Round 4 is done. Some big scores will have filled a number of coaches with renewed confidence.
When making your transfers consider some of the following. Round’s 5 & 6 see New Zealand, Cairns and Melbourne with back to back doubles. Cairns, New Zealand and Sydney will also see a lot of doubles in the coming weeks. Then consider that Brisbane is back from Round 7 with 4 straight double rounds. Go to the Fantasy Coach Guide here, to get more information to help plan this out. Plan forward your trades and you should be able to keep teams with mostly doubles for the coming weeks.
This week we break down the top players in each spot this week. Provide a fantasy-focused game report on every game this round and then provide a few players to watch this round and to consider selecting.
THE AUSSIE HOOPLA NBL OPEN STANDINGS
Ranking in the Aussie Hoopla NBL Open Standings from Round 4
Milo Cassidy has shot to an early 85 point lead in Round 4. Very impressive and momentum seems to be with him and his team SLAM DUNK SONNY.
This is an open league and still free to join. Enter the league code LC32MXAH and join in now.
TOP PLAYERS & TEAM OF THE WEEK
Top 3 Point Guards
Jason Cadee: 62 average points
Stephen Holt: 60 average points
Travis Trice: 59 average points
Jason Cadee took it out with his one game mammoth of a performance which is hard to fault. Only concern is how long it will continue. He is inconsistent at times and Kevin Lisch will be coming back at some point. Stephen Holt came back strong and looks like a great option for in 2 rounds time when Brisbane go on 4 straight doubles. Travis Trice continued to perform and remained up to scratch.
Top 3 Shooting Guards
Jason Cadee: 62 fantasy points
Stephen Holt: 60 fantasy points
Adam Gibson: 57 fantasy points
Not much to add here as Cadee and Holt topped it out again here. Adam Gibson also performed well from the bench over the two games. Bryce Cotton and Travis Leslie scored 49 and 40 respectively in one game each which were both very impressive scores. With Leslie part of a Sydney side that is about to be really busy over the coming weeks and worth considering.
Top 3 Small Forwards
JP Tokoto: 67 fantasy points
Demitrius Conger: 62 fantasy points
Perin Buford: 58 fantasy points
All three of these players were on expectation this round. Around 30 for Conger and Buford will keep them at the top of the mind with Brisbane and Illawara almost swapping doubles over the coming rounds.
Top 3 Power Forwards
Daniel Johnson: 54 fantasy points
Daniel Kickert 53 fantasy points
Delvon Johnson: 41 fantasy points
Daniel Johnson back into form and we are seeing the seesaw which is his scores continue. Easily the best in power forward this week, completing this on one game. Daniel Kickert and Delvon Johnson leave a little to be desired as these performances were in double weeks. Michael Carrera at 4th with 36 points and a pair of double rounds coming up could be the better option. Robert Loe also has a pair of double rounds coming up and scored a 36. Both are economical at this time at around $1 million each. Perry Ellis continued to perform with 35 points also.
Also, Dave Anderson and Tai Wesley round out the top 5 for Melbourne. Double round next week for them and both players prices likely to be around the $1 million. The way they score points is also favorable with a mix of points, assists, and rebounds making up there scores.
Top 3 Centres
Andrew Oglivy: 80 fantasy points
David Anderson: 33 average points
Delvon Johnson: 29 average points
AJ Oglivy may have top scored the round but this happened over two games and the thing what tipped him over was the overtime where he ticked into a double-double. Josh Boone on one game got to 59 points and remains the top pick centre. Daniel Kickert did ok with 53 points over two games though which leaves him trailing a long way behind Boone and Ogilvy.
The official team of the week for Round 4.
ROUND 4 Game Reports
Brisbane 96 (Gibson 34, Trice 32, Buford 32)
New Zealand 101 (Sosa 39, Loe 36, Illi 34)
No surprises for Brisbane. Perin Buford and Travis Trice kept their scores over 30. Adam Gibson seems to be on the court as much as Stephen Holt and contributed well in this game. His score was propped up by 2 steals which may not be maintained so this score could be closer to a top score than a sign of his benchmark. Stephen Holt with 7 rebounds scored a 27 which also is around his current average. This is an on value score but if his minutes go up at any point these scores might increase as he is contributing a little in each category. Buford and Trice are both looking like the options in this Brisbane side.
New Zealand has so many options in the guards who have now had a good game. However it appears when one has a good game another may not be as good. Edgar Sosa top scored the team in fantasy although Shea Illi scored the most points in game. This was due to more assists from Sosa. Players with more assists to go with the points score better in fantasy and tend to have a lower floor on their scores. Also Devonte Newbill scored a 12 in this game on the back of 12 in game points. The lack of assists in this game hurt him. Looking down the minutes for New Zealand too the players share the court more than any other team so far. Picking any New Zealand player wmay get points but the ceiling to their fantasy points could be lower. Good for double rounds from the look of it, like they have in rounds 4 and 5.
Perth 105 (Tokoto 67, Cotton 49, Walker 34)
Illawara 76 (Conger 30, Oglivy 29, Norton 19)
Illawaras start to the season is starting to look bad. All the focus on Sydney has taken away from how poor Illawara have been at times. People will point to their historically bad times in Perth but their overall season so far is not looking great. It’s likely some of the big players will bounce back but except Demitrius Conger no one is showing consistency.
Take Rotnei Clarke for example. He scored 11 points in this game, but ended with a score of 3 on the back of 4 turnovers. It;s the volatility of the scores in this team which is concerning.
Jean-Pierre Tokoto top scored his first game and continued a very consistent run of scores. He did this on the back of 6 steals and 5 rebounds as well as a solid 23 points. He is around the same benchmark as the other starting SFs and the league is stacked in this area. Also Bryce Cotton returned with a excellent score.Looking over his scores so far they have been on the back of the better Perth performances. If Perth do well Cotton is tending to do well. Otherwise he has had a few lower scores and is fantasy scores are volatile.
Cairns 80 (Carrera 38, Smith 34, Egwu 32)
Adelaide 84 (Johnson 52, Shorter 42. Sobey 34)
Daniel Johnson continued where he left off with Cairns scoring 20 points and getting 10 rebounds on his way to top score the game and record the double-double. Shannon Shorter was not far from the double-double either and continued to impress for Adelaide arguably having more in game impact with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. His turnovers were high in this game though which hurt him a little but a few more rebounds and he would have been the top scorer. Shorter as remained consistent with the fantasy points this season and his price should continue rising on the back of this performance. Nathan Sobey and Mitch Creek also contributed enough to not be unhappy with the totals. Josh Childress’ return strarted well but tapered off and it would not be a surprise if 15 to 20 minutes is his contribution going forward. However it could be just limited minutes due to lack of time with the team. He pulled in 7 rebounds in that time though and put up 6 points which are encouraging signs. His ability to contribute at the NBL level is unquestionable.
For Cairns it was no surprise Michael Carrera top scored for them. He was doing his job and a lot of plays went to him. His athleticism is exciting to watch and adds that something that has been missing. It could be a sign that he will consistently get chances to get these kind of scores. He was not efficient in this game though (however the whole team was not efficient) with 5 missed 3 point attempts and shooting at around 40%. The good thing for the fantasy sides though is he keeps at it and grinds out the points and has potential to get several rebounds and blocks in a game. He is worth considering as the alternative to Perry Ellis as his price is lagging behind him due to the early injury.
Scoochie Smith contributed well and Nnana Egwu’s score is almost entirely propped up by offensive rebounds. His aggressiveness could see him put up more games like this but offensive rebounds has a high volatility depending on the game. Their next two games are against Melbourne and New Zealand in Round 5 and expecting this number of offensive rebounds to continue would be risky for the double round next week. Both Melbourne and New Zealand have the players to cut down the number of offensive rebounds for Cairns and in turn cut down Egwu’s score.
Brisbane 87 (Trice 29, Holt 29, Kickert 29)
Melbourne 85 (Boone 59, Prather 39, Wesley 23)
Individual talent displayed once again by Melbourne, the sum of the parts could not it done though. Poor defense from Brisbane made it Josh Boone and Casey Prather’s night. Josh Boone continues to average the double double which is huge in the fantasy game. Even on a non-double round he would have made a good captain’s pick with this performance.
It’s important to look at what Casper Ware and Chris Goulding’s scores are looking like now that we a bigger sample size of games with both of them in. Ware still scored higher in fantasy than Goulding although he scored fewer points with 17 and 16 respectively. The balance has not looked right yet between the team. The word of warning though is not to get sucked into the commentary in game on this matter. Chris Goulding adds nothing but points. 6 assists and 5 rebounds over the last 3 games are showing why he doesn’t fit the fantasy game. Casper Ware has taken a nose dive but can still add to the game in more ways than one and if he bounces back will score a lot higher.
Casey Prather is not up near the top of the average points per game. It is all from hustle and he may take a backward step is Melbourne starts clicking together. He has a will to perform and this grinds his fantasy points up regardless of the team’s performance. His low round was 28 which is a pretty good floor to have on any pick in your team.
Stephen Holt remained around what his average should be. His fantasy points may not reflect the impact he had on this game and it was promising to see how he played in this game. He will likely remain around a million and could be a good luxury bench option going forward. Trice and Buford did ok but were not as dominant this game. It was a team performance which took Brisbane home which is great for the team, not as great for the fantasy coach. 6 players got over 20 points for Brisbane in this one. Steve Bruce’s performance is worth noting as he made it to 25 and contributed a little in several categories. He could remain around 15 points a game in fantasy which would make him and Kyle Adnam (22 fantasy points in this one) the choices for bench point guard.
Illawara 94 (Oglivy 52, Coenraad 44, Clarke 33)
Sydney 99 (Cadee 58, Leslie 38, Ellis 35)
Overtime for the first time this season and Sydney respond to the week of criticism leaving Illawara at the bottom of the table. Turnovers plagued Illawara throughout the game and ultimately cost them the game. It was Jason Cadee who stole the show we a near double-double performance. This was a ‘just when Sydney needed it’ performance and its near impossible to fault. 21 points, 8 assists and 4 steals is as good a result as you will get from the PG all season. He will remain relatively cheap next week and Sydney do have two games if you want to gamble on it carrying over. However, Illawara seem the best match for Sydney this season and the defense against him in his spot wasn’t strong. It could be worth it. Usual suspects made up the rest of the top for Sydney with Leslie and Ellis remaining on average.
AJ Oglivy back where he was supposed to be. However a word of warning. His double-double came in overtime and he coughed up a game-high 9 turnovers which cost him 18 points. That being said who cares if he puts up 52 fantasy points. It’s still worth noting as Sydney have the weakest frontcourt in the league at the moment and Oglivy had it mostly his own way, yet in games where he doesn’t his score could plummet back down.
Tim Coenraad wins most impressive way of getting the points. He scored 4 points in game. His contribution was everywhere else though leading to 44 fantasy points. 3 blocks and 3 steals in this game made up the bulk of it. Blocks and steals vary often though and this is more likely to be a season high than a regular occurrence. If you had him though you would be smiling. He is under the million and if he can put up even one or two more similar games it could make him worthwhile. Rotnei Clarke bounced back with a 33. It is only concerning how selfishly offensive his game is. When it works like today he will be right on average but when it doesn’t he gets a 3 like earlier in the round. Expect more big games from him but be ready to take the risk of a drop off at times.
NEWS
Sydney Kings
An import should be coming for them, but at time of writing – no news. If they get the right player it could also be a lifeline for a lot of teams and provide a rival for Boone and Ogilvy. Fingers crossed time.
Everyone Else
The calm before the storm this week with little in the way of news from most the teams.
Remember Lisch and Jawai remain out.
Also, Josh Childress will play his first full week with Adelaide and based on his first performance I would not be surprised if he is sitting with a 30 average by this time next week. This is because he had limited minutes and scored mostly from rebounds. More time and more points and that will easily balloon over 30.
GAME TO WATCH
Saturday Night – Melbourne v Cairns @ Hisense Arena 7:30 pm
Melbourne is struggling. Michael Carrera has started strong. Both teams have a double heavy schedule. A lot can be learned in this game.
We can see if Goulding and Ware will respond after a disappointing fortnight. We can see if other players from Melbourne start to get a chance with more minutes. Will Cairns maker Michael Carrera the absolute centerpiece and will this then give Scoochie Smith and co. more opportunities to score fantasy points. Can Casey Prather continue his run of form and will Josh Boone dominate the Cairns front court? Valuable information to be had here for the coming weeks.
A close second is New Zealand v Adelaide at 5:30pm AEDT on Fox Sports 503 which will provide more insight into both these emerging contenders. Adelaide however is going into a lighter part of their schedule but can the Breakers guards continue to dominate? Also will Robert Loe maintain a good average? I look forward to finding out.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OR SELECT
Melbourne, New Zealand and Cairns have two double rounds in the coming two weeks. Luckily Melbourne and New Zealand have options for everyone. Every position could be filled with a quality pick (or a quality gamble at least).
Read on for some choices going into the Round, considering the schedule going forward.
Casey Prather (SF) : Consistent and high scoring. With 4 games in 2 weeks he could take off and is therefore worth watching. Placing him in the side? Then this is the right time. Although cost wise he is the most expensive Small Forward and there is a lot of options.
Edgar Sosa (PG) : Starting to perform and New Zealand have a great schedule coming up. He is cheaper than most the other options at PG. Also in the next 5 rounds they play 4 doubles. You would only have to hold through one round with 1 game.
Shea Illi (PG) : Still around bench prices and doesn’t look like slowing down. Can save some cash and put it towards Boone or Prather. New Zealand are looking a lot better than they are getting credit for and Illi is a part of their plans.
Josh Boone (C) : Best player in the game at the moment by a mile. Averaging, almost 10 points more than the next closest. He could stay in the squad all season and you would likely remain competitive. If he can hold his value, or even put on more over the next 2 rounds he would be worth jumping on now. What if it doesn’t? Well remember Melbourne have played one home game so far and will remain home for the next 3 games. This may help them right the ship after a tough start. If they can Boone will play a big part of it.
Chris Goulding (SG) : He has not performed so far. His average is at 15. He adds nothing across the box score. Then he misses his 3 point shots. Why is he here then? His value as plummeted too $1.13 million. If you buy the hype that the next 3 home games will be better, then Goulding has to do better as he gets a lot of minutes. I wouldn’t plan long term around him, but if your down and feeling out and want to gamble, he is your man. If it goes right this week he may average 30 this coming round.
Michael Carrera (PF): I am glad we now have a contender for the PF spot. He also provides great flexibility I building your squad as you can put him at the 3 and 4 you can swap him in at either spot from the 6th man. The way trades are in game this could be invaluable. Also he is looking like he can average 35 to 40 a game which is right where you want the whole first team to be.
Join us in the game by our open to anyone with no limit traditional fantasy league. League code is LC32MXAH.
That’s it for now. Good luck with week XX
Disclaimer: All of the news in this article are at the time of writing and from publically available material.
Jonathan Prestwich is a Melbourne United fan introduced to the game by his children. He missed a half-court shot but they gave him the prize anyway...... maybe they felt sorry for him. Follow him on twitter @johnoprestwich
