I had no intention of doing that new Yahoo fantasy game called High Score. Like at all. I don’t like new things and this is a new thing. At age 48, this old dog was out of new tricks.
Then I got a DM from Dan Titus, the NBA fantasy guy who writes for Yahoo, asking if I’d be interested in an analyst league with him and eleven others. Kinda an honor, and really good competition. So I said sure, doing no research beside what I had done. Turns out, it’s a really fun format and easy to figure out. What you do is have five starters, and they get their highest score for the week. So for example, Jalen Duren had a 43 point game this week. That’s his score, even if he sits the next two games due to his sprained ankle. You literally get his highest score of the week and nothing else.
Another thing here is benching players. I had Matas Buzelis score only a 26 point game (low, you want your guys all over 40 if you can). Austin Reeves came back from an injury and scored over 40. Now, I went ahead and benched Matas because I figure Reeves will have over 26. I lost the Buzelis points, but I reckon the net gain will be 17 points.
It’s not the deepest league, or my favorite, but it’s got a worthy place in today’s game. You can check every day, and should, and then maybe you’d be 2-1 like I am (sorry, shameless self-promotion. Ya boy is having a great fantasy season to start).
Here’s a quick breakdown of points per game:
- Around 70: top of the league, only two guys (Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic).
- 60-70: Giannis Antetokuompo and Victor Wembanyana (spell check level).
- 50-60: only 9 guys. So it pretty well mirrors real life value as a points system.
Do you remember that time when U2 added their new album to iTunes for free and people got mad? No? Oh, you youngsters. That wasn’t even 20 years ago! But Yahoo did this kind of thing. I have an extra high score league that I have no idea I joined. They did a “join league now” thing, and one click got you a league. I guess it’s not bad, it’s not a ton of competition, but it can be kind annoying and cluttering your profile if you get in a few leagues like this. Wish they hadn’t done that.
But I quibble, I quibble.
Players are organized in three positions: G, G/F, and F/C. You don’t have as much choice then, but that’s part of the charm. Just a bit easier and less to think about. And some guys have all the categories! Just another little quirk here.
I would give this a 7 out of 10. It’s not going to satisfy everyone because of the lack of depth and options. But that’s also the point!
If you’re interested, check it out and tell me what you think down below.
Yahoo didn’t ask me to do this by the way, this is just trying to update you guys on the landscape. Hit the comments though, what’s going on? anyone else enjoying this?
