I suppose you can say I own far too many fantasy basketball teams. I just finished drafting my eighth team, with three still pending and one currently in progress -- it's a 30-team experts league draft. Enough is enough, right? I figure that if I talk the talk, I should at least walk the walk.
Recently I was a part of an experts league draft started up by fantasy guru Dave Gawron over at RotoCommunity.com. The league consisted of 12 fantasy experts, each from a different fantasy publication or Web site.
I had the 11th pick in the draft, which seems to be my lucky number. After the jump I'll let you in on what I was thinking as I drafted and show you how I put my strategy to work.
It's a head-to-head league, using a 9-category scoring system: points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, three-pointers, FG%, FT%, and turnovers.
Below is my team roster, with the round and the number the pick was made, along with my analysis. We followed the snake draft format (1-12, 12-1, 1-12, etc.), which is standard.
If you're interested in seeing the team representatives along with complete draft results and analysis, check out Dave's piece on RotoCommunity.
Team Lorenzo
(1.11): Chris Bosh - PF/C
(2.14): Pau Gasol - PF/C
(3.35): Troy Murphy - PF/C
(4.38): Rajon Rondo - PG
(5.59): Eric Gordon - SG
(6.62): Anthony Randolph - PF
(7.83): Blake Griffin - PF
(8.86): Ron Artest - SG/SF
(9.107): Ronnie Brewer - SG/SF
(10.110): Aaron Brooks - PG
(11.131): Channing Frye - PF/C
(12.134): Anthony Morrow - SG/SF
(13.155): Randy Foye - PG/SG
Round 2: I didn't want to take Pau Gasol, but with Bosh already in tow I added another 18 points, nine rebounds, one block, and an excellent field-goal percentage. His free-throw shooting for a center is also a plus. Right now I figure I am tough to beat on rebounds already, with plus points, FG%, and in good shape in blocks and FT%.
Round 3: Knowing that I had two of the next four picks, I had two strategies in mind once Carmelo Anthony came off the board -- do I go with two point guards (Rose and Rondo) or go for the kill in rebounds and take one of the two point guards? I went with option number two. I'm not as high on Troy Murphy as most people, but I just might have shored up a third big man who will provide double-digit rebounds, 15 points, decent percentages from the field and free-throw line, and most importantly two-plus three-pointers per game. I'm still not sure he can duplicate his '08-09 season stats, but it's worth a shot.
Round 4: I needed a point guard. I had no assists and very little in steals. I took Rajon Rondo, maybe a little too early, but when you have to wait another 24 picks for your turn to come around you sometimes have to reach a little. Rondo is one of the top guys in the league in steals and assists. He also provides another player who can shoot 50-percent from the floor and he finished third among all point guards in total rebounds. His turnovers are a little high, but so far I have good balance in that category. I also don't like that he doesn't make many threes, but that's where Troy Murphy comes into play. Round 5: Eric Gordon was an easy choice for me. Again, maybe too soon, but I couldn't pass up the points, threes, steals, and FT%.
Round 6: I took the upside with Anthony Randolph. I was in desperate need of blocks, plus I added some steals and rebounds. But, with the good comes the bad. You get Don Nelson's erratic rotations and questionable decision pertaining to playing time when you draft a Warrior. The need for blocks was too great to pass up, though.
Round 7: If I could have followed up my last pick with Tyrus Thomas I would have, but unfortunately David Klyce took him in the beginning of the round. I went again with upside, taking Blake Griffin. Could he post a double-double? Who knows. I could really use the scoring and the extra rebounds, though. The free-throw shooting deficiency may be a concern, but it's worth it with the team I've drafted already.
Round 8: Ron Artest was one of only seven players to post at least 1.5 steals and 1.5 three-pointers per game last season. I'm hoping that as his role on offense goes down, his FG% will start to rise. Hard to pass up the steals and threes.
Round 9: I had Courtney Lee, Jason Thompson and Ronnie Brewer on my radar. Of course Lee and Thompson went ahead of me, so I opted for Brewer. He shoots over 50-percent from the floor, adds some assists and rebounds, increased his scoring since he's joined the league and adds close to two steals per game. His turnovers are also low, which is helpful after I drafted Griffin and Artest.
Round 10: This is the point in the draft where you just try to fill in needs. I went with Aaron Brooks because I desperately needed some more threes and the FT%, points, and steals also help.
Round 11: In Channing Frye I added more points and three-pointers. He's not a big-time rebounder or defender as a center, but he'll give me more depth in threes. That's also three straight guys with low-turnover rates.Round 12: Right on cue. Anthony Morrow continues to blow up in the preseason. Nellie is going to have a hard time keeping this guy off the court. He's an excellent addition in percentages, points and threes. I have him in all but one of my leagues.
Round 13: It's the final pick, time to take upside. I was looking for Danilo Gallinari, but he was gone. So, I saw Randy Foye sitting there and was happy to pull the trigger. As I've said before, if Gilbert Arenas goes down you get an instant sixth-round talent in the 13th. It's not out of the question that Arenas could miss some time this season, so this one may end up paying off.
Strengths: Rebounding, FG%, threes, steals and in decent shape in points and turnovers.
Weaknesses: Blocks, assists and FT%.
