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Off the Glass

Time to fill out that Christmas list

Posted: Wednesday December 05, 2001 2:10 PM
Updated: Thursday December 06, 2001 12:30 AM

By Paul Forrester, Special to CNNSI.com

Dear Santa,

Mike Bibby is asking for help to improve his assist total from a paltry 4.9 per game. AP

My name is Paul Forrester, although I often go by the moniker OTG, which stands for Off the Glass, a weekly column I compose in an attempt to provide some guidance to those who have devoted their life to the noble cause of rotisserie basketball. I know you're checking your list twice to see who has been naughty or nice, and I thought I might make your job a bit easier by offering a few suggestions as to what fantasy owners the world over hope to find in their stockings on Christmas morning.

Please understand, Santa, I know you can't bring everybody everything they want, but I hope you'll take some time to remember the lump of coal you left in my stocking last year that felled Theo Ratliff and hobbled Kobe Bryant. I hope you remember the grace with which I handled dropping out of first place. Do you remember Santa? Because, dammit, I sure do. Isn't it time for some payback?! Where's my brass ring already?! When do I ...?

Oops, sorry, Santa. It's been a tough year. Anyway, we look forward to your visit. Please help yourself to some milk and cookies and a swing through the West Coast games on the cable box.

A healthy pair of feet for Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Don't deny us, er, him the joy of dropping 14 points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking almost two shots a night. We know this is a lot to ask of a guy who has missed 282 out of 396 potential games since he was drafted, but how about just one healthy half-season now that he's back on the court for the Cavs?

Fewer minutes for Michael Jordan. Think of this as a gift to the rest of his teammates, whose development has been stunted by Jordan's return. Just look at what Courtney Alexander is capable of if he gets playing time (17 points on 8-for-17 shooting against San Antonio). The rest would help Jordan, too, limiting his poor marksmanship this season and providing the enough energy toward the end of games where he won't chuck air balls in the closing moments. Heck, he might even pass the ball to Richard Hamilton, whose 18 points and three assists last year proved the kid can play a little -- if he isn't getting his ears blistered by the legend.

A healthy Chris Webber for Mike Bibby. Perhaps no point guard has disappointed more than Bibby this season. Yes, Santa, he's got the Kings rolling despite the loss of their all-world forward, but the guy is averaging only 4.7 assists. Sure the 15 points are a nice bonus, but most of us grabbed Bibby for the eight assists a night he averaged coming into this season. Heck, Vlade Divac is dropping more dimes a game. Please let Chris come out and play soon. (For his part, Sacramento head coach Rick Adelman has said Webber should play within the next few games, although we don't know what kind of pull Adelman has with the guy in the red suit.)

Mailbag

Do you have a question for OTG? Each week Paul Forrester will answer a few questions submitted by CNNSI.com users. Please use the form below to enter your question or comment.

A trade for Travis Best. Now that Isiah Thomas has found his next Damon Stoudamire in Jamaal Tinsley, Best is the odd man out in Indy. It just isn't fair to throw away 10 points and nine assists (Best's numbers from last season) when any number of teams (cough, New York, cough) are starving for a productive point. Please give Travis a few flying reindeer to get him out of Indianapolis and into an environment where he can blossom.

Soft slippers for Steve Francis. His absence has started taking its toll on Houston, which has lost seven in a row. With no one for opposing defenses to focus on, the rest of the team has found it extremely difficult to put the ball in the basket, strangling the production of Cuttino Mobley and Glen Rice.

Three pairs of glasses for Allen Iverson, Antonio Davis and Antawn Jamison. Heck, Santa, if you let me on the floor, I could almost shoot Iverson's 34.5 percent. Davis has been little better, missing the twine at a 61 percent clip (39 percent shooting). And Jamison, having posted an 0-for-11 last year, has already matched that clutch performance while shooting less than 41 percent from the floor. While I realize that not everyone can connect at 50 percent, there comes a point where a player's shooting woes inhibits his other qualities. These players aren't far from that point.

That's all I have for now, Santa. I'm sure you'll be getting more in the mail from my fellow fantasy owners. Though we may be a bit misguided in our passion for hoops above all else, we're an earnest group, and we promise to be extra good if you promise not to let Ray Allen shoot 4-for-20 anymore.

OTG answers your questions

Do you see Tim Thomas' productivity improving as the season progresses? I heard this was supposed to be a breakout year for him?
--Gary Stone, Boston

Fantasy owners have been waiting for Tim Thomas's breakout year since he broke out of college in 1997. Even Thomas's coach, George Karl, said that Thomas would see significantly more time last season. The problem is, Thomas has three guys in front of him who like to shoot and a fourth (Anthony Mason) who is grumbling about his lack of shots (and considering that Karl went to bat to get Mason in Milwaukee, the odds are good that he'll get fed before Thomas). Barring injury, it looks like Thomas' 10 points and five boards will be his norm this season --again.

I am in a league where you are penalized heavily for technicals, ejections and disqualifications. Should I trade Kobe Bryant or do you think he will ease up on the techs?
--Landon Waller, Dallas

Do they take a hand for each tech? I think we can answer this by asking if you would trade Shaq because he misses free throws? Assuming you are of sound mind -- and the league you're in doesn't penalize you a week's stats for technical fouls -- there is no reason to trade Kobe. Not only is he scoring at his usual pace, he's upped his assists and steals, a performance that just got him named player of the month for the Western Conference.

Someone has offered me Lamar Odom and Michael Dickerson for Andre Miller. Do you think I should do it? I am in need of a forward position now that Grant Hill isn't producing.
--Warren, Seattle

Before the season, we'd have jumped on that trade for Odom and Dickerson. Now, I'd pass on Dickerson (who was tanking even before he was forced out with an injury) and get a different sweetener with Odom, who has the ability to fill up a box score, but has been severely struggling since his league-mandated suspension.

There has long been a reluctance to embrace Andre Miller as one of the league's most productive points, which probably has a lot more to do with the team he plays for than the way he plays. After this season, there shouldn't be any more doubters. On a Cleveland team starving for points, Miller has somehow averaged 11 assists a game. He shoots almost 46 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the charity stripe. And, oh yeah, he drops 17 points a game as Cleveland's go-to guy at all times.