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NFL regular season is mercifully reaching Week 17, and I personally can't wait to see how the playoffs predictably unfold. In contrast, the playoffs of the UMassBallers league were anything but predictable as the Chicago Ferrets surged with wins in 8 of their last 9 weeks to eke into the playoffs and emerge as the 2016 champion!
I think we all imagined Ryan doing exactly this when he clinched the title.
The Ferrets bring to mind other unlikely champions: 2015-2016 Leicester City, Buster Douglas, the 1969 Mets. But perhaps the best comparison is the 2007 New York Giants: the champion that just ruined the fun for everyone! My personal belief is that this is a case of first-time father's luck and that Kai was responsible for the good fortune.
The Ferrets weren't the only interesting storyline from the fantasy season though. Take a gander at my hindsight analysis of the draft, recap of game-changing transactions, and other odds-and-ends in TDZ's annual UMassBallers season synopsis!
It's been a few years, but TDZ is back to talk about fantasy basketball and has put together its exclusive 2016-2017 All-Kevin Love Team!
Oh wow. Huh. I totally forgot this was a thing.
What variables qualifies a player to be on the AKL Team? To be concise, chronic under-utilization which, if corrected for, would yield huge fantasy dividends. That is, a player who would stuff the stat sheet if he got more minutes. Selections must average fewer than 20 minutes per game, and obviously we want to skew towards younger players who haven't been discovered yet, not veterans who are just having their minutes monitored.
Past alums of this illustrious brotherhood include Ryan Anderson, Jeremy Lin (kind of), Ian Mahinmi, Enes Kanter, Ersan Ilyasova, and Lou Williams. Which of these under-the-radar guys will explode onto the NBA fantasy landscape in the coming years?
I think it's safe to say that the RFO earned a playoff berth this year with a 9-4 record (1 forfeit due to lack of team submission).
OK, maybe not - most of the time I was just beating Car RamRod, who has got to be close to the all-time worst team in league history rivaling "The Haha" (real team name: The Brouhaha).
To advance in the playoffs, I've got to outscore one of the actual playoff teams, so if I advance even one round, that would be an incredible feat. Here are my picks - this will either be my worst team of the year, or the most brilliant picks of all-time:
QB: Carson Balmer - There is a balm in Miami to make the RFO whole.
WR: Chris Shogun - Gronk and Amendola injured, so I like his odds for targets.
RB: Flex Burkhead - Has a regular role and up against Browns; due for TD.
TE: C.J. Breed-or-a-mix - The only guy Osweiler can get the ball to consistently.
W/T: Andrew Walk-ins - Deep sleeper; Griffin tends to like taking shots downfield.
W/R: Freddie Fart-ino - Never heard of this guy, but he's stepping up due to injuries in a great match-up with the Saints.
W/R: Cat Asiata - Hoping for that classic 1 yard TD against the Jags.
K: Kai Forbath - Great match-up with Jags, and a great name for Ryan's son.
DEF: Indianapolis Jolts - Dialing up Indy in back-to-back weeks as they look underrated of late. Osweiler stinks.
Another week, another W, looks like the RFO is cruising to a playoff berth! Which is great because Doge Flutie is stumbling the last few weeks and probably not gonna do much in the playoffs. But...
QB: Alex Whiff - He always disappoints when I pick him, but I like QB's when they play in domes.
WR: Kenny Thrills - With Devante Parker on the shelf, I'm actually pretty excited to start this guy.
RB: Pain Washington - Just gimme a non-Ebron goal-line TD.
TE: Ladarius Spleen - Time to finally not drop a TD.
W/T: Marquise Hoodwinked - So few Bills receivers, but also so few pass attempts.
W/R: Chris Slogan - Due for a TD, and without Gronk I'm expecting more spread offense.
W/R: Denard Blobinson - It's garbage time for the Jags as usual, which is Denard's time to shine!
K: Phil Awesome - Niners offense hasn't been AS bad.
DEF: Indianapolis Dolts - Just asking for one more of those 6 INT games from Fitzy.
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