Blogger’s League Draft Results (10/22/10)
Oct 22, 2010 Blog
Last night was the first annual Blogger’s League draft and it was a tough one with 14 guys who know their fantasy basketball inside and out. A big thanks to Jason at fBasketballBlog.com and Justin at LifeIsJustaFantasy Basketball Blog for getting this thing organized. I’ll be posting updates on the league throughout the season and you can follow all the teams at their respective sites. I’ll try to round up a list of everyone’s draft recap this weekend with links to each site.
I had absolutely no preconceived plan for this draft and figured I’d just wing it, which probably wasn’t a great idea against a room full of experts. The league is a nine category H2H. Positions: PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, U, U, 6 bench spots. Upon arrival in the Yahoo draft room, I was greeted with draft position #6, which really sucks in a 14 team draft. At least I’d have time between picks to create a strategy on the fly. This is what happened by round and my team:
1. Deron Williams PG
2. Joe Johnson SG/SF
3. Derrick Rose PG
4. Paul Pierce SG/SF
5. Jason Richardson SG/SF
6. Rashard Lewis SF/PF
7. Andre Miller PG
8. Channing Frye PF/C
9. Rodney Stuckey PG/SG
10. Tayshaun Prince SF/PF
11. DeJuan Blair PF/C
12. Tiago Splitter PF/C
13. Shawn Marion SF/PF
14. Daniel Gibson PG/SG
15. Shaq O’Neal C
16. Kyle Lowery PG/SG
This roster has some glaring deficiencies, but it did actually adhere to a consistent strategy. In a H2H setup, your goal is to win 5 out of 9 categories. That’s it. If you can do that every week, you can make it to the playoffs with a solid chance of making it to the championship game. The strengths of my team are points, threes, assists, steals and FT%. In an 8 or 10 team league, you could probably succeed with a middle of the road stategy where you try to capture all categories, but in a 14 team league that strategy is usually a slow death. Attacking only 5 categories is a high risk strategy, but against a room full of experts, it’s really the only way.
Round 1 As with most drafts, the early plan is usually either to go big or go small. I had Dwight Howard queued up to go big and Deron Williams queued up to go small. Someone else obviously had the same plan and Howard went with pick number 4. Chris Paul was off the board at #2. Deron Williams it was and now we’re on the road to small ball hell.
Round 2 presented me with a choice between the often injured Brandon Roy and the veteran Joe Johnson, I went with the safer bet and took Johnson. Eligibility at SF also benefits Johnson in the small ball strategy. I really wanted Jason Kidd here, but my constant nemesis, Henry at WeaksideHelp.com, snagged him a couple spots before my pick. Add JJ’s threes, assists, points, 80 FT% and steals to the small ball plan.
Round 3 presented me with a choice between Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook. I’ve been pimping Rose all preseason and stuck with him. Great points and assists, 78 FT% and hopefully defensive guru Thibideau will preach steals to Rose. Maybe he even gets the three ball going, we’ll see.
Round 4 was a choice between Kevin Martin and Paul Pierce. I like Martin a little better, but went with Pierce due to the fact that I can plug him in at SG or SF. Roster flexibility is a big factor in a daily transaction H2H league. Pierce fits very well with a small ball strategy, getting points, threes, assists, 80 FT% and steals.
In Round 5 I had my eye on Jeff Green and his three point shooting ability from the PF spot, but instead found Jason Richardson still sitting on the board. If I grab Richardson here, I’ve probably locked up a win in threes every week. He’s a little weak with a 72 FT%, but luckily he only shoots about 2.3 a game. Welcome to the team Jason.
In Round 6 I took the next best three point shooting PF, Rashard Lewis. I’m definitely set on threes now, 80 FT% and the PF spot is filled.
I Round 7 I had Luol Deng queued up and ready to go, but my friend Sean took him a couple of picks before me. I’m rescinding Sean’s invitation to the league. At this point, I figured I’d pick up a spare PG just to have some depth in case of injury. Ironman Andre Miller was there and I grabbed him. The guy has missed 5 games in 10 years, that’s a good bench backup for your fantasy team. He’s good points, assists, steals, 80 FT%, so he’s on board with the small ball plan.
It’s round 8 in a two center league and I don’t have one yet. I queued up Al Harrington and Channing Frye, hoping to get both with my next two picks, but Harrington went off the board at the end of round 7. I grabbed Frye and his three point shooting and 80 FT% in round 8.
In round 9 I was simply looking for any player to plug into a Utility spot who fit the small ball. What I found was Rodney Stuckey. Good points, assists, steals, 80 FT%. Would have liked some threes, but you can’t get too picky in round 9 of a 14 team league.
In round 10 I grabbed Tayshaun Prince to backup Rashard Lewis at PF. Jerebko is out and I figure Prince will get big minutes this year. He’s solid in points, steals, 77FT% and can even grab you 3 or 4 assists a night from the PF spot. A good fit for the small ball system.
It’s getting late and it’s time to grab a center before the board is totally bare. I grabbed DeJuan Blair in round 11 and Tiago Splitter in round 12. The best case is that one of them wins the job outright and I can then dump the other to the waiver wire and grab help at another position. The worst case is that I have to run both of them out there at my two center spots and move Frye to a Utility or Forward spot on the same night. I’ll take it this late in the draft.
Rounds 13 through 16 are simply about picking up bench players to plug and play on a daily basis that fit with the system. My last four bench picks were Shawn Marion in round 13, Daniel Gibson in round 14, Shaq O’Neal in round 15 and Kyle Lowery in round 16.
Tags: fantasy basketball