Organizing things is kinda hard. My thoughts, well, organizing them is even harder. So I used this format to help me. I had grand idea about general thoughts, etc. I’m not doing anything grand.
This is a basic article, folks.
One principle I follow here is to not draft guys initially from teams that want the ping pong ball odds higher. Take guys from established teams looking for playoff positioning. Much more stable draft picks. Go to the waiver for the tanking teams.
Boston Celtics: For the guard rotation, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard will probably get the start, and Anfernee Simons the backup. If anyone should miss time, keep a stash out for Baylor Scheierman. He’d instantly be a three point threat. In the month of March, the Creighton product averaged nearly 2 treys per game. That’s 6 points total. If he gets the minutes over 20, he’s a deep league starter and streamer in shallower. But leave him on the wire for now; he’s a guy to remember only if Boston is injured or tanking at the end.
The big man rotation? Don’t look directly into it’s eyes, it’s hideous. Sam Hauser is listed as the starter. Threes, no rebounds or anything but threes. Neemas Queta is fairly interesting. First of all, he’s 7-0, 245. He looks like a center. Check. He had decent on/off splits. Check. Per 36, he averaged a double double. Check again. I guess he’s a decent end of the draft flier, but the Celtics could just go all weird and play four guards. Just keep these guys in mind for now.
Miami Heat: Davion Mitchell and Norman Powell will get all the minutes they can handle in the wake of Tyler Herro’s injury (might be back by December).
Kel’el Ware looks to lock down the center position. If he’s getting over 30 minutes, Nikola Jovic can be left alone. Jovic did have a solid Eurobasket run and is quite young still, so keep him in mind.
New York Knicks: “If you look at what I’ve done in the past, it’s usually nine-and-a-half to 10 guys”. No, this is not former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. This is Mike Brown, the new man in charge in New York. This was manna in the desert to bench players for the team. Miles McBride, Jordan Clarkson, and new big man Guerschon Yabusele will have ample opportunity to produce. Don’t write off the Knick bench; they have a new outlook and lease on fantasy relevance.
Clarkson should be able to reprise his Utah numbers of 16-3-4 if he gets his 26 minutes again. Tanking is not a consideration for the team either, so Clarkson likely gets to play in every game he’s physically able to.
The Knicks starters all averaged over 35 minutes per game last year. They won’t do that this year. They all might take a small hit to their counting stats, but benefit from more games played. The starting 5 will maintain value; the backups are TBD and good stash candidates/people in mind in case of injury.
Philadelphia 76ers: What a mess. These players are all set to miss time to start:
- Paul George: No timeline.
- Jared McCain: 4-6 weeks, probably looking at a couple weeks in the season.
- Jo’el Embiid: Duh, you know the deal.
- Quentin Grimes: Unsigned.
- Rest of Roster: Not good at basketball.
The only safe player on this team to draft is Tyrese Maxey. Or Kyle Lowry, you know what you’ll get there (nothing!). I’m just going to avoid this entire team. Too many moving parts for now, and you’ll be able to hit the wire when you need to.
Toronto Raptors: At point guard, the health of Immanuel Quickley is paramount. Not Paramount+, that’s a different Paramount. I’m not worried long term about his games played. Last year he missed the end of the season with a pelvic contusion. Doubtful it was a real thing. His first three seasons were 78-81-85 games in each. I like him as a value pick later in drafts. Jamal Shead is a decent replacement if you’re worried. When he got minutes, the averages went about 9-2-6, with awful shooting (38%). But the kid went to Houston. You don’t survive and thrive there unless you’re tough and hard working. Monitor and scoop up as the main injury replacement at guard.
Brandon Ingram only played 18 games last year with the worst recorded ankle sprain in history. You have to keep an eye on Grady Dick, just don’t swap jerseys with him. He may or may not be any good, but the minutes should be in the low 20s to start and likely higher on rest days for the oft-injured Ingram.
Overall, the rotation here will be pretty safe, and in drafts the backups can all be ignored.
New Jersey Nets: I’m dumb but not that dumb. Start Nic Claxton and Michael Porter, Jr. Cam Thomas I guess monitor because he’s an expiring. He seems mad at the Nets for not giving him the salary he wanted. Teams sometimes cut minutes for guys in that situation. You won’t see me with a Net on a roster, though. They’re just too tanky and too many players to sort through.
