Fantasy Basketball: RCL Draft Recap

Hello everybody. I am TonyRP, one of the new fantasy writers at Razzball. I love fantasy and writing about this great game. For my first post, I am going to analyze one of my RCL teams. This team was drafted in the Straight Cash Homie 4 league. This league consists of some other Razzball writers and a host of skilled players. Going forward, I will be recapping all the RCL leagues and keep you abreast of the hot and heavy action.

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My team:

At first sight this team looks very interesting, but fraught with risk. I always try to pick undervalued players, the type of players that fall out of favor for one reason or another. I also draft players that I’m intimately familiar with, which I feel gives me a competitive advantage. If you know a player better than others, you can see things that others do not and evaluate him properly. I’m European, so I’ve watched those players well before they made it to the NBA. I remember when Kristaps Porzingis was drafted and Knicks fans were crying. I drafted him in two leagues that rookie year at picks 90 and 110.

Other undervalued players are those with injuries. Like a long-term investment, you can scoop up these players very cheaply and reap the rewards down the road. Isaiah Thomas may be too risky in the six round, but he could return to action in December, and in a H2H league this is a worthwhile risk for a potential 1st/2nd round player.

And now here’s my team:

Round 1, Pick 6 – Karl Anthony Towns: An easy choice. For me, KAT is with Giannis for the number one fantasy player this season. He is good in basically all the categories. He is a center with 83.2% in FT!. Across 37 minutes per game, his stats speak for themselves: 25.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 three-pointers.

Round 2, Pick 19 – Paul George: I was targeting Porzingis here, but he was picked at 18. Paul George in the 19th is more than interesting. Everybody remembers the last season with Victor Oladipo in OKC, but Paul is a more complete player and his numbers should be similar to last season.

Round 3, Pick 30 – Eric Bledsoe: He played just 66 games last season and 31 in 2015/16. The risk is obvious, but a young point guard with 20+ points and 6+ assists is too nice to pass up. If he can stay healthy, he has the potential to be a top-15 fantasy player.

Round 4, Pick 43 – Otto Porter: Maybe this is my steal of the draft. He was a second round value last season and has the potential to maintain that. Very good in rebounds (6+) and an elite player in steals, 3Pt, and low turnovers. Tough to resist.

Round 5, Pick 54 – Serge Ibaka: He is not the same player from a few years ago, but he is still young and is a solid source of blocks, points, rebounds, FT, and 3Pt.

Round 6, Pick 67 – Isaiah Thomas: Last season, he was a 1st round player. Clearly that is impossible this year due to his injury. When he comes back (maybe in December) this is a potential third round player.

Round 7, Pick 78 – Willy Hernangomez: Over the last 31 games of last season he averaged 11.5 points and 9.4 rebounds in only 24 minutes. This is very promising for a rookie. If he takes on a similar workload, we have potential nightly double-double.

Round 8, Pick 91 – Gorgui Dieng: He is a top 50 player the last two seasons and he is only 27. He may battle with Taj Gibson but Gorgui is a much complete player, and picking him at 91 offers a solid value for my team.

Round 9, Pick 102 – Evan Fournier: Well, I needed a SG. The team was solid in PF and C, but with Isaiah, Evan Fournier was an easy pick. He is only 24 and has a high potential in point, steals, and threes. His FG% and FT% fell last season but one season does not make a trend.

Round 10, Pick 115 – Dario Saric: After the All-Star break, he averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.4 assistsc and 1.3 threes, and 0.9 steals per game. It will be difficult to match those numbers with the return of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, but with both players having injury concerns, Saric is a solid pick in round 10.

Round 11, Pick 126 – Zach LaVine: Very risky pick, especially since Thaddeus Young, Joe Ingles, and Wilson Chandler were still available. He could return in December and has the potential to post 20+ ppg for a young, rebuilding team in Chicago.

Round 12, Pick 139 – Jordan Clarkson: I needed a PG/SG. In the last two seasons, Clarkson averaged a solid 15.1 point and 1.1 steals with good percentages.

Round 13, Pick 150 – Danny Green: His numbers should be similar to last season. He is a source of 3pt and steals. He can improve upon the numbers from last season but we pretty much know who he is. I think he is an interesting pick in the final rounds.