My fantasy team drafted this evening and I'm fairly pleased with the results, although, I did take a pretty major risk by drafting Kobe in the middle of the 2nd round of a 12 team draft (standard roto money-league on CBS). I had planned on taking Andre Drummond with that pick, but he went off the board one turn ahead of me, so I figured I'd roll the dice on the ol' Mamba, given how well he's been playing in the preseason (FYI - he scored 27, 26, & 27 in his last 3 preseason games, and his coach, Byron Scott, just announced that he'll play 30-40 mins per night). He's obviously a pretty major injury risk, but I think there's still enough upside there to warrant the selection. As a Los Angeles-native, I've seen what the man is capable of and have learned through experience not to doubt him, but the triple whammy of age, injury & a sub-par team could come back to bite him this season. Or, he could be back at full-strength, like his coach & trainer claim, and be in line for big minutes on a nightly basis playing for a team on which he's the only legitimate weapon. Only time will tell which Kobe we'll get.
Another questionable decision came in either the 4th or 5th rd. when I decided to take Rudy Gay over Klay Thompson. Thompson will undoubtedly end the season as the higher ranked player, but I already had two shooting guards (I took James Harden with the #5 pick overall) and knew the SF position was pretty thin this season. But I may regret it, given the fact I had room for Thompson in a UT spot and could've tried to land Jabari Parker or Trevor Ariza later on. But hopes usually go by the wayside when there are 12 teams drafting. It's difficult to project who will make it back to you, especially considering CBS's piss-poor rankings (like usual). There was really no way of knowing where teams had players ranked, because the default rankings were so shockingly bad. But Gay is a strong player nonetheless. He just tends to get a little overrated because of position scarcity, and I fell into the trap this season.
As for the picks I'm happy with - I'm really glad to have landed Nerlens Noel with the #77 overall pick (although DeAndre Jordan stayed on the board an awfully long time, and I could've had him in any rd. prior to that -- think he went only a couple picks before I took Noel). The guy is a beast, and he should thrive this season in Philly, so long as he can stay healthy. Likewise, I foresee a big year from my other C, Nikola Vucevic, who could be in store for a breakout season. I was also happy to have landed both Tony Parker & Trey Burke as low(er) end PGs, after drafting heavy at SG and PF/C for the first couple rds.
In any case, this is how my team stacks up:
PG - Tony Parker, SA
SG - James Harden, HOU
SF - Rudy Gay, SAC
PF - Chris Bosh, MIA
C - Nikola Vucevic, ORL
G - Kobe Bryant, LAL
F - Jeff Green, BOS
UT - Nerlens Noel, PHI
UT - Trey Burke, UTA
UT - Eric Gordon, NO
Bench - Marcus Smart, BOS
Bench - Anderson Varejao, CLE
Bench - KJ McDaniels, PHI
It's a pretty shallow roster, so I should be able to add to my bench early on in the season, if either Varejao or McDaniels falters, and/or I see any standout free agents. Smart should do well, especially with Rondo out, but rookies are always a shaky proposition in fantasy. McDaniels, clearly, is even shakier, but he has been having a strong preseason. I believe he just blocked 4 shots the other night, which isn't bad for a player listed at SF. I had tried to draft Jameer Nelson with that pick, but had hit my PG limit and had to settle for my second choice. I could sign Nelson once he clears waivers, since he went undrafted. I know, strange you can sign him but not draft him, but that's CBS for you. Their draft requirements don't match their actual in-season roster requirements. Go figure.
Draft recap to follow.
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