You kids and your Twitter. There's something about 140 characters to get your point across that just seems to make sense. The whole idea got me thinking that instead of dragging out some fantasy basketball column that you'll likely just skim over, what do you say I give you 50 fantasy basketball tips and observations in 140 characters or less. You have no vote in this matter, so you're getting them anyway.
These tips are not only designed for those of you who have yet to draft your fantasy teams, but they're also for those who are looking to improve on their post-draft squads. Hopefully this is a helpful way to get out as much information as possible while keepin' it mainstream.
When searching for sleepers at the point guard position you are usually after two things: steals and assists. Sure, a healthy free-throw percentage helps and some three-pointers would be nice, but as Jason Kidd has shown it's not all about scoring.
In the first two rounds there are 10 eligible point guards who should fall off the board: Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams, Brandon Roy, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Jose Calderon, Devin Harris and Joe Johnson. If you are able to grab one of those top-tier point guards, congratulations. Now you just need to find a second point to bolster and fill out your categories and a third for, well, good measure. If not, I would suggest loading up on fourth- or fifth-tier point guards -- Rajon Rondo, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, etc. -- where you can find plenty of star power.
Using the average draft positions (ADPs) as reported by Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! Sports (Y!), the following five point guards are all sleeper candidates as third, and in some cases second point guards.
FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.
The trade of Chauncey Billups was purportedly meant to clear the path for the "too-good-to-come-off-the-bench" Rodney Stuckey, but the dreadful 2008-09 Pistons season really never allowed Stuckey to blossom. Now in his third season, with Billups gone and Allen Iverson exiled to Memphis, Stuckey really does have the room he should need.
Not that there isn't still pressure. When you replace a former Finals MVP dubbed by fans as "Mr. Big Shot," you have your hands full. And while Detroit seems to adore Stuckey, there's a lot of talent competing for minutes around him.
We could rehash the depressing nitty-gritty details, but why bother? It's a new season, and this year's squad looks very little like the one swept out of the playoffs in front of a turncoat Palace crowd.
Instead, let's focus on the changes, which should destroy your outdated notions of what Dee-troit Basket-ball is all about. First and foremost, the Pistons went from being one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest -- and not just because four rookies will make the roster.
The Detroit Pistons were a miserable team to watch last season, winning 20 fewer games than the year before while slipping from perennial contender to eighth-seeded afterthought.
It's easy to find scapegoats for what went wrong -- Joe Dumars, for trading Chauncey Billups; Allen Iverson, for not being Billups; Rip Hamilton, for not swallowing his pride; Michael Curry, for being in over his head -- but the most glaring problem was one for which everyone was responsible: a complete and utter lack of leadership, both on the court and the sidelines.
Hard to believe that several NBA general managers can have regrets after two years, but it's true. The results of the 2007 NBA Draft are slowly reaping, which should teach a lesson to their 2009 brethren on Thursday about taking chances on raw college players, international prospects and even those who are allegedly "proven."
The biggest debate two years ago was whether the Portland Trail Blazers should take Greg Oden or Kevin Durant first overall. Oden was a franchise center out of Ohio State while Durant was the smooth scoring swingman from Texas. Durant had the better workout with the Blazers, apparently blowing the mind of coach Nate McMillan. Yet, the Blazers stuck with conventional thinking and took the big man.
(Quick aside: Is it just me or is the NBA offseason easily the most fun of any sport?) Anyway, it appears, based on Woj's sources, that this rumor is likely to gain very little steam, primarily because Danny Ainge is dealing with "Bring in Rasheed Wallace to win a championship" Joe Dumars, as opposed to "Draft Darko, Trade Chauncey for Iverson" Joe Dumars.
Maybe they should rename the building, "The Palace King James Tore Down."
The Cavaliers took no time in putting their foot to the throat of the Detroit Pistons, closing them out in the third quarter with 16-6 run. The Pistons, a powerhouse over the last seven years, will not reach the conference finals for the first time in seven years. The cause of their downfall? The only man with less fear of the Palace than Ron Artest.
LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists to again create the majority of the punch for the Cavs, who will now have up to a week of off time before facing the winner of the Atlanta-Miami showdown.
With the way the Cavaliers are playing, those teams might want to put off facing the Cavs as long as possible.
There's not a single team in the NBA that can claim they know how to stop LeBron James, but the one thing the Pistons could hang their hat on was the fact that they've traditionally done the best job at slowing him down: In 23 career meetings in the regular season, he's averaged "just" 23.7 points against the Pistons, his fewest against any team in the league, on 41.5% shooting.
Unfortunately for Detroit, trends don't win playoff games, players do. LeBron exploded for 38 points on ultra efficient shooting: 13-20 from the field and 11-14 from the line. With him leading the charge and a balanced supporting cast chipping in (none of his teammates topped 13 but four players finished with at least 12), the Pistons never had a chance as the Cavaliers won every quarter.
During the second half of Miami's win in Detroit, after a tougher-than-usual bucket from Dwyane Wade, Jeff Van Gundy made a particularly keen observation.
"It's a joke how good this guy is," Van Gundy remarked.
Even though Wade finished with 39 points, it wasn't his offense, but his defense that ended up sealing the victory for the Heat down the stretch.
When searching for sleepers at the point guard position you are usually after two things: steals and assists. Sure, a healthy free-throw percentage helps and some three-pointers would be nice, but as 
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FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in 
There's a little NBA trading spice coming out of 
Maybe they should rename the building, "The Palace King James Tore Down." 
There's not a single team in the NBA that can claim they know how to stop 
During the second half of Miami's win in Detroit, after a tougher-than-usual bucket from 
