'Nilla Gorilla

Odensque claims Thrilla, drops anderson

my$hkin dropped Joel Przyzbilla recently, and he continues to play quite well, even in a bench role (11/11 with 2 BLK last night).

Rookie Ryan Anderson, discussed here, just hasn't done much - he's getting maybe 18 minutes a night, and does hit the occasional 3, but isn't scoring or rebounding enough to justify a roster spot.

Judgment: This is a move we can get behind - we were somewhat shocked that the Vanilla Gorilla was shown the door so unceremoniously by P.M.P., and Joel's BLK/OREB combo should fit well with odensque's team style.

Gorilla in the Mist

My$hkin drops the Thrilla, picks up Varejao

In a shocking move, My$hkin, lover of all gorillas vanilla, dropped the Thrilla, previously discussed here. to pick up Anderson Varejao. With Oden sliding into the starting 5, Przyzbilla's minutes have been even more inconsistent, complementing the natural inconsistency of a foul prone big man. He had a terrific 8/14/2 BLK night last Tuesday, but has gone 4/4, 7/8, and 5/5 in 3 games since. He'll continue to be a useful source of BLK, and this year, his FT% is above 50%! Fun fact - the Thrilla is DISQ-free so far this year.

Varejao had a monster 17/7 (in 23 minutes!) night on Friday, and followed up with an OK 8/5 on Saturday. His prospects haven't changed much since we discussed him here, but we love his talent, good looks, and hustle.

Judgment: Overall, we think perhaps my$hkin should have kept the Vanilla Gorilla, and dropped 'Captain Jean' Luc-Richard for Varejao, leaving DeShawn in the Misty FAP.

In other Vanilla news, we would like to take this space to note that (in a ridiculous blowout), Joe 'Vanilla Sky' Alexander had 15 points, including this sweet putback:

The Thrilla!

my$hkin drops Larry Hughes, picks up Joel Przybilla

And who can blame him! It took all of my$hkin's continence to avert drafting the Przyblla, but now the Chinchilla is where he belongs.

Larry Hughes has been an effective, if maddeningly inconsistent fantasy star for years. He's only 29, but he's always been injury prone, and one senses his best days are far behind him. Even in his 'really good year', in 2004 with the Wizards, when he went off for 22/6/5/3STL, he only played in 61 games. He is currently injured with a dislocated finger, and appears to be out for 1-3 more weeks. Even when he returns, his role on the Bulls is somewhat unclear. Once traded to the Bulls last year, he mostly started, but played limited minutes, and was generally not an asset to the team. He did have some monster games last year, including a 40 pt outburst, and will likely have a few going forward. He'll surely be rostered again during such a hot streak, but will likely only be good for 10/3/3 and a steal in the aggregate.

Joel Przybilla, The Vanilla Gorilla, is quite a force in the paint. He'll never score much, and he's the worst free throw shooter in the NBA, but he has shown the capacity to block shots in bunches and rebound like mad. Even last year, in only 23 minutes per game, he averaged 8.4 rebounds. This year, his role looked to be reduced still further with the arrival of the Hosen's Greg Oden, but, of course, Oden's injury stands to give the Thrlla an opportunity. I would think 8 points 10 rebounds 2 blocks, 5 fouls while Oden is out.

Judgment: Fundamentally, my$hkin gave up some points, assists, and steals, for rebounds and blocks. The Oden injury and Hughes' injury make this timely, but my$hkin has addressed core needs while shedding strengths. Can Zaza be far behind?