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I did welcome everyone back when I introduced all the writers this season but when I drop my Top 10 is when I feel things get real. Plus, I will use any excuse to post this song. Always gets me so amped.

Before I get into each player of the Top 10, I wanted to write a disclaimer: THIS IS NOT A RANKINGS PIECE. The order I have players is based on my projections and overall value for category leagues. Where I’d draft a player depends on ADP, categorical need, and roster construction. Keep that in mind when going through all my Top X pieces and when choosing who to draft in your leagues. The FG and FT numbers are weighted for volume.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I often lose track of where I’m at in certain categories when drafting. Maybe it’s all the trees I smoked or the magic mushrooms I ate in the past. Whatever the case may be, I’m a dummy and can’t remember things too well. Therefore, I made a very basic draft tool on Google Sheets which keeps track of everything and lets me know how close/far I am away from certain benchmarks. This can also be helpful post-draft, as you can see how your team stacks up in each category. Please click HERE to read about how I ascertained said benchmarks. So, the data compiled over two years gave me an average for what it took to win each category on a weekly basis. From there, I divided that number by 3.15 (the average number of games each team plays per week) which gave me a per-game target number. Then, I submitted the sheet to Rudy (who is a real-life wizard by the way) and he did his magic. Rudy was able to link all the players from my projections sheet so that the data wouldn’t have to be inputted manually. Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! The sheet is pretty self-explanatory. The row with the colors will show you how far away you are from the target number. Keep in mind that the projections are based on my numbers and that the TARGET numbers are based on winning a category. In the future, I may change that to 50% or 75%. Modify them to suit your needs. Hopefully, this helps you guys out pre and post-draft.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

During the summer months, I try to predict the rotations and minutes allocations for each team. Then, I go to each player and figure out the per-minute production in each category. Multiply those numbers by the minutes played projection and…POOF! Per-game value of each player. Last season, I felt per-game wasn’t enough so I added totals to the equation. I weighted the total z-scores by 75% and the per-game z-scores by 25%. I’m continuing to learn, grow, and refine my process so we shall see how it comes out this season. After all that, the sheet is sent to the Wizard of Razzball, Rudy, who packages all the data and produces the aesthetically-pleasing and user-friendly sortable table that you have all become accustomed to at Razzball.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I just started doing my own projections a few years ago, so I apologize for any naivete. I’m still learning and growing in the process. While my process has matured over the years and I’ve figured out things, one thing that I’ve always had difficulty doing is projecting incoming rookies. There’s been plenty of work in the past about how college or Euro stats correlate to NBA stats. Click HERE, HERE, and HERE. They have all been helpful but I wanted more. I wanted a baseline to give me a general idea, so I went back and looked at all the rookies from 2010 to the present and jotted down the percentage increase or decrease for each category from pre-NBA to their rookie season and averaged everything out. It’s not the most scientific research and volume wasn’t incorporated so it’s far from perfect, but it gives me a general lay of the landscape. Hope this helps and, if there’s any way to improve upon it, please comment below.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It was a wild and wacky season. The rush to prep in the offseason was intense due to the quick turnaround from The Bubble. The compressed schedule instituted some quirks. COVID and injuries, in general, ravaged the player landscape. But we made it through another season. Congrats to everyone who won a chip. Spew your glory in the comments below. And I want to give thanks. Thank you Grey for allowing me a platform to project my voice. Thank you to all the writers who contributed this season. You all did excellent work and were instrumental in making Razzball Hoops what it is. And finally, thank you to all the readers. Without you, we do not exist. The Razzball community is one of extraordinary magnitude. We laugh. We cry. We help each other out. For you lurkers out there, don’t be shy. I’ve already made tweaks to my projections model, so I’m excited to get into things for next season. Anyways, I enjoyed getting to know all the writers and interacting with all the commenters. Until next year…..

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bledsoe has scored in single digits 25 times this season. He’s outside the top 200 on a per-game basis. There was a time when he was a perennial top 40 player. Life comes at us fast. On what was championship Sunday for many, Eric Bledsoe turned back the clock and produced his best performance of the season.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
24 4 11 2 0 1 3/9 8/17 5/10

Now, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram did not play in this one but whatever. A chip is a chip. If Bledsoe led any of you to a chip, you are obligated to buy a jersey of his. And you better wear that bad boy proudly. If anyone starts clowning you, just punch them in the face and say that your face Bledsoe that I could wear this jersey proudly around town.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I feel like our children’s generation and their children’s generation are going to look back upon our generation and have a gross underappreciation of Kevin Durant. Maybe it’s because of all the narratives floating around but I rarely hear him mentioned as one of the greats. Because in my mind, granted my mind is small and has been heavily influenced by trees and mushrooms, he is one of the greatest to ever play the game. He’s a seven-footer who has handles like a guard, is a career 1/1/1 player, a career 27-point scorer, and a career 49/38/88 shooter. He’s got the hardware and is one of the most unstoppable offensive forces in the game. Because he’s missed so much time this year due to injury, he’s been out of the consciousness of many but Dudeisamazingant reminded us of his ability yesterday.

PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV 3PT FG FT
42 10 2 1 0 5 7/13 16/33 3/4

In 40 minutes. The 58th time Dudeisamazingant has scored at least 40 points in a game. Durant has played 28 games this season and he’s the number six player on a per-game basis. Over the last seven seasons, he’s finished as the numero uno player for fantasy three times and been top five in six seasons. I hope he stays healthy so I can continue to watch his greatness.

Here’s what else I saw yesterday:

Please, blog, may I have some more?