle offense, and the whole vibe around the Knicks felt shaky to me. When I co-hosted Celtics Beat before the season started, I predicted that Anthony would be the first superstar traded this season because I just thought things would go poorly. By the time of this article, when he was off to a slow start, I re-iterated my feeling that this season would not go well for him. Well, he didn't get traded, but I'd say that my prediction that Melo's slow start was concerning proved overly prophetic. Correct

•Ty Lawson was on the list because he kept re-re-re-injuring his ankles, and I was concerned injuries would nag him all season. Lawson has been healthy enough to only miss six games this season, and while his Yahoo ranking of 65 by average is slightly below his prediction (40), I'd say he played well enough to prove me wrong here. Incorrect

•Derrick Rose and Brook Lopez were actually in a different bullet point on that article, but I think they fit here. I worried about Rose reinjuring his knee, and said that even though he was playing well at the time I would trade him for less just to get more security. Unfortunately, Rose did reinjure his knee and missed a major chunk of the season to prove me right. Correct

• Lopez, on the other hand, proved me wrong. He had his injury issues early in the season, which got him relegated to the bench even once he returned. However, Mason Plumlee was unable to hold him off as Lopez proved that he was healthy, and that when healthy he's one of the best low-post scorers in the NBA. He has been one of the best roto centers in the league the last couple months, and was deadly during the fantasy playoffs. Incorrect

New Additions of Note

In every article I point out a handful of players that could be worth picking up in a given week. There are many potential reasons to pick up a player ... injury replacement, break-out candidate, on a hot streak, etc. Plus, if you pick a player up and he doesn't work you can always drop him again, so it is hard to be wrong on predicting who to pick up. On the other hand, it is possible to be RIGHT and to really make your team by picking up the right guy at the right time. So here are a few of the timely pickups predicted through the season.

•DeMarre Carroll (59 percent owned) and Khris Middleton (52 percent owned): Carrol and Middleton were two of my favorite New Additions last season because they seemed to play well consistently when given minutes while just as consistently flying below the radar. This season, both have jumped into the limelight a bit, with Carroll making an All-Star team (No. 52 in Yahoo rankings) and Middleton (No. 49 in Yahoo rankings) establishing himself as a key cog on the Bucks. Both should be universally drafted next season.

•Rudy Gobert (33 percent owned): This was my absolute favorite New Addition this year, as I've followed Gobert's progress since watching him dominate last year's Vegas Summer League. At the time, I realized Gobert had mega NBA talent, but I thought that his spot behind Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter might keep him from reaching his potential this season. Instead, injuries kept allowing Gobert to get on the court and show what he could do. By the time Kanter was traded everyone knew what to expect, and, sure enough, Gobert has established himself as one of the best defensive big men in the NBA and a guaranteed high draft choice next season.

•Mo Williams (33 percent owned): Williams proved himself to be instant offense fun for two teams this year. He posted a 52-point/7-assist performance for the Timberwolves, and then he compounded that by averaging about 20 points and 10 assists his first month or so in Charlotte. He never could guarantee himself a spot in the starting lineup for either team when everyone was healthy, but he had more than enough big performances and outright fun to make his pickup worth it.

•Langston Galloway (21 percent owned): Galloway was an absolute unknown for the Knicks, but he came to epitomize their squad in the post-Melo portion of the season. He played well enough to earn multiple 10-day contracts before being signed for the whole season. He is the closest thing to a fantasy starter the Knicks produced.

•Zach LaVine (9 percent owned): The Timberwolves point guard this season was supposed to be Ricky Rubio. When Rubio went down, Mo Williams stepped in and produced. But for the season, it has been Lavine who has produced the most from the Timberwolves' point-guard slot. He has closed the season especially strong, averaging 17.8 points, 4.9 assists, 4.8 boards and 1.8 treys per game the last month.

Final Word

I hope your season was great and that you finished at the top. To conclude the season, I wanted to relay a few of the Twitter Shout-outs I received from some of you that indicate you did just that. Outside of that, I'll see you for the playoffs, draft and summer league, and then I'll look forward to seeing you back in the lab for next season!

Championship in two of my leagues. Big shouts to everyone at @RotoWire! @RotoWireKyleNBA@MarcFRoberts@ProfessorDrz@RotowireATC

— CLIPPERS 56-26 (@bradoverb0ard) April 6, 2015

@RotoWireKyleNBA@MarcFRoberts@ProfessorDrz thanks for guiding me. Because of your help, I made it to finals. Hear u next season homies

— Justin Griffith (@jussstiiin) April 2, 2015

Big thanks to @RotoWire@RotoWireKyleNBA@jjthefba@RotowireATC@MarcFRoberts@ProfessorDrz for all the help in my leagues this year

— Dean Vasic (@deanvasic) March 30, 2015

2015 NBA Fantasy Champ! First 2x Champ in our 7 year old 12 team league. Thanks @RotoWireKyleNBA@MarcFRoberts@ProfessorDrz@RotowireATC!!!

— Jose F. Veguilla (@Vegui_J) April 6, 2015

@redrock_bball@ProfessorDrz@RotoWireKyleNBA@SethDaSportsMan@MarcFRoberts@SmanSports won my fantasy finals! Thanks for all the advice

— Josh Luna (@jmoon62002) April 6, 2015