Bobman's NBA Compendium

Yin and yang.

Girls and boys.

Bigs and guards.

Are they opposites? Simply need each other? In a series of codependent, dysfunctional relationships?

(Whoa. That's deep for a Friday...)

I've found a handful of guards and bigs that intrigue me in the Fantasy world right now (for various reasons).

Let's put our differences aside, cross those railroad tracks and discover some interesting facts about these markedly different types of players...

GUARDS:

Stephen Curry, GS, PG

Calling Steph Curry a guard is tantamount to treason.

You're talking about one of the best shooters of all time, and if he keeps this up, one of the best PLAYERS of all time.

While Steph gets his rightful share of pub, let's really look at these numbers a little more carefully.

So first off, he's averaging 32.2 PPG.

That's over 10 PPG ABOVE his career scoring average of 21.5 PPG.

And he's scoring while shooting a career high 52.9% from the field.

He's also on pace to destroy his own 3PM record. He's currently hitting 5.2 3PM per game - and he's doing it while shooting a career high 46.5% from 3.

Oh, and he's also averaging career highs in both rebounds (5.0) and steals (2.3).

We're looking at an historically brilliant Fantasy Basketball season - and perhaps the BEST Fantasy Basketball season of all time. (I can't verify that - as I don't have as much data - but he's up there for sure.)

I recently left a dynasty league - but owned Steph Curry - and I have bad dreams nightly.

Curry will always have a special place in my heart, as trading Caron Butler for Steph Curry during Steph's rookie season, won me the championship the first time I ever played Fantasy Sports.

Now he's having the best Fantasy season I've ever seen.

Brings a tear my eye...

T.J. McConnell, PHI, PG

You can't have good without evil, and you can't have a perfect basketball player like Steph Curry without having a dwindling asset like T.J. McConnell...

It's not really TJ's fault, but it kinda is.

He's really not that good.

Throw in returning quality NBA players like Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall, and the McConnell party is over...

Even though he's coming off a career high 17 points, there's a distinct possibility McConnell could lose his job entirely.

He's never really had the ratios you look for from a PG, and the competition on the roster is simply too much.

I see a trade, outright release or significant drop-off in his near future...

Marcus Smart, BOS, PG

He hasn't played for a month, and he doesn't appear to be returning anytime soon.

Is he a write-off this season?

I keep reading vague injury updates, but in a 1 year league, not sure Marcus Smart is an asset you want to hold (if you are - for some reason).

Many expected a breakout season from Smart (so many puns), but a player shooting 33.3 from the field with 3.2 assists for 1.7 turnovers is not ideal... When he returns from this extended absence, what will remain?

I would firmly advocate purging him from your 2015/16 roster entirely. I do think he still has upside in dynasties/keepers, but he is really starting to look like a high maintenance asset...

BIGS:

DeMarcus Cousins, SAC, PF/C

DeMarcus Cousins is a beast.

This fact is irrefutable.

He's also very volatile - both personality and stats-wise...

Before missing lots of time due to injury, Cousins' November numbers looked like this: 30.5 PPG, 45.4 FG%, 1.6 3PM, 80.2 FT%, 11 REB, 3 AST, 1.6 BLK. Since his return, his December numbers are as follows: 18.6 PPG, 35.9 FG%, 0.6 3PM, 63.2 FT%, 9.8 REB, 3 AST, 0.8 BLK.

Look: Cousins is going to be fine, but when?

As only a career 46% from the field for his entire career, shot selection has always been an issue for DeMarcus. But he's especially terrible right now. Like punt-FG% bad...

He's also a volume shooter - which really hurts. (Any owners out there repping both Cousins and Kobe?)

This will correct itself eventually, but you're gonna have to wait awhile.

While Cousins has always been a rough Fantasy asset, his light definitely outshines his darkness.

It may be a good time to buy low on him - for any owners that don't really know what they're doing - but if you're holding him (which you should), you're gonna have to take your lumps for awhile...

Nerlens Noel, PHI, PF/C

Nerlens Noel is another player who has missed time due to injury this season. (Not too many games though.)

There's no other way to say it: He's been a disappointment this year.

While Jahlil Okafor is having both an incredibly productive (yet emotionally volatile) rookie season, Noel has gone the way of the dreaded Sophomore Slump...

After a strong rookie season, Noel has DECREASED in basically every category across the board in the same number of minutes.

I expected a big jump, but Noel has really declined. His counting and % stats have all decreased across the board modestly (with a very SLIGHT increase in PPG) - but the biggest surprise is the blocks category. He's gone from 1.9/game last season - to only 0.9 this season. While Okafor's presence in the paint is certainly a factor here, Nerlens shouldn't be experiencing such a dramatic hit. He should be OVER 2 blocks/game at this point in his career...

Many pundits (myself included) expected a significant jump this year for Nerlens. A slight regression can only be seen as failure...

Kristaps Porzingis, NY, PF/C

I thought this article was the perfect time to check in on everybody's favorite rookie: Porzingis!

My biggest criticism of Porzingis has been his low field goal %, but I'm happy to report that Porzingis has been scoring at a 52.9 FG% in December! And while his scoring for December has moved up to 15.5, his rebounding has really fallen off. (He's currently at 6.5 REB in December - after grabbing 9.9 boards/game in November).

He's obviously not a perfect player yet - and his upside is IMMENSE - but I thought I'd point out the lumps.

Yeah, I'm that guy.

So bigs and guards.

Ebony and ivory.

Jack and Jill.

Hulk Hogan and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper.

The world is in perfect balance...

Bobman