Fantasy Basketball: Tips, roster strategy, favorites, sleepers, etc.

[Real World]

Anyone in here play Fantasy Basketball? I do, but this is only my second season. I finished in the last playoff spot of my league last year, and therefore need some pointers.

Who do you guys like this year?
Who are some sleepers to look for?
Who are name players you must have, and who should we stay away from?
What positions are more valuable early on in the draft, and where can you get bargains later?

Please discuss!

 

[WhiskeyBreath]

What are your league settings?

 

[Real World]

It's a Head-to-Head set up, with 10 teams, on ESPN.

7 Categories:

Points (PTS)
Blocks (BLK)
Steals (STL)
Assists (AST)
Rebounds (REB)
Turnovers (TO)
Three Pointers Made (3PM)

 

[WhiskeyBreath]

I see that your league doesn't FT% or FG%. This can really boost some players value that are horrible in those cats, especially Dwight Howard who I love this season. I would ignore TO's. If you draft your team based on players with good TO numbers you won't have a very good team at all.

Watch out for guys who are big injury risks. Yao, McGrady, Camby, J.Oneal, and Gerald Wallace for example. I hate having players who I take fairly early in a draft that miss chunks of the season. It kills your team.

My strategy has always been take the best player available for large parts of the draft. If you start 2 centers in your league, try to get at least one that is a top 10 center. Center is the scarcest of all positions.

SF is very deep with SG just behind.

If you got any questions on a specific player, feel free to ask. Good luck.

 

[Real World]

I love D Howard myself. I had MGrady last year, and he was a huge disappointment. He, and Dwayne Wade killed me. It was a valuable learning experience last year for that reason.

Let me ask you, what would be your first 5, or maybe even 10 picks in my league's structure?

Here's ESPN's Top 10:

ESPN - Top 190 Rankings: LeBron is King - Fantasy Basketball

1 LeBron James, Cle SF
2 Chris Paul, Nor PG
3 Kobe Bryant, LAL SG
4 Amare Stoudemire, Pho PF/C
5 Dwyane Wade, Mia SG
6 Steve Nash, Pho PG
7 Dirk Nowitzki, Dal PF
8 Josh Smith, Atl PF/SF
9 Kevin Garnett, Bos PF
10 Deron Williams, Uta PG

How is D Howard behind Garnett?

I love CP3, and have seen him rated as low as #4 in some mocks. I think Wade is terribly overrated in the #5 spot. He doesn't shoot any 3's really, and average 4.5 TO's for me last year. That was a real killer. I like Al Jefferson alot, and think Elton Brand could be a monster in the East.

Some guys I really like:

Andrew Bogut
Andre Blatche
David Lee
Rajon Rondo