Fantasy Basketball Recap: Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics finished the 2013/2014 regular season tied with the Utah Jazz for the 4th-worst record in the NBA at 25-57, and have a 10.3% chance of landing the first pick in this summer's draft. The Celtics haven't been this bad since the 2006/2007 season, the year before Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett came to town. Let's take a look at the fantasy notables for this past season's squad.

Inconsistent Jeff Green

With a Yahoo! preseason rank of 63, Jeff Green had "breakout" written all over him. Someone had to score in that Celtics offense, right? If you owned him, you know all about his inconsistencies, disappearing some games and dominating others. He finished the season with an average rank of 117, nearly doubling is O-rank, but on the bright side led the team with 16.9 PPG and was durable, playing in all 82 games. He has the potential to fill many categories, but I'm probably passing on him next year.

Rajon Rondo returned earlier than expected from a torn ACL and took some time to return to form, finally coming around with 9.8 APG by season's end. Typically a top contributor in steals, he swiped just 1.3 per game, the lowest ratio of his 8-year career. He also shot a putrid 40.3% from the field, again the lowest mark of his career. The season wasn't a complete wash by any means, but I expect him to put together a better season next year if he isn't traded.

Despite Brad Stevens' inconsistent rotation of Humphries/Bass/Olynyk/Sullinger, Jared Sullinger put together a nice season. Sullinger more than doubled his PPG in his second season as a pro, crashed the boards (top 10 in OREB), and even chucked some threes. And I say chucked because he attempted 208 and made just 26% of them. Coach Stevens told his big men to take a three if it's there, and Sully didn't hesitate. Kris Humphries is gone next year, and that will open up some minutes, so if he can bump his FG% up by cutting back on the threes and playing closer to the rim, he'll have top 100 Yahoo! value. He's a higher target for those in leagues with offensive boards.

Brandon Bass is the only other Celtic to appear in all 82 games with Green, and essentially the only player to meet expectations. Per usual, he put up 11 and 5 while shooting nearly 50% from the field and 85% at the line. I expect him to be just as valuable next year unless the Celtics trade him or decide to go with a youth movement.

Kelly Olynyk had a surprising season as I expected him to ride the pine, but Stevens employed a timeshare for his big men, and Olynyk managed to return top 130 Yahoo! value his final 12 games, doing a little bit of everything in 23 min/game. He plays below the rim and doesn't block anyone, but has fair percentages.

Avery Bradley missed some time due to injury, but appeared in 60 games and proved to be one of the better offensive options for the Celtics, raising his PPG average from 9.2 to 14.9 and improving in FG%, 3PT%, and FT%. As it stands, he'll be the starting SG next year with no one in his way.

3 Reasons It’s Time to Stash Gregory Polanco – Fantasy Baseball

If you want to win your fantasy league(s), you absolutely have to grab somebody that will produce beyond their expected value. I’ve never won my league without guessing right on a guy outperforming his value. Prospects are harder to predict because we haven’t seen them face MLB talent, but we don’t want to miss out on the next Trout or Puig.

If you’re in a 12-team mixed league or deeper and have more than three bench spots, here are three reasons you should stash Gregory Polanco.

Gregory Polanco lurks behind Victory Field walls

1. Polanco is crushing minor league pitching.

Through 17 games, Polanco is slashing a gaudy .406/.446/.609 in AAA for the Indianapolis Indians. With a 6’4”, 220 lb frame he can hit for power, but more impressive is his knack for stealing bases, swiping 78 the last two years. Last year he struck out just once every six at bats, respectable for a guy who can crank it. This year his offensive prowess has been off the charts, hitting for incredible average against both lefties and righties, and .550 with runners in scoring position to put icing on the cake. Bring ‘em on home!

2. The outfield platoon of Tabata/Snider isn’t working.

Jose Tabata has given the Bucs nothing, slashing a putrid .222/.271/.267. In 19 games he’s scored 4 runs and driven in 4. That’s it. No steals or homers, the latter of which isn’t a surprise, but he came up in the Pirates’ system with a threat of speed. After averaging 17.5 steals his first two seasons, he managed just 3 stolen bases in 4 attempts in 106 games last year. Yawn.

Travis Snider, the other side of Jekyll and Hyde, cannot and will not hit lefties, and has hit a pedestrian .250 in 18 games. We all know what we’re getting with Snider… and it’s not much, other than his perfect fielding percentage, tops in the NL. If only fielding percentage mattered in fantasy...

Tabata has more upside with his speed and could probably benefit from regular at bats, but it appears the Bucs are treating this as a true platoon for the time being.

3. The Pirates are under .500, 6 games back in the NL Central.

The Pirates are 20 games into the young season – and yes, it’s early – but they trail the NL Central- and MLB-leading Brewers and sit in a competitive division (STL, CIN, MIL). Sorry, Cubs.

Pittsburgh is hitting just .238 as a team and could use a boost to say the least. No longer in rebuild mode, there is no time to waste. In the past, the club didn’t bring up previous talents (Andrew McCutchen in 2009) because there wasn’t a need and they simply weren’t in contention. Polanco would fill an immediate need in the outfield with a power/speed combo similar to that of George Springer, who finally got the call for the Astros this year.

The Curious Case of Mark Buehrle - Fantasy Baseball

Mark Buehrle, league leader in wins

First of all, if you can even spell Mark Buehrle, then I tip my cap to you. He doesn't care though, since he's been Mr. Burly to start the season instead. Believe it or not, he's your MLB leader in wins along with a 0.86 ERA.

To begin the year, Buehrle nearly went the distance at Tropicana - 8.2 innings, 4 hits, 0 ER, and dominated in unexpected fashion with 11 Ks. No one saw this coming, and I went straight to the wire to grab him as he was due to face the lowly Astros his next turn. He got the win as I hoped, and I dropped him shortly thereafter in anticipation of a shellacking at Camden.

Earlier today, Buehrle threw 7 innings of 1-run ball on 5 hits against one of the most potent lineups in baseball, the Orioles. And he did it in Camden Yards to boot, where last year Camden had the 4th highest park factor for home runs, according to ESPN. Getting himself in a jam in the first, he got Adam Jones to ground out to short, bringing in a run, but settled in nicely the rest of the way. If you had him in your lineup, I tip my cap to you again. OK, no more tipping! That's two days in a row now after getting Chinese food yesterday.

Now for the dicey part. Buehrle hasn't had an ERA under 3.50 since 2005, so there is some regression to obviously be expected here. He's a fly ball pitcher who doesn't get strikeouts and is prone to homers. And he's slated to face the Indians next, who are 5th in runs scored and they don't strike out much. His next start after that? The Red Sox. Tread lightly, my friends.