Merlin's Beard: A Fantasy Basketball Podcast

Merlin's Beard: A Fantasy Basketball Podcast

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Merlin's Beard: A Fantasy Basketball Podcast episodes

  • Fantasy basketball awards for the 2019-20 NBA season*

    *pending the league's decision on the rest of the season (which I'm pessimistic about)

    Maybe I'm too gloomy, but I'm guessing that the NBA regular season is just about kaput. So here's a possibly premature discussion of the top 12 players (so far?), best value draft pick of the year, biggest disappointment of the year and pickup of the year. I also answer three mailbag questions that look forward to next season.

    Stay safe, wise and kind, listeners. Stay home unless you absolutely must make a run for necessities, etc. For more info regarding COVID-19, check out the CDC's website.

    Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

    Music: "Wizard" by Jahzzar

    From the Free Music Archive
    CC BY NC

    1 hr 6 min
  • NBA trade deadline recap: Winners, losers and wait-and-see players

    The 2019-20 NBA trade deadline bordered on madness, but now that all the dust, dollars and draft picks have settled, let's look at the fantasy basketball implications. Here's my take on the winners, losers and wait-and-see guys post-deadline.

    Is Robert Covington a total winner? Is Juan Hernangomez a must-add now? How is Marvin Bagley a loser this trade season? Listen to find out.

    Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

    Music: "Wizard" by Jahzzar

    From the Free Music Archive
    CC BY NC

    33 min
  • Underperformers and overperformers: Buy, sell or hold?

    It's been way too long, but I'm back with a new episode. With nearly a month's worth of games in the books, it's a good time to take a closer look at players who have fallen short of preseason expectations and those who have outperformed expectations. Why are they underperforming or outperforming so far, and what should fantasy basketball managers do about it?

    In this episode, I discuss players like Nikola Jokic, Draymond Green, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Jonathan Isaac, Andrew Wiggins and Tristan Thompson, among others.

    Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

    Music: "Wizard" by Jahzzar

    From the Free Music Archive
    CC BY NC

    47 min
  • Mock draft analysis (H2H, 12 teams)

    If you have a fantasy basketball draft coming up (or even if you've already completed your draft), this episode is for you. Here's a deep dive into a 12-team, H2H mock draft (on Yahoo) I recently participated in (I had pick No. 8). In this lengthy episode, I discuss just about every player drafted.

    If you want to follow along with all the picks, use this page displaying the full results on basketballmerlin.com.

    Remember to visit basketballmerlin.com for my recently completed series on punting.

    Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

    Music: "Wizard" by Jahzzar

    From the Free Music Archive
    CC BY NC

    1 hr 37 min
  • The 9 players I don't want to own in 2019-20

    Now that we're three episodes deep into this new fantasy basketball podcast, it's time to show my true colors by going pessimistic — or pragmatic, as I like to call it. In this episode I talk about nine players I don't want to own in the 2019-20 NBA season:

    • Joel Embiid
    • Kawhi Leonard
    • Kemba Walker
    • Russell Westbrook
    • Mitchell Robinson
    • Kristaps Porzingis
    • Chris Paul
    • Kevin Love
    • Hassan Whiteside
    • Also, remember to visit basketballmerlin.com for my ongoing series on punting in fantasy basketball.

      Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

      Music: "Wizard" by Jahzzar

      From the Free Music Archive
      CC BY NC

      28 min
    • The 11 Golden Rules of fantasy basketball

      In the second episode of this new podcast, I briefly discuss the 11 Golden Rules of fantasy basketball. This isn't a comprehensive list, of course, but the rules herein are ones that I think are particularly important for new and veteran managers alike.

      1. Be pragmatic
      2. Don’t overreact
      3. Don’t be an absentee owner
      4. Accept/reject trades in a timely manner
      5. Know your league’s settings and rules
      6. Don’t abuse veto power
      7. Don’t be cheap with your trade offers
      8. Make educated trade offers
      9. Be smart about 2-for-1 trades
      10. Be nice
      11. Have fun
      12. Head to basketballmerlin.com for my ongoing series on punting in fantasy basketball.

        Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

        Music: "Wizard" by Jahzzar

        From the Free Music Archive
        CC BY NC

        20 min
      13. An introduction and some player rankings

        Behold, a new fantasy basketball podcast rises! Thanks for tuning in to my first ever podcast for Basketball Merlin. In this episode, I discuss my first set of player rankings (top 150 for H2H, nine-cat redraft leagues) heading into this season's drafts by spotlighting some players, including LeBron James, Paul George, Mitchell Robinson, Zion Williamson and Victor Oladipo, among others.

        Head to basketballmerlin.com to see the full set of rankings.

        Yahoo's help page indicating that its fantasy basketball platform reopens Aug. 15.

        Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

        Music: "Wizard" by Jahzzar

        From the Free Music Archive
        CC BY NC


        17 min

      About Merlin's Beard: A Fantasy Basketball Podcast

      From the publisher's feed

      This is the fantasy basketball podcast of basketballmerlin.com. Subscribe to hear the latest on player news, rankings, injury updates, trade rumors, advice and more. Visit basketballmerlin.com for…