2022-2023 Fantasy Basketball Team Quick Look

I don't think I've ever done this before but thought I'd give it a shot.  I was introduced to fantasy sports in the 90's and been hooked ever since.  I'm the commissioner in the football, basketball and baseball leagues I'm in.  I'm also in a hockey league but I'm not the commish there.  To my team, Fast Break.  I like the makeup overall.  Curry and Young were keepers which is a great start.  Zach Lavine is great, and Deandre Ayton, and Julius Randle are also really good.  I'm not a fan of Randle but if the Knicks bounce back his stats might as well.

Capela and Murray will round out my starting lineup.  Murray was injured last season but no reason to think he won't fill up the box score again.  After that you just don't know.  You hope for good seasons from the rest but you never know.  Westbrook is a huge unknown.  Even with his issues he should be a solid contributor.  Assuming he plays. If things don't work in LA that gamble could go South for me.  I like John Wall.  He should getsplenty of assists and grab some points as well.  Johnson, Hunter, Huerter and White are all good players but who knows what their seasons look like.  

My Draft

I'm not a Randle guy but I felt compelled to pick him as I needed another big and it seemed like a drop off after him.  I was surprised Murray dropped to the 7th round but with his injury last year I'm sure many hesitated.  I really liked Wall and White as late picks.  When I look at other teams it always seems like they are better.  No real buyer's remorse here but I'm not that sure where I'll sit early on.  Just a bit of fun in this post.  Steph Curry will help kick things off tonight so I'm hoping for a nice start to the season.

2021-2022 Chronicles Basketball Blaster

21-22 Chronicles:  Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors start the defense of their championship title tonight.  The Warriors were really good with Jordan Poole emerging as a great option and Klay Thompson returning from injury.  Curry was his normal excellent self and was a part of the MVP conversation.  Hard not to like this guy and he's favorite of mine.

These are the "base" Chronicles cards.  Okay design missing a team logo.  Former Georgia Bulldog Anthony Edwards is a favorite current player of mine.  Can't wait to see how the Hawks do with newbie to the team Dejounte Murray.  He's really good but how he and Trae Young co exist will be the key to the Hawks' success.

Good pull in this box but I think the Steph, KD and the Giannis cards all came from the last pack so I was beginning to wonder.  The Absolute is one of my favorite designs.  Marquee isn't bad either. 

Tons of young players in this set.  Nothing wrong with that.  You just have to know going in.  I'm good with the Hometown Heroes cards which are a shiny card type.

I don't know who Sandro Mamukelashvili is but if he looks like that the entire time he plays I want him on my team.  That look on his face.  

More youngsters.  Good shot at pulling the top rookies like Cade Cunningham in these boxes.

Barnes was another of the top rookies last season.  I really like the Essentials and Playbook designs.

Fun box of cards.  Looking forward to the season and I'm really curious, like everyone else, what Zion is in his return to the court.  We'll end it with a nice Giannis.

BREAKDOWN:

42 – Total Cards

30 - RC

6 – Absolute

6 - Chronicles

6 – Pink Parallel

4 – XR

4 – Essentials

4 – Rookies & Stars

3 - Threads

3 - Marquee

3 – Playbook

3 – Luminance

1 – Hometown Heroes

2022-2023 Portland Trail Blazers Quick Look

 Last season did not go as planned for the Trail Blazers.  Lillard only played 29 games due to injury, the GM was fired during the season, CJ McCollum was traded and the team only won 27 games, their worst in over 20 years.  Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, and Jusuf Nurkic signed new deals in the offseason.  The Lillard extension was huge as there were lots of rumors of him possibly leaving.  Simons is expected to fill McCollum's shoes.  In the draft the Blazer chose Shaedon Sharpe and Jabari Walker.  Jerami Grant and Gary Payton II joined the team as free agents.

This team will win more than 27 games this year.  How much they contend will depend on Lillard being the Lillard of old and how the new pieces in the lineup work.  I really don't know what that looks like.  Fans have had hope for Simons for years.  He did well last year with both Lillard and McCollum not playing.  What does his game look like with Dame playing?  I really like the Grant and Payton editions.  Grant can score playing SF or PF.  Payton is a great defender.  

Coach Chancey Billups has his work cut out for him.  Lots of change means figuring out how this team works together.  The starting five should be fun to watch if they all live up to expectations.  I worry about depth but most teams do.  These big contracts the starters and elite players demand make it tough.  Still the Trail Blazers are trying.  They went different.  It looks like they could be better than the Terry Stotts era teams long term but this first season could go one of many ways.  Should be fun and nerve wracking for us Portland fans.

2022-2023 Atlanta Hawks Quick Look

The 2021-2022 Atlanta Hawks, coming off an Eastern Conference Championship appearance, went 43-39 and were booted in the first round of the playoffs by Miami four games to one.  The Hawks basically ran back the same team hoping for the same results and it didn't work.  The team looked lost for much of the season.  The signed John Collins to a huge contract but it didn't fill up the stat sheet or equate to wins.  He's really athletic but that only gets you so far.  Lots of guys who could get you 10-17 points a night but no clear number two star on this team and Trae Young couldn't carry them.

In the offseason they made a pitch for KD but ended up getting rising star Dejounte Murray from the Spurs.  He's a great defender who put up amazing numbers last season (21ppg, 8rbg, 9apg).  Trae Young doesn't do defense so this is a big addition.  The other big move was moving Kevin Huerter to the Kings for Justin Holiday and Maurice Harkless.  This move saves them money in the long run but did not make the team better.  And it really confused me.  I love the addition of Murray but losing Huerter makes the offseason very uneven.

Coach Nate McMillan now has to get two ball centric guards to share.  He also needs to get more from John Collins while making the role players better too.  Does De'Andre Hunter have another gear?  This team has to get better defensively and be more well-rounded on the offensive end.  Sure Murray will help but as a team they have to be really efficient and have others who can give them big points when needed.  I think Atlanta is better but the East has some really good teams at the top.  If they are the number seven seed they'll be doing good and a number six seed will be a really good year.  I'm not convinced they are there yet looking at the other teams in the conference but I can have hope.

   

Random Wax: 2021 Donruss NASCAR

2021 Donruss NASCAR:  The round of eight in the NASCAR playoffs starts today.  Hailie Deegan isn't in the playoffs or at the Cup level even.  But she will start her first Xfinity race after racing exclusively in the truck series the last two seasons.  She still hasn't finished in the top 20 but Deegan is only 20 years old and is extremely popular.  This is a Retro 88 design card.

Denny is 7th in standings so he has some work to do as he chases his first championship.

Well none of these three are in the playoffs as Bowyer has retired, Truex didn't make the playoffs and Bowman has already been eliminated.  The throwback and base designs work for me here.  I like the inclusion of the driver's car number.

Chase is one of my guys and I love this Contenders card of his.  He's also a favorite to win it all this year out of the remaining eight drivers.  Christopher Bell won last week's race in Charlotte to make the next round of the playoffs.  For him it was a "win and get in or lose and you're out" scenario and he came through.  These Race Kings aren't bad but a bit bland.

Brad Keselowski is still racing but also a team owner.

I like the Retro Series cards.  Colors work well.  Terry Labonte is a former champ and good pull.  Another Deegan in a silver parallel.

I like the color on the Aero Package inserts as well.  Harvick made the playoffs but was eliminated in the first round.  Love the mask on John Hunter Nemechek.  Fun pack of cards.  I enjoy opening NASCAR cards and these are no different.  Plenty of variety help make them fun. Hoping for good vibes for Chase this weekend.

BREAKDOWN

30 – Total Cards

3 – Carolina Blue Parallels

3 - Optic

2 – Race Kings

2 – Aero Package 

1 - Car

1 - Contenders

1 – Retro Series

1 – Rated Rookie

1 – Silver Parallel

1 – Action Packed

Random Wax: 1997 Bench Warmer with Autograph

1997 Bench Warmer:  A pack I snagged off eBay from one of my favorite sellers of non-sport packs, Bob Rewak.  Always fun pulling an auto and Anita Hart is a cutie.  She is a stuntwoman, actress and model.  I believe this is her only autographed card.

October is when breast cancer awareness is at the forefront so these posts, while 99.9% a guilty pleasure, also allow me to bring up this important subject.  More information can be found at the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

One of the simplest designs you'll find but it works.  I like the Bench Warmer color logo and the fact the rest of the card is all about the ladies.

The backs are just as much fun.  A different photo of the ladies found on the front.  Nikii Ziering and Brooke Burke, a personal favorite, are names many will find familiar.

These sets are always fun.  Doesn't matter what the ladies are doing - working out, lounging or enjoying time on the water.

Never complain when two pretty gals are sharing a card.

Some of the colors and clothing help date these but this was all in my wheelhouse growing up.

I hope you enjoyed as much as I did.

BREAKDOWN:

8 – Total Cards

2 – Double Play

1 – Bonus Card

1 – Authentic Autograph

Random Wax: 1990 Donruss Baseball (3 Packs)

 1990 Donruss:  The Braves are still battling it out with the Phillies in the second round of MLB playoffs.  Hall of Famer John Smoltz is a great place to start this post as he was great in the playoffs.  Over 25 playoff series, including 5 World Series, he pitched to a 2.67 ERA in 209 innings pitched.  He was 15-4 in those games.

Can't go wrong with any of these three guys.  1990 Donruss has always been a favorite of mine and there are tons of great players and memories here to always make these fun.

The MVP design isn't a favorite of mine.  Seemed a bit boring and that they could have done something different.  I do love the All-Star cards which include great NL and AL logos.

He was alright...just kidding.  Dude could flat out hit.  Not bad for a 19th round pick.

All three of these guys were part of that 1986 Mets team that ripped out my heart when they beat the Red Sox.  Enough said.

These are fun even when they include players who haunt your memories.  Three pitchers every team would love to have on their team.  We'll end it with an all-time favorite of mine - Kirby.

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards (3 Packs)
3 – MVP
3 – Puzzle
2 – All-Star
1 – Rated Rookie
1 – Diamond King