Recap: Week 13

Inter-Conference Games
5-4, Chunky Monkeys vs Funk Coalition
6-3, Pooh Bears vs Human Amoeba

Conference Games
5-4, Buffy vs MoRRie's Pogiboys
7-2, Poobic Heirs vs Sour Snails
7-2, Squirtle Squad vs Phanatics
5-4, Flaming Shrapnel vs Rhythm Drive
(statistics)

5-4, Buffy vs MoRRie's Pogiboys
Oh if only the Pogiboy's could get their act together. They've been close to victories so many times but too many lost opportunities have doomed them to loss after loss. This time out, the Pogiboys just ran into a Buffy buzzsaw; or more accurately, a hot as fire Jamal Crawford (32.5 PTS, 6.25 AST, 3.75 3PT and 16 straight shots made!). Buffy still has Chris Paul and Rashard Lewis ailing but importing the newly acquired Tim Duncan, a healthy Shaquille O'Neal, and a suddenly playable Chris Webber into the lineup could quickly transform the strength of this team from the backcourt to the frontcourt. The good news for the Pogiboys is that third round pick Gerald Wallace shot 52.5% on the week, scored 21.25 PTS and contributed 8.5 REB and 1.75 STL -- still no BLKs but something is better than nothing.

7-2, Poobic Heirs vs Sour Snails
The Snails are on the hunt for win number two and shed a quarter of their roster recently in a drastic move by management to find some hope. Clearly, it's rebuilding time. Low upside veterans like Trenton Hassell, Hedo Turkoglu, Anthony Parker, et al, are not the answer. Bring in the youth and bring in some vision. The Snails need to build a team around the dynamic duo of Steve Nash and Allen Iverson but at this rate, those two talents are being overwhelmed weekly. Not much has been heard from Ron Artest of late but that's perhaps why he's excelling (22.75 PTS, 7.5 REB, 2.5 STL, 1.75 3PT and 52.1 FG%). The Snails will need to stay busy to make a push in the Toilet Bowl and for next year.

Let's talk about early season fantasy gems Monta Ellis and Kevin Martin. Both have settled into their roles and have proven that they can be depended on for big numbers. Monta is a scoring machine with good AST and STL numbers while Kevin Martin has slowed down some (if 20 PTS, 4 REB, 1.7 3PT is "slow") but is still Rip Hamilton with some range. Both are extremely solid fantasy players and it's a credit to the Heirs' scouting that both were plucked so late in the draft - Rd 10 for Martin and Rd 14 for Ellis.

7-2, Squirtle Squad vs Phanatics
The Phanatics haven't had much to look forward to this season but finally, finally, they are close to being 100% healthy. Swingmen Paul Pierce and Richard Jefferson are still down for the count but forwards Lamar Odom and David West are back; not to mention center Marcus Camby. Even more good news: post-trade, Al Harrington put up 29 PTS, 3 3PT, 1.7 STL on a ridiculous 72.7 FG% in three games last week. The Phanatics should be preparing for a Toilet Bowl run and they're headed in the right direction. Of course, it's not all roses and ice cream since they still got pounded by the league leading Squirtles this week.

For the Squad, it's more savvy waiver wire manuvering as Delonte West has suddenly returned to fantasy prominence with 20.5 PTS, 5.75 REB, 2 STL, and a handful of 3PT. We haven't talked much about Kevin Garnett this year because he's just so consistently dominating (24.25 PTS, 9.5 REB, 4.25 AST, 3 STL, 1 BLK and great percentages) but he's almost the steal of the draft at #7 overall -- unless it's Gilbert Arenas at #6 overall.


5-4, Flaming Shrapnel vs Rhythm Drive
The Drive have made big changes themselves this week and they're hoping that it'll enable them to pull out of a two game nose dive. Despite putting up a good fight against the Western Conference leader, the Drive fell short in REB (by 30) and lost BLK too; the newly acquired Emeka Okafor will do his damnest to make sure that never happens again. The Jubas didn't have a great week by their high standards -- Tracy McGrady rode the pine -- but they had enough from Andre Igoudala and the immortal Dwayne Wade (31 PTS, 5.7 REB, 7 AST, 3 STL) to pull out the win.

5-4, Chunky Monkeys vs Funk Coalition
These two teams have made two trades each so it's fitting that after this week, both of their personalities will look to change drastically. The Monkeys will get smaller without Tim Duncan, the Funk will get super small by moving Emeka Okafor and importing Raymond Felton; plus adding a bunch of waiver wire guards. This week, the Funk were undermanned (no Redd, no TJ Ford, one game missed from Lebron) and overpowered. The Monkeys blasted them from the get-go and the matchup wasn't as close as the score indicated. It looks like Josh Smith is finally finding a groove with 20.5 PTS, 9.5 REB, 2 STL, and 2.75 BLK for the week -- J.Smooth indeed. Next week, everything changes for these two.

6-3, Pooh Bears vs Human Amoeba
It looks like the Pooh Bears are making a push to join the playoff party. Three straight wins later, they are nipping at the heels of this week's opponent, the Amoebas, and Rhythm Drive for that final Eastern Conference playoff spot. After squeaking out category wins in PTS (+27), REB (+11), and BLK (+4) this week, the Bears may have finally learned how to win. Point guard Andre Miller has been Jason Kidd-like with 16 PTS, 6.75 REB, and 10 AST for the week. Someone's loving life as a Sixer!

It's hard to say how the Amoebas lost after cleaning out Rhythm Drive in spectacular fashion last week, but it probably has something to do with Andrea Bargnani, Quentin Richardson, and Jarrett Jack all sucking it up big time this week. It may be time to dip into that bench and see if Marvin Williams is ready for the big time. Let's just call this an emotional let-down game for the Amoebas after a record making win last week.