Day 6: The return of Westbrook and a rant on League Pass

(Illustration courtesy of Art Mobb)

I'm going to touch on Russell Westbrook in just a sec. But before I do, allow me a moment of your time to harp a bit about NBA League Pass.

Yesterday, I decided I wanted to watch the Washington Wizards play the Miami Heat. I'm not exactly a giant Wizards fan or anything (they're not my team by any stretch), but still, there weren't many other games on yesterday and I just happen to have a free preview of NBA League Pass. So I said myself, "Sure, why not watch the Wizards?"

Except I couldn't. When I flipped to the game, I was told I was unable to view it due to the league's TV blackout policy. If I happened to live anywhere near Washington D.C., I could sort of understand this. But I live roughly 125 miles away from the nation's capital. I'm in an entirely different state and I don't even get the local Comcast Sports Net channel I'd need to view the Wizards in the first place. And yet, because of the NBA's insanely restrictive blackout policy, I'm somehow considered to be in the Washington D.C. market and was thus inelligble from viewing this game.

Now here's the thing. This wouldn't bother me much if I was able to view the game on League Pass an hour or so after it'd been completed. But I couldn't even do that: the blackout policy applies even to replays of old games (all of them), meaning that I am barred from ever viewing a Washington Wizards game unless it airs nationally on either TNT, ESPN or ABC -- which rarely happens.

Again, I'm not a Wizards fan, so it's not a monumental loss for me. Still... I feel that the NBA is committing a massive disservice by implementing these policies. It's ridiculous that the one franchise League Pass buyers are forever barred from viewing is likely the very one that they most care about. I can kind of respect the initial intention of blacking out local games on League Pass, so that it forces you to either go to the game yourself or watch it on whatever local channel is covering it. However, not offering old replays of games is just petty. Then add in the fact that there exist people like me who are technically listed (rather erroneously, I feel) as being in two separate NBA markets -- meaning that on a night of full NBA action, I would be unable to watch up to two of the 15 games available -- and it's hard for me to label NBA League Pass as anything but an enormous rip-off.

I'm as gigantic an NBA fan as there is; trust me, I don't like typing out such negative mean-speak. But there's something fundamentally wrong with a service that charges you full-price without offering everything at its disposal. That I'm hit twice with this local whammy is just an added insult.

So, yeah. I love the NBA and I'd love for League Pass to be as good as humanly possible. But it's in serious need of a consumer-friendly overhaul. (And by the way, I'm hardly alone in my specific blackout complaint. After searching online, I found loads of other complaints from people who too are unable to watch games on League Pass due to the NBA's rather flippant designation of what is and isn't an NBA market.)

But anyway... let's get some fantasy hoops talk going. This League Pass discussion is kind of depressing in how restrictive it is, so I could use a distraction.

• Russell Westbrook was supposed to be out until December, and yet he shocked the world yesterday by returning to the court against the Phoenix Suns. Westbrook played 32 minutes, notching 21 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. The ramifications of his early return are as follows: Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka lose a very small amount of value; in fact, LeBron James has a stronger claim today to be considered the No. 1 option in fantasy basketball. Meanwhile, if you happened to take a risk on Westbrook by drafting him in the middle of your draft... what can I say? Your crazy risk worked out, dude or madam, and you officially have the license to feel like a genius.
• Serge Ibaka had a passable night, totaling 9 points and 10 rebounds. Interestingly, Ibaka is averaging less than a block per game thus far and isn't getting a huge amount of minutes. He's capable of single-handedly winning you blocks and is bound to break out in the relative future, so no worries. Still, that statistical breakout some predicated he'd have is probably a fairytale now that Westbrook is around again.
• Channing Frye had a nice night, producing 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 three's and 2 blocks in almost 34 minutes of action. Frye is an immediate must-own player, and that's not a declaration I make all that often. Remember: it was only a few years ago that Frye was considered a can't-cut player by Yahoo!, and the only reason his value fell off was because of an injury. Now that he's healthy and is again getting big minutes, he absolutely needs to be on a roster. It's exceedingly, exceedingly rare to find a center on the waiver wire who can not only block shots on a consistent basis but hit a three as well.
• Westbrook wasn't the only point guard to make an unexpected return on Sunday. So, too, did Brandon Jennings, who wasn't supposed to be back until Thanksgiving. Jennings put up 14 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds, and because his injury wasn't to either his arms or his legs, there isn't a reason to think he'll be playing at anything but full strength from this point on. Unfortunately, his return immediately reverts Will Bynum and Chauncey Billups to fantasy mediocrity, so you can kick either of those guys to curb if you happened to pick them up.
• Kevin Martin had 30 points on 9-12 shooting, making all 5 of his three-point attempts. So far, he's looking fantastic in his new home and is forcing me to begrudgingly concede that he's not quite as done as I initially feared. (Though he'll always be an injury candidate.)
• Xavier Henry got the start for the Lakers and he returned the favor by producing 18 points and... well, that's basically it. Henry doesn't have much a ceiling with Kobe Bryant lurking in the distance, so if you want to add him, do so only as a short-term fix. However, he should be a decent fit in the Lakers' starting five, as Mike D'Antoni appears to be comfortable with Nick Young coming off the bench (and not being able to shoot the ball 30 times). Henry is a decent candidate to be the last player on your fantasy team.
• Deron Williams had a very weak showing in Orlando, coming away with just 9 points and 7 assists in a blowout loss. His stats are very pedestrian so far, and while I fully expect him to justify his top-20 draft status eventually, I absolutely hate the way Jason Kidd is coaching the Nets -- and by extension Deron Williams -- right now. I'd have thought, as former point guard, that Kidd would have the Nets running and gunning and utilizing their newly-minted offensive firepower. And yet, they're currently playing this plodding pass-the-ball-for-twenty-seconds offense that is seriously hampering the fantasy value of everyone not named Brook Lopez, not to mention that it's bad for the team in real life. (It's hard to consider anyone a serious title contender if they lose to the Orlando Magic by 21 points.) I think their issues will resolve themselves at some point, but at the moment, Jason Kidd appears to be a rather unexpected hindrance to D-Will's fantasy value.
• Also, Curtis Harris was kind enough to republish my article about the 1947 Pittsburgh Ironmen on his site: Pro Hoops History. So I figured I'd return the favor and give his shindig a reciprocal plug. Pro Hoops History is a really cool trip down memory lane if you're a basketball dork like I am, and Harris is a walking-talking encyclopedia of NBA knowledge. Anyways, you should check out his site and definitely follow him on Twitter if you're into old-timey basketball goodness: @ProHoopsHistory.