We didnt have so many close games this round, with almost all games decided prior to the final day, and 8 of the 10 games finishing with greater than 100 point margins. And on the other extreme, Jasmine didnt take any pity on Elbonz and dished out the mother of all hidings, almost tripling his score!

In the NBA, the Hornets and the Spurs are setting the highest standard, both only dropping one game each so far; and the Magic are top of the East with a 9 and 3 record. Individually, Durantula leads the league with 28ppg, Love leads the league in boards with 13.8pg, while Rondo is still leading the way with 14.2 dimes pg. Pau Gosol has most DDs with 11 from 13 games. and as for negative stats, Wall still has the most TOs with an ave of 4.4 per game; and Dwight Howard has the most fouls per game with a 4.4 ave.

PGs are still dominating our league, with 9 of them in our top 20 fantasy points scorers so far. Leading the way are Chris Paul, Pau Gasol and Rajon Rondo who are averaging 63.1, 62.5 and 62 fantasy points per game respectively. Next in line is Russell Westbrook and LeBron James with averages of 56.5 and 56.2 respectively.

Now onto Elbonanzas...  It was requested by a few people that we work out a way to trade with Elbonz while he is still away, so I put the question to everyone in the poll on our league homepage, and the result was a resounding NO to doing any trades on his behalf. And then it was suggested that we drop any players from his team that are likely to be out for the remainder of the season, and replace them with FAs. This is possible, however, once again, I didnt want to make the decision by myself, so I set up another poll to decide what we should do. The results are in: 63% of people voted that we drop any players he has that are out for the season and replace them with a FA.

He has Michael Redd as the only player likely to miss the remainder of the season, but could be due back in Feb, so if he does come back, I propose that Elbonz has first dibs on him if he wants him. I have set up a poll to decide who we replace Redd with in his team. He is in desperate need of a C or a G, so I have given options of players in these positions with the best averages to date; and I have thrown in Nathan Jawai as he is an Aussie, and it could be an option for those that voted not to do this swap in the first place. <a href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/leagueoffice?leagueId=23530" target="_blank">Go to our league home page to vote[/url], and make sure youre signed in. I will close the poll when there is a clear winner, or when the majority of league members have voted.

Over the break, you will find the game reviews of matchup 3 and the previews of matchup 4::::::

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Matchup 3 review:

<a title="Team Stowie (Daniel Stow)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=8&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team Stowie[/url] 817 lost to <a title="Stevos Nuggets (Stephen Nilsson)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=12&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Stevo’s Nuggets[/url] 961

This was touted as one of the games of the round, and it lived up to those expectations, being fairly close throughout, until Stevos Nuggets pulled away on the final day. They were led by Pau Gasol with a massive 262 points this matchup, with help from Gibson and Kev Martin both with 100+ point weeks. Stowie used 18 players this matchup with Serge Ibaka his best contributor with 144 points.

<a title="Ruddys Cavaliers (Peter Rudd)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=14&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Ruddy’s Cavaliers[/url] 715 lost to <a title="Kings of Karlos (Sean Minetti)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=10&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Kings of Karlos[/url] 1092

Kings of Karlos got off to a good lead on day 1 and never looked back, scoring an emphatic win. Ruddys Cavaliers have been hit hard by injury so far this season, and it continued this way during this week, with Nash also joining the casualty list and only playing the 2 games this matchup. Ruddy had only 2 players score more than 90 in Camby and Conley, whereas Karlos had 7 players with 90 or more, led by Kirk Hinrich with 159.

<a title="Wade Machine (Daniel Laengst)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=15&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Wade Machine[/url] 1075 defeated <a title="Pikus United (Adam Ziegler)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=9&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Pikus United[/url] 754

So I thought Dan might have been tanking last week from his reasoning behind trading in an injured player (Baron Davis), however even if he was, his players musnt have been in on it as they have put up a commanding performance to win this one by more than 300 points! There were quite a few high scoring players in this game with Westbrook, Nowitzki and McGhee with 189, 175  and 146 respectively for Dan; and West and Barnes with 168 and 140 respectively for FZilla; which might generally point towards a high scoring match, but unfortunately Pikus United couldnt hold up their end of the bargain, as they only called on 8 players during the week, with a couple of injuries and a few players sitting on the bench scoring points...  looks like there might be another absent coach here.

<a title="Fudges Sixers (Jim Tsilikas)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=16&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Fudge’s Sixers[/url] 748 lost to <a title="Doobia Dominators (Andrew Dubowik)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=20&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Doobia Dominators[/url] 1203

Gee, the grind of the previous two extremely close losses must have got to Fudges Sixers as they were affected by injury and couldnt put up a fight against Doobia Dominators who seem to be another without a coach at the moment. Pretty amazing that Doobs has scored such a huge score with only 9 players, as he hasnt changed his lineup and has Jermaine ONeal injured. Its pretty weird looking at Doobs team this week: out of the 9 players used, only 2 didnt reach triple figures! And 2 scored more than 200 in Felton and Gallinari! He finished with the 2nd highest team score of the round, making a mockery of all of us who are actually putting in a bit of effort! haha. Facts are that he must have drafted really well, and (luckily) he hasnt been hit very hard by injury. Fudge on the other hand, drafted really well in my opinion, backed up by me tipping them all 3 rounds, but has been hit hard by injury with arguably his two best players in Iquodala and Lee not playing a game between them for this matchup.

<a title="Dannys Lebronts (Danny Smith)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=18&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Dannys Lebronts[/url] 920 lost to <a title="Run TMC (Owen Beebe)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=19&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Run TMC[/url] 1029

The Run TMC show keeps rolling along nicely with another win here, making them one of only 2 undefeated teams so far. Owen had some pretty tough opposition in this one with Danny10 actually leading most of the way, before a massive finish saw RT outscore DL 455 to 234 over the last two days to win by 109 points overall. Both teams had injuries to deal with, and both teams also had some big scorers, led by Jackson for Owen with 193; and 172 for Danny10s LeBron James.

<a href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=1&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_blank">Team anthak[/url] 1108 defeated <a title="Adelaide Maggots (Cameron Sears)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=4&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Adelaide Maggots[/url] 991

After my only win was against a coachless Elbonanazas, I am very happy to get up in this game against the Adelaide Maggots, and they had the highest score of all losers with 991 which makes the W even more satisfying. I used 18 players during the week, mainly due to my walking the waiver wire like a tightrope, trying to have a player playing every day in one roster spot: I used 5 different players in that one spot, with games scheduled on every day, however if I had have stuck with Nenad Kristic for the whole matchup I actually would have been 34 points better off! haha. oh well, even though I scored such a high score - 3rd best for this round - I was actually pretty lucky as I only just won, and Cameron had a few injuries to deal with as Andrew Bynum and Troy Murphy both didnt play a single game this week. I had 6 players score more than 90, with Derrick Rose the best with 143; while Cameron also had 6 score more than 90, with CP3 his best with 254.

<a title="Jasmines Mob (Jasmine Johnson)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=5&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Jasmine’s Mob[/url] 1225 defeated <a title="Team El Bonanzas (Al Lee)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=3&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team El Bonanzas[/url] 445

I mentioned earlier that Jasmines Mob almost tripled Elbonanzas score here, winning by 780!! Unfortunately Elbonz doesnt seem to be back in the country as yet, however Heaver vaguely knows the guy through mutual friends, so he is going to try to track him down to find out whats going on. They are still greatly affected by injuries, with only 6 players taking the court for them this matchup, contributing to the lowest score we have seen so far this season of 445. Jasmine, however, has a very solid squad; being served best by Deron Williams in this matchup. There is definitely still time for Elbonz to salvage his season if he makes a few roster changes and sets his lineup to rotate each day. Shame that he cannot get access to the WWW wherever he is!

<a title="Westside Hardcore (Michael Walters)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=6&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Westside Hardcore[/url] 1087 defeated <a title="Too Seriouseses (Les Wales)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=2&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Too Seriouseses[/url] 917

After a monster first round and then a surprise loss, Micka and Westside Hardcore are back on the winners list this week with a hard fought win against Walesy and the Too Seriouseses. WH had 4 players come up huge with at least 140 points each in Parker, Duncan, Millsap and Anthony; whereas TS top scorer - Roy Hibbert only scored 126, and they only had one other with a ton. As this was such a close match, Walesy must have had a more even performance which is evidenced by the fact he only had 4 players score less than 55 compared to 6 of Mickas under that mark.

<a title="Do Something Knicks (Chris Riches, Steve Smith)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=7&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Do Something Knicks[/url] 887 lost to <a title="Team Fezkat (Kristian Collins)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=17&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team Fezkat[/url] 939

I tipped this to be a close one, and it turned out the closest game of the round; however I didnt pick the winner as Fez came out on top with a good tactical performance from his team.  Both teams were affected by injury, however Fez looks to have used the waiver wire to his advantage, using 15 players and ending up with 5 more games played by his players, which helped a lot in such a close game.  DSK had a better all round performance with only 3 players scoring less than 55; whereas Fez finished with 10 players under 55, however he had 4 players over the 100 mark with Stoudamire leading from the front with 234; while DSK only had 2 with a ton and their top scorer Odom scored 181. Overall, a great win to Fez!

<a title="Under Achievers (Richard Chambers)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=11&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Under Achievers[/url] 1033 defeated <a title="Team HEAVER! (David Tong)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=13&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team HEAVER![/url] 934

Last week, I went out on a limb and tipped UAs to get up here in a massive upset and it has eventuated that way, after a very tight tussle. One of only 2 games to have a margin of less than 100 points, the formerly winless UAs got the job done over the previously undefeated Team Heaver! Both teams had 4 players get at least a ton, with Humphries (156) from UA, and Kobe (179) from Heaver their teams best performers. Unfortunately it probably came down to injuries here with Heaver missing Delfino and Wall for the entire match, contributing to 12 less games played overall. Cant take anything away from UAs though as he finished with one of the top 8 scores of the round and has finally got that elusive W that he has threatened in each game so far this season.

Matchup 4 previews:

This matchup is over a week again, from and including the 22nd to the 28th November. Atlanta play the most games during this week with 5 and Portland play the least with only 2.

<a title="Ruddys Cavaliers (Peter Rudd)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=14&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Ruddys Cavaliers[/url] (1-2) v <a title="Team Stowie (Daniel Stow)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=8&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team Stowie[/url] (2-1)

With Ruddy still just trying to get his players fit and healthy, and Stowies best player Josh Smith playing 5 games this matchup: its not looking good for the Cavs, and I have to tip Team Stowie here.

<a title="Stevos Nuggets (Stephen Nilsson)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=12&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Stevos Nuggets[/url] (2-1) v <a title="Wade Machine (Daniel Laengst)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=15&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Wade Machine[/url] (2-1)

Big match this one. With Steve coming off a hard fought win, I reckon he can get his players to grind out another win here against a depleted WM. So its a win to Stevos Nuggets that Im tipping.

<a title="Kings of Karlos (Sean Minetti)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=10&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Kings of Karlos[/url] (2-1) v <a title="Fudges Sixers (Jim Tsilikas)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=16&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Fudges Sixers[/url] (0-3)

Now Fudge asked me not to tip his team this week as I have done so all 3 weeks so far and he hasnt been able to muster up a W yet! ...  Mate, I wouldnt have tipped you anyway! haha. Karlos is coming off a good win over Ruddy, and Fudge still has a couple of his best players out; and on top of that, his best performer - L.Aldridge - has only got the 2 games this round. So I think its going to be a big win to Kings of Karlos again this week! (but now that the Jinx is gone, hopefully the 6ers can play with a bit more freedom and put up a good fight!)

<a title="Pikus United (Adam Ziegler)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=9&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Pikus United[/url] (0-3) v <a title="Dannys Lebronts (Danny Smith)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=18&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Dannys Lebronts[/url] (2-1)

Looks like FZilla (Coach of PU) didnt show last matchup, while Danny10 continued to show that he has a squad to be reckoned with, pushing Owen all the way in their game last week. Cant go past Dannys Lebronts for the win in this match.

<a title="Doobia Dominators (Andrew Dubowik)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=20&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Doobia Dominators[/url] (1-2) v <a title="Run TMC (Owen Beebe)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=19&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Run TMC[/url] (3-0)

Gee, Doobs has definitely surprised me this season. Some of us are here toiling away, day in, day out, and this bloke doesnt show up for the first 3 rounds and has 2 close losses and a massive win! Hes on a bit of a roll, but if hes sitting back in his recliner showing off and thinking he can rely on his round 1 - 10 drafting ability, I think hes in for a wake up call this week! Please Owen, put this guy in his place and smash the DDs to smithereens for us! Tipping Run TMC to be the only undefeated team after matchup 4!

<a title="Jasmines Mob (Jasmine Johnson)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=5&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Jasmines Mob[/url] (3-0) v <a title="Team anthak (Anthony Hack)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=1&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team anthak[/url] (2-1)

OK, so the last line of the previous game preview is a little precursor to this games preview... I may be game (or insane) to do this, however I need to tip Team anthak to win here. Even though Jasmine has been taking all before her so far and has the last 2 highest scores and 3 wins to show from the start of the season; my reasoning is that I tipped myself to lose in round 1 and lost, then backed myself in both of the next 2 games, and won them both, so Ive gotta tip myself again and try my luck.

<a title="Adelaide Maggots (Cameron Sears)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=4&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Adelaide Maggots[/url] (1-2) v <a title="Westside Hardcore (Michael Walters)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=6&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Westside Hardcore[/url] (2-1)

Tough match to call, this one. WH were back in the winners column last week, after their surprise loss in matchup 2, however Im a bit hesitant to tip them after seeing Camerons mob up close this last week. However with Troy Murphy injured and out of favour at the Nets, and Bynum out injured for at least a couple more weeks, Ive gotta go with Westside Hardcore to get up in a close game.

<a title="Team El Bonanzas (Al Lee)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=3&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team El Bonanzas[/url] (0-3) v <a title="Do Something Knicks (Chris Riches, Steve Smith)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=7&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Do Something Knicks[/url] (1-2)

Well, hopefully Elbonz can come back from os and get his team sorted, however it cant be fixed overnight, so Do Something Knicks will win this one easily!

<a title="Too Seriouseses (Les Wales)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=2&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Too Seriouseses[/url] (1-2) v <a title="Under Achievers (Richard Chambers)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=11&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Under Achievers[/url] (1-2)

Another tough one to pick! Both teams have been a little up and down, but still fairly impressive in my opinion - even though both with 1 and 2 records to start the season. Really difficult to pick it - was gonna toss a coin, and then nearly tipped a draw! But Im going to go for Under Achievers to get up by a point.

<a title="Team Fezkat (Kristian Collins)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=17&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team Fezkat[/url] (2-1) v <a title="Team HEAVER! (David Tong)" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=13&amp;seasonId=2011" target="_top">Team HEAVER![/url] (2-1)

During the week, I asked if people thought it was a stupid move to waste my #1 waiver order possie on a player I had just dropped myself. After Heaver gave me advice to wait and see if my player gets to FA status first, he managed to pick up Nenad Kristic off the waivers. Now, I never mentioned that it was Kristic I was talking about, so not making any allegations here, just pointing out the irony! I was pretty silly to let Krstic go i think, however he is not going to make the difference in this matchup, with both these teams to continue their current streaks, meaning Team Fezkat will get their 2nd win on the trot.

Hope you all enjoy the week!