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Dropping Dimes Mock Draft: Round 3, Pick 8 - Jose Calderon

Imagine Team USA starring LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and company posing for a picture like this. David Stern would have been on the next plane to China putting out fires and doing interview after interview insisting that the NBA loved its international flavor and that this type of stuff was not condoned at all. Fines probably would have been levied, and big companies might have stayed away from the Team USA stars i.e. it might have been a while before we saw Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley hawking cell phones again.

It hurts a little extra because the guy picked here plays for my home team, the team I cheer for. My family comes from a Chinese background, and both the photo and the subsequent comments from this man have left a bad taste in my mouth. I even said, “Bring back T. J. Ford” when it first happened. Just as a fan, Jose, this is not the media’s fault, you and your team mates should not have done it, should not have caved if you were being goaded into it and you should have said sorry because you came off as ignorant instead of remorseful.

The moral of the story? Sometimes you have to put aside your feelings about a player and just look at the numbers.

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Dropping Dimes Mock Draft: Round 2, Pick 4 - Chris Bosh

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There comes a point in every draft where one must come to terms with the fact that he or she may choose to select a player that is liked for one reason or another. Unlike Sarge’s issues with Carlos Boozer, this does not have to be a bad thing. Perhaps the player stars for your home team. Or perhaps you cheered him on during his college days. Sometimes you cherish the memory of picking him in a past draft when he was still a diamond in the rough.

Of course, picking a player you like could either lead to double happiness if both you and the player have a successful season, or double misery if the player tanks which subsequently submarines your team.

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Consolation Playoffs in the NBA?

Baron Davis and his beard taking a jumperMost of us fantasy fanatics are in some sort of consolation play this week. After all, only two teams in each league can vie for the championship. How are things over in the “real” NBA? Well, the Golden State Warriors are playing almost .600 ball and are still trying to claw into playoff position. How’s that for a tough break?

In my league with family and friends, the teams in the consolation bracket battle for draft position next year. The winner of the consolation playoffs gets the first overall pick, the runner-up gets second pick and so on. It’s enough incentive for everyone to continue setting their lineups, and it’s enough of a prize that people take it seriously enough to put forth the effort. If you have a league with little GM turnover year to year, this is something you can do so that everyone can enjoy fantasy hoops right to the very last day, not just the finalists.

Perhaps the NBA should adopt a consolation playoff format and the winner gets first pick in the draft. This certainly would guard against bad teams tanking it at the end of the season.

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Playoff Primer 2008: Eastern Conference

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Hey. It’s been a long time. Too long. Props to Sarge and Brandon for holding down the fort as best as they could. Things have been pretty good from my end, except for the fact I haven’t made the time to drop some dimes. The 2007-08 fantasy NBA season has been a downer for me; in my main league my draft crop included Gilbert Arenas, Andrea Bargnani, Randy Foye and Nene, which gives you a good idea where my season is going.

But enough about me and my pity party. Week 18 starts tomorrow. The playoffs start in Week 22. If you have a cushion and are looking to gear up for the playoffs, you’re going to want to check this. We are going to look at every team’s schedule during those key playoff weeks and break it down for you. Use this summary to your best advantage, especially if your league’s trading deadline has not passed.

Let’s start with the Eastern Conference and I’ll try to post on the Western Conference soon.

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Dime Day: Four Quarters of Toronto Raptors

Chris Bosh
But I’d love to know if he’s just in the zone, or if it’s a product of a weak supporting cast?...Scott Sargent

Sarge wrote this about Chris Bosh as part of his Sargent Says feature last week, after basking in the glow of another season of 24 kicking off. I am sure it is hard to keep up on Raptor news south of the border for obvious reasons. So here’s a friend helping a friend out.

Every so often on Dime Day, “Four Quarters” will feature one particular NBA team, going ten players deep into their roster. Whether it’s a small tidbit of news on the benchwarmers, or an opportunity to give major props to the all-stars around the league, as always we slant it towards the fantasy side of life.

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Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 6, Pick 6

Charlie Villanueva

Before we turn our full attention on this pick in the draft, let me first say that it is nice to have the NHL season get underway. Although hockey has lost its place among “the big four” sports in North America, if you have not tried it out, my strong suggestion is for you to withold final judgment until you see a game live. The speed simply does not translate to the small screen.

How is this related to hoops? Well, you might find yourself in a league with Canadians who might not be studying up as hard as they should on hoops because the buzz of a new hockey season is too hard to ignore. And unnecessary aggravation from a hockey league is just as problematic for fantasy players as it can be sometimes for a basketball league. Take this league I am in, partnered with a friend. The commish cannot even input the draft results, set waiver priority in the proper order plus the league has not even been activated even though the NHL started play last week! What a bunch of amateurs. So to all the Dime readers out there, do yourself a favour and make sure your basketball league has a good commish at the helm. That way, you do not have to worry about the league settings going out of whack, and can settle down to the business of picking a winning squad.

Round 6, Pick 6: Charlie Villanueva, SF/PF, Milwaukee Bucks.

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Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 3, Pick 1

Vince Carter  While some of the first 24 picks have focused on some players that can be considered statistical specialists (Andrei Kirilenko or Ben Wallace with blocks and steals, Steve Nash with assists and free throw percentage), this team that is already comprised of LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire appears to have a firm foundation of well-rounded contributions.  James is a triple-double threat every night, while Stoudemire can put up 20 and 10 with a couple blocks thrown in for good measure at the drop of a…dime.  Thus, drafting for value, and attempting to not group this tandem with any one that could kill any certain category, I see no better option at this stage than to go with the off-guard from the New Jersey Nets.

Round 3, Pick 1: Vince Carter, SG, New Jersey Nets

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