Fantasy Basketball 2014-15

Just had my draft for my fantasy basketball team. I've played in this league with this group of guys for, I don't know, 8 or 9 years now. I pay less attention to NBA basketball than I used to, but it is a way to stay in touch with some friends and it is still a good time. We play a rotissere (sp?) type of scoring with nine categories and 10 player positions with three bench spots. What all that means is that we score simply by adding up each category throughout the season to determine placing. So for instance, out of the 10 teams, if at the end of the season my team has accumulated the most rebounds, I get 10 points in that category. If I had the second most rebounds, then nine points, and so forth. Add all the categories at the end of the season and you have your placings. The categories are Shooting Percentage, Free Throw Percentage, Points, Three Pointers, Assists, Steals, Rebounds, Blocks and Turnovers (of course, you want the least amount of those). We have a Point Guard spot, Shooting Guard, another Guard, Small Forward, Power Forward, another Forward, two Centers and two Utility spots (any position).

My personal strategies include: in the first round, get the best rated player available. That's easy. Then get the best power forward and best point guard you can. That is because PF and PG are the key positions that offer the widest range of great stats. And I do not draft any Spurs. I love the Spurs, but while Popovich is a brilliant coach in keeping his players fresh for the playoffs, that means a stat killer for fantasy. Also, the more balanced and more they all share the load, the less likely you have fantasy studs stand out. In fantasy, the selfish players are often who you want. I also have an ever evolving 'do not draft' list.

With all of that out of the way, here is how the draft went. I got the 5th pick (out of 10 teams), and it snakes (so the 1st pick doesn't pick again until 20th, and then 21st and so forth).

Round One (in this order):

Lebron James
Anthony Davis
Stephen Curry
James Harden
Chris Paul (DEZ pick)
Kevin Love
Russell Westbrook
Carmelo Anthony
Serge Ibaka
Kevin Durant

Lebron 1st was a no-brainer. This round went relatively according to most of the draft magazines, websites, etc. Durant would normally compete with Lebron for the #1 spot, but the fact that he is injured and not expected back for almost two months explains his drop. I was wondering where he would go. I like my pick of Paul, although with him there are always injury concerns. But when healthy, he usually leads the league in steals and is up there in assists and also scores alot. Durant's injury also explains Westbrook's jump. I was a little surprised that Ibaka went so high. Anthony Davis is not exactly a superstar in real life, but fantasy sports is not about real life, it is about numbers. And most projections are that Davis will blow up, fantasy-wise, this season.

Round Two:

DeMarcus Cousins
John Wall
Al Jefferson
Kawhi Leonard
Blake Griffin
Chris Bosh (DEZ pick)
Damien Lillard
LaMarcus Aldridge
Kyrie Irving
Kyle Lowry

I drafted Kawhi last season (violating my No Spurs policy, and was disappointed because of what I stated above). Griffin will kill free throw percentage. I held my nose when I drafted Bosh, I can't stand him. But with Lebron out of Miami and Wade always having one foot in the ER, it is really Bosh's team. If you look at Bosh's numbers last season when Lebron was out, they approached his all-star numbers of old. Plus, he's got something to prove this season.

Round Three:

Joakin Noah
Nicolas Batum
Al Horford
DeAndre Jordan
Dirk Nowitzki (DEZ pick)
Goran Dragic
Mike Conley
Ty Lawson
Kobe Bryant
Derrick Rose

Interesting round. I wanted Batum bad, but he was taken a few picks before it got to me. I think Jordan will be a bust this season. Dirk in the middle of the third round is pretty damn good, I say. I know he's old, very old. But he is still reliable and hasn't really broken down much yet. Let's just hope this isn't the season when it happens. Most fantasy guides had him ranked higher, so I was glad to take him here. Kobe and Rose are the real wild cards here, though. They could both return to form and be the steals of the draft, but I was staying away from both this early. It is true that the Lakers this season are basically Kobe and the Staples Center janitorial staff, but he is old, coming off injuries he's never had...I'm just not feeling it. Could be very wrong, though.

The rest of my team (in order of drafting): DeMar DeRozen, Thaddeus Young, Trevor Ariza, Brook Lopez (actually a mistake, my computer disconnected and I had someone else queued up), Patrick Beverly, Luol Deng, JJ Reddick (happy to get him, I had him last season and before his injury, he was a three point monster), DeMarre Carroll, JR Smith (kind of a joke, but it was late in the draft and this is a bench spot) and Andrew Bogut.