This is the best time of the year. Baseball is going to get real soon, pigskins are being thrown around, it’s the eye of the WNBA season, and my rankings start flowing out. I also forgot that my kids go back to school soon. I love my kids and all, but they need to start getting edumacated again. You scoff at the WNBA mention? I admit, I was not a fan in the early days, but those ladies got skills. In addition, they play beautiful basketball and the offensive sets that they run are poetry.
Since August 1st happened to be on a Tuesday, I’ll release rankings every Tuesday from here on out. Can one be semi-OCD? That’s an oxymoron right? Maybe I’m just a moron. Anyways, I get a little particular about things, like it would’ve bothered me if I started this whole endeavor on Monday the 31st. I know. I know. I’ve got issues, but lucky for you, the subscription is free!
A big shout-out to Slim, who provided projections and his thoughts and opinions.
Giannis has it all. Literally. 20 letters in his name, three nicknames that I know of, 211 centimeters of height, is eligible at four positions for fantasy, and contributes in every category. By the way, the three nicknames are Greek Freak, The Alphabet, and Magic Giannson. It’s only logical to conclude that his herum would make Wilt jealous. So, G played the fourth-most minutes in the league last year. As DFS guru Al Zeidenfeld says, “Minutes equal money.” He was Top 20 in field goals made, free throws made and attempted, total rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, points, field goal percentage….Whew. I think you get the picture. What’s crazy is that he will be 23 years old in December and there is still room for improvement! Namely, his outside shot. Really, my only concern regarding G is if Greece requires bailout funds from the United States and use G as a bargaining chip in the negotiations.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .515 | .775 | 0.6 | 21.0 | 8.7 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 36 |
2) Kevin Durant
Durant was one of five players last season to be in the 1/1/1 club. That’s average one three pointer, one steal, and one block per game. That leaves four Easter eggs for you to look out for. Or you could just go look it up. It’s all about what you want from this experience. Anyways, the Warriors played at the fourth-fastest pace last season. That’s not expected to change this year. The scary thing regarding the Warriors is that they could be better this year. Developing and acquiring that chemistry and cohesion from last season could take this team to the next level, if that’s even possible. It all comes down to injury and motivation for this team. I think they go for history, as they are aware that there is a limited window with this squad. If that’s the case, KD is going to be a monster.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .530 | .880 | 1.9 | 25.0 | 8.1 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 34 |
3) Steph Curry
If you can’t remember what I just wrote for KD, then you either used to smoke too much weed or you just smoked too much weed. Either way, I salute you. If you just scrolled down here and bypassed the KD section, please scroll back up and read it. Thanks. The only thing Curry does not contribute is in blocks.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .475 | .900 | 4.0 | 25.0 | 4.4 | 6.6 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 34 |
I thought about putting KAT number one overall. After much thought, I just couldn’t put him any higher, but I wouldn’t hate on anyone that decided to go that route. He’s going to be 22 years old in November and this will be his third year in the NBA. So sick. He has not missed a game in his young career so far and was second in total minutes played last season. Thibs doesn’t mess around with his rotations, so KAT should be among the leaders in minutes played once again. He attempted 3.4 three pointers a game last season and shot 83% from the line. He’s 7′ 0″ 244 pounds!!! Some may be worried about the Jimmy Butler acquisition. Not me. KAT is going to get his. I think Andrew Wiggins gets hurt the most by the Butler get. The crazy thing is there is room for improvement, especially on defense. Could he join the 1/1/1 club this year? Not out of the realm of possibility. That assist number could also increase. I still can’t believe this is only going to be his third season. The more I think about it, the more I want to move him up.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .545 | .825 | 1.4 | 25.0 | 11.8 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 36 |
If you thought Leonard was the second member of the 1/1/1 club, you thought wrong. To be fair, it was the most logical guess and he was a member in 2015, but he fell short in blocks last season. Like Giannis, Kawhi contributes across the board. The only negative is that Popovich smartly navigates the regular season NBA schedule by resting his players when appropriate. Leonard played 74 and 72 regular season games the past two years. The acquisition of Rudy Gay may give some pause to some, but I wouldn’t be too concerned. Especially after I read this article by Mike O’Connor.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .480 | .875 | 2.0 | 25.0 | 6.0 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 34 |
All you need to know is that there is Twitter account named Anthony Davis hurt?@isTheBrowHurt and far too often this is sent out:
Yes
— Anthony Davis hurt? (@isTheBrowHurt) December 29, 2015
When healthy, AD is a beast, but that’s the conundrum. He’s played more than 70 games in a season just once in his five year career. In addition, his numbers did dip slightly playing with Demarcus Cousins. I wanted to put AD lower, but I just couldn’t. The upside is just too much.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .510 | .800 | 0.7 | 27.0 | 11.5 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 36 |
7) Chris Paul
I initially had CP3 at number four. After much thought, I decided to move him down, but I’m still very bullish on him this year. The Rockets operated at the third-fastest pace last season. D’Antoni is still the coach and he had some experience with a guy named Steve Nash, who just happened to win back-to-back MVPs with him. Side rant. That second MVP was such BS, as Kobe should’ve won it that year. Anyways, there’s risk here for sure. CP3 is 31 years old, the minutes per game have decreased in each of the past three seasons, and the number of games missed has increased each of the past three years. There’s also some guy named James Harden on the Rockets who was an MVP candidate himself last season and had an insane usage rate. With that said, I have no doubt that CP3 steps right in and dominates the ball. He’s an alpha dog and that’s why the Rockets brought him in, not to be a spot-up three point shooter. The Rockets have said they will stagger their minutes, so Harden will still have opportunities to get his, but he’s a very good spot up shooter and will get so many good open looks in that role. This move rejuvenates Paul. Can’t predict injury, so I won’t go there but he knows his window is small. There really wasn’t a better situation that Paul could have gone to. The Spurs exposed the Rockets in the playoffs by staying with the long-range bombers and daring them to shoot the mid-range. Well, CP3 is one of the best mid-range shooters in the league. The space. The pace. The opportunities. An MVP, both in real life and fantasy, is a viable outcome.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .470 | .890 | 1.9 | 18.5 | 4.8 | 10.0 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 2.5 | 32 |
What an unbelievable FU Tour Westbrook had last season! He was a freaking Tazmanian Devil, wreaking havoc to everything in his path, even his own teammates to some degree. Paul George will suck away some usage and Patrick Patterson is a great signing to stretch the floor. I have a feeling that Russ will be more apt to dish it off a little more this season. This should also benefit Steven Adams, who was pretty much relegated to hair model last year. Last year, we got Hulk Russ. This year, we get Bruce Banner Russ, which is good for the Thunder but knocks him down a bit in fantasy.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .430 | .830 | 2.0 | 28.0 | 9.1 | 10.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 4.6 | 34 |
9) James Harden
The usage is coming down for Harden due to the CP3 acquistion. As I mentioned above, CP3 is an alpha dog and he’s handling the rock the majority of time when he’s on the court. With that said, he’s still going to get opportunities, especially when CP3 is resting, and the pace/environment is a fantasy goldmine in Houston. Harden is going to be good, but it’s tough to think that he can approach or replicate last season. I still can’t put him out of the Top 10, though.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .445 | .860 | 3.3 | 29.0 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 4.0 | 36 |
10) Nikola Jokic
This is a player that Slim and I are very far apart on. As you can see, I’m super high on Jokic. He is so freaking good and he’s only 22 years old. I’m expecting a massive jump in production, obviously, due to the fact that a) he’s really freaking good b) the Nuggets finally realized that he’s really freaking good c) the pace that the Nuggets play at (seventh-fastest last season). Last season, Jokic was Top 20 in field goal percentage and rebounds per game. He only played 28 minutes per game last year. He has a chance, albeit a slight one, to join the 1/1/1 club. He can shoot the 3, is an excellent passer, really good shooter from the field and the line, and has the ability to rack up steals and assists. He had a couple of games with either five steals or five blocks. He had 13 games with at least two steals and 12 games with at least two blocks. Will he be Rudy Gobert? No chance, but he also won’t be Greg Monroe-esque.
Slim’s projection:
| FG% | FT% | 3P | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | MP |
| .550 | .820 | 0.7 | 17.0 | 9.7 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 30 |
