Two Man Mock – Round 12
Jason handed out cookies in Round 11. He is a big softy when it comes to being nice. For Round 12, all you get is a link to Round 1 (because if this is your first time, you need an introduction) and a big picture of pick number 133. Please note we are not going to update or change anything for the trade which just went down and any into the future (but please also note my predictive $kills by picking up Collison in the 10th round one day before he got traded). This is my last round in this draft. I’m going to go out with a bang and pick the best people left on the board at each pick, as that’s what I try and do in Round’s 12 and 13 in normal drafts (also try and spot any starters still left on the board who have been overlooked). Now, back to that picture…
Old School, Josh, Old School.
133. Josh Childress (D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B. Jennings, J. Salmons, M. Okur, B. Diaw, D. Collison, D. DeRozan): The kid out of Stanford didn’t like it much at the Hawks when he was last in the NBA so he left to play in Greece. Good for some. But now he is back and he has ended up at the Phoenix Suns, a place where mere mortals become fantasy legends. In 2007-08 with the Hawks, he put up 12/5 with a few extras thrown in and one wicked FG% – 57%. With more experience, you would think he could build on that, especially in the Suns system. But then again, Jarred Dudley, Grant Hill, Hedo Turkoglu, J-Rich and Hakim Warrick will all have some things to say about that in the playing time discussion which will occur. He has a proven ability to put some points on the board and is never going to kill you with poor turnovers or percentages. Plus, you get that afro all season long, even if it sits on your bench.
134. JaVale McGee (G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall, C. Butler, E. Turner, E. Brand, C. Frye, M. Conley): You know JaVale. Sure you do. He plays for Team USA these days. It’s a sad situation but whatever. This 7’0 beast is just waiting to destroy the NBA. Last season he struggled to do anything but freed from the shadows of Brendan Haywood after he was shipped to the Mavs, McGee did show some promise at the end of last season, averaging 13 points and 8 boards in the last 8 games of the season on only 23 minutes per game. With no-one else actually being able to play Center for the Wizards, this is as good as it gets for McGee and fantasy owners in the 12th rounds in search of height. Anyone with 4 capital letters in their name can’t be all that bad as well and if anything, this team needed some more height (/* sarcasm). But if anything happens to one of the 5 PF/C’s on this team who are before him, the owner can rest easy that JaVale has his back (public service announcement: in honour of McGee amazingly making Team USA, for the rest of the this round all players will have 4 capitalised letters in their name).
135. ThAdeus YoUng (D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge, T. Ariza, A. Miller, M. Miller, T. Williams, A. Johnson): Before he went down towards the end of last season, Thaddeus was crushing his opponents. He scored double digits 49 times last season (the Sixer’ only won 17 of those games though), to end up with 13.8 points and 5.2 boards per game. It was this third season and many fantasy owners are probably a tad disappointed he hasn’t amounted to more yet. He doesn’t block, didn’t shoot very well last season (47% and 69% as a Forward) and seems to be stuck with nowhere to go. That’s all pretty negative but even if he gives you 12/5 at this stage, you are not going to be super disappointed. Plus, when Elton Brand and AI9 suffer long season-threatening injuries before Christmas, his stock will rise again. If you combine the last two draft picks for this team (Amir and Thaddeus), you nearly get a pretty good NBA player.
136. AnDerson VaReja0 (S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett, E. Gordon, C. Landry, A. Harrington, J. Calderon, Ma. Williams): I don’t know how he slipped to here. No LBJ. No Big Z. At worst he will end up with 11 boards a game, lots of bandages from falling over so much and the stupidest hair in the NBA. Andy, as he is affectionately known by those few people who actually like him, could make a massive leap this year but my gut says he will fall over on route because the wind picked up a bit. He will play 35+ minutes which equals more steals and blocks, both of which he could average 1.5+. Very handy at for this position. Further, while he is ‘offensively challenged’ to be polite, he should manage at least 10 points per game as J.J Hickson can’t do it all.
137. TaYshaun PrInce (D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin, J. Nelson, R. Stuckey, J.R. Smith, G. Oden, M. Chalmers): We are really scrapping the barrel at this point. Tayshaun (apart from also being a member of a previous Team USA) is one of those fantasy players I have an unexplained dislike for. Maybe it’s his blandness. 13/5/3 every year. Repeat. However now that T-Mac has joined the Pistons (please note his absence on this list… Jason… don’t even think about it), he might have to share whatever crumbs he still gathers in Detroit. He provides some very light cover for Blake Griffin as they are similar sort of players, if you ignore the athleticism, charm and ability to make basketball look fun from Griffin. Sorry to all those Prince lovers out there, but I just don’t get it.
138. JaMario MoOn (P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson, J. Holiday, R. Hibbert, K. Azubuike, T. Outlaw): Talking of players too cool to name, I think our man Mr Moon fits snug in this team. There will be a bit of speculation about Jamario this season and everyone wonders what happens to the Cavs after LeBron leaves town. To be truthful, no-one really knows. He did everything and now he is gone, someone is going to have to step up. Moon is a good a bet as anyone else. He can stretch the floor with his distance shooting, is very athletic and can steal/block when given the opportunity. He could end up playing a lot of minutes at SF alongside Hickson and Varejao to try and move the ball up and down the floor as quickly as possible. That’s what I’d do and my two coaching championship trophies (under 12 girls division 2) I think attest that my opinion actually means something. If Azubuike, Outlaw and Moon all get some minutes this season, this team is going places fast. Then again, if they sit on the pine, there is some pretty serious trouble ahead.
Yes Please (Photo: NBAE/Getty Images)
139. WeSley JoHnson (D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford, P. Millsap, T. Parker, R. Lopez, L. Odom, B. Udrih): Here is a real cool cat. You wanna make a big impression? Rock up to the NBA draft rocking that outfit to the right. Despite being drafted by one of the craziest GM’s who ever lived, big Wes is ready for the NBA. After spending an eternity at College, he is ready to hit the big time. He likes to score, hit the long ball and can block too. Well, he could do all that against undersized players in College who hadn’t reached puberty yet. At a minimum he is worth a pick in the late rounds because he is a pretty solid chance to wrack up 1.5+ threes and 10-12 points. This of course all depends on the how the minutes are divided up at Minnesota this season, but it doesn’t hurt to take a bit of a chance and hope for the best. He shores up three’s to consolidate on Granger’s strengths and is a patchy, possible diamond in the rough type pick.
140. RoNnie BrEwer (K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola, R. Allen, L. Barbosa, C. Maggette, G. Monroe, R. Artest): There is only one certainty here. Steals. Lots and lots of steals. It doesn’t matter where Brewer plays, the result is always the same. Last season for Utah he managed a touch over 30 minutes, but managed to grab 1.6 per game. In the five games he played for Memphis, he grabbed a steal every 12 minutes (and shot 23% from the field…). I don’t like him for anything else, but with Monta, Felton, Kobe, Artest and Barbosa, this is turning into a break and enter kind of team. There is also the added bonus that if Luol Deng goes down, which is a more than reasonable proposition, you get bonus steals as his minutes shoot up.
141. DrEw GoOden (D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley, V. Carter, Y. Ming, D. Cousins, W. Chandler, E. Okafor): We’re going big here. Dr. Ew joins Okafor, Yao and DeMarcus as late round selections for this team. Playing for the Bucks is not a bad sign for Gooden, but the rate at which he moves teams (8 in 8 seasons) does mean that he might be playing elsewhere by the time you finish this article. For the Clippers last season, Gooden put up decent numbers, 15/10, over 24 games. He also shot an amazing 92% from the free throw line on 4.2 attempts per game which is like gravy. I don’t expect that at the Bucks but even if he gets in that vicinity, this owner won’t be complaining.
142. CaRlos DeLfino (C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, Mo Williams, C. Kaman, G. Arenas, A. Bynum, A. Kirilenko, S. Dalembert, A. Morrow): Anthony Morrow got me excited as this teams last pick, then he became the starting SG at the Nets after Courtney Lee left so I decided to add some impact by backing him up with extra three’s. Carlos hit 1.8 per game last season as he sat out on the line and dropped bomb after bomb. Admittedly this kind of killed his FG% (40.9 for the season) but he also kicked in 11 points and 5 boards, really helping out a lot of owners who picked him up off the waivers as he caught fire. As the Bucks grow as a team, his role will probably reduce but I still think he will be good for 1.5+ per game. He is probably still on cloud nine after beating the Hawks last year in Game 4 as he buried 6 of 8 from distance while also condemning Coach Woodsen.
143. KeNyon MaRtin (L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng, R. Lewis, T. Splitter, B. Gordon, J. Flynn, D. Favors): When you search ‘Kenyon Martin Injury Update’ in google and get hits from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, you recognise this pick, even in Round 12, comes with some risk. As in, he might not play another game. Ever. He is questionable for the start of training camp and has no date set on a recovery. Hmm. When you are turning 33, this is not exactly a positive sign. But if he gets healthy, he dude can ball. Even in a shortened season (54 games) last year, he averaged 11.5/9.5 with 1+ blocks and steals. This is a long way from his hey day, but it’s pretty good production where you can grab it. Considering this team is already set for the season ahead, these types of picks can really add some value down the track.
144. BrEndan HaYwood (K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry, M. Thornton, T. Thomas, Ge. Hill, S. Ibaka, A. Biedrins): You can’t teach height. Heywood is 7’0. Lesson over. Despite the Mavs potentially playing small ball with Dirk at the 5, the trade for Tyson Chandler and the pretty uneventful 28 games last season which Haywood played for the Mavs, there is a sense of inevitability with this pick. 8 points, 9-10 boards, 2 blocks. Pretty simple. Team Delicious didn’t really need another big man but I couldn’t resist trying to build that lead in blocks, the hardest category to gather stats in. Biedrins, Ibaka and Haywood will provide plenty of those and also some trade bait along the way if required or injuries hit.
And so it was. My part concludes in this epic two man draft which has spawned two weeks and counting. I’ll have a few looks back at where things could’ve improved along the way once everything is wrapped up by Jason with Round 13. It’s been an interesting challenge to draft with two different people. I thought a couple of times I was steering a direction only for it to be flipped completely, but the old adage, 2 heads are better than 1, is true in fantasy basketball just as it is in other facets of life. Below is an updated team list… minus cookies.
Team Delicious: K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry, M. Thornton, T. Thomas, Ge. Hill, S. Ibaka, A. Biedrins, B. Haywood
Team Bulls 2.0: L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng, R. Lewis, T. Splitter, B. Gordon, J. Flynn, D. Favors, K. Martin
Team Bang Bang: C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, Mo Williams, C. Kaman, G. Arenas, A. Bynum, A. Kirilenko, S. Dalembert, A. Morrow, C. Delfino
Team Ipecac: D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley, V. Carter, Y. Ming, D. Cousins, W. Chandler, E. Okafor, D. Gooden
Team Tru Warier: K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola, R. Allen, L. Barbosa, C. Maggette, G. Monroe, R. Artest, R. Brewer
Team Stolen Block Party: D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford, P. Millsap, T. Parker, R. Lopez, L. Odom, B. Udrih, W. Johnson
Team Too Cool to Name: P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson, J. Holiday, R. Hibbert, K. Azubuike, T. Outlaw, J. Moon
Team Big Time: D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin, J. Nelson, R. Stuckey, J.R. Smith, G. Oden, M. Chalmers, T. Prince
Team Frail: S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett, E. Gordon, C. Landry, A. Harrington, J. Calderon, Ma. Williams, A. Varejao
Team Dope: D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge, T. Ariza, A. Miller, M. Miller, T. Williams, A. Johnson, T. Young
Team Future: G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall, C. Butler, E. Turner, E. Brand, C. Frye, M. Conley, J. McGee
Team Know Your Limits: D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B. Jennings, J. Salmons, M. Okur, B. Diaw, D. Collison, D. DeRozan, J. Childress
Two Man Mock Draft – Round 10
Round 10. Some would say, the most pivotal round of the draft. You can spot those people a long way away. Their first nine picks sucked. For the rest of us, this is a chance to take some chances or shore up support in one or two categories with some specialist players who can make a bit of an impact. It is also where you will see most ‘sleeper’ candidates start being nabbed (although obviously this can occur earlier as well). The things I look for at this stage in the draft? Potential and the ‘comeback season’ from players who might have slipped off the radar but have done well in the past. I was excited by the new visuals in Round 9. I was also pleased to see the poll results at this stage (I promise I have only voted once Jason). Rashard Lewis? Your dead to me mate. Looks like Luol Deng is the man for the 6th round after all. Make sure you go over and check it out. And another thing. Rounds 1-8 can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. In order.
109. Darren Collison (D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B. Jennings, J. Salmons, M. Okur, B. Diaw): You might be worried Collison isn’t going to play enough minute to justify a 10th round pick and you might be proven right at the end of the season. But Colliwobbly has upside in two distinct ways. He is backing up Chris Paul, who after last season obviously has a question mark over his head with regards to longevity and more importantly, he is going to be used as part of a three man rotation (Paul and Thornton) at the guard. Mo Pete has left town leaving these three amigos to run New Orleans. Their big men aren’t good enough to command attention (sorry David West, you just don’t cut it in my books) so it’ll be up to these little guys to make it work. Collison showed he can still make things happen in his 39 games as a sub, slashing to the basketball. I expect around 26-28 minutes per game over the course of the season, perhaps even more. This is good enough for 10-12 points and approximately 5-6 assists. A little pricey for the 10th round but as soon as Chris Paul sneezes, his value will sky rocket.
110. Channing Frye (G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall, C. Butler, E. Turner, E. Brand): Frye has taken a bit of a hit in fantasy circles this season for some unbeknown reason. He still plays with Steve Nash. There are no major additions to the Suns front court to replace Amar’e (if anyone pipes up name Hakim Warrick, I will personally hunt you down). Sure, he went pretty cold in the playoffs last season but who really cares? In the regular season he was good enough for 2+ threes, 11 and 5. Nothing bad there. I see pretty much the same this season, except probably about 1.6 threes instead. He nearly throws in a bonus steal (.9) and block (.8) every game as well. This team is a strange mix of defensive monsters (Howard, Wallace) with pure offense (Blatche, Bulter, Frye). I’d be pretty pumped heading into the season with this team (except you Caron Bulter – you are forever in the bad books).
111. Terrence Williams (D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge, T. Ariza, A. Miller, M. Miller): I wanted to take Brad Miller here, just for a hat-trick, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. There is a bit of a log jam at the SG/SF spot in New Jersey after they decided to spend their money this summer on ‘free’ agents instead of the big fish. Courtney Lee, Morrow, Outlaw and even Jordan Farmar will clog up minutes here. But T-Will is the bomb diggy and true talent always shines through. He is a triple-double threat and can bring the house down if he so chooses. Just because he didn’t listen to Kiki V. doesn’t mean you should exclude him from your fantasy thoughts. New coach Avery Johnson don’t take no crap and Williams will ship up and begin to dominate this season. Look for a major leap across all categories. In April, Williams averaged 14/7/6. I wouldn’t expect those gaudy numbers for a season, but it shows promise and possibility.
112. Jose Calderon (S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett, E. Gordon, C. Landry, A. Harrington): This team needed another point guard and Calderon is the man for it. Listen, I’ve met Jarrett Jack, and while he is a nice guy who poses for photographs better than any other basketball I’ve met, he can’t cut the mustard in Toronto. He is not a starting quality point guard. On the other hand, Calderon is. Even in only 26 minutes per night last season, the Big Cheese managed 10 points, 6 assists and one three pointer. He shoots the ball amazingly well from the field (48% last season) and can dominate the court at will. That’s what will happen in the worst case scenario. The best part? There is a good chance he will get traded. The bad part? No-one knows where. This instability is not good but then again, that’s why this is pick #112 and not #25 like last season.
113. Greg Oden (D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin, J. Nelson, R. Stuckey, J.R. Smith): When I see pictures of Greg Oden (no, not those pictures), I start humming the intro track on Jay-Z’s Blueprint, “the ruler’s back”. With Oden, I feel like I am waiting for the inevitable… not another knee injury or stress fracture, but the 14/12/2 that I know is just around the corner when he can work out how not to foul. Heck, he doesn’t even have to do anything except stand on the court to effect the game, but most of the time, as witnessed by his 86 fouls per 36 minutes, he can’t even manage that. Regardless. This is the season. This is the one. Everything comes together. The Blazers become relevant again. I’m excited. Plus, Oden fits this team like Stockton fitted Malone. The mix of small men, smaller men and Brook Lopez really needed a bit of Oden grunt. Just like it took Xena Warriors Princess 3 seasons to really get off the ground, Oden is ready to deliver in the 4th.
114. Kelenna Azubuike (P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson, J. Holiday, R. Hibbert): Unlike last round I picked, this round my heart is really invested. I think Oden has me a little too excited. Azubuike? Apart from the best name in the NBA (sorry Dwyane), Azubuike has a legit shot at being 1-1-1 (three/steal/block) talent in the 10th round. You throw in 10 points, 5 boards and pretty impressive FG% and you have a winner. With the attention focused nearly universally on Amar’e, the 2 and 3 men for the Knicks are going to run riot up and down that court as puppet master Mike presses the ‘faster’ button repeatedly. In 2008-09, his last major injury free year, KA averaged 14/5 for a Golden State despite having to contend with noted black holes (Jackson, S) for the ball. This year is gravy compared to that. 1-1-1 is really what this team needs as the scoring and boards are there, but the little intangibles still make up 3 categories every week. There are still a few issues here, but nothing a good 11th round pick can’t fix.
115. Lamar Odom (D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford, P. Millsap, T. Parker, R. Lopez): It’s pretty hard to have a favorite Laker but if someone held a gun to my head, I would chose Lamar. Big, dopey looking, knows that he can’t have a good Khardashian so he settles for a mediocre one. That’s my type of multiple NBA champion right there. And did you know he loves candy? Odom might not produce at first, in fact you can probably count on him not producing, but eventually he’ll find his groove and when Andrew Bynum gets injured, he’ll have a field day. Odom played in all 82 games last season, clocking up nearly 10/10 every night (10.8/9.8) as well as 3 assists, .7 threes, .9 steals and .7 blocks. Not bad for a dude who doesn’t really give a rat’s ass about anything. The only reason he went to this team was his ability to build on already established strengths. Granger/Smith/Nene/Millsap are all steal/block+ type of guys and Odom only helps that, along with some pretty decent points and boards. This team looks more scary everytime I check it out. Sure, the owner will be scouring the waivers for signs of assists as soon as PG’s start dropping, but those things tend to work themselves out in the end. Can I quickly say as well, I love the Robin Lopez pick. He is going to tear it up this year.
116. Greg Monroe (K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola, R. Allen, L. Barbosa, C. Maggette): After three players in a row who could fit the various types of shooting guard mould, I needed to get some size back into this team. Munroe, the #7 pick in this years draft, is a snug fit. He has some of the sweetest hands in the post you are likely to see. As passing big men go, there might not be a better one by the end of the season (even including Darko Milicic doing his best Chris Webber impression). If the Pistons are serious about starting a-fresh (which might not be the case, Joe Dumars has been lacking a lot of seriousness since about 2007) then Monroe will walk into a starting spot. This should be the case. But it might not be. At Summer League, he struggled to assert himself in the post and settled for too many outside looks. He has to get inside, get dirty and play some ball, like he did for Georgetown. Only then will his talents rise through the murky waters of 3rd grade fantasy Centers and into our hearts. Hopefully this happens sooner rather than later. Please note: The Pistons are probably the worst team for fantasy prospects this season. If Rodney Stuckey is your best player, you ain’t getting it done.
117. Wilson Chandler (D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley, V. Carter, Y. Ming, D. Cousins): Chandler would have gone a lot higher if it wasn’t for those pesky Golden State players coming to the party. He showed promise last season as a semi-talented swing man who could score when the game was free flowing and he had ample opportunity. His near 48% from the field looks like a bit of an aberration but he should still present this type of value this coming season. He is a New York Knick who probably doesn’t excite that many people this season after the slight disappoint of past campaigns for fantasy owners. I don’t see 35 minutes in the equation either. He gives this team some more punch and doesn’t hurt any categories, which can be a bit of an issue with certain high round picks.
118. Samuel Dalembert (C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, M. Williams, C. Kaman, G. Arenas, A. Bynum, A. Kirilenko): I notice a bit of a trend here. I’ve taken Bosh, Kaman, Bynum and now Dalembert. If anything else, at least this team will know how to rebound. I wasn’t very high on Sammy D as soon as the Kings nabbed DeMarcus Cousins in the draft. But over time, I think I have come around a little. He is an established player who showed real flashes of solid basketball last year. He should have no worries seeing off the smaller Jason Thomson for minutes. He hasn’t missed a game in 3 seasons and despite playing a smaller role for the Sixer’s last season, that was because they were crap and the head coach was a nut job. Dalembert is never going to give you lots of points, but his boards and blocks are substantial and something you won’t find from many others at this point in proceedings. With Cousins playing down low with him, it might even open up some doors for extra stat padding. Much like Dalembert, at first I wasn’t too hot on this team, but I really like the last four picks and I think there is some solid structure and direction happening here which is always a good thing for fantasy teams.
119. Jonny Flynn (L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng, R. Lewis, T. Splitter, B. Gordon): Even if LBJ does average near double-digit assists, this team still needs a little but of love in that department. Flynn is nearly the last point guard who was a starter last season still left on the board. He didn’t do much to earn this spot, instead sort of falling into it. In fact, he only averaged 4.4 assists per game. Things should be a bit better this season with Luke Ridnour backing him up instead of Ramon Sessions. If he doesn’t nudge past 5+ per game, there is something wrong. Like the majority of sophomore point guards, he should lift his minutes per game, alongside his scoring and assists while shooting a better FG% (41.7 last season, yuck) and less turnovers (2.9 in only 29 minutes). Flynn is not going to set the world on fire at any point soon but he is handy to fill in some gaps late in the draft. 5+ assists per game is still 18-20 per week which will more often than not be the difference at the end of the week. This team is stacked in many other areas (boards, points, blocks, threes) so this doesn’t hurt in the slightest.
120. Serge Ibaka (K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry, M. Thornton, T. Thomas, Ge. Hill): I know I probably shouldn’t have. But gosh darnit, I really wanted to. Air Congo as the Thunder faithful love to call him managed to play 18 minutes per game in his rookie campaign but his playoff performances won him many plaudits which should transform into increased minutes. This is a pure roll of the dice pick. I really don’t know if he will be able to produce substantial value at this stage but the potential is all there. In those 18 minutes per game, he managed 1.3 blocks and 5.4 boards. Give him an extra 7 minutes a game and he is a legit force to be reckoned with in the right team. Furthermore, this is a little bit of insurance against Camby and Thomas who don’t have the best track records when it comes to playing all the games of the season.
So we come to the end of Round 10. A look below shows the teams in their latest new uniforms. While some people are probably shaking their heads at some of these picks, please remember this isn’t a ‘pick the best available player list’ but a way to form teams which would look more like real fantasy teams, each with their own unique styles and each with their flaws which are inevitable at some point in a draft of 156 players. Look out for the last three rounds at fBasketballBlog and around here in the near future.
Team Delicious: K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry, M. Thornton, T. Thomas, Ge. Hill, S. Ibaka
Team Bulls 2.0: L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng, R. Lewis, T. Splitter, B. Gordon, J. Flynn
Team Bang Bang: C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, M. Williams, C. Kaman, G. Arenas, A. Bynum, A. Kirilenko, S. Dalembert
Team Ipecac: D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley, V. Carter, Y. Ming, D. Cousins, W. Chandler
Team 5: K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola, R. Allen, L. Barbosa, C. Maggette, G. Monroe
Team Stolen Block Party: D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford, P. Millsap, T. Parker, R. Lopez, L. Odom
Team 7: P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson, J. Holiday, R. Hibbert, K. Azubuike
Team Big Time: D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin, J. Nelson, R. Stuckey, J.R. Smith, G. Oden
Team Frail: S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett, E. Gordon, C. Landry, A. Harrington, J. Calderon
Team Dope: D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge, T. Ariza, A. Miller, M. Miller, T. Williams
Team Future: G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall, C. Butler, E. Turner, E. Brand, C. Frye
Team Know Your Limits: D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B. Jennings, J. Salmons, M. Okur, B. Diaw, D. Collison
Two Man Mock Draft – Round 8
My last round was a mixed bag of emotions for Jason over at fBasketballBlog. Thanks for nothing Michael Beasley and Luol Deng. To catch up, here is Round Seven and you can scroll down a bit for past rounds.
At this point, I’ll also point out what I think have been some of the better picks so far and some of the surprising aspects to date. Jameer Nelson (#80) in the last round could turn out to be a real steal. Carter is only getting to be more useless and if Nelson can even produce 80% of his steller 2008-09 season, he’ll be a worthy player this season. I loved Ray Felton (#53) in the 5th. I think this is the perfect spot for him, as if you wait any longer, you will definitely lose him. It’s not just the D’Antoni affect either. He had so much promise coming into the league and this should be his opportunity to really showcase his entire skill set. A few surprises? Manu Ginobili in the 3rd round kind of freaked me out, but I can see how it could work with a massive front court of Wallace/Howard if everything goes right. I surprised myself by waiting on Luol Deng till the very end of the 6th round as I love his game and think the addition of C-Booz might boost things for him. But maybe I’m just tripping. Notable players still on the board after 84 picks (but perhaps not for long): Tony Parker and Carl Landry, both proven fantasy plugs for the middle rounds in recent seasons. I’ll have some more commentary after Round 13.
This is what happens when you draft Gilbert Arenas. There is a special place on the internet reserved for these people. I hope I never stumble across it.
To mix things up, I’ll try and make this round a bit safer because I have been hurling down a mountain on one ski in the past couple of rounds. Not to say I won’t do it again, just this round seems like a good time to consolidate what is good and fill in gaps with safer options before the completely mind boggling picks of the late rounds occur.
85. Memo Okur (D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B. Jennings, J. Salmons): Some people would say this is a risky pick because of past health issues (he has missed 29 games over the past three seasons) but I feel it is safe because you know EXACTLY what you are going to get and can therefore plan around this. The floor for Okur is good percentages, 13/7 with 1+ three. It’s like a glove with this team. Nash, Jennings and Jackson have the small things covered and there seems to be a bit of a glut of smalls around the 105th pick mark, so we can cover more there. With Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson both undersized, the Jazz are going to rely on Okur even more than times gone by. This group of players might not be the most exciting to grace the floor, but as a collective unit, you could do a lot worse (listen up team four, we’ll get to you later).
86. Evan Turner (G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall, C. Butler): This was a really hard pick. I was looking for a pure scorer type of player. Here is a tip – get your scoring before the 8th round. While the three existing bigs on this team are going to crush opponents, there is a derth of scoring options and when you get to the 8th, there isn’t much left. I’m not sold on Turner, but he was better than the other options in my opinion. He lit up the college scene last year and has a big body which will help with his adjustment to the NBA. Andre Iguodala does him no help in fantasy terms, either does the as yet undrafted Jrue Holiday/Lou Williams guard combo. But if Turner can show he is the best player out of these guys (and he is), he will have little trouble demanding the ball when required… which will be all the time. This team is now an odd mix of super talented big guys while gambling on the small guys to pull their weight (Manu, Wall, Turner). I’d be worried if I were the owner, which I am in a strange kind of non-committed kind of way.
87. Andre Miller (D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge, T. Ariza): It pains me to lump Miller in with this team of cool cats. 34 years old, playing for the most boring franchise in the league, Miller is the antithesis of cool. But. He hasn’t missed a game in 3 seasons. This team needed another point guard (and it wasn’t going to be Tony Parker). He gets the rack and beefs up the overall strength of the team. Ariza was a great pick up for steals and threes (which Miller lacks both of relative to other point guards) and they will complement each other. It’s a good idea in the later rounds of the drafts to ‘pair-up’ picks to cover more bases. Despite the glut of guards at Portland, I don’t see his minutes dropping below 30/game and this seems to be about the right spot for his talents.
88. Carl Landry (S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett, E. Gordon): I worry a lot about Duncan and Bogut. Then I keep reading and KG slaps me in the face. Considering I drafted two of those three, this pick is about righting that injury risk. Landry might not be exciting. He definitely isn’t going to do anything unexpected. The best we can hope for on a pretty loaded Kings front court is approximately 13-14 points, 6 boards and a few steals all mixed together with some very efficient shooting percentages. It’s pretty easy to ignore stats like those, but at this stage of the draft, I feel he is the safest option left on the board for his position because he has already shown his game. Even if DeMarcus Cousins becomes a 20/10 monster (which I highly doubt), Landry will still be chipping away and will even benefit from the extra space on the floor which he opens up. After all that, I think I have talked myself into this team being one of the juiciest to date.
89. Rodney Stuckey (D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin, J. Nelson): Let it be known I feel dirty typing Rodney Stuckey if it is anywhere near a figure with only two digits. However I’m trying my heart out to play it nice and safe here and he is the top ranked player still available. It does make back-to-back point guards but at least they are proven in some sense of the word. There was once a time when Stuckey was going to be the next big thing. The 2008 playoffs were a long time ago though (in fantasy time) and he is now a definite 3rd tier point guard. His 40% from the field is mind blowing bad and it really hurts you because of the sheer amount of attempts per game he jacks (15 last season). He has shown the ability to score though and is your typical 15/5 with extra steals type of guard which I think fantasy players should normally steer clear of. In this case, D-Will and Nelson really did need some extra assistance and the big guys have things covered in most areas. I’m not giving myself good marks for this pick, but there is still a flash of potential that Stuckey can get things together and make some kind of mark this season. The Pistons need a leader now that Rip Hamilton has been reduced to bench duty and with some new young tall timber coming in, there is the chance of a new start in Detroit.
90. Jrue Holiday (P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson): The last three picks for this team have really boosted the scoring potential. The need for another point guard was pretty prominent as even Rondo can’t do it all. I am wary of Holiday because of the log-jam he is at thanks to Lou Williams. It must also be hard playing with Iguodala who likes to think of himself as some kind of undersized point-forward at times but as he grows in his sophomore campaign, I like his chances of really making a run at some good facilitation work in Philly. Per-36 minutes he averaged a touch under 6 assists per game last season and has good enough long distance shot to do some damage. It remains to be seen what happens to the Sixer’s back court but he should play a very important part going forward. This team is ready to really wrack up the steals and threes and if we can build on blocks heading down the straight, things are very positive.
91. Tony Parker (D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford, P. Millsap): I held out as long as I could (can you see the inbuilt bias against point guards yet?). Parker smells like trouble this season but at #91 you are severely minimizing the risk you have just taken on. As George Hill grows, Parker drops off. He played 56 games last season but more importantly, only just clocked 30 minutes per game. This meant this assists dropped by 1.2 and his scoring by 6 points. None of this is good but we are looking at it through a lens tainted by his freakish play in the earlier stages of his career. 5+ assists per game is still very solid at this stage of the draft and there is the guarantee that he plays at worse 28+ minutes. Hopefully this is enough for owners. In terms of this team, it was either go small here or totally forget about assists and steals. I nearly did that but Rose, Crawford and even Granger/Smith would be losing too much relative value. You would think steals/blocks/boards and threes are all solid without Parker, whose job is to bump up the assists and get the team over the line with 15 points per game.
92. Leandro Barbosa (K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola, R. Allen): The run of point guards was getting too much for me to handle. Barbosa has been one of my favorite players and it’s a massive shame that he was injured last season and then traded. Luckily enough, the Raptors play a very up tempo style of basketball and someone has build stats with all those possessions. In his last full season, he averaged 15+ points and 2+ threes. While a tad similar to Ray Allen in pure statistical output (at his best), I have high hopes that he will push up his assists and steals as well at the Raptors. It need not be by much, but another 2.5 assists and 1+ steals on this team doesn’t hurt anyway. This is the way to built a small ball team without any standout point guard. It might not be very text book, but I really dig it. Bryant/Ellis/Felton make up a very solid core of guards which are well complemented by Allen and Barbosa who push up the efficiency and knock down shots. Some might consider this a reach as Barbosa might fall a fair bit further but I’m a big believer in taking what you want regardless of others because you never know what will be available to you at the next pick.
93. Yao Ming (D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley, V. Carter): When Jason calls out for a center, I like to think I have the right goods to bring to this party. Mr Ming may not be second round material these days but according to recent reports he is on the road to recovery and should be fighting fit at first day of training camp. In case you have forgotten, here is Yao’s stat line from the 2006-07 season: 25/9.4/2 blocks, 52%-86%. Yummy. For all those people groaning into their keyboards, I realise this is not ever going to happen again. But here is something you can bank. 16 points, 8.5 boards and 1.5 blocks. Yeah, I said it. All those people picking up DeMarcus Cousins while the cross their fingers that he gets anywhere near those numbers? Yeah they crazy. I know those numbers come with a MASSIVE question mark about health and stress fractures, but at this stage this team had little option. They don’t have anyone who can block. They don’t have someone who will threaten 10+ boards on a nightly basis. Now they have both of these things. And if it all goes south? They can sell team name jerseys on their blog to China FTW.
94. Andrew Bynum (C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, M. Williams, C. Kaman, G. Arenas): Speaking of big guys who love spending time on the pine, welcome Andrew Bynum! Lets run through the good things first. Last season he played 65 games, which was nearly as many as the previous two combined. He played 30 minutes a night. He played through pain (Kobe has been teaching him tricks, he played all 15 games for the Lakers last December and while he only logged 27 minutes per night average, it’s a great sign he toughed it out). He averaged career highs in points (15), FT% (74%) and FGA (10.6). This is all great news. Now for the bad. He is still playing with Gasol and Odom who are used heavily to protect Bynum from himself. Even when he does string together a bunch of games, you never feel safe when he is occupying your center spot. His turnovers are rising (1.8 last season) and his boards (8.3 last season) aren’t rising as expected. He also has this knack for putting in monster games and following them up with absolute crud. He really should be averaging more blocks and a high FG% but this isn’t the end of the world. Like Yao, but to a lesser extent, there is risk associated with this pick but you have to remember, players do get over injuries sometimes. Who predicted Andrew Bogut last season for instance? For this team, he gives them grunt in the middle with those extra boards and blocks, which Chris Bosh might be too flaky to count on.
95. Tiago Splitter (L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng, R. Lewis): Any team with LBJ on it doesn’t need to be sensible in the 8th round. These are where the advantages of having a top 3 pick really start bearing fruit. Because James does so much with the ball (assists, boards, points), he is like having this awesome combo guard-forward who you don’t need to compensate for in the late rounds. This team is pimping at the moment. They are rock solid across nearly every category. That’s why it’s time to start picking the cherries which aren’t quite ripe yet, but will age flawlessly in your fridge. Splitter was the MVP of the Spanish league last season. According to an April installment of my favorite odd-ball NBA post, ShamSport’s ‘Where are they now’, Splitter averaged 16.4 points and 7 boards while playing only 27 minutes in the Spanish League with whoppingly (I know this isn’t a real word) good percentages (60-79). Now, I don’t know about you, but this sounds like my kind of Center. He immediately slots into starting Center at the Spurs thanks to his experience in Europe and he starts helping everyone around him. With Duncan at PF, he will have opportunity galore to get easy looks under the basket. I’m drooling just thinking about it and he might even make the Spurs watchable on the TV. He turns this team into an above-average big man unit to a beastly one which will crush opponents on the boards while his percentages will shore up any mishaps from Mr Deng or Mr Roy (both my picks). [Friendly sidenote which in no way is meant to offend: I disagree with Jason about the relative worth and end of season statistical output of Lewis over Deng. This season could be known in Chi-town forever more as Ding Dong Deng if my dreams of regular smack downs come to reality. Also, Rashard Lewis is a hack. End of argument.]
96. Tyrus Thomas (K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry, M. Thornton): My man crush on Tyrus continues. As this is my favorite team in the mock, I kind of wanted to cheat and put Splitter here for the sake of making my own personal team, but I felt that was definitely defeating the purpose of a two man mock draft. Instead, I went with the enigma that is Thomas. Chicago was a cruel place for young Tyrus growing up. So many expectations were placed on his brittle shoulders. In short bursts, he would demonstrate his ability but this just frustrated fans and fantasy owners even more so when he failed to show up for the majority of his games (not literally of course). But the Bobcats are a whole new ball game. They are defensive specialists who love to slow the ball down. Even playing only 21 minutes per game while carrying an injury, Thomas managed 10 points, 6 boards, 1.5 blocks and nearly 1 steal per game. Imagine if he actually plays 30 minutes a game? Plus, as a bonus, you get him at extremely great value because he has pissed off so many other owners that they won’t touch him. Yahoo has him penciled in as their starting PF. Regardless of what actually happens, it will be a real adventure peeking through your fingers to glimpse at box scores when he is involved. This team is stacked with scorers, has thrown away assists and filled with promise. This is my dream team. Jason, don’t stuff it up =)
And with that, I’m spent. A re-cap below. I have started naming teams, I hope nobody minds. I know, they are childish but every team should have a name. Feel free to suggest away and I’ll change them accordingly.
Team Delicious: K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry, M. Thornton, T. Thomas
Team 2: L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng, R. Lewis, T. Splitter
Team Bang Bang: C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, M. Williams, C. Kaman, G. Arenas, A. Bynum
Team 4: D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley, V. Carter, Y. Ming
Team 5: K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola, R. Allen, L. Barbosa
Team 6: D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford, P. Millsap, T. Parker
Team 7: P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson, J. Holiday
Team 8: D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin, J. Nelson, R. Stuckey
Team Frail: S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett, E. Gordon, C. Landry
Team Dope: D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge, T. Ariza, A. Miller
Team Future: G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall, C. Butler, E. Turner
Team 12: D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B. Jennings, J. Salmons, M. Okur
Two Man Draft – Round 6
I’m loving this. Even if I stuff everything up, it’s only half my fault. Two men mock drafts, the way of the future. In Round 5, Jason really started to lay some solid direction with a couple of teams. I’ll see what I can do to erase that and make him earn his hard earned blogosphere dollars. If you have just popped in, here is Round 1 and you can follow the links for the rest. Also, if you have been waiting, sorry about the delay. Holidays called.
Further, let me have some pre-emptive defense. Round 6 is where it actually gets hard. It’s like trying to score 100 points when you run the entire offensive through Ron Artest. Let’s kick it off.
61. Brandon Jennings (D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green): A point guard was a necessity here as you can’t build a big man team on the back of David Lee and Carlos Boozer. Despite the inevitable rookie slide into oblivion last season, Jennings still averaged over 15 points per and nearly 6 assists. More help has arrived at the Bucks this year but that just means good things for his passing game. It is a pure passing game as well, so that transition to facilitator shouldn’t be an issue. In fact, Jennings could be a massive steal at this spot. Talking of steals, he could threaten 2+ per game as he defense gets better against better teams. There were two occasions when he had a streak of at least 1 steal over 8 games. Then again, he could implode. 37.1% from the field is nothing to rave about. But this just means more three’s in my book. He will be underrated as people reach for other, unproven guards such as John Wall and Evan Turner. I just don’t understand how you can walk past a guy who calls himself Young Money.
This could be all yours (High TOs inclusive). What fantasy owner could refuse?
62. John Wall (G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche): I know I just managed to pre-slag myself about two sentences ago when I said people will reach for unproven rookies. Sue me. This team is built upon the very solid PG/PF strategy, but kind of upgraded because of the addition of Howard. Sure, you are throwing away ft% with this pick (could’ve tried to save it when a Yao Ming crapshot) but Wall is a good fit here. His guaranteed terrible FG% will be offset by the gluttony of bigs. The three’s will help out as it was lacking to date. The street-cred has just jumped through the roof (you know Gerald Wallace ain’t getting it done after the last dunk contest). Plus, if the owner is taking Blatche and Manu, they like to live on the edge a little already. I’m big on the Wizards letting Wall play 35+ minutes a night for at least 30-40 games. He will hit a wall (oh fun times) but by then you will have traded him to some chump who thinks they are onto a bargain. Wait for that 35+ point, 13+ assist game and remember, his value will never be higher. Rookies are the easiest players to do this with as they attract serious attention on the web and owners go crazy for headlines. Still a good fit for this team regardless.
63. LaMarcus Aldridge (D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph): A lot of people would question this pick. But something stood out to me as I was pouring over his stats. He has hit 7.4 field goals per season for the past 3 seasons. I don’t know why this is important, but I feel it is. Furthermore, we’re set for three’s so LaMarcus and his lack thereof doesn’t hurt. He is a lock for 18/8 every night at about 50% from the field. This team is really starting to evolve into a beast but still with room to play going a bit smaller with some late picks. I also think that is Aldridge is ever going to make a fantasy leap, this is his year. If you look closely, his TO’s have been falling every season while his assists rise (2.1:1.3 last year). These things might not matter to your average lay fantasy man, but when you are building an elite team which can mix it with the big boys, it all counts. Wade and Davis will rack up 14+ assists a night between them, but if Amar’e/Bargs/AntRand and LaMarcus can add another 10, it will make a difference (and yes, I did just pencil Randolph in for 3+ per night thank you for asking). Sure it needs some work, but the gambler not so deep within me loves this team.
64. Kevin Garnett (S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris): Looking at this team, I really felt that insurance was a must with Duncan and Bogut waiting to brake some bone I’ve never heard of. And do you know why this pick reflects the worst of the NBA? Because the other options were Andrew Bynum or Yao Ming. This KG is not the KG of old to be sure. But who do you want in your corner when the going gets tough? This bad mofo. Still good for 14/7/2.5 with 2+ combo steal/block, Garnett is the angriest, bad mouthed asshole in the game. I like him in team because of his every improving FG% and ability to add boards without further eroding FT%. The only reason he is still alive is to play defense (and hate on Baby Davis) and with Curry and Melo, this team needs anything but scoring. I’m not as pumped as he is for this team (he would be pumped even if he was traded to the LA Sparks) but I don’t think they’ll be the worst bunch of players ever assembled as long as David Kahn is still managing a team come October.
65. Blake Griffin (D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu): I don’t understand how a rookie can go backwards in fantasy ranking when he hasn’t even played a game and the team he plays for has not moved forward. But that is the case with Griffin. From a very quick scan it seems he is predicted to be a 80-ish pick. Well, screw you Mr Well Informed. Am I concerned about drafting potential? No. Is this owner in a solid position at about the half way mark? Heck yes. Jason gave this group of players an A- before my pick. I’ll go out on a limb and say it I just improved it. Griffin is going to be a STUD. He will be the most athletic rookie in the league this season despite his knee. He will give John Wall a thumping in the ROY (early prediction). He will eat other Clippers for breakfast if they don’t do what he says and he should be saying “give me the ball”. This squad might be lite on guards, but the more I think about it, the more I see Turk inserting himself into the middle of the Suns offense (sorry Steve Nash and that #13 pick). The more I see a thunderstorm or points, boards and extras. Hot damn. Blake Griffin. I’m excited and it’s 10.18pm on a Tuesday night in the first week of August. 16/9 with 1.5 blocks and minimum 2 breathtaking ESPN ‘plays of the week’ highlights where you can turn to your friend and say “that’s why I drafted him at 65″.
66. O.J. Mayo (P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin): Some people will get all up in your face when you take Mayo and point out little ‘facts’ like his scoring went down while his minutes went up in his second season, or that his playing time decreased despite the fact Mike Conley is a chump. Here are some words for that person. Sit down son. Mayo is in a delicately poised position. He is stuck in a shitty rotation. Can work effectively when given the chance, but somehow Z-Bo managed not to stuff it up and eats up a lot of possession. But there is hidden benefit in this as well. He is going to become super efficient. While some people don’t get excited for that, I get giddy. 2+ three’s per game on 47% FG? You won’t find that many places, especially when you put it next to 3+ assists, <2 TOs and nearly 4+ boards. This is what dreams are made of from the shooting guard spot. Forget Ray Allen (well don’t, because he is visiting the station shortly), Mayo is the best available option here. One can only hope Mike Conley disappears before training camp and this becomes a legit 5th round pick.
67. Jamal Crawford (D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson): I always got J-Rich and Crawford mixed up, so it is fitting that they are bundled next to each other. Did I mention how this team just became nigh unbeatable? Oh. Focus. This is no traditional team. Granger/Smith/Nene are all multi-cat specials which nearly rules out any type of small ball. But Rose brings it back from the edge, while J-Rich consolidates. The reason I like Crawford and not some like Eric Gordon is that Crawford plays a lot of PG and that’s worth something. He is not going to average 5+ assists per game but unlike most 2 guards, he will give you something to build on (a lot like O.J Mayo). Undoubtedly the best thing about his move to the ATL has been his uptick in FG% while no negative effect on distance shooting. He is not going to set the world on fire this season, but he doesn’t have to either. He adds nice points to the mix. While steals might be tough to win every week with this group, there is a real shot at each of the other categories.
68. Luis Scola (K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton): I didn’t want to pick Scola. I always thought he was like Carlos Boozer but without the fun. However you can’t argue with 16/8 at this spot with excellent FG%. In fact, it isn’t available in anyone else except some serious accompanying risk. Jefferson and Gasol give this team it’s grunt while Kobe holds everything else together (LOVE the Felton pick btw). Scola doesn’t really put anything over the top, instead trying to extend what good is already there. There is the risk of Yao’s return but considering I haven’t even thought about Mr Ming yet means this owner doesn’t think he is going to be much of an impact. In fact, even if he does stay, it only attracts the double team which opens it up for Scola to work his magic. Nothing terribly exciting going on here except a mix of quality fantasy players who should produce consistently.
69. Michael Beasley (D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks): This is where you come for excitement. Be-Easy didn’t make many friends for himself down on South Beach. Luckily the Wolves will take anyone they can put their filthy little hands on these days, so the former #2 pick takes his talents to the cold of Minnesota. And I for one am excited. It’s hardly he was given much of a chance at the Heat. He played only 29 minutes per game last season despite being the clear 2nd best option. Dwyane Wade considered him a ‘too hard’ case and Beasley had to do everything to fit into Wade’s plans. Sorry for going against the grain, but you don’t draft a number two pick and say “go do your thing”. The Heat never once tried to structure any type of play around Beasley. I’ve only ever seen 7 NBA games live, but on Christmas Day 2009, Beasley performed the best basketball move I’ve ever seen (a fake from the baseline, drive and dunk which had the Knicks crowd gasping). The kid has talent. Oodles of it and in Minny, he is going to shine. I give him 16/7, 2+ blocks/steals and a brand new attitude on life. Oh and he fits in fine here. Wave goodbye to blocks, but everything else is looking tasty.
70. Chris Kaman (C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, M. Williams): Instead of team 3, this team shall now be known as just ‘Chris’. Kaman would’ve gone earlier if Griffin wasn’t around, but he is. So don’t expect 18 and 9 every night. Maybe he slips back into a more defensive, Marcus Camby-type role (see 2007-08). Not sure. To tell you the truth, this team needed a big man and I didn’t want to pick Roy Hibbert. Pretty simple. He was the best left on the board and while he doesn’t excite me in the slightest, I think it’ll work out fine. Mo Williams will do enough exciting for the two of them.
71. Luol Deng (L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love) This is where things get juicy. If you somehow end up with a collection of vastly superior players to everyone else -exactly what I am classifying this team as- you go and grab the best available player on the board. Not according to position, but overall. Luol Deng might not be a superstar, he might have taken a hit in value thanks to C-Booz but he can still ball. Last season I predicted he would be a 20 and 8 player. He disappointed me with rather pedestrian 17.6 points and 7.3 boards per game and still missed 12 games. This season, he probably won’t even manage that. Yet he will go near to being a 1-1-1 player and doesn’t kill you with his TOs or percentages. As Biggie Smalls says, it’s all good baby baby.
72. Jason Terry (K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby): I feel that I could have picked Aaron Gray here and this team would still manage to win the majority of it’s games. It’s almost unfair on paper. Horford/Camby are the perfect big men to surround Durant/Evans while Pierce mops up. Terry has taken a bit of a hit in recent seasons, but he is still one of the best threats from deep around and he gives plenty of dimes to shore up a potential weakness here. Steals? Tick. FT%? Tick. And while his FG% is in free fall, the rest of the team should more than make up for that.
Well, that wraps up Round 6. Make sure you hit up fBasketballBlog soon to continue this epic, now August journey. To quickly re-cap (and I leave Jason for the grades as I would just be giving out a whole bunch of A’s)
Team 1: K. Durant, T. Evans, A. Horford, P. Pierce, M. Camby, J. Terry
Team 2: L. James, B. Roy, C. Billups, J. Noah, K. Love, L. Deng
Team 3: C. Paul, C. Bosh, J. Johnson, R. Gay, M. Williams, C. Kaman
Team 4: D. Nowitzki, J. Kidd, A. Iguodala, A. Jamison, A. Brooks, M. Beasley
Team 5: K. Bryant, A. Jefferson, M. Ellis, M. Gasol, R. Felton, L. Scola
Team 6: D. Granger, J. Smith, N. Hilario, D. Rose, J. Richardson, J. Crawford
Team 7: P. Gasol, R. Rondo, T. Murphy, Z. Randolph, K. Martin, O.J Mayo
Team 8: D. Williams, B. Lopez, D. West, D. Gallinari, H. Turkoglu, B. Griffin
Team 9: S. Curry, C. Anthony, T. Duncan, A. Bogut, D. Harris, K. Garnett
Team 10: D. Wade, A. Stoudemire, A. Bargnani, B. Davis, A. Randolph, L. Aldridge
Team 11: G. Wallace, D. Howard, M. Ginobili, R. Westbrook, A. Blatche, J. Wall
Team 12: D. Lee, S. Nash, C. Boozer, S. Jackson, J. Green, B Jennings
Until Round 8…
