That girl you have a crush on. That job you’ve been dreaming about. That glory you receive from hitting the game-winner. None can become reality until you shoot your shot. Well, I decided to shoot my shot by entering the NFBKC Main Event for the first time. It’s a 12-team, 8-cat league with an overall component and third-round reversal. Entry fee is $1,000 with the top three getting paid and a $10,000 overall prize with the glory that comes with it. Here’s a look at Son taking his shot.
I did the research and labored over making projections in the offseason. I feel like I’m at a certain level so I need to see where I’m at. Will I be paying tuition to get educated or will I have a chance at glory? Time will tell but even if I bomb, the experience and knowledge will be beneficial going forward. You cannot learn without failing. So, here’s a recap of the draft and my thoughts behind each pick. The draft room was filled with sharks like Hall of Famer Eric Wong, Curtis Gazdewich, who has won everything that NFBKC has had to offer, and Dalton Del Don, who writes for Yahoo and is a high-stakes player.
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Here’s the board:
ROUND 1
I was hoping that Giannis would fall to me, especially since I have so many shares of Anthony Davis, but G went one pick before. Davis is great in points, boards, steals, and blocks while being good in every other category except tres. While he drains some, he’s a slight negative in that category. Tres are easy to find later. Davis always has the health risk, but he also has numero uno player for fantasy upside.
ROUND 2
Like Davis, George has some health risk as well. He also has top-three upside. George is great in points, boards, dimes, tres, steals, and free throw percentage. So the tres balance out what AD is lacking. The negatives are the field goal percentage and he’s a slight negative in blocks. I don’t think Kawhi plays this season so it’s going to be the PG show. There were times when the usage rate came close to 40% with Kawhi off the floor last season and it should be in the low-to-mid 30% range this season. That’s massive.
I kind of hate that the floor is low with AD and PG but the upside was too tantalizing for me to ignore. I have already built the shrine and have their bobbleheads to which I will pray to each and every morning, noon, and night. When I have to take a piss in the middle of the night, I will pay my respects as well.
ROUND 3
I was a little light on dimes so I was seriously contemplating Chris Paul but I decided to go with Michael Porter Jr. He is great in points, boards, tres, and blocks. Without Jamal Murray, he will be the number two guy behind Jokic so the usage rate should be high. The efficiency and robust percentages were very alluring as well. He’s light in dimes so my deficiency coming into this round got a little worse.
ROUND 4
Chris Paul kept falling, and falling, and falling. But in a room this sharp, he wasn’t going to fall too far. Why the pick right before mine, though? That’s just mean. Anyways, Paul would’ve been perfect for my squad but it wasn’t meant to be. Looking down my list, I had my eyes on Dejounte Murray, Darius Garland, and Derrick White but I thought at least one of those three would be there after the turn. So I went with Richaun Holmes, who is one of my favorite bigs this season. He’s elite in field goal percentage and good in blocks and rebounds without hurting the free-throw percentage.
ROUND 5
I really need dimes at this point so I had to address it now. I chose Garland because he’s young with a chance of breaking out, he doesn’t destroy the field goal percentage, and he provides those precious dimes I need. He also is good in points, tres, and steals while the free-throw shooting is excellent. He’s a negative in boards and blocks but AD and Holmes built a nice base in those cats.
ROUND 6
I was still light in dimes but my queue got decimated here with Tyrese Haliburton, Derrick White, Kyle Lowry, and D’Angelo Russell all being selected before my pick. This is where things deviated from my plan. I like to stay balanced in roto leagues and really keep an eye on the percentages. I decided on the upside for KPJ, though, despite the dings to both percentages. He’s good in points, dimes, and tres. With no John Wall, KPJ should garner all the usage he can handle, which will likely be in the mid-to-high 20% range. We saw the potential last season and I’m hoping for a second-year progression. That said, this pick really defined the rest of the draft as I was behind in field goal percentage the rest of the way.
ROUND 7
Wanted to really solidify the dimes here as the pickings would be slim going forward. Kemba has some injury risk as well but when healthy he’s really good in points, dimes, tres, free-throw percentage, and steals. Thibs will play his guys the minutes so hopefully, Kemba won’t completely break down. After the KPJ pick, I was hunting for field goal percentage help but I couldn’t justify taking any of those guys here. As a result, my field goal percentage went from bad to worse since Kemba is a big negative in that cat. Overall, I’m not in dire straights but below average. I’m decent everywhere else but I think I was a little light in tres at this point.
ROUND 8
I was on the hunt for field goal percentage but most of the guys who would boost that cat would hurt me in other cats and bring down the overall picture. So I decided on boring yet across-the-board friendly Mehrrison Barnes.
ROUND 9
Another boring player who wouldn’t hurt me in any category and boost my field goal percentage a bit. Plus, I needed a third center since we start two centers in this league. As this round unfolded, though, I began to think that maybe I should’ve started hunting for upside as Josh Giddey and Alperen Sengun were selected. I love both of those guys. That said, I was okay with the Horford pick as he should play around 28 minutes and provide a little something something in every cat.
ROUND 10
I needed a guard here and there were plenty of options: Evan Fournier, TJ McConnell, and Reggie Jackson were on my mind. I went with Melton because he should get more playing time this season as the depth chart has cleared up a bit with upside for more if things break right. Once again, the field goal percentage is rough but I already dug that hole a while ago so I focused on the other contributions that he provides: defensive stats with something in every offensive cat.
ROUND 11
Looking at my draft tracker that shows where I stand in each cat, I felt like I was meh across the board. So I decided to take a big gamble to get upside onto the squad. There’s no greater, no risk it no biscuit player than Kyrie Irving. He has first-round upside and I think there is a chance he plays this season while fully understanding that he could be a complete zero. The risk/reward ratio seemed palatable to me especially since most of the players in the pool were meh and could be selected later.
ROUND 12
I was hurting in field goal percentage so I kept hunting for help. It helps that I was getting a little light in boards and blocks as well so it fits perfectly. I do take hits in free-throw percentage, tres, and dimes, though. Birch isn’t exciting but he should play around 26 minutes a game.
ROUND 13
My first panic pick of the draft. I forgot to cross off a couple of players on my list so I kept typing names in the search box, which was wasting time on the clock. Oh, I forgot to mention that there is a one-minute timer for each selection. Desmond Bane being selected right before me also put me on tilt a bit. So I went with Beasley because he scores both on and off the court. I kid. He’s going to play close to 30 minutes and provide plenty of points and tres with some boards and dimes. There are no contributions in the D but I get it. Need to save it for the after party.
ROUND 14
Even though LaMarcus Aldridge looked like crap on opening night, I do think he will be an important contributor to the squad all year. He helps with the percentages and can provide points, boards, and blocks. Hopefully, he plays around 24 minutes. If not, then LMAO and he gets dropped to the wire. Thank goodness there is FAAB in this league.
ROUND 15
Chris Duarte is my rookie upside pick. He’s mature for a rookie and could play a significant role since the Pacers are dealing with so many injuries on the wing. The field goal percentage could be bad but that means he should be a welcome addition to the squad.
ROUND 16
Max Strus is my dude. I traded for him in a dynasty league last season after doing a little due diligence. He’s a knock-down shooter but what most intrigued me was his athleticism and ability to take it and finish strong at the rack. He’s not going to start but he should get time off the bench since the Heat rewarded him with a two-year, $3.4 million contract in the offseason. I always remember last year that Jimmy Butler would always talk glowingly about him so Strruuuuuuuuuuuuus.
I don’t feel great about this squad. It seems too mediocre to compete for a top slot but we shall see how it plays out. I’m going to be super diligent on the waiver wire and will try to piece meal my way into competitiveness.
