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By Jim McCormick, TalentedMrRoto.com

An analysis of your team and a complete makeover to complement it.

Reno Rage learned the lesson of having to give to get in the form of trading Jason Terry for Josh Smith. (Glenn James/NBAE/Getty Images)

Another week gone by and we have another makeover to complete. I’ve seen the volume and impact of trades go up in the leagues I’m in. Owners are beginning to address their weaknesses through trades now that the wire is seemingly picked clean. No more Andris Biedrins or Monta Ellis on the free pickup tip anymore. Crazy named, once unknown players like Jorge Garbajosa are now owned and started regularly. Meanwhile, players that seemed like quality buys just two weeks ago like Andrew Bynum and Sean May are beginning to fade from the fantasy consciousness.

At this point in fantasy, we begin to look at the other rosters in our league to help us. Just realize that you have to give to get. We have to evaluate our rosters and identify what stats we simply don’t have while leveraging any surplus we have. You may have banked on Mike James putting up 18 points this season and expected Chris Kaman to get you a nightly double-double, no dice buddy.

Reality sets in quickly in the fickle world of fantasy, and it’s how you react that defines your season, not only how you draft. Focus on what you need and be creative in addressing your flaws. There are a number of players out there that can fill your need(s) at any given time. Don’t be afraid to trade a Mike James for a seemingly lesser “named” player if it helps your team. Names mean little in fantasy; it’s really all about the numbers.

After a high volume of requests from friends and family for help, I decided to help out my boy Brendan “Reno” Tozer’s team “Reno Rage” this week. Don’t worry hoop-heads, this is my one “friend helper” of the season, so keep the e-mails coming.

His team is stuck in the middle of his 12-team head-to-head Yahoo! League, and he needs some remixing to truly contend in the long run. I’ll let Brendan aka Reno describe his background a little more.

My name is Brendan even though most of my friends don’t even know my first name. One kid in the league is named Brian Tozer for this very reason. I’ve been referred to as simply “Tozer” for most of my life but in the past few years my moniker has morphed into variations like “Reno”, “Reens” and “Tozereno”. I work in the private Jet industry and was born and bred in the Philly area. I am a diehard LaSalle Explorers fan and believe that Lionel James "L-Train" Simmons was one the best college ballers ever.

I’ve been playing fantasy basketball with the same group of hooligans for 5 years now and I think I have a solid team this year. I know that I need some rebounds but thought you could help revamp my squad a little bit. I am young grasshopper- help me.

Reno’s league is a 12-team Yahoo! head-to-head league with the nine standard stat categories.

Pos	Player	Grade	Comment
PG	Steve Nash	A-	His scoring output has steadily increased during the past three seasons in Phoenix from 15.5 per night to this 20.3 this year. Meanwhile, his assists have been steady at an elite 11 per contest. No other player in fantasy is as “healthy” as Nash is for your team. He shoots 50 percent from the field and 90 from the line. You’ll take the three-plus turnovers when you get such a surplus of dimes. Great value for Reno in the second round.
SG	Richard Hamilton	C	“Rip” doesn’t have any eye-popping numbers. No two-plus steals or threes that make a player stand out in the fantasy marketplace. Just steady and safe production night in, night out. He gets 22 points per night on efficient percentages. His three pointers made and attempted are up this season, and he’s nabbing a steal per night as well.
G	Jason Terry	B+	As a Maverick, Terry has seen his steals and assists go down compared to his production as a Hawk. However, his field goal percentage is up significantly while his scoring and threes are still healthy. You can expect two-plus threes a night from “JT”. The career low 66.7 free throw percentage has to improve though (he’s a career 84 percent shooter).
SF	Mickael Pietrus	B-	Reno made a deft addition for his team back on November 5, adding Pietrus for Kenny Thomas. The French swingman has found his role in Coach Nelly’s up-tempo system. With nearly one steal, over a block per game and over 50 percent shooting on 14 points, Mickael is a great utility/depth player to target in fantasy.
PF	Zaza Pachulia	A	Zaza has a dope name and some nice numbers as well. He’s putting up more than 14 points and 7 boards a night on nice percentages. He’s a little messy with the ball with 2.6 turnovers, but you can stomach that for a cheap and productive player with center eligibility.
F	Peja Stojakovic	C+	At this point in his career, it seems that Peja is now a fantasy specialist. You can expect elite three pointers and little else across the board. He’s now years removed from that dominant top-10 fantasy campaign in 2003-04.
C	Yao Ming	B+	Yao is finally emerging as the force that people expected. With 26.4 points, 10.4 boards and two blocks a night, he’s now fantasy’s top center. Sure, intensity and durability concerns still linger but in terms of his value this season, he’s been incredible.
C	Nenad Krstic	C	Nenad and Zaza are similar fantasy values; they both provide 15 and seven on solid percentages with that coveted center status.
Util	Ricky Davis	B	In many ways, Ricky Davis is an enigma is both real and fantasy b-ball. At times he can score efficiently in volume while dropping five dimes per night. But he’s also prone to long cold streaks that can kill a fantasy team. With more competition for shots and minutes with the additions of Randy Foye and Mike James, Ricky’s numbers seem to be compromised.
Util	Mike James	B	Oh, what a month can do to a player’s market value. Mike James was coming off a stellar 2005-06 campaign with career highs across the board for the Raptors. In Minnesota this season, he’s seen his minutes cut by ten per night and his shot attempts are down a dramatic six per game. He simply can’t put up last year’s numbers this season.
Bn	Jeff Foster	C-	This guy is good for moderate boards and field goal percentage but little else. He’ll be passed around your league all season as an emergency waiver center. In a head-to-head league, his value is minimal since he’s more of a binge rebounder suited for rotisserie formats.
Bn	Michael Finley	D+	What a funny grade a D+ is. You aren’t really failing, but you know you’re not doing well either. Finley simply isn’t an elite contributor anymore. He’s really not even a serviceable fantasy depth player. His minutes and numbers are marginalized by the stable of swingmen the Spurs’ employ nightly. With Brent Barry, Manu Ginobili and Robert Horry all fighting for the same tick, there’s no room for Finley to produce. It’s a shame given Finley’s once gaudy averages, but he’s now three years removed from true fantasy starter status.
Bn	Tyronn Lue	C+	With all of the Speedy Claxton “sleeper” hype now dissipated, it’s Lue that has emerged as the Atlanta point guard to own. His upside isn’t nearly as high as Claxton’s, but he is putting up serviceable averages with 14 points and 4.5 assists on nice percentages.
Bn	Josh Childress	B-	Childress is one of those players that contributes competently across the board with no single elite statistic. His value lies in his variety- he provides nice points (13.4) and boards (6.4) with solid steals, blocks and percentages.

“Reno Rage” needs to address his lack of rebounds, steals and blocks to truly compete in his league. He is a .500 team that has lost consistently in those three categories. He has a solid foundation with two superstars in Nash and Yao that put up elite totals on very healthy percentages. His problem lies in his depth players and their lack of defensive statistics. Outside of Pietrus and Childress, he lacks the complimentary players that you need to consistently win. Let’s see what we could do for the “Rage”.

Trades

“Reno Rage” trades Mike James and Tyronn Lue to “Mighty Bstones” for Jorge Garbajosa and J.R. Smith

We used our point guard depth and landed two lesser established players that offer us the statistics we desired. Jorge is a relatively unknown quantity but with center eligibility and solid numbers and minutes of late, he was a player we targeted. Mike James is struggling, and we wanted to capitalize on his name value while it still resonated with some other owners. Smith and Garbajosa both have nice threes and steals, while Jorge has pulled down quality rebound numbers lately. Lue is essentially a throw in the deal, and we landed the emerging J.R. Smith, who has been a proficient scoring and three point contributor lately.

“Reno Rage” trades Jason Terry to “Big 'n Tasty” for Josh Smith

This is an example of having to give something to get something back. “Tasty” wanted threes and assists while we sorely needed Smith for his ridiculous block parties and steal numbers. We lost threes and percentages but gained boards, steals and blocks. This was the deal that Reno needed: a player that could single-handedly provide the blocks to win the category each week.

Adds/Drops

Add Kwame Brown, Drop Jeff Foster.
We got Brown just before the news was out. His numbers don’t put him at the top of the free agent lists just yet but would have soon enough. Since his return from injury, the mercurial big man has been impressive with nine points and seven boards with nice steals and blocks as well. Simply put, the guy has way more upside than Foster does.

Add Travis Outlaw, Drop Michael Finley.
Outlaw doesn’t put up big numbers, but his one steal and 1.2 blocks per night help in the categories we targeted. His minutes are going up and with Darius Miles out for the year, his role seems secure.

Nothing too dramatic here; we just added some solid depth and supporting players to an already stable roster. We acquired some much needed defensive balance to an offensively talented team. I hope Reno can contend now that I’ve helped his team out.

Jim McCormick is a fantasy expert for TalentedMrRoto.com, which features free advice, news, stats and analysis for all fantasy sports. It was nominated for four FSTA awards, including best site. Contact him at jmccormick@TalentedMrRoto.com.

The views expressed by TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.

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