My 1st time in a fantasy league - appraisal please ;)

[DJlaysitup]

OK Ok ok...this is my first time in a fantasy league (my son's - 8 team, espn snake draft) and I wanted some advice on the picks I made. I did a little bit of research and decided I wanted Dwight Howard or CP3 as my first pick. Even picking 4th I got Howard. Obviously everybody else got great players too.

What do you think of my team:

Starters:

PG - Stephen Curry

SG - Joe Johnson

SF - Danny Granger

PF - Paul Milsap (a stretch)

C - Dwight Howard

Backups:

G - Jamal Crawford

F - Ed Davis

Util - Brandon Jennings

Util - Andrew Bogut

Util - Emeka Okafor

Bench:

"he who's name shall not be mentioned"

Jeff Teague

Nick Young

Thanks for the advice

P.S. - can you believe I picked Paul Milsap as my PF when we (Hawks) picked Shelden Williams high in the 1st round in that draft and Milsap went in the second round? - talent evaluation..talent evaluation..talent evaluation...rrrrr.

Edited December 20, 2011 by DJlaysitup

[AHF]

The issue with Howard is his FT%. He shoots very poorly from the line and gets there quite often which combines into a significant anchor in that category (his high # of FTA is what makes it a real killer). Hope that he picks it up this season. You might also consider getting another PF/C to slot onto your bench. In an 8 person league, someone like Nick Young is easily replaceable. I would dump him and try to pick up an interior guy with some upside like your pick with Ed Davis. Alternatively, I would dump him for another guard or SG/SF with better all-around game.

Remember that if you are playing head to head that you really need to win a majority of the categories so you can build your team around winning blocks, rebounds, FG%, etc. - some combination of stats that your players all excel in. With your current roster, I don't know what that would be. Your team has solid balance but doesn't have a lot of synergy between the players (Milsap doesn't rack up the blocks, JJ doesn't get many boards, Curry is fairly light on assists for your PG, no one excels in steals, etc.) Given your lineup, I would probably ditch steals as a category and go for other areas.

If you are playing roto, I would go for a bit to see how you are shaking out compared to other teams but I wouldn't hesitate to make moves at the bottom of your roster. You can get impact guys early in the year who are just breaking out in new roles. They won't be there as much in a month (although your 8 team format is very shallow so there should always be good depth on the waiver wire).

Good luck!

[capstone21]

The key is to choose a couple stats and say I don't care about them and am going to win the other stats and just focus on the ones you can win. Also, try to have at least 3 players to each position. I like your team...you have good scorers, rebounds, blocks and 3 point shooting. You probably won't win assists but you can't win every stat.

[DJlaysitup]

The issue with Howard is his FT%. He shoots very poorly from the line and gets there quite often which combines into a significant anchor in that category (his high # of FTA is what makes it a real killer). Hope that he picks it up this season....

Good luck!

Well you sure hit the nail on the head there AHF. D12, my "bell cow", had 15 rebounds and 3 blocks last night - still - when you add in all the missed FT/FGs and a few turnovers - I only got 13 out of him overall (shaking my head and wishing I would have asked for advice pre-draft)

Oh well - maybe he will improve...it's just one game. I think you said it right about FT%age being an "anchor" though. He will likely do well overall in FG%age - but it's unlikely he will learn to shoot free throws much better. Live and learn.

I also learned another thing from the Christmas Day marathon. Picking the best players on average to poor teams means you don't get to watch your guys play. Dwight was the only guy I had active yesterday.

[DJlaysitup]

I'm waiving Jamal Crawford and picking up Calderon. I was expecting JC to get starters minutes at POR but he isn't - and he is just too unpredictable as a 20 minute player.

[DJlaysitup]

All previous thinking is aside...D12 has been a MONSTER and has me in position to win the league. His FT %age hasn't mattered much since he gets 20 rebounds and a few blocked shots.

A typical night for D12 has been :

47 minutes - 9 for 13 shooting - 26 rebounds - 24 points - 38 fantasy points