Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Playoffs!

If a fantasy basketball team loses 1 player for the season, it's not a big deal. Losing two is a little unlucky. To lose three in a week sets a new standard of shlemielity. To then lose another player for the season the following week, makes you me.

These weren't just any players either. They were 4 of my 5 best. Elton Brand (1st round pick), Al Jefferson (2nd round pick), Jameer Nelson (1 of 2 all stars on my team), and Tracy McGrady (Mr. Category Filler).

Imagine, you're in 9th place in a 12 team league and you need to be in the top 6 to make the playoffs, when all of this happens. End of the season, right? Not if you're me. Lots of long nights crunching numbers, trying to find ways to manufacture a few more points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. My effort culminated by a last-second pick up of Arron Afflalo, who scored 13 points on Sunday so that I would win that category by 9. That was enough to get me into 5th place! But just barely.

This might be the end of the road for my scrappy bunch of New York Hollanders. Nate Robinson, Boris Diaw, and Brook Lopez (all free agent pick ups) have given me all they've got. In the first round of the playoffs, I'm up against a guy who has more games, more talent, and more available moves to make. I must leave my fate up to the fantasy basketball gods. Jesus, Quetzalcoatl, Zoroaster, help a brother out.

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