When I started this writing thing three years ago, the impostor syndrome was strong. I play a lot of fantasy; would my writing measure up? Am I smart? Will people actually use my advice for good not evil? The research that I did back then was reading a ton of articles. My favorite was always the Yahoo! Friends and Family League. Basically, a bunch of people write about fantasy basketball, some even for their full time job, got together and ran a league. Then, they would write about it. It was always my favorite pre-draft read.
And now I’m in that league.
Look at this lineup:
- Dan Titus, Yahoo Sports
- Josh Lloyd, Locked On and Basketball Monster
- Zac Henshew, Rotoworld
- Dalton Del Don, formerly Yahoo
- Noah Rubin, NBC Sports
- Rotomancer, Old Man Squad
- NBA Fantasy Bible
- Son, formerly of Razzball, currently writes for The Athletic
- Adam King, Rotowire
- Matty Garrett, Insight Fantasy
- Steve St. P, Old Man Squad
Then, there’s myself and Kostas from this fine site. There’s also an analyst named Rory but I can’t remember where he writes. Sorry Rory!The draft is Thursday the 16th, and I couldn’t be more pumped to be in a league like this. Well, I guess I could be more pumped. There’s a lot of things to get pumped about in the world. But this should be fun, and hopefully Friday I can get a post up about how the draft went. I’ve always thought of the Friends and Family League as the gold standard in fantasy. Now that I’m in, I’m sure the prestige has dropped a bit. Maybe some good aura farming is in order.
Now for some season predictions. Please don’t save these. They’re wrong.
Fantasy MVP: Jalen Johnson can average 20-10-4-1-1 with low turnovers. That’s first round production. He won’t be the top rated player, but based on where you can get him, like in the third round, he’s one of the few blokes who is capable of returning first round value. It’s a definite risk; he hasn’t finished a season healthy yet. But one year was the ankle, last year a shoulder injury. It’s not like it’s a back condition, knee arthritis, or something chronic.
If you pair him with Nikola Jokic or a safe, stable guy, Johnson has the juice to propel you to some wins.
Fantasy Busts: All the Knicks
- Mike Brown is the coach and he likes ten man rotations. The former coach, ol’ Thibs, liked three man rotations but due to NBA rules had to play five guys.
- Jalen Brunson: Less usage, more movement oriented offense
- Karl Anthony-Towns: injury history, less minutes
- Josh Hart: No longer starting, career year last year that you shouldn’t pay for
- Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby: less minutes, less counting stats
I would predict all of these guys to be worse statistically than last year. Fade the Knicks.
Fantasy Rookie Not Named Cooper: You know all the big names. Dylan Harper has looked outstanding in the preseason, as has Ace Bailey, which makes me wonder how Rutgers was so bad last year. I would take Harper here; the Jazz will probably tank and not play good players again. Cooper Flagg is the guy to get as a rookie. Dylan Harper will play, play well, and make a run at rookie of the year.
Most Likely to be Rage Dropped and Scooped Up: Donovan Clingan is getting some buzz in a Walker Kessler kind of way. But Clingan is going to have some very, very poor offensive performances. Shaedon Sharpe is looking to score, and without a true facilitator post entry passes will be few and far between. Then, Clingan is also young and doesn’t exactly have a (Googles cool people term) bag in the post. I could see a very slow start, and owners dropping him with a 5 PPG average with poor percentages for a big man. He should still help in rebounds and blocks, but that drop mash will hit right.
Guy Who’s a Second Round Pick Next Year: Matas Buzelis is a fluid moving 6-10 jumping jack with a solid jump shot. He’s also the only hope right now for the Bulls to be relevant so he will get a ton of minutes. Guy just scored 19 points in 18 minutes in a preseason game. He’s for real. I’m thinking 16-6-3 with 2 blocks. He’s just oozing upside and I”m all for it.
Late Pick of the Year: Stephon Castle is entering his second season and already looks like a veteran. He’s going after pick 100 and has more upside than anyone I can find in that range given his opportunity. De’Aaron Fox is missing time and Castle will look to take those minutes and run with them all season. Think like 5 rebounds and assists. The guard has built castles with his bricks and hopefully he worked on his jumper because that’s all the he needs to do to be a fantasy stalwart.
Aging Hall of Famers: Kevin Durant and LeBron James and Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler and… Once you hit 35 in the NBA, you’re pretty much dead to me. Of course, then in RazzJam I panic and take Curry first, but do what I say not what I do. Even Nikola Vucevic, who is not a Hall of Fame player and game is decidedly not based on athleticism, forget it.
I’m an old person, much past my prime athletically. Some may say I never had a prime, but that’s hurtful. The one thing I know is that as you get older, the aches and pains increase and the recovery time does as well. Just avoid them.
- Instead of James, take Amen Thompson.
- Instead of Curry, take Devin Booker.
- Instead of Butler, take Matas Buzelis.
- Instead of Vuc, take anyone else who can block shots. Or Jarren Duren.
So here’s a bit of a preview for the season. It’s not the best one on the internet. It’s probably not the worst though either. There’s a lot of bad previews out there, folks.
Thanks for reading, and wish me luck on Thursday.
