Week 0: Post-Draft Version
So, ItsTheDraft Las Vegas edition was a huge success. The only problem? It was more than 2 weeks ago, and we've still got a week to go before the season starts. Excitement was high after the draft, then we've had this lull. Jayson brought us some incredible rankings, now I'll try to do the same to get you all enthused in this final week or boredom. Here it goes, in reverse order, to build even more excitement:
12. Lightning Jeffs - In the Pre-Draft rankings, the Jeffs were ranked #2, and clearly one of the favorites heading into ItsTheDraft. Then, somewhere, something went wrong. It's true that the Amare/KG/Gilbert trio COULD be very scary. But all of those players are huge risks. Monta Ellis is much of the same; everyone says Bargnani is "due," but I'll believe it when I see it. Ariza's been pegged as one of this year's "bust" players, and Jeff seemed to let his love for J.R. Smith get in the way of his strategy by taking him in the early 8th round. The result? A high risk, poorly strategized squad that isn't really "good" in many categories, but is bad in several. Very average and disappointing draft for the Jeffs.
Best Pick: This is really a tough one, but maybe Yi Jianlian in round 11
Worst Pick: Andrea Bargnani in Round 5
11. StraightouttaMenifee - Mike's got some solid selections here, but I feel that the "fit" is what was poor. That is, he failed to build on any sort of strengths. Kobe and Carmelo was a good 1-2 punch, and I like the West and Parker selections. Brand is a sleeper, risk/reward type of selection. Artest wasn't a very good selection for a couple reasons. First, there's only one ball on the court in Los Angeles, and second, his low shooting %'s don't mesh at all with Duarte's strategy. I like the Terry pick, but again, Mike doesn't strike as particularly "great" in any category, but is certainly weak in a few (see assists, blocks).
Best Pick: David West in round 3
Worst Pick: Ron Artest in round 6
10. Zen-Masturbaters - I want to like his team, but in fantasy, it always seems like the "scoring guard" type players aren't the best ways to go. I like the trio of LeBron, Carter, and Johnson, but again, he didn't build on strengths. The move for Hedo, I think, was a good start, and I like the Bibby and Ford grabs in the later rounds. Trent's at least starting to have some strengths in 3's, and points, but his big men are generally weak/risky and only useful in a couple categories. Who knows what Griffin, Camby, Bogut, and Big Z will be worth? If they come together, Trent could prove me wrong, and I hope he does.
Best Pick: Andrew Bogut in round 9
Worst Pick: Zydrunas Ilgauskas in round 11
9. Bangladesh Thunder - Another case of the draft strategy gone awry. Looking solid with Wade, Calderon, and K-Mart (though, I'm not so high on Calderon with Hedo in town), but then Daniel takes Boozer (who's very one-dimensional and hurts your FT% on what was a good FT shooting team) then Stephen Jackson (nutcase), Hawes and Randolph (low shooting % big men after grabbing relatively high shooting % little men!), and a solid Westbrook (who, again, is poor shooting). The Thunder are fairly average across the board, which sometimes can be a good strategy, but it's the fact that he's got some glaring weaknesses (namely, turnovers and blocks) that doesn't help. Points look strong, but they're frankly pretty weak beyond that top 3.
Best Pick: Kevin Martin in round 3
Worst Pick: Stephen Jackson in round 5
8. Rattlesnakes - Our first real look at a "strategy," Cody opted for the little guys, minus his first pick of Dirk (who doesn't really play like the PF he is). Butler, Harris, Allen, and the acquisition of J-Rich make Cody a threat in steals, 3's, and points, all without really sacrificing the TO category. Then, Cody tried to make up for his picks by making a trade for Marion, drafting Thomas, Thompson, and Kirilenko. The squad isn't bad. He's a good % threat (minus the Peja flyer at the end, which is fine), and solid in 3's and steals. Obviously, weak on the big man categories (rebounds and blocks), but all in all competitive in TOs for being little man heavy. Unfortunately, being competitive in TOs means he's also fairly weak in assists. Cody made a good effort, but at this point, he's middle of the pack.
Best Pick: Jason Thompson in Round 10
Worst Pick: Tyrus Thomas in Round 7
7. Free Ballers - Matt definitely went the "shooting" route, which is a good way to "shoot" yourself out of the playoffs. He grabbed Granger, Iguoudala, Lewis, Okur, B. Davis, and Mayo 1-6. Points for using a strategy, less points for the specific strategy he employed. These guys kill TOs, kill FG%, generally don't help in boards, and not much in terms of blocks either. That's 4 categories down. Matt gets points because he's really solid in the other 5: great in FT%, 3's, points; solid in assists and steals. It only takes 5 cats to win each week, fortunately. So why's he in the middle of the pack? Off-week in one of his strong suits should be a sure loss; he's hard pressed to win any one of those weak categories.
Best Pick: Mehmet Okur in Round 4 (fit his strategy really well while still getting a big guy)
Worst Pick: Lamar Odom in Round 7
6. Kevdog's Ballers - In full disclosure, "big men" was not my strategy. Then, Dwight Howard was on the board still at 11, and I couldn't pass him up. That switched up my whole game-plan, and I began going after guys that could build around rebounds, blocks, fg%, points, steals, and generally low TOs. I definitely stuck to the plan as far as big men go (if anyone wants one, you know how to get in touch with me). In retrospect, I went awry by not grabbing a similarly situated SG/SF earlier, so I was stuck with several PF/C eligible players and very few of little guys, except for scrubs. That said, as Michael put it, I could challenge for 350 rebounds each week when healthy with the Howard, Jefferson, Lee trio leading the way. I also stuck to trying to get relatively high % shooting little guys (see Rondo, Nelson). Blocks aren't more than average, though, despite my big men, but I'll be competitive in that as well as steals and TOs. Overall, I was pleased, but I'll be continuing to shape my team as the season progresses. Middle of the road.
Best Pick: Dwight Howard in Round 1 (who thought he'd still be here?)
Worst Pick: Francisco Garcia in Round 10 (all gone...)
5. Globetrotters - You're all thinking, huh? That's right, our very own Steven Rojas has cracked the top 5 in a Reyes Review. Steven definitely took the balanced approach. I love the Gasol/Williams combo right off the bat (it's the combo I secretly hoped for at 11/14), then he stayed well balanced with Gerald Wallace in round 3. Dealing for Charlie V is fine by me, 3's, boards, points, and a new look in Detroit, he should have a good year. Horford, Miller, Barbosa, and Okafor were all good bargains in my opinion, and fliers in the late rounds on Flynn and Hamilton were good additions. Rojas's %'s look great (esp. FG, FT has a couple issues, but generally solid), he's good in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks, and has no major weaknesses (except maybe on the low end of 3's). At least for now, it's so far so good for the perennial cellar dweller.
Best Pick: Andre Miller in Round 6
Worst Pick: Leandro Barbosa in Round 7 (I like him, just think it was too early)
4. Dubble Dees - I like how the Knappster takes hold of his players and names his team after them. In this case, the Durant/Duncan combo could lead Trent to the fantasy promised land. I think Murphy and Rose were great follow-up picks to these two, complementing the rebounds and 3's that he already had, then adding a good number of assists with Rose, while maintaining good %s. Then, snagging Redd in round 5 could be the steal of the draft if he plays up to his capabilities. I hate Zach Randolph as a fantasy player, but frankly, with weak steals and blocks numbers, he fits this squad well. Trent will likely also be fairly weak in assists, but he's above-average to strong in the other 6 categories. I liked his strategy, whether it was intentional or not, and I think he's poised to follow up his first playoff appearance with another.
Best Pick: Michael Redd in Round 5
Worst Pick: Shaquille O'neal in Round 10 (I'm being nitpicky here, but all he really does is hurt your FT%, and he's a big injury risk; in round 10 this isn't horrible, but, I couldn't find a worse pick...)
3. Loud Lezbos - Went small right off the bat with Brandon Roy and Chauncey and complemented that nicely with Jamison (albeit, slightly injured in the preseason). Then, he snagged two solid big men in Bynum and Aldridge, who could both have huge years if they stay healthy. Jayson's team is a good example of balance and strength - that is, not too weak in too many categories, but also has some strengths (FT% minus Haywood, Boards, Steals), which gives him his high ranking. I wasn't thrilled about his late-round picks (namely Brewer and the aforementioned Haywood, but, frankly, in a 12-team league, they're generally not too exciting anyway. I do like his mid-round selections of Scola (looks to have a big year with Yao out), and Chandler (who has done well in D'Antoni's up-tempo system in New York. For now, the Lezbos crack the top 3 in my book.
Best Pick: Luis Scola in Round 7
Worst Pick: Rudy Gay in Round 5 (I think this was a bit early here, though I like him in general).
2. The MonStars - Unlike his older brother's poor drafting, the defending champion followed up the 2008-09 campaign with a solid draft effort. Michael went small immediately with Chris Paul and Jason Kidd. The problem (and what gave him #2 instead of #1?)? That was all on the PG/assist front. It turned out OK for him, because his focus moved on to big men, where he snagged Lopez, Biedrins, Kaman, Rasheed Wallace, and Oden, an impressive front line. All the while, he was able to grab up-and-coming Eric Gordon and John Salmons to fill the gaps in the scoring, 3-point, and steals categories. The result? A VERY balanced squad with really no weaknesses. The downside? Not a ton of strengths per se. That means Michael's got a chance to win 9-0 every week; the flip side is the chance to lose by a big margin on an off-week, but those are the risks you take. In any event, playing Michael will be scary, because he can go at you from all angles.
Best Pick: Eric Gordon in Round 6
Worst Pick: Brook Lopez in Round 3 (this is probably my personal bias here in that I've never been high on the guy, but credit Michael for wanting him in Round 3 and grabbing him there. I just think there were other options on the table, but he'll be fine)
1. War Monkeys - In the surprise pick of the year, my completely subjective analysis says that the War Monkeys, the most inexperienced owner of the bunch, drafted the best team this year. We all were amazed at Jeff's trio of LeBron, Duncan, and Pierce last season; well Paul got one very similar with Bosh/Nash/Pierce with his first 3 grabs, snagging the best big guy-little guy-scorer trio of any team. But it didn't stop there, Paul grabbed Josh Smith, Nene, Thaddeus Young (who, when Elton Brand and his surgically repaired Achilles Tendon miss time, will be huge), and Joakim Noah to shore up the big guy categories, while snagging Ben Gordon, (a potentially huge and re-energized) Iverson, and two late round steals (Deng and Stuckey) to nail the little man categories, Paul's the most balanced team on the board. Nash, Pierce, and Gordon will lead the way in the turnover categories, but look for Paul to be strong in the %s, 3's, points, boards, and steals, and not terrible in the rest. I like his squad, and he's my #1 up to now.
Best Pick: Rodney Stuckey in Round 12 (with AI out of town, young Stuckey should have a great year)
Worst Pick: NONE. That's the prize for being my #1 selection, I thought this team is solid through and through. Good work, Paul. I take slight credit for offering advice every once in a while during the draft.
So there you have it, 12-1 and my analysis. Hate it? Post on the message board. Love it? Do the same. Let me know your thoughts, and gentlemen, let the games begin.
Congrats to Michael by the way for getting the rankings right on his 2nd guess on the Reyes Review Teaser.
12. Lightning Jeffs - In the Pre-Draft rankings, the Jeffs were ranked #2, and clearly one of the favorites heading into ItsTheDraft. Then, somewhere, something went wrong. It's true that the Amare/KG/Gilbert trio COULD be very scary. But all of those players are huge risks. Monta Ellis is much of the same; everyone says Bargnani is "due," but I'll believe it when I see it. Ariza's been pegged as one of this year's "bust" players, and Jeff seemed to let his love for J.R. Smith get in the way of his strategy by taking him in the early 8th round. The result? A high risk, poorly strategized squad that isn't really "good" in many categories, but is bad in several. Very average and disappointing draft for the Jeffs.
Best Pick: This is really a tough one, but maybe Yi Jianlian in round 11
Worst Pick: Andrea Bargnani in Round 5
11. StraightouttaMenifee - Mike's got some solid selections here, but I feel that the "fit" is what was poor. That is, he failed to build on any sort of strengths. Kobe and Carmelo was a good 1-2 punch, and I like the West and Parker selections. Brand is a sleeper, risk/reward type of selection. Artest wasn't a very good selection for a couple reasons. First, there's only one ball on the court in Los Angeles, and second, his low shooting %'s don't mesh at all with Duarte's strategy. I like the Terry pick, but again, Mike doesn't strike as particularly "great" in any category, but is certainly weak in a few (see assists, blocks).
Best Pick: David West in round 3
Worst Pick: Ron Artest in round 6
10. Zen-Masturbaters - I want to like his team, but in fantasy, it always seems like the "scoring guard" type players aren't the best ways to go. I like the trio of LeBron, Carter, and Johnson, but again, he didn't build on strengths. The move for Hedo, I think, was a good start, and I like the Bibby and Ford grabs in the later rounds. Trent's at least starting to have some strengths in 3's, and points, but his big men are generally weak/risky and only useful in a couple categories. Who knows what Griffin, Camby, Bogut, and Big Z will be worth? If they come together, Trent could prove me wrong, and I hope he does.
Best Pick: Andrew Bogut in round 9
Worst Pick: Zydrunas Ilgauskas in round 11
9. Bangladesh Thunder - Another case of the draft strategy gone awry. Looking solid with Wade, Calderon, and K-Mart (though, I'm not so high on Calderon with Hedo in town), but then Daniel takes Boozer (who's very one-dimensional and hurts your FT% on what was a good FT shooting team) then Stephen Jackson (nutcase), Hawes and Randolph (low shooting % big men after grabbing relatively high shooting % little men!), and a solid Westbrook (who, again, is poor shooting). The Thunder are fairly average across the board, which sometimes can be a good strategy, but it's the fact that he's got some glaring weaknesses (namely, turnovers and blocks) that doesn't help. Points look strong, but they're frankly pretty weak beyond that top 3.
Best Pick: Kevin Martin in round 3
Worst Pick: Stephen Jackson in round 5
8. Rattlesnakes - Our first real look at a "strategy," Cody opted for the little guys, minus his first pick of Dirk (who doesn't really play like the PF he is). Butler, Harris, Allen, and the acquisition of J-Rich make Cody a threat in steals, 3's, and points, all without really sacrificing the TO category. Then, Cody tried to make up for his picks by making a trade for Marion, drafting Thomas, Thompson, and Kirilenko. The squad isn't bad. He's a good % threat (minus the Peja flyer at the end, which is fine), and solid in 3's and steals. Obviously, weak on the big man categories (rebounds and blocks), but all in all competitive in TOs for being little man heavy. Unfortunately, being competitive in TOs means he's also fairly weak in assists. Cody made a good effort, but at this point, he's middle of the pack.
Best Pick: Jason Thompson in Round 10
Worst Pick: Tyrus Thomas in Round 7
7. Free Ballers - Matt definitely went the "shooting" route, which is a good way to "shoot" yourself out of the playoffs. He grabbed Granger, Iguoudala, Lewis, Okur, B. Davis, and Mayo 1-6. Points for using a strategy, less points for the specific strategy he employed. These guys kill TOs, kill FG%, generally don't help in boards, and not much in terms of blocks either. That's 4 categories down. Matt gets points because he's really solid in the other 5: great in FT%, 3's, points; solid in assists and steals. It only takes 5 cats to win each week, fortunately. So why's he in the middle of the pack? Off-week in one of his strong suits should be a sure loss; he's hard pressed to win any one of those weak categories.
Best Pick: Mehmet Okur in Round 4 (fit his strategy really well while still getting a big guy)
Worst Pick: Lamar Odom in Round 7
6. Kevdog's Ballers - In full disclosure, "big men" was not my strategy. Then, Dwight Howard was on the board still at 11, and I couldn't pass him up. That switched up my whole game-plan, and I began going after guys that could build around rebounds, blocks, fg%, points, steals, and generally low TOs. I definitely stuck to the plan as far as big men go (if anyone wants one, you know how to get in touch with me). In retrospect, I went awry by not grabbing a similarly situated SG/SF earlier, so I was stuck with several PF/C eligible players and very few of little guys, except for scrubs. That said, as Michael put it, I could challenge for 350 rebounds each week when healthy with the Howard, Jefferson, Lee trio leading the way. I also stuck to trying to get relatively high % shooting little guys (see Rondo, Nelson). Blocks aren't more than average, though, despite my big men, but I'll be competitive in that as well as steals and TOs. Overall, I was pleased, but I'll be continuing to shape my team as the season progresses. Middle of the road.
Best Pick: Dwight Howard in Round 1 (who thought he'd still be here?)
Worst Pick: Francisco Garcia in Round 10 (all gone...)
5. Globetrotters - You're all thinking, huh? That's right, our very own Steven Rojas has cracked the top 5 in a Reyes Review. Steven definitely took the balanced approach. I love the Gasol/Williams combo right off the bat (it's the combo I secretly hoped for at 11/14), then he stayed well balanced with Gerald Wallace in round 3. Dealing for Charlie V is fine by me, 3's, boards, points, and a new look in Detroit, he should have a good year. Horford, Miller, Barbosa, and Okafor were all good bargains in my opinion, and fliers in the late rounds on Flynn and Hamilton were good additions. Rojas's %'s look great (esp. FG, FT has a couple issues, but generally solid), he's good in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks, and has no major weaknesses (except maybe on the low end of 3's). At least for now, it's so far so good for the perennial cellar dweller.
Best Pick: Andre Miller in Round 6
Worst Pick: Leandro Barbosa in Round 7 (I like him, just think it was too early)
4. Dubble Dees - I like how the Knappster takes hold of his players and names his team after them. In this case, the Durant/Duncan combo could lead Trent to the fantasy promised land. I think Murphy and Rose were great follow-up picks to these two, complementing the rebounds and 3's that he already had, then adding a good number of assists with Rose, while maintaining good %s. Then, snagging Redd in round 5 could be the steal of the draft if he plays up to his capabilities. I hate Zach Randolph as a fantasy player, but frankly, with weak steals and blocks numbers, he fits this squad well. Trent will likely also be fairly weak in assists, but he's above-average to strong in the other 6 categories. I liked his strategy, whether it was intentional or not, and I think he's poised to follow up his first playoff appearance with another.
Best Pick: Michael Redd in Round 5
Worst Pick: Shaquille O'neal in Round 10 (I'm being nitpicky here, but all he really does is hurt your FT%, and he's a big injury risk; in round 10 this isn't horrible, but, I couldn't find a worse pick...)
3. Loud Lezbos - Went small right off the bat with Brandon Roy and Chauncey and complemented that nicely with Jamison (albeit, slightly injured in the preseason). Then, he snagged two solid big men in Bynum and Aldridge, who could both have huge years if they stay healthy. Jayson's team is a good example of balance and strength - that is, not too weak in too many categories, but also has some strengths (FT% minus Haywood, Boards, Steals), which gives him his high ranking. I wasn't thrilled about his late-round picks (namely Brewer and the aforementioned Haywood, but, frankly, in a 12-team league, they're generally not too exciting anyway. I do like his mid-round selections of Scola (looks to have a big year with Yao out), and Chandler (who has done well in D'Antoni's up-tempo system in New York. For now, the Lezbos crack the top 3 in my book.
Best Pick: Luis Scola in Round 7
Worst Pick: Rudy Gay in Round 5 (I think this was a bit early here, though I like him in general).
2. The MonStars - Unlike his older brother's poor drafting, the defending champion followed up the 2008-09 campaign with a solid draft effort. Michael went small immediately with Chris Paul and Jason Kidd. The problem (and what gave him #2 instead of #1?)? That was all on the PG/assist front. It turned out OK for him, because his focus moved on to big men, where he snagged Lopez, Biedrins, Kaman, Rasheed Wallace, and Oden, an impressive front line. All the while, he was able to grab up-and-coming Eric Gordon and John Salmons to fill the gaps in the scoring, 3-point, and steals categories. The result? A VERY balanced squad with really no weaknesses. The downside? Not a ton of strengths per se. That means Michael's got a chance to win 9-0 every week; the flip side is the chance to lose by a big margin on an off-week, but those are the risks you take. In any event, playing Michael will be scary, because he can go at you from all angles.
Best Pick: Eric Gordon in Round 6
Worst Pick: Brook Lopez in Round 3 (this is probably my personal bias here in that I've never been high on the guy, but credit Michael for wanting him in Round 3 and grabbing him there. I just think there were other options on the table, but he'll be fine)
1. War Monkeys - In the surprise pick of the year, my completely subjective analysis says that the War Monkeys, the most inexperienced owner of the bunch, drafted the best team this year. We all were amazed at Jeff's trio of LeBron, Duncan, and Pierce last season; well Paul got one very similar with Bosh/Nash/Pierce with his first 3 grabs, snagging the best big guy-little guy-scorer trio of any team. But it didn't stop there, Paul grabbed Josh Smith, Nene, Thaddeus Young (who, when Elton Brand and his surgically repaired Achilles Tendon miss time, will be huge), and Joakim Noah to shore up the big guy categories, while snagging Ben Gordon, (a potentially huge and re-energized) Iverson, and two late round steals (Deng and Stuckey) to nail the little man categories, Paul's the most balanced team on the board. Nash, Pierce, and Gordon will lead the way in the turnover categories, but look for Paul to be strong in the %s, 3's, points, boards, and steals, and not terrible in the rest. I like his squad, and he's my #1 up to now.
Best Pick: Rodney Stuckey in Round 12 (with AI out of town, young Stuckey should have a great year)
Worst Pick: NONE. That's the prize for being my #1 selection, I thought this team is solid through and through. Good work, Paul. I take slight credit for offering advice every once in a while during the draft.
So there you have it, 12-1 and my analysis. Hate it? Post on the message board. Love it? Do the same. Let me know your thoughts, and gentlemen, let the games begin.
Congrats to Michael by the way for getting the rankings right on his 2nd guess on the Reyes Review Teaser.
Labels: nba, power rankings
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