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New York Times
12-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Fantasy basketball ‘All-Winners' picks, plus Stephon Castle rising, Paul George falling
The regular season isn't over yet, but countless fantasy basketball teams have fallen by the wayside already. Conversely, all fantasy teams currently looking strong and have a good chance to win their leagues are worth closer examination. If we were to examine the strongest fantasy teams across all leagues, we would find many of the same players appearing over and over. Advertisement While fantasy player raters can be useful, I find them often overrated. What really matters is which players have the greatest impact on winning. With that in mind, I've analyzed dozens and dozens of top teams (my own and my competitors) for both Roto and Best Ball scoring formats. For the players who I think have had the greatest impact on winning, I'm giving them 'All-Winners' status. Similarly, Yahoo has an 'MVPs' section, showing which players appear most often on the Top 500 Public League teams. But some of their data doesn't sit right with me. For example, for both Roto and Head-to-Head leagues, Yahoo's data shows Brook Lopez being a bigger winner than Amen Thompson, Michael Porter Jr. and Ivica Zubac. I'm seeing something different. So here are my All-Winners teams, with one month left in the regular season. Remarkably, there are three Knicks (with Jalen Brunson an honorable mention), three Nuggets (with Jamal Murray an honorable mention), two Cavaliers (with Evan Mobley an honorable mention), two Clippers (with Norman Powell an honorable mention), and two Thunder players listed, meaning five NBA teams have accounted for 12 of my 20 All-Winners picks. As far as head coaches go, I suppose Tom Thibodeau and Michael Malone also deserve some serious recognition. Now, let's take a look at some players who are rising and falling. After scoring just 14.5 points on 45% FG over his first 20 games of the season, Bane is now averaging a robust 21.0 points on 49% FG, 7.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists over his past 21 games. Bridges is coming home like a freight train, with 33.0 points and 8.6 boards over his past five games. Let's hope Brandon Miller is taking notes. Advertisement Some friends of mine went to Monday's Warriors game and asked me what they should be watching for. I told them to keep an eye on Clingan, and he responded with a beefy 15 points, 9 boards, 6 assists and 4 blocks. Castle has averaged 17.2 points and 3.7 assists over his past 10 games, and he could have even more upside if De'Aaron Fox has pinky surgery soon. Is New Orleans starting to let Zion run loose? He's only played 32+ minutes four times all season, but it's happened twice in the past week. He dropped another triple-double on Tuesday, dishing out a season-best 12 assists while making all six of his freebies. Averaging 25.7 points on 55% FG in March, this is the Grimes Knicks fans were hoping to see after his solid 2022-23 season. After a long layoff, Clowney has found his shooting stroke this week. In just 40 minutes of action, he has scored a combined 31 points on 6-of-14 shooting from deep over his past two games. Getting major minutes again with LeBron James and Rui Hachimura out, Knecht scored 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting on Monday. Now that's more like it! After a poor spot start last Friday, McBride scored 21 points with 7 assists and 4 triples on Monday. He'll continue to be worthy of starting for as long as Jalen Brunson is out. Getting extra run due to Amen Thompson's injury, Eason is showing he is capable of producing big games too. A lesser version of Grimes, Walker has averaged 17.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 treys over his past three games. Adebayo has found his offensive groove ever since Kel'el Ware became a starter. He has averaged 22.9 points on 56% FG since the All-Star break. Advertisement Although his scoring is still up and down, George blocked five shots last Monday and has rejected 16 shots over his past eight games. He hasn't been as prolific as last season, but Hauser exploded for 33 points and 9 treys on Monday, with more spot starts possibly on the horizon. After 31 straight games in street clothes, he's finally back in action on Thursday! George was dropped in just one of my leagues last weekend, but when I saw the drop, I didn't even think about wanting to add him. That's not a good sign if you're still holding onto him. Ball has shot a brutal 33% FG since the All-Star break while also sitting out games. Charlotte, will you please just shut him down already? Fox has averaged just 16.9 points on 42% FG over his past 10 games, and he's considering having the aforementioned surgery soon. Green has been averaging just 12.5 ppg over his past four games, and now Fred VanVleet is back to cut into his usage rate. He's shooting just 34% from deep since the All-Star break, and Cleveland can afford to give him plenty of rest down the stretch. He's been playing through a finger injury, and it's showing in his poor shooting — 42% FG and 24% 3P over his past nine games. He's questionable for Wednesday's game, and Toronto is starting to tank hard. Sochan was supposed to step up in Victor Wembanyama's absence, but his minutes have been limited instead. Nursing a calf injury, he may sit out Wednesday's game. Gordon aggravated his calf injury last Sunday, and Denver will be extra cautious with him as they prepare for a playoff run. Wagner apparently remembered he's a terrible 3-point shooter, making just 10-of-44 treys since the All-Star break. After two straight terrible seasons from deep, it might be time to adjust his shooting mechanics. Advertisement Just 1-of-14 shooting from deep over his past four games — let's hope Holmgren snaps out of his funk soon. Maxey will miss his fifth game in a row on Wednesday, and his status moving forward looks quite iffy. He should be thriving with all of Philly's stars injured, but perhaps Yabusele has hit the brick wall. Porzingis revealed, 'I have been dealing with some viral illness that we haven't been able to fully identify yet.' That's not very encouraging, and Boston will likely ease him back into things. The Wizards haven't shut Poole down completely, but 24.5 mpg over his past two games suggests they won't be asking him to play heavy minutes the rest of the way. (Top photo of Stephon Castle, Paul George: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
Chicago Tribune
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Al Brooks Jr.'s double-double takes Rich Township past Kenwood in OT. All the way to state. ‘Couldn't just let it go.'
Everything around him got loud and proud, and at that pinnacle moment for Rich Township, senior forward Al Brooks Jr. felt a sudden surge that powered all the way through his body. It also helped that the 6-foot-6 Brooks figured things out early as far as using his height. 'My pops had us playing against bigger guys when I was about 14, and I was pretty small back then,' he said. 'I had to learn how to create shots against contact and score against bigger guys.' Brooks played like a bigger guy Monday night, totaling 27 points, 15 rebounds and four assists for the Raptors in 70-65 overtime victory over Kenwood in a Class 4A Illinois-Chicago Supersectional at Credit Union 1 Arena. Rich Township (25-8), the only team to beat Public League power Kenwood this season, will play Warren (26-10) at 7:45 p.m. Friday in a state semifinal at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The Raptors defeated Kenwood (31-2) in the semifinals of the Big Dipper en route to earning the tournament championship before beating reigning 4A state champ Homewood-Flossmoor. Junior guard Jamson Coulter scored 17 points Monday for Rich and senior forward Jayden Williams added 16. Brooks made the biggest play, converting a putback as time expired. That brought on OT, and the rest is now history. 'Being on this big stage, after coming from a Class 2A school and moving up to 4A, I've been waiting for this time,' said Brooks, who transferred with his brother from Hansberry. 'They gave me the opportunity, and I just took over. I took advantage of it. My coach always tells me even if I miss a shot, he's going to uplift me.' Brooks shot 12 of 18 from the floor, and added two steals and a blocked shot. He also was a force of nature for the rest of the team, according to senior guard Kavon Ammons. 'Al was not going to let us lose — not the way he played,' Ammons said. 'He's the driver of everything we do with our offense and how we play out there. He brings it like that every game.' Brooks provided the path forward after Kenwood led by as many as seven points in the first half. His offensive rebounds created second-chance opportunities. His ability to get to the basket opened up the rest of the offense. 'Al played amazing,' Williams said. 'I looked at his stats on the board just before overtime. He had 25 and 13, and I just said we can't let him do this by himself. 'The rest of the team had to come together, box out and get rebounds. They started collapsing on Al, and it left me and others wide open. We just started taking advantage.' Williams scored 13 of his points during the second half. Brooks and his brother Ikee, a senior guard, came from the network of Noble Street charter schools in the Public League's secondary division. The chance to play for Rich Township coach Lou Adams, who won three state championships at Public League power Orr, marked a step up in competition Brooks could not refuse. 'We've been saying since the beginning of the year, when my brother Ikee I got here, that we were going to get it done,' Al said. Adams' driving, animated and dramatic coaching style has brought out the best in Al's game. 'He's a special player, a special talent,' Adams said of Brooks. 'You only get a player like him once a generation. 'For a long time, it didn't look like we'd even get to overtime. Once we did, we felt pretty good. He had some foul problems. We took him out a couple of times, and I just told him to calm down.' Then, Brooks' final steal set up a dunk by junior forward Troy Garner Jr. to seal the deal. 'I have a passion for basketball and the game,' Brooks said. 'I couldn't just let it go.'
