The Rap-Up: Fantasy and Magic and Trickery

With just over 2 weeks remaining until the trade deadline, the rumour mill will likely pick up. Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a GM during trade season?

I love playing fantasy sports. Draft days in my fantasy basketball and football leagues are my favourite days of the year. I get excited when players I have high on my board fall to me. I soak in the comments from league mates when I snag a sleeper before my rival does.

When the season kicks off, it’s a roller-coaster of emotions. There are the lows of player injuries and underperformers. There are the highs of overachieving players and hidden gems on the waiver wire.

The most intriguing aspect of fantasy sports is making trades. Or, at least, attempting to make trades. It is not easy to pull off a trade where everyone is happy! One side typically feels like they’re getting the short end of the stick. The best trades address needs for both teams.

That’s where I found myself meticulously scanning through stats over the weekend. Analyzing strengths and weaknesses of each team in my league. Pouring over data to find the right match of teams and players to swap. Finally landing on a couple of proposals that would appease managers.

Trade proposal rejected.

Trade proposal rejected.

Trade proposal rejected.

At the end of the day, GMs will have different evaluations of players. Each manager has their own view on what they need and what they’re willing to give up. Successfully trading players truly does take two to tango.

Imagine if fantasy basketball had to follow league policies around tax aprons!

The next 2+ weeks should be interesting as real-life GMs have countless conversations, make trade proposals, and corral enough intel to make franchise-altering transactions.

Will Chris Boucher finally get traded? Would the Raptors buy out Bruce Brown if no suitable trade proposal emerged? How likely are the Raptors going to be involved in any Jimmy Butler trade discussions?

January 21 vs Orlando Magic

Orlando’s leading scorer, Paolo Banchero, has missed 75% of the season. Their second-leading scorer, Franz Wagner, has been out for the last 6 weeks and counting. The Magic’s third-leading scorer, Jalen Suggs, is out for this game and averages as many points per game as Gradey Dick. Orlando’s fourth-leading scorer, Mo Wagner, and only other player averaging double-digits scoring is out for the season.

Yet, Jamahl Mosley has his team in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race and is a dangerous first-round opponent.

Granted, the Magic have struggled of late. Since defeating the Raptors earlier this month, Orlando has lost 6 of 8 including a pair of blowout losses on the road in Milwaukee and Boston. I was going to write that a game against Toronto is a sight for sore eyes.....but it’s double-digit weather in Orlando (on the positive side)!

Fun fact that may only interest me

The Magic have lost 136 player games due to injury and we’ve only reached the halfway point of the schedule. But that’s not the interesting fact.

Due to all the injuries, only 2 players have played more than 1,000 minutes this season: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tristan Da Silva

By comparison, 5 Raptors have played at least 1,000 minutes, including Scottie Barnes, who has missed 25% of Toronto’s games!

Prediction

Speaking of Barnes, he always brings extra energy when facing fellow lottery picks from his draft. However, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs are out for this one. Also missing for the Magic is bruising Center, Goga Bitadze. Gary Harris and Jett Howard are both listed as questionable.

For the Raptors, Immanuel Quickley will miss his 4th game in a row, Ochai Agbaji will miss his 2nd consecutive game, and Chris Boucher is listed as questionable.

Since the calendar flipped to 2025, Orlando is 3-0 when holding opponents under 100 and 0-7 when opponents hit triple-digits. Toronto’s offense has started to pick up some steam, creeping towards league-average over the last 2 weeks. Toronto covers the +1.5 spread.

January 23 and 25 @ Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta’s defense ranks 27th in opponents’ eFG%.......yet, the Hawks held the Celtics to 38.5% shooting in a 119-115 victory in Boston on Saturday.

Atlanta’s defense ranks 27th in opponents’ 3-point FG%....yet, the Hawks held the Knicks to 26.2% 3-point shooting (including 31 misses!) in a 108-100 victory in New York last month.

Atlanta ranks 20th in 3-point FG%....yet, the Hawks shot 47.6% from three (hitting 20 triples) in a 135-124 victory in Cleveland earlier this season.

Atlanta ranks 21st in assists allowed....yet, the Hawks limited the Cavaliers to a season-low 21 assists in a 117-100 victory vs Cleveland, two nights after the previous victory over them.

The Hawks are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Trae Young is a walking double-double machine. He is leading the league in total assists for the third time in four seasons and in assists per game (11.7) for the first time in his career.

Young needs 9 dimes to pass Hawks legend, Spud Webb, on the all-time assists leaderboard. Ice Trae is only 63 assists shy of reaching the top 100 — an impressive feat considering he was only drafted in 2018.

Sidenote: The 2018 Draft was so stacked, that I don’t think Young is the first, second, or third Point Guard taken in a re-draft! If you disagree, add your feedback to the comments on which one of Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or Jalen Brunson would fall out of your top 3.

Prediction

Over their last 9 home games, the Atlanta Hawks have won all 7 where they scored at least 117 points. Over their last 7 road games (surprise! All losses), the Toronto Raptors have given up an average of 131 points.

If the Raptors have any chance of salvaging a win in either of these games, it’ll be in the first game where they’re catching the Hawks on the back end of a back-to-back. Rising star, Jalen Johnson returned to the lineup last week after missing 6 of the previous 7 games with a shoulder injury. Number 1 overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher has missed the last 3 games with a thigh injury, so his status is up in the air for this doubleheader.

Toronto covers the +6.5 spread in the first game while Atlanta covers the -8.5 spread in the second game.

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Last Week’s Record: 2-1

Season Record: 18-24