FANTASY HOOPS: RANTS & RAVES

With Tony Parker having sprained his ankle for San Antonio (again) and just being particularly frail this season, George Hill is a must-own in fantasy leagues. He had begun starting alongside Parker recently, only to take over the point upon Parker’s most recent injury. In his last six games starting, the IUPUI alum’s numbers have been around 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game. The team’s assists seem to go up when Hill is running the show. His defense is a plus as well, so count on a solid number of steals. With Manu Ginobili’s minutes being cut this season and Richard Jefferson a total bust for the Spurs, look for Hill to keep up what he’s doing for the foreseeable future.

Interesting to note that in a couple more seasons this team should belong to Hill and rookie DeJuan Blair. Nice to see an infusion of new blood at the Riverwalk while they’re still alive and kickin’. If the Spurs’ dominance became nothing more than a memory, I don’t know if I could take all that nostalgic “Remember the Alamo” crap someone would start stirring up eventually.

In every basketball draft, even if he falls to me in a very attractive spot, I usually pass on Utah PF Carlos Boozer. Good as he is, I tend to shy away from his penchant for missing games. But he puts up awesome numbers when his head and body are in the game, especially in this season, a contract year. Having lost twice this season to the undefeated team in my league by a composite total of a single digit, I felt the need to upgrade my roster. Admittedly, Booze’s 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists per game were hard to resist. So I pulled the trigger. I gave up Rudy Gay and Jamal Crawford to get CB in a trade, along with Josh Howard, whom I will choose to ignore as long as possible. It took two games for him to hurt his calf muscle. Mind you, probably not too seriously, but nonetheless. The moral of this story: PLAY YOUR HUNCHES!!! Another hunch: pick up and keep Paul Milsap, Boozer’s understudy if he is available in your league. There is a chance Carlos is going to be dealt, anyway. Maybe getting away from Andrei Kirilenko will get the injury monkey off his back by lack of association.

I hate people who tell me I play it too safe in fantasy sports. They say I need to go for that high-risk, high-reward player. People, I have won 16 basketball, 12 baseball and 2 football fantasy titles, in this, my eleventh year of participating in fantasy. [Editor’s note: Don’t get hurt patting yourself on the back, Si!] I avoid the Boozers (well, til now), Tracy McGradys and other easily injured guys for the security of having a healthy body who may give me a little less output. I keep my 2-for-1 trades to a minimum because I like bench depth in case of injury. In short, it works for me, so why criticize my style as your preface to offering me a trade. One should usually open trade talks letting the trade partner know that you want to do a deal that will benefit both teams (whether that is truly your aim or not). By the way, if the guy who traded me Boozer is reading, I want a refund! [Editor’s note: Sorry, no refunds for people who ignore their own strategies.]

Ben Gordon is active again for the Detroit Pistons. His stats might be light for a few games, but that’s just because they are working him back into playing shape slowly. He’s returning from a groin injury that has kept him out of 17 of the team’s last 24 games. Don’t fret over the next few games. Gordon is perhaps the best buy-low candidate in fantasy basketball right now, because he is a certain 20 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists when he is healthy and playing. Believe me, The Pistons did not sign him to a mint contract to have him sit. He, Richard Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey should make up a charismatic big three in the season’s second half. Look for Tayshaun Prince’s status to suffer, though, if the team doesn’t try to trade him.

It’s almost time for the All-Star Game, folks, and the squads have been named. I am a bit overwhelmed by the fact that Chris Kaman was not named to the Western Conference team. I mean what the hell? His 20 points, 9 rebounds 2 assists and a block a game are not only great numbers, they rank him in the top five centers in any format. I think that the decision-makers are giving too much consideration to the fact that he is on a mediocre Los Angeles Clippers team. My question to them is when did this become an MVP game? It’s an ALL-STAR game, geniuses. I have to question whether Pau Gasol belongs over him as a choice for this season. Gasol has missed a lot of games due to injury. I do realize that his stats are awesome (17.5, 11 & 3, with two blocks), but Kaman has played most of his team’s games and has similar numbers. People will say to look at the Lakers’ record without Pau, but again, not an MVP game, guys. On the flip side, I own Kaman in leagues, and am always grateful when my boys sit out this game. It helps him avoid injury. But still, screw the guys who gypped Kaman.

Thanks for making yesterday's fantasy hoops chat so awesome. Check out the transcript and all the great fantasy sports advice at theFantasyGeek.com. Also follow me on Twitter for more hoops news.