Who Would Win a Real Life 2019 NBA Jam Tournament?

Q: Hey Informer have you noticed that every NBA team is now pairing up stars like they are preparing for a real life NBA Jam tournament? We have KD-Kyrie, LeBron-AD, Kawhi-George and now Russ-Harden. So I guess my question is this: Which of these new formed super-duos would actually win a real life NBA Jam tournament?

Before I can answer this absolutely amazing question, I need to ask one of my own: Are we talking about a tournament using the original NBA Jam rules, or one where we use NBA Jam T.E. (Tournament Edition) rules?

This is important because using the original rules means that we only need two players for each team (giving advantage to a team like "The LeBron's" who only have two players to choose from anyways). But if we are using T.E. rules then that means we can use three players (giving a possible edge to deeper teams like Utah & Boston).

Now, since this is very time sensitive (The Informer can't be the only person who thought of this NBA Jam tournament idea for a blog post) and there is no one else around to clarify the rules: I have decided to make an executive decision that this blog we will be using the original NBA Jam rules.

Two players per team.

No questions asked.

Winner takes all.

So with that in mind, here are The Informer's definite "Who would win a real life 2019 NBA Jam Tournament " Power Rankings.

REJECTED: Teams 30-25

Pick an order.

Magic - "Bo Mamba #5" & "Dr. Jonathan Issac Yankam D.D.S."
Hornetts - I honestly don't know two players on their team. Is Kendall Gill still around?
Bulls - Lauri "Markkanen Correction" & Zach "The Vine"
Grizzlies - Ja "Rule" Morant & "Triple J" Jaren Jackson Jr
Knicks -Yikes.
Cavs - Hella Yikes!!!

Remember in NBA Jam when you would play their version "season mode" it always started out with you playing against the worst teams and then the more you won the harder teams started showing up?

Well, if this were real life season mode -- which it is -- the Cavs, Knicks, Hornets, Magic, Bulls and Grizzlies would absolutely be your first six games.

RAZZLE-DAZZLE: Teams 24-20

24. Suns - Devan Booker & DeAndre Ayton
23. Hawks - Trae Young & John Collins
22. Kings - Buddy Heild & Marvin Bagley
21. Mavs - Luka & Porzingis
20. Pelicans - Zion & Jrue Holiday

Two thoughts here:

1) I agonized for at least seven seconds over who should be the Kings Top 2. I literally could not decide if the proper move was to go Heild-Fox, Fox-Bagley or Heild-Bagley. In the end, after some very intense soul searching, I realized the seven people reading this blog could care less about the Kings; so I decided to go with Heild-Bagley because they are my two favorite Sacramento players.

2) This is the "Razzle-Dazzle" group because while ranked low all five of these teams would be entertaining as heck in a real life NBA Jam tournament. But alas, unless Zion really is the second coming of Michael LeBron Bryant -- I am not ruling this out -- I don't think any of these teams would actually win said tournament.

UGLY SHOT: TEAMS 19-18

19.Pacers - Victor Olandipo & Myles Turner
18. Heat - Jimmy Butler & Justise Winslow

Nothing personal, but goodbye Pacers and Heat. Y’all ain’t winning.

WHAT WAS HE THINKING: Teams 17-15

17. Timberpups - Townes & Wiggins
16. Pistons - Blake Griffin & Andre Drummond
15: Wizards - John Wall & Bradley Beal

I put the Timberpuppies this high because Karl Anthony Townes is that good. But they ultimately are not winning without a second star.

Moving along: Am I nuts or would a Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond team be really tough to beat? I mean their lack of 3-point shooting would most likely be their down fall, but their "Monster Dunks" that broke all of the backboards would be worth the price of admission.

As for the Wizards, I am planning this tournament under the notion that everyone is healthy (keep that in mind as we go on); which means a Wall-Beal tandem would be a tough out. But when it was all said and done I  threw the Wizards in the middle of the pack because I don't remember what a healthy John Wall even looks like.

I have a lot of no regrets with my decision.

IS IT THE SHOES: Teams 14-13

14. Spurs - LaMarcus Aldridge & Demar DeRozan
13. Thunder - Chris Paul & Danilo Gallinari

If Duncan, Parker or Ginobili are not walking through that front door; then the Spurs are not winning this tournament.

If KD, Russ or Harden are not walking through that front door; then the Thunder are not winning this tournament.

HE JUST GOT HIS DEGREE FROM DUNKIN ON U: Teams 12-10

12. Raptors- Pascal Siakum & Kyle Lowry
11. Jazz - Donovan Mitchell & Mike Conley
10. Celtics - Jayson Tatum & Kemba Walker

If you are Utah would you take Conley over the Stifle Tower? What about Joe Ingles? Wouldn't Ingles be a modern day Chris Mullen (Jam fans know what I am talking about)? I honestly think I could do a whole other blog about the Utah Jazz's real life NBA Jam team. Sadly, if I am writing a whole other blog trying to figure out who your Top 2 is for an NBA Jam tournament; that probably means you are a team that would have benefited more from NBA Jam T.E. Rules.

Also, anyone looking for an in depth Celtics breakdown, please re-read the Jazz blurb. You have many very very good players. But do you really have 2 great players that would win you an NBA Jam tournament? I don't think so.

Finally, I put the Raptors in the Top 12 because they are the defending NBA Champions and that has to count for something.

HEATING UP: Teams 9-2 

9. Denver Nuggets: The Joker & Jamal Murray 

No matter what you think about Nikola Jokic (I think he is great, but I do wonder if his talents would translate to NBA Jam) I don't think Jamal Murray is good enough to be on a NBA Jam team ranked any higher than ninth.

8. Portland Trailblazers: Dame Lillard & Steve Urkel

Hey Portland fans would you rather have Dame Lillard and CJ McCollum representing your team in this real life NBA Jam tournament? Or if you could: Would you use a time-machine to bring back the original team of Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter?

7. 76ers: Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid

I wonder if the "NBA Jam rule" where everyone can make three-pointers will apply to real life Ben Simmons? Because if that rule does applies then Philly might actually become my pick to win the entire damn thing.

6. Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis & Kris Middleton

Could you imagine putting Giannis in sixth place for a fictional 2 on 2 basketball tournament? I mean seriously, who the hell is guarding "The Freak of Greek" in a 2 on 2 game? I am starting to think the author of this blog is a moron.

5.  Houston Rockets: Russ & Harden

Fictional NBA Jam tournament aside: Is anyone else really excited to see all of the media members who love Daryl Morey -- and thus have been "dogging' Russ ever since Russ won MVP over Harden -- completely flip flop their take and start talking about how great of a fit Westbrook is for the Rockets?

I for one can't wait.

4. Los Angeles Kawhi's: PG-13 & Leonard

I will not lie. I am not going to pick Kawhi to win my fictional tournament because he did not pick the Lakers for his real life team so now I hate him again.

3. Brooklyn Nets: KD & Kyrie

Remember we are basing this on the fact that everyone is 100% healthy. So that makes KD the undisputed best player in the world again. Sadly, I can't pick him to win this tournament because I think Kyrie is the worst player of anyone in the Top 5.

2. Golden State Warriors: Steph & Klay

Before you start saying things like "what about size" just remember that this is NBA Jam. Which means after three made shots Steph -- or Klay -- will be on fire and then their size won't matter. Because any real gamer knows that when you are on fire in NBA Jam that person can block/goaltend every shot not matter how tall, short or fat they are.

Speaking of being on fire . . .

HE'S ON FIRE: #1 Los Angeles LeBron's 

With these current NBA rosters nobody is beating LeBron and AD in a real life NBA Jam tournament.

That does it for me sports fans. If you like what you read today then please note that on Saturday 7-13 I am going to start Twitter Poll Tournament asking this very question. So if you don't already do so, start following @therealinformer on Twitter so that you can partake in the festivities.

On that note: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!!

The Informer's 2019 NFL Fantasy Football Preview: The Mailbag

Q: Hey Informer when is your next fantasy football article coming out?

How about right now? Maybe we could do a fantasy football mailbag? Does that sound fun?

Q: A mailbag huh? So I guess what you are saying is that after writing your first article of the year (FYI - month seven of 2019 is about to start) you already got burned out and must now resort back to gimmick articles to create content?

Ummmm . . . Yes. That is exactly what I am saying.

Q: Well at least you are man enough to admit that you are a bum a** loser. But okay, if a mailbag is what you want to do --then lets do it. First of all it is June 30th and I think the seven people reading this article want to know: How many fantasy football teams have you drafted so far this year? 

I have done four total drafts. I did a $10 auction draft, a $30 auction draft and two $20 snake drafts.

Q: Why do you always point out how much money you spend on each draft? Can't you just say you have done four drafts and leave it at that? 

My reasoning for saying how much each draft costs is very simple: I want anyone reading this to know that every draft I write about is a paid competitive league. 

This is good information because it shows that everything I am going to write about for the next two months are from drafts with real people, real stakes and real results. These are not mock drafts with "bots" or "people practicing and then leaving after a stupid mistake" in them.

So no, I can't just say I have done four drafts and leave it at that, because that would not provided enough context for what I am trying to do with these previews.

Q: A simple I am a blowhard would have been enough, but I guess your long winded asinine theory on fantasy football previews will suffice. Anyways, which means no one is reading this article "anyways" but I am going to keep asking questions just for fun: Who is your favorite sleeper so far? 

Since it is only June I honestly have no idea who is going to be a good sleeper; so I am not going to be able to answer your question. What I can do though is hand out a few big time names that I have noticed have great value in these early drafts.

For Snake Drafts:

• Antonio Brown
• T.Y. Hilton
• Leonard Fournette
• A.J. Green
• Marlon Mack

For Auction Drafts:

• David Johnson is going $10-15 cheaper than the other Top 5 running backs.
• Mike Evans, Antonio Brown and AJ Green are three great values at WR. 
• Nick Chubb, Marlon Mack and Sonny Michel. 

Q: Since you brought up auction drafts: What are The Informer's thoughts on spending all your money on a Saquon Barkley-Ezekiel Elliot super tandem? 

Instead of giving you my thoughts up front, how about we look at an example of what a person's team might look like if they decided to go the "Super-Duo" route in a standard 10-12 team auction draft?

QB: Big Ben $2

RB: Barkley $70

RB: Zeke $68

WR: Sterling Shepard $10
WR: Mike Evans $34
TE: David Njoku $3
Flex: Marquise Goodwin $5
K: $1
D: $1
Bn: Josh “The Cannon” Allen $1
Bn: Cortland Sutton $1
Bn: LeSean McCoy $1
Bn: Golden Tate $1
Bn: Larry Fitzgerald $1

Bn: Adrian Peterson $1

I guess what I am trying to say by showing this example of a really stacked team using the "Super Duo" strategy is "yes I think spending big money on the Top 2 players (or two of the Top 10 players) is always a great strategy to use in all standard 10-12 team leagues."

Q: Informer why do you keep saying the word standard? It’s really annoying.

I do sincerely apologize. I have been told by many people (mostly my wife) that being annoying is one of my finer qualities. As for the reason I keep saying standard? That is because I want to make it very clear that certain strategies are only good if you are in a standard league. 

What is a standard league some may ask?

It is a 10 or 12 team league where each team starts a QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex, D and kicker each week. 

These "standard leagues" are what the vast majority of fantasy football players play. 

Q: So what is a non standard league?

A league where you have more starters than normal, or you have defensive players on your roster, or there are 14-16 teams in the league, or leagues with a super flex (means a person can start 2 QBs).

Basically anything where rules or roster size have been changed would count as a non-standard league. 

For all those “custom” leagues my advice is to always find out your rules before the draft and then make a draft strategy based on the rules. Trust me on this; if you go into those "custom" league drafts with the same plan as a standard you will walk out with an incomplete team.

Q: Informer I got the #1 pick in my draft (10-team snake draft with super flex). Obviously I’m taking Saquon first, but who should I pick with the #20 & #21 picks? Do I go quarterback that early since it is a Super Flex? 

Once again this question is a matter of what your preference for players is. But I would say unless Mahomes is still there at the turn (pick #20-21) you should wait on QB (or if you really love Andrew Luck or Rodgers take them cause they won't be there at pick 40 in a Super Flex league).

With that said; I actually just did a 10-team snake draft league where we start a Super Flex, so how about we look at what the person with the #1 pick in that draft did with his first eight picks (I did not have #1 pick):

1: Barkley
20: Travis Kelce
21: Mike Evans
40: Damian Williams
41: Matt Ryan

60: Chris Goodwin

61: Cooper Cupp

80: Chris Carson

81: Josh Allen

I am not going to lie to anyone reading this article. I absolutely despise what this person did with his Saquon Barkley gift. Maybe it is because I am not very high on Cupp, Carson or Goodwin; but I think he could have done a hell of a lot better. 

Speaking of a hell of a lot better: Here is what I would have done if I was picking #1 in this draft.

1: Saquon Barkley

20: Dalvin Cook
21: Antonio Brown or Evans either works
40: Marlon Mack
41: DeVontae Freeman
60: Evan Ingram
61: Jarvis Landry
80: Kirk Cousins

81: Jimmy Garoppollo

Now that is what a Saquon Barkley Super Flex team should look like. 

Q: Who is one guy you will not have on any teams this year?

The fact that I am trying to draft 50 teams this season means at some point I am going to end up with every player at least once. That’s just basic math. But I will say the thought of spending $30-40 on Patrick Mahomes (who I love with all my heart) in any standard auction draft is not something I am going to do.

In other words; the only way Mahomes ends up on my team this year will be if I take him in a snake draft, or if I’m in some weird auction where you start two or three QBs thus making him worthy of the money.

Q: So you are saying you will not draft Mahomes this year unless you do draft him? That’s some next level expert fantasy football advice right there. No wonder they call you The Informer. Ps your fantasy football advice sucks and so do your Twitter polls.

Do we really need to bring my Twitter polls into this? I mean I get that my fantasy football advice isn't for everyone, but what the heck did my Twitter polls ever do to you? 

Q: Informer even you know your Twitter polls are the most annoying thing on the internet. So don't try to make it sound like they are innocent in all of your nonsense. But you are right, let's stick to fantasy football for today. What are your thoughts LeVeon Bell?

First off my Twitter polls are awesome and you know it. Secondly off, I will not have Bell on any of my auction teams because I am not willing to spend 50-60 dollars on him (he was over $55 in both my drafts so far). Now, depending on the placement of a snake draft, I would start looking at bell in the 7-12 range but nothing higher.

My Top 7 in order of any and all snake drafts:

1: Saquon

2: Zeke
3: Run CMC
4: Kamara
5: Johnson
6: Hopkins/Julio
7: Bell or Gordon

Q: I stand by what I said Informer. Your Twitter polls suck. And so does this blog. You should think about deleting your account. I promise the world would be a better place if you did. Now, before you go making the world a better place, since at least one person on the internet did get to the end of this "non informative" blog post: Can you give us at least one piece of fantasy football advice that will be worth remembering for the upcoming season? 

You want some good advice? How about this: Tyreke Hill is being drafted very low in both auction and snake draft formats because people still do not know what is going to happen with him after the NFL finishes their investigation into his off the field issues.

Why am I telling you this? 

Because word leaked earlier this week that any Hill suspension would be four games at the most; which now makes Tyreke Hill an absolute steal if you can get him in fifth round (or lower) or for less than $30 in an auction draft. 

And on that note, it is time for The Informer to go find another team to draft. 

#TheQuestFor50Continues

#Happy4thOfJuly

The Informer's 2019 NFL Fantasy Football Preview: Team One

Hello everyone that clicked the link to this article. My name is The Informer and I will be your self-glossed fantasy football expert for the day. 

My credentials are as followed: I have been playing fantasy football since 1998. I watch every single minute of NFL action every single Sunday of every single year (you can ask my wife and children; they will confirm my family neglect during NFL Sundays). And lastly, in 2018 I won money in 12 of my 17 fantasy football leagues.

Now, does watching an unhealthy amount of NFL football while managing 17 fantasy football teams actually make me an expert? I have no idea. What I do know is that for the 2019 NFL Season I have set a goal to manage at least 50 teams and I thought why not share (and analyze) the results from every draft I do while trying to reach that goal. Then hopefully -- by the time your draft comes later this summer -- you the reader should have all the knowledge, strategies, sleepers and tricks needed to have a successful draft. And do you want to know what the best part of this journey is? The fact that I am putting up real money for every team/draft that I write about (for today's article I am covering my team from a $10 auction draft). This is important because it means all the results from every draft will be legitimate. There will be no drafts where Dak Prescott goes #1 overall because some 12-year old Jabroni is doing a "Mock Free Draft" under his dads account. No, every draft/team covered in these previews will be the real deal, with real people, real results and real money on the line. Which means when it comes time for your draft these previews -- unlike other "Mock Draft" previews -- will actually be the closest representation to real life that there is. In other words: The Informer is going to spend a ton of money (don't tell my wife) so the readers can learn from my mistakes in the hopes that everyone will eventually draft the perfect 2019 Fantasy Football team. Anyways, now that we have all the particulars in order, here is "Team One" of The Informer's 2019 Fantasy Football Season. (The Informer note-- For today's article we are covering my team from a 10-person auction draft (.5 point ppr league) where each guy/girl had $200 to fill out a roster of 17 players: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex, Flex, K, Def, Bench, B, B, B, B, B, B.) TEAM ONE:

QB: Aaron Rodgers ($14) Baker ($2) Tom Brady ($1)

RB: Christian McCaffery ($62) David Johnson ($47) Leonard Fournette ($29) Adrian Peterson ($1)

WR: Mike Evans ($34) Courtland Sutton ($1) Devin Funchess ($1) James Washington ($1) DK Metcalf ($1) Parrish Campbell ($1)

TE: Eric Ebron ($2) Trey Burton ($1)  Greg Olson ($1) Dallas Goedert ($1)

Starters:

QB: Rodgers

RB: Run CMC

RB: David Johnson

WR: Mike Evans

WR: Courtland Sutherland

TE: Eric Ebron

Flex: Leonard Fournette

Flex: Trey Burton or Greg Olson

D: TBD

K: TBD

Here are The Informer's five thoughts on this roster:

1. In lieu of drafting a kicker or defense on June 1st, I decided to grab as many skilled position guys — and  a couple of rookie lottery tickets — in the hopes that come September one or two will turn into draft day steals (I am looking at you Funchess, Metcalf & Parrish). With that said; what this strategy ultimately means is that I will have to drop at least two people from my team before the season starts so I can pick up a kicker and a defense. That is okay though, because right now I am holding lottery tickets (and injury protection) on my roster instead of a Gramatica brother or unknown defense.
   
2. You may have noticed my roster includes four tight ends. I want to assure all of you that this was by design. You see after I spent all my money on three RBs, Mike Evans and Aaron Rodgers (more on him in a second); I was really cash strapped for my second flex player so I decided I would try and grab as many top tier tight ends as I could. That’s how I ended up with Ebron (my favorite tight end last year who still plays with Andrew Luck), Greg Olson (if he is still Greg Olson he has Top 5 upside), Trey Burton (young top 20 tight end) and Dallas Goedert (young top 20 tight end who is also getting rave reviews heading into the season). I am not saying the strategy is a good one, but at the time it was the best way for me to hoard top 20 guys at their position.
3. Mike Evans is going to have a huge year. Keep that in mind when you are doing any fantasy football drafts. Also, since we are speaking of Evans: Did you know if he reaches 1,000 yards receiving this season he will join Randy Moss as the only players in NFL history to start his career with six straight 1,000 yard receiving years #TheMoreYouKnow.
4. Knowing what I know now; I would not have paid $14 for Rodgers when I could have gotten another quality position starter with that money while still drafting Baker & Tommy. With that said; I am def not going to regret having A-Rod on my team. And who knows, maybe I’ll be able to trade Baker for someone I could not have bought for a buck during the draft (Remember just because the draft is over doesn't mean the work stops. You always gotta be wheelin and dealing to win fantasy).
5. Again,  knowing what I know after the draft, I would not have spent $62 dollars on Run CMC. Instead, I would have used that money to get two players from a group that consisted of AJ Green ($26) Antonio Brown ($34) Sony Michelle ($23) Nick Chubb ($23) Derrick Henry ($26) or T.Y. Hilton ($23).

Let me expand on points #4 and #5 so I can show y 'all another way this draft could have turned out. You see if I would have kept the money from Rodgers and Run CMC I could have ended up with a team that looked something like this: QB: Baker Mayfield ($2) Tom Brady ($1) RB: David Johnson ($47) Nick Chubb ($23) Leonard Fournette ($29) Adrian Peterson ($1) WR: Mike Evans ($34) Julian Edelman ($16) Antonio Brown ($34) Marvin Jones Jr ($6) Courtland Sutton ($1) DK Metcalf ($1) Parrish Campbell ($1)

TE: Evan Engram ($5) Eric Ebron ($2) Dallas Goedert ($1) Greg Olson (#1)

Starting Line Up:

QB: Baker or Tom (Top 7 QB & GOAT Brady)

RB: David Johnson (Top 5 RB)

RB: Leonard Fournette (Top 20 RB)

WR: Antonio Brown (Top 10 WR)

WR: Mike Evans: (Top 10 WR)

TE: Eric Ebron or Engram (Both Top 10 Tight Ends)

Flex: Nick Chubb (Top 15 RB)

Flex: Julian Edelman (GOAT Brady's favorite target)

K: TBD

D:TBD

So what team would you rather have? 

I know the answer for me is the second team.

Does that mean I think the team I actually drafted can't or won't win? Absolutely not. I love my team. It has tons of protentional . But I am also man enough to admit that said team could have been better if The Informer had had a little more knowledge heading into the draft. 

Next time I will have that knowledge. And so will you. 

Now if you will excuse me, it’s time to open up a Natty and go find another team to draft.

#TheQuestFor50TeamsContinues.