Week 4 recap

Week four is where we start to see some separation in the standings. After a month of basketball trends become more solidified as things begin to settle down. This was shown in the transaction trends this week as we saw a reduced amount of moves made by teams overall and smaller spending compared to the first three weeks, with most of the big free agents already acquired.

After a number of weeks of close matchups across the board, Week 4 brought some more convincing victories with only one matchup coming down to a single category. The limited ability to stream in this league lead to managers holding firm and thinking big picture, especially with some key players missing time.

Only two teams remain undefeated with both Josh Lloyd and Drew Dinkmeyer sitting at the top of the standings. It’s also interesting to see the different team builds as the standings shake out. Comparing the roto standings to the H2H standings can provide some interesting insights. Mike Catron’s team would be winning in a roto league with his balanced squad, but he sits 6th after four weeks and has lost three matchups. On the flip side bdub sits 9th in the roto standings but 5th in H2H standings. However, not every build team is faring as well so far with Alex Barutha’s heavy big man punt team sitting in last after losing all four matchups.

Pickups of the week

Only five bids of more than 1% of the $1,000 FAAB budget this week, and only one over 5%, showing that value is drying up on the waiver wire:

• Bilal Coulibaly, $20, Monday to bdub

• Jordan Hawkins, $17, Wednesday to Mike Barner (who seems to be changing teams regularly)

• Dario Saric, $64, Thursday to Josh Lloyd (biggest spend of the week)

• Brandin Podziemski, $21, Thursday to Rhett Baurer

• Jonathan Isaac, $45, Sunday to bdub (perhaps preparing for next week)

For a full list of the transactions, check HERE

Matchup recaps

Mitch Casey over Alex Rikleen, 7-2

Mitch Casey’s Big Boys were indeed big this week and would have beaten every team this week - despite missing two games from the 40 game limit (rookie mistake). A positive schedule for the Sacramento duo of Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox led to the team’s first win in the points category pushing the team up to 3rd place overall.

Key injuries hampered Alex’s ability to compete in more categories. Notably Steph Curry being limited to 1 game put the nail in the coffin in points. Rikleen has some work to do now with this defeat bringing him from 3rd to 8th in one week, it’s a tight competition.

Drew Dinkmeyer over Adam King, 6-3

Dominant performances from Damian Lillard and Herb Jones saw Dinkmeyer’s winning streak extend to 4. Drew also welcomed the services of Miles Bridges who figures to be an absolute fantasy steal in the final round of the draft. This team is shaping out to be one of the early favorites to take it out.

Kingy experienced his 2nd loss in a row despite big performances from rookie duo sensations Chet and Wemby. Along the way, Adam lost key contributor Marcus Smart for the medium term and has since already been on the hunt for some guard help in the trade market. With Kingy’s heavy punt strategy he’ll need to be dominant in assists and steals - so losing both in this matchup is a potentially worrying sign.

Josh Lloyd over Mike Barner, 5-4

Josh barely managed to keep his undefeated streak alive in this one, with the matchup going down to the wire on the final day. MVP for this week has to go to Kristaps Porzingis for the 6 block effort on Sunday to secure the come from behind victory in the category and clinch the 5-4 win.

Mike put up a good fight in this one by dominating in points, FG%, and turnovers while only narrowly being edged out in rebounds, steals, and blocks. This one could have easily been a 7-2 win the other way round if a few things went Mike’s way. After a slow start in week 1, Mike has been involved in 3 consecutive weeks of very close matchups so his 1-3 overall record (14-22 in the each category standings) doesn’t quite capture how competitive the team has been.

Noah Rubin over Dan Titus, 6-3

Noah’s patience finally paid off this week. Slow starters De’Anthony Melton and Jimmy Butler showed their true fantasy ability this week, leading to a comfortable victory in the end. After three consecutive 4-5 losses, this win puts Noah in the winners circle and on the edge of the playoff picture in 7th place. If the most hated man in fantasy basketball, Jordan Poole, can show even a glimpse of his expected potential then Noah could rise up the standings quickly.

Injuries to Jalen Duren, Tyler Herro, and Kelly Oubre hurt Dan’s chances a lot this week, leading to the 2nd lowest points and rebounding totals in the league. While he was efficient from both the field and the free throw line, Dan will need some more healthy bodies soon to compete in the counting stats and climb the standings.

Mike Catron over Alex Barutha, 7-2

A big time performance this week from Mike, whose 7 wins pushed him into the playoff picture at 6th. This was closer than the 7-2 score would suggest, with both teams’ FT% exceeding 85%! On the flip side this matchup also involved two of the three worst in blocks, so the builds were fairly similar. Rebounds and Assists all categories were close but Mike will have to feel pretty good to pick up the victory here.

The most concerning thing for Alex is losing steals in this matchup. With a heavy punt big man team, finishing in the bottom half of the league in steals this week is something he’ll need to address.

Rhett Bauer over bdub, 6-3

Rhett continues to flex his fantasy muscles, moving to 3-1 with this victory (despite a two game schedule from first round pick Tyrese Haliburton!!). Getting wins in both assists and turnovers seems to be his core strength, and he is proving to be a force in the league full of experts.

bdub missed the assists and FG% from Ben Simmons in this matchup and narrowly lost the blocks category by one. With players such as Cade Cunningham, Zion Williamson, Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons, bdub’s season so far has been a wild swing from big wins to tough losses, proving to be this league’s wildcard any given week.

You can also watch Mitch discuss this week’s results on YouTube.